Business owners believe that their products and services are valuable. But sometimes it can be hard to get clients sold to them. So it's important to know sales strategies that can help you succeed in onboarding your clients. There are different types of selling: relationship, social, organizational and outcome, to mention just a few. We'll focus on the latter.
Outcome selling focuses on the customer priorities, needs, goals, and how the product or service that a business offers is going to help them with those. As a result, they'll be more willing to spend money on them. You're, in a sense, selling the outcome not the product or service. Let's get this straight.
What is Outcome Selling?
Outcomes are gains that result from the product or service benefits. Take gym memberships as an example: Maintaining long-term health and fitness are the outcomes resulting from benefiting from the gym's equipment and amenities.
Instead of focusing on the technical specifications of a product or service, outcome selling encourages conversions by highlighting customers' desired outcome. You have to understand what the customer needs and priorities are and use that to deliver personalized experiences and increase the chances of having a deal. Put simply: you must put the needs of clients ahead of your own.
Benefits of Outcome Selling
The benefits of outcome selling can not be overstated. According to Maddie Sheng, from Hubspot, there are 3 main benefits of this type of selling, namely: (1) Increased business value, (2) increased customer loyalty, and (3) increased win rate.
- Increases Business Value: Since you'll put the customer at the forefront of every decision, your priority will be your their success. Outcome selling enables you to package the right solutions to help them meet their goals. That makes you more valuable to the client. After all, who doesn't want to work with someone who really cares about him?
- Increases Customer Loyalty: Since outcome selling is based on listening to the client's needs, there are more opportunities to strengthen your relationship with them. This will in turn increase their loyalty towards you and keep them coming back for more business and even recommending your business to others.
- Increases Win Rate: This goes without saying since it is going to be a natural outcome of the combination of the two previous benefits. Some suggest that this style of selling is way better than the traditional request for proposal (RFP) since it is more empathetic.
How to Implement Outcome Selling?
Now that you know what Outcome Selling is and its benefits, you're probably wondering how can you start implementing. Let's talk about 3 steps you can help: (1) Know who your customers are and what needs do they have, (2) what services can help them achieve their goals, and (3) follow up to see if they're on the right track.
1. Your Clients and their Needs
Your customer base doesn't have to be limited only to the present ones, you can include potential ones. Compiling and organizing all your contacts will help you gain a better understanding of the people who make up your current and target audiences. You can use a CRM platform, such as Hubspot, to organize them by industry, priorities or stage in the sales process.
Outcome selling is about highlighting the outcome in order to make your product or service more desirable. So it's vital to be able to diagnose and understand their needs in order to prescribe the best solution. Research to find more information about your target audience's needs. Become a student to the customer and listen to whatever they have to say and ask yourself how should you meet their desired business outcomes.
2. How Can you Help them
Use the information about your customers you've gathered so far and combine it with your own business offerings and try to find a common ground. What are the products and features that can help them solve their problems and reach their goals? Now develop a compelling story to connect their present situation and their desired outcome.
Now that you've identified your customers, researched their needs, and know exactly what products or services of yours suit them best, present it to them. Demonstrating that you know them will help them see that you know them very well. This will not only impress them but will also show them that the solutions presented were crafted and tailored with them in mind.
2. Follow up
Probably this method will help you close deals. But be ready for some pushbacks though. Welcome any hesitation from the client and use them to sharpen your understanding of their needs. Remember that this style of selling is focused on the outcomes, so it's important to follow up with them to see how they're doing. This will surely show them that you really care about their business. If something is wrong, try to help them identify the problem and suggest some solutions.
Conclusion
Outcome selling is about reaching your goals by putting your customer's goals ahead of your own. This style of selling increases your business value, customer loyalty, and win rate. if you want to start implementing this selling strategy all you need to do is identify your customers, understand their needs, see what can you offer to help them achieve their goals and sell the idea to them. It's also important to follow up with them to see if the solution you sold them is working or not.
