Revenue Journal®

Here I am again, a buyer. Money in hand. Ready. Eager. Wanting to get what I need, fast, and go back to work. What do I want to buy? International wireless broadband, using a data SIM card that I can plug into a variety of cellular devices and work, on land and at sea. I want to get the right solution, but I also have deadlines - so I don't want to spend a lot of time on this.

Clue #1. Your buyer is BUSY. She is NOT sipping a cup of Java with her feet up, watching your fancy demo. She wants to buy what she needs, now.

AT&T is an option for me; I'm already using one of their voice/data SIM cards in my smartphone, and will continue to use it there. But I needed another SIM card for my PC and other devices. The data service is a bit pricey, but it's been reliable, so I went to AT&T at the beginning of my buying process.

I quickly found myself on a site listing the "wireless modem card" options. That's good.

I clicked on "View the LaptopConnect interactive demo." Not good.

It's not a demo, and it's not interactive. Within seconds, I slid the window over to my secondary monitor and started looking for other solutions on my main monitor. Why? Because the demo convinced me that AT&T is completely clueless about what I'm trying to do. If they are this clueless about me trying to buy their solution, they are going to be just as clueless about providing a solution that I want.

See how dangerous it is if you're clueless about your buyer's situation? Your busy buyer can tell, in seconds, if you are in sync with them or not. If you're not, they're done. Gone. Off to another site.

I would have shut down the demo right then - just to stop the stupid music, at the very least - except 1) I realized that it was a perfect example of seller cluelessness, and decided to watch it for the purposes of this article, and 2) I wondered if the demo was ever going to stop describing why I wanted to buy this type of product, and would actually tell me what I wanted to know about the product.

No such luck. The whole thing was devoid of any useful content.

When it ends, there are a few options listed. They must think "interactive" means there's a link in there somewhere. There are four links on the last page.

I can "Learn How," which leads to a datasheet type of web page; "Buy Now," which is ridiculous, because this demo has not taken me one inch farther in my buying process; "Have a Sales Expert Contact You" which only makes me sigh and shake my head (why on earth would I want to prolong the agony?); and "Replay," which makes me laugh out loud.

Clue #2: Your buyer is not interested in your corporate messages and your partner network. She is interested in knowing, NOW, how your product works, so she can decide if she wants to...gasp...buy it!

I bet the people at AT&T loved this "interactive demo." I can just see the meeting where the vendor brought in the final result. "Great! Good use of the logo, and love the orange stripe running through, connecting all our branding messages: 'Here, there, everywhere.' 'Workflow speed,' 'Workflow reach,' 'Streamline workflow,' 'An ecosystem of leading application and service partners.' The VP will love it."

Who on earth do they think they're selling to? Imagine who would actually think this is great. Forrest Gump? Homer Simpson? Certainly not this buyer, or anyone else who is seriously trying to solve a problem and get back to work.

Now for the clued-in, buyer-friendly version.

Further searching took me to MobilityPass. Ahhhh.

Right away, I see that they understand what I want to do. Everything I want to know - or a way to find out what I want to know, quickly - is right here. My important questions are answered, immediately. "No contract, pay as you go." "No membership or setup fee." "Billing per second of use." "Instant activation."

There is a big red button that leads to the end of the purchasing process, if I want to go there immediately: "Get my MobilityPass Account." But just to the right and left of that, in case I'm not ready (and I'm not), are the options which answer the buyer's next questions: "Rates & Coverage," and "How it works."

The demo for MobilityPass is an actual demo. Go to this page and click on turquoise View Demo button at the bottom of the middle column, if you want to see an example of a great demo.

This is a no-nonsense demo. Just what you want to see. The announcer describes the steps as the fingers zip around an iPhone and show how everything is done. The demo answers the Big Question: "What's going to happen to me after I buy?" Note how cleverly they answered the "partner" question, and "operating platform" question, unobtrusively, under the demo movie. My only criticism: These icons/logos are not clickable. They should be.

How buyer-friendly is your site? Do you have a product demo? Does it actually show how the customer would use the product? How much of your site simply describes the customer's need, rather than what your product or service will do to solve that need?

Clue #3: The company that answers the customer's questions makes the sale.

I signed up for MobilityPass. If it works as hoped, I will cut back on the services I get from AT&T. [Postscript: I did receive the SIM card and modem, and so far it looks like it will meet my needs very nicely.]

