101 Best Sales and Marketing Ideas
IDEA 30:
LET ONE CUSTOMER SELL TO ANOTHER
Sometimes in selling you will face situation and objections that seem intractable, ones that need outside evidence to overcome. There’s no surprise there, you might say: aren’t many of the things that provide proof or evidence to enhance credibility external factors? They certainly are, and a motoring magazine’s road tests of a car, or independent petrol consumption figures, are just cases in point.
Testimonials are common too, and act to beef up many a brochure as well as sales pitches.
Idea
From a sales training film….
This idea is from a fictitious company. It is represented in what must be one of very few training films aimed at sales managers, and dealing with an aspect of how to manage a team of sales people. (The film, titled Training Salesman on the Job, was made by Rank and distributed by Longman Training.)
In the film we see a salesman having difficulty with an objection. He is selling industrial equipment of some sort, and any company purchasing it must invest time and money in staff training to make sure that people can operate it effectively and safely. The buyer is interested, but is blocking, using the fact that a competitor offers training that can be done in significantly less time (thus reducing down time and the cost of having operators away from their normal duties).
The salesman tries to make the point that the extra investment is worthwhile, but the buyer is not convinced. The sales man can clearly see that something more is necessary. Rather than offer vague testimonials and quote experience from elsewhere, he suggests that the prospects consult a particular and recent buyer. He clearly has the name researched and ready: it’s one his prospect might even know. “Why don’t you give him a ring?” he says. “I’m sure his experience will verify what I’m saying”. He leaves the buyer to make it likely that the call will be made. This is very precise and up-front use of the testimonial, and one worth a thought.
In practice
- Again, this demands some thought and planning so that you can draw on a list of names as appropriate.
- Match people sensibly. For example don’t suggest a huge company as a reference for a smaller one, or vice versa. You need people to believe the opinion they get will be relevant to their circumstance.