Date: 7-9-99
Selling technology to senior management, end users, and other
nontechies
by Robert W. Bly
When selling software to
businesses, you often have to appeal to three different buying influences within
each company:
1.
Senior
management – CEOs, CFOs, COOs, vice presidents.
2.
End
users – often middle managers or administrative staff.
3.
IS
– Information Systems professionals ranging from programmers to systems
analysts.
The first two audiences
consistent primarily of people who are not techies. And these non-techies care
about different things, and respond differently, than the traditional IS
technology buyer.
Nontechies are results-oriented, interested in the
ends rather than the means, the bottom line rather than the process. They lack
interest in the details, preferring to focus on the “big picture.” Most nontechies
simply want to resolve problems; engineers, scientists, and programmers enjoy
actually working on problems.
The result is that nontechies are more interested in
benefits, business results, and the reputation and credibility of the vendor.
IS, by comparison, tends to focus on technical issues including platforms, scalability,
interoperability with existing systems, reliability, specifications,
limitations, and ease of implementation, operation, and maintenance.
When generating leads for expensive enterprise software, quote the price in the terms that seem most palatable – for instance, per user or per site license. Demonstrate, if it exists, the rapid return on investment.
For instance, a mailing for SurfControl, an application that monitors and controls employee Internet usage in organizations, informs the recipient that surfing the Internet for personal rather than business reasons costs $300 per employee per week. (Copy claims that 4 out of 5 hits to the Playboy Web site are from Fortune 500 companies!) The letter then positions the license fee of a few dollars per user as a drop in the bucket compared to the savings SurfControl can generate.
For high-end software
representing a major corporate investment, the goal is often to get an
appointment with the decision-maker. The offer then becomes, in essence, not
the software, but rather the initial meeting – which is frequently positioned
as a needs analysis or assessment, to be followed by recommendations. Of
course, the seller’s goal is to gain the information needed to provide a quote
or proposal the buyer will accept.
For both lead generation and
mail order, premiums are proven response-boosters. Premiums that have worked
well for technology marketers include white papers, computer books, audio and
video cassettes, free software, free support, free training, seminars, and
electronic conferences that the user accesses via telephone (for voice) and,
optionally, the Web (for visuals).
Another popular premium is
to offer a simple calculator that demonstrates the potential return on
investment to the prospect if they purchase your product. This is typically an
Excel application on a disk. The prospect inputs his business scenario and
instantly discovers whether your product will pay off for him.
Select a premium that is
highly desirable and ties in with your product or service. A Web design firm,
for instance, offered “four free digital photos of your key staff, postable on
your Web site.” When the rep visited the prospect, she carried a digital
camera, took the photos, and immediately gave the disk to the prospect. Of
course, the prospect wanted the photos posted on their Web site, something
which could be done as part of the “Web site makeover” service the Web consulting
firm offered for a fee.
Response mechanisms
There are four basic
response mechanisms: paper reply forms (fax-backs, reply cards, and reply
envelopes), online (e-mail or logging on to a Web site),
phone, and fax. Since you never know which reply method a particular prospect prefers, why not offer them all? At a recent marketing conference, one software executive said, “Every software prospect is on the Internet today. It’s a waste of time to offer any other response mechanism.” A colleague from his company disagreed. “I don’t want to log onto the Internet if I’m not already online just to respond to an ad or mailing,” he said, insisting that for him, a toll-free number or reply card is more convenient.
While it’s generally safe to assume IS professionals are comfortable responding by going to your Web site, don’t make that assumption with nontechies. Some can access the Web but are not comfortable with it and prefer not to. Others, amazingly, don’t even know how to get onto your site!
One tip: Always offer the Web as a response
option when mailing to IS professionals – especially those involved with the
Internet. Also, if you sell software, such as the latest antivirus or Y2K
program, that prospects may want to try immediately, make it available for
downloading from your Web site. You can let prospects download a demo version
for free or the full program if they supply credit card information.
The key to success? Talk to businesspeople in their language, not yours. Show that if they give you a dollar, they’ll get back two dollars. And test – sales appeals, offers, pricing, response mechanisms, copy, graphics, formats, and premiums. Don’t assume you know which will work best. Instead, let your prospects tell you. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Robert W. Bly is a freelance copywriter specializing in business-to-business, high-tech, and direct response. He can be reached at rwbly@bly.com.
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