I was reminded recently of a column I wrote for a printing industry trade magazine here in the United States back in 1998. It was titled IQDD — An Acronymic Approach To Successful Selling. IQDD stands for identification, qualification, discussion and decision, and I still think that is a solid formula. But, like anything else from going on 20 years ago, it is probably due for an update.
So today I am going to urge you to put more KIDding in your selling. KID stands for knowledge, interest, and then (and only then) discussion.

More to sell

One of the foundations of this new acronymic strategy is that you have a lot more to sell today than you did in 1998. Back then, progressive printers were talking about digital printing and mailing services. Today you can also be talking about large format printing, signage, promotional products, response enhancers like Purls and QR Codes, and a wide range of marketing services including websites and social media. It has been my experience that today’s typical printing salesperson has so much to sell that he or she usually cannot wait to tell everyone all about all of it. And that is a mistake.

One of my themes over the years has been that most salespeople talk too much. That was true in 1998, and it’s true today. KID is about talking less, and talking about less.

Knowledge

The first stages of any conversation with a prospect should be about knowledge. And let me make it clear that every selling conversation involves a prospect. Another of my themes over the years has been that it is important to differentiate between suspects, prospects and customers, because you face different challenges with each category. The challenge with suspects is to qualify them; in other words, to determine whether they really are qualified prospects. The challenge with prospects is to convince them to give you a chance; in other words, to place that first order. Once they do that, they become customers, but every customer is also a prospect to be a larger customer.

And while the decision to continue to buy what they are already buying from you may not require much selling on your part, the decision to have you build and maintain a sophisticated website for my company probably will.

So let us say that you want to sell me on building and maintaining your website. The first step is to make me aware that you have that capability. The wrong way to do that is to tell me that you’re into building websites now. The right way is to engage me with a question.

Think about that. If you make a statement, the ball is still in your court. If you ask a question, the ball is now in my court – and that is where you want it. Conversation is far better selling strategy than presentation. (By the way, I heard a salesperson make that exact ‘we are into building websites’ statement to one of his prospects just a few weeks ago, and the prospect looked at him blankly for a few beats before saying ‘well, ah, congratulations?’)

Interest

Creating or confirming knowledge and awareness is a solid start, but now you have to consider my level of interest. And let me make this very simple. If I am not interested, you will not succeed. That means you would be wise to create or confirm my interest before going any further. So here is one option: ‘We are into building websites now. Would you have any interest in talking with me about that?’ Here is another option: ‘I would like to talk about your website today. Specifically, if you could change anything about it, what would it be?’

The first option is pretty direct, but that is the only thing I like about it. The second option is much more likely to start the kind of conversation I think you really want to have. Either way, if there is interest, you move on to discussion, and if there is not, you do not.

Remember, you really do have a lot to sell. If you do not sell me on building and maintaining a website today, you may still sell me on managing my social media presence next time we talk. On the other hand, you might alienate me today by pushing on about something I am simply not interested in. Or you might overload my circuits completely by trying to sell me everything in your bag. Do either of those sound like the outcome you are really looking for?

Talk less, and talk about less. That is my advice for today. The more you keep the conversation focused on something I am interested in, the more likely it is that you will succeed.
PS: You can find just about everything I have ever written for printing industry trade magazines, including the IQDD article mentioned earlier, in the article archives at www.davefellman.com.

Dave Fellman is the president of David Fellman & Associates, a graphic arts industry consulting firm based in Raleigh, NC, USA. He is a popular speaker who has delivered keynotes and seminars at industry events across Australia,  the United States, Canada, England, Ireland and New Zealand. He is the author of Sell More Printing (2009) and Listen To The Dinosaur (2010). Visit www.davefellman.com

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