Blog by Igor Nusinovich

Meetup summary – Sгmmary: SaaS Startups: How to Overcome Your Market’s Resistance

http://www.meetup.com/IGTCloud/events/41906622/

• Search for compelling event. Best time to sell pills for diets is time before wedding

Resistance factors

• they don’t trust you
• change aversion – noone wants to change things
• offer complexity – complicated product is not simple to understand
• internal politics
• incumbent competitor – if there is someone inside, it’s hard to sell new. better to find someone else or enter as completion and not instead of.
• security
• cost – not the most important factor

ideas:

• value your time – maybe instead of one “good” you can find 5 “medium” which will be better in total
• choose those who are most “warm” customers
• CLOSING BELONG TO THE OLD DAYS
• ONLY SELL THE NEXT STEP
• Working -> Develop->Scheduled->Intro->Trial-> Trial review-> Proposal->Legal->Purchase Order
• don’t do field sales – it’s too long and expensive. use it only at the beginning, to learn your customer

Product – easy to buy

• few features – to be easy
• no changes in customer’s processes
• use discretionary budget – the budget that the decision is made quickly
• minimal setup cost/effort
• no customization, even for the big ones. change only what is good for the masses

20% is nothing

• 20% improval is not enought – should be 50% safer, cheaper, faster a.s.o.

Homework

• Research
• Role play
• Test and hone
• Prepare kit: FAQ, Common objections, Qualifiers ets.

Qualifiers

• References
• Show success and leadership
  
• Social proof - show long row of clients, referrers, large numbers
• Talk cheap – talk simply to describe the product.
• Power of Three – use three motivators, put the most important last at row

Hidden objections

• Client can’t explain, sometimes to himself, what is the problem. Help him. For example : “Would you use it for free?”
• Never argue – Confirm understanding – empathize – is this the only obstacle? – address the issue – use the “but” word

False objections

• Use to 25% of success sales and 75% of failures to listen to them. Only open questions, because you don’t always know what to ask.

Don’t sell service – sell solutions