Why does a new product fail to meet its initial sales target- and
perhaps stand the risk of becoming thrown out of the market?
What
version does product marketing generally communicate to the sales force?
When a product is fresh from
the factory, the product marketing department comes up with a sexy version gist
about the products fascinating class, style, abilities… all the bells and
whistles, and pumps the sales force fat with it.
What do the sales people do?
They become excited about
the product and hit the streets with it. On getting to the costumers, they
deliver the sexy version gist of the product in the same words as they had
earlier been told. Instead of asking questions to develop needs, they jump in
with all the exciting features and advantages that the new product possesses.
(Does this remind you of ‘that’
too-good-to-be-true-salesman experience).
As you can see, the average
number of features and advantages given when selling new products is more than
3 times the level given by the same sales people when selling existing
products. This evidence suggests that the seller’s attention is much more on
the product than on their customers.
`The problem
The main issue is the
salesman enthusiasm. It has led us to become product – centered focusing
primarily on the products features and advantages. This is not an effective
strategy for a major sale.
Solution…Selling
it.
Instead of just giving
features and advantages (the sexy version gist) when new products are rolled out
to the sales force, greater emphasis should be placed relating the products to
problems it can solve. That is, addressing the problems the product solves and
brainstorming on the questions that will uncover more problems, because an
uncovered problem from the questions asked will create the immediate need your
product will satisfy. But it is the realistic version is what we want to see
get to work.