Because they were clueless, AT&T failed to capitalize on a current customer willing to buy more services. Because they facilitated my buying process, MobilityPass got my business and pulled even more business away from AT&T.

MobilityPass answered my questions - what their service provides, how it works, how much it costs - all on their home page or just one click away from the home page.

AT&T didn't even begin to answer my questions. I'm sure they don't even know what the real buyer questions are. Instead, their "demo" told me what I could do with wireless data access. Duh. I've been accessing the Web wirelessly for years. I know what I can do with it.

Of course, AT&T can't say "no contract, pay as you go," because there's always a contract. As soon as I knew MobilityPass had an alternative, I was interested.

Most CEOs and entrepreneurs imagine that they have to convince their buyer to buy. But what if your buyer is ready to buy? What if they only have a couple of questions? What if you're two seconds away from "ka-ching," if you answer those questions immediately?

What would your site look like if you thought this way?

You created and sell a product that is the best in its class. You have built a company that is one of the leaders in your industry niche.

Your product is technical, bought by technical people, but the approvers of the purchase - and the people who benefit most from the product - are non-technical business people.

You are looking for ways to expand your market, and you know that part of that challenge requires that you get through to the business people. You're working on this.

Meanwhile, a Big Dog in the tech industry has decided that your success - and the success of your direct competitors - is strong enough to warrant their entry into your market. They've started a division selling exactly what you sell.

Now what?

She's a brilliant website designer. Her end product is right up there with the best of the best. She can transform an unprofessional, unexciting site into a classy, inspiring site, dripping with ambience. She's also good with clients. She is professional and helpful.

Because her sites are so beautiful, and because she is so good on the phone, she is able to pick up clients easily. They have high expectations of her, simply because all the indicators point to a high satisfaction rate.

However, after working with this designer for a while, the client begins to realize that the designer has too many irons in the fire, and is simply too busy to find the time to complete the his site so that it can be launched.

He does everything he can to make it easy for the designer, but parts of the project that should be completed in days, take weeks instead.

This scenario is quite common now.

Two business owners are vying for the same client. Both are working hard, busy exchanging emails with the client, doing their homework, trying to make sure they make the best possible impression. A lot of money is on the line, and getting this project will secure their financial situation for the next year or two.

But something just happened that changes everything. The client, who knows perfectly well he is being wooed by these two different people, has just sent an email to Suitor #2 that he got from Suitor #1. He is asking Suitor #2 to comment on the email from Suitor #1.

What this means is that Suitor #1 has just lost the sale, because he has left the client's confidence zone. The client has gained enough confidence in Suitor #2, and has lost enough confidence in Suitor #1, that he is willing to step over the confidentiality line and show an email from Suitor #1 to Suitor #2.

The Confidence Zone has more influence on sales than any other factor, and yet it is something that is virtually ignored by the usual sales gurus.

I'm in a country at the moment where there is a very large divide between "the rich" and "the poor." The unemployment rate is estimated to be at 40%. Yet, in many areas, the malls are packed, and hotel suites in the city near the water go for $1500 a night.

What's been interesting to me, as a revenue coach, is seeing who is still gainfully employed in an economy where the unemployment level is so high. Who does well, and who does not? If you're working for someone else, and are worried about your future, this subject is worth a look. If you own or run a company, it's interesting to look at this because many of the observations I've made about the success of individuals can also be applied to companies.

Who gets work?

You've got a business to run. You've got a family to support and customers, employees, and vendors who are depending on you. If you stopped doing what you were doing, your business would die.

As true - and basic - as these statements are, it's important to say them right now.

Because as we all are trying to do our jobs, we are continually being distracted by the latest "crisis."

"Look at me! I'm the banking industry! I loaned money to people who couldn't afford to pay the money back! Now I'm going under! Help! Send me your money - via more taxes - and bail me out!"

"I know, I know," the child says, grabbing a tool from his father, who is partway through showing how it works and what to do with it. But something goes wrong after the child tries to use the tool. He stops and mumbles, "Must be broken." He is reluctant to admit that he really didn't "know," and that he really hadn't thought it all through, and he shouldn't have been so hasty. He doesn't want to admit that he could have learned something from his dad after all.

Fast forward thirty years. Now the child owns his own business. "I know, I know," he says, interrupting the customer. The customer, an expert in his field, is trying to explain his needs. But the business owner doesn't want to hear it, because he "knows."

Of course, he really doesn’t know.