Selling a product in the information and communication technology sector – be it a domestic PC or an IT system for a large company – entails one particular problem: the knowledge gap between seller and user. This is according to Stephen Wright, commercial manager of the Institute of Sales & Marketing Management who explains “You can feel quite far away from the customer and his needs”.
The cliché of the clueless IT user may not be the reality, but your customers may well be non-technically minded enough for you to have to focus on translating technical information effectively and persuasively. So what is the best way to do this?
“Everything must be said in terms of the benefits to the customer,” says Wright. They’ll want to know what’s in it for them. So, ask lots of open questions; find out where they’re coming from, and respond in the same way.
“One mistake lots of ICT salespeople make is to fall in love with the technology and want to share that passion,” he adds. But the seller may not have the same passion. “If they are not technically-minded, they won’t be interested in the finer points of the product,” Wright warns.
Jargon-busting
When you enter the ICT field, it can be hard to avoid jargon and acronyms. But according to Wright, they can be another means of driving a wedge between seller and customer. “Jargon can be useful as a kind of shorthand if you’re speaking to someone who understands it. But it can just as easily put off those who don’t know it. In the same way, words that don’t precisely explain what the product does – talking in terms of ‘leveraging solutions’ - are just as useless,” he says.
A friendly voice
How else can you win over the user? RM is a supplier of ICT systems to schools, colleges and universities. It recently established a set of voice guidelines which help ensure that salespeople use a friendly, helpful tone when talking to customers. The guidelines include “don’t overdo the ICT jargon” and “don’t use technology clichés, such as information super-highway”.
“It’s very easy to sound hostile when selling to people,” says Dan Skipp, head of sales training at RM, “especially when you are using lots of jargon and making it hard to understand. For more complex products, we use visuals, metaphors and stories to help people’s minds make sense of it all.”
According to Dan, the company has had favourable feedback from customers as a result of its friendly focus, and this is not limited to non-technically-minded people. “Our customers range from a young primary school teacher who has only been working in ICT for a week to an experienced systems manager at a university. We find that this clear, descriptive approach works for both sets of people.”
Matching minds
An example of a more technically-minded person is Ian Bland, a systems manager at a large research-focused university. With a PhD in systems engineering, Ian is unlikely to be flummoxed by talk of SQL or compressors.
But he still welcomes a focus on the end-user benefits of the product being sold to him. “I appreciate it when salespeople make an attempt to explain the quality of something at a technical level, by saying how it actually works and how it will fit in with my current system,” he explains.
So in summary, how can you best explain technical products to the layperson?
- As with all sectors, explain the benefits to the end user.
- Understand the end user’s requirements as a starting point to your description.
- Realise that the customer may not be as passionate about the technology as you are.
- Be friendly and approachable.
- Avoid jargon and marketing speak, whether talking to a systems manager or an inexperienced customer.
