My current company has worked on a product that connects tutors and student/parents on one platform and allows them to have one to one live streaming sessions/group classes. The company aims to pitch the same product to different verticals like doctors/lawyers/financial advisors etc. My question is, as I am new to product selling, how should I approach prospects and what should be my steps?
You have to create a sorto of demo or a video of how it works, and give a free trial.
Then use facebook ads, or adwords, or native ads to do lead generation in order to acquire your potential customers.
Use the leads generated by exporting them in facebook ads to create a lookalike audience to reinforce the lead generation strategies.
Give to this lead in exchange of their mail a trial of your product, and then with DAILY EMAILS pith che product by showing how this is suitable to their needs, ASK THEM QUESTIONS through a survey and create different funnels depend on the answers they give.
Practice your "elevator pitch." for each segment you want to go after. By that I mean creating short, specific descriptions for what your product can do for each audience. Concentrate on BENEFITS to the prospective end user, not FEATURES. Hammer home how your product makes every hour of their day easier and more profitable.
After you have done that get your message in front of your targeted professionals anywhere and everywhere you can. Go where THEY are ! This could include online webinars, trade shows chamber of commerce meetings etc.
I have recently worked with companies in the educational space. Additionally, I have been #1, #3 and #5 in national sales, #1 in regional sales, built 3 successful sales teams and advised learning system companies.
1. Products in the education space should focus on what schools are targeting and that is STEM (science, tech, engineering and math).
2. Your end-user is a student but your product purchaser is a parent or guardian. I believe in reaching as many targeted purchasers (parents) as possible.
3. By directing a small percentage of sales back to schools as a donation, you will generate support for your product from school principals who can connect your product directly to parents with their endorsement. This can be a swift way to onboard entire school districts and connect with superintendents.
4. Superintendents have the power to provide your product as a school resource for students, in which case the school district becomes your purchaser.
5. Approach public and charter schools. Directing funds back to schools is key to access to large numbers of parents through principals and gaining early support of school superintendents.
6. In addition to developing other growth channels, you can leverage the optimal growth of each channel by selling channels to prospective interested companies. There are potential opportunities for acquisition in each category listed and some not considered.
7. I'm happy to provide additional sales success via a call. Continued success!
this is certainly a big question; but a few other general comments aside from the great recommendations already posted:
- sales is about being empathetic. both to the business/company and person you are pitching to. identify and think about what a critical pain point is for your target market and use that as a springboard into the conversation.
- create a demo is absolutely essential; they need to see the product and how it relates to their lives. make sure you can walk them through it live (either in person or virtually is fine.)
- think of reasons why they may not choose to use a platform like yours and have responses ready beforehand
- the best way to generate momentum is sales is by using your last sale to target your next sale. dont be afraid to ask for referrals or hit them with the old "do you know anyone else in a similar situation to yours that would find our product useful too?" people in your space likely know each other well and if you can get in with one then find a way to tap into their networks of associates who may also be interested.
like anything it ultimately comes down to planning. the product, market and means/channels you have to sell all can greatly influence your planning. Good luck!
The first thing I always recommend after more than 20 years of selling experience in more that 20 countries is... quite simple. This is not about you... your product... its benefits... its features... IT IS ABOUT THEM! The customers, their problems, their organizational structure, their legal requirements.
The era of side by side advertisement showing a soap vs. the next key competitor a long gone. Antecipating needs is only done by hour and hours of observing your potential customers in their normal habitat, in their normal pain. Specially in training many people think in terms of showing what you have to offer... In my point of view you could follow the following order/process:
1- Identify the background that could generate interest of you main potential customer segment (assuming you identified them and quantified them). Generate the need
2- Introduce the idea. If you did point 1) right the idea should be already in your potential customer mind
3- Show the benefits (remember it is about them)
4-Show how it works. Explain with simplicity (low effort high benefit)
5- Close the sale
Start by doing social media. Create social media accounts on all major social media channels and post daily. Use paid advertising to boost your posts. Create YouTube channel and do paid video marketing. Use Google adwords and do advance targeting to educational websites. Give ads in the tution/tutor classified sections of online websites and local newspapers. Hire a social media person who knows how to interconnect the channels to get you maximum benefit.
