The sales process can take a lot of time and refining the financial plan to a point where every party is content can be tedious. Luckily for you, we have found questions to implement into your sales process that will alleviate these time-consuming steps.
Understanding the important components of a sale
There are three things a seller needs to understand about the customer before making a sale:
1. What do they want to purchase?
This is typically the main purpose of a buyer coming to you. They need equipment, technology, or services and need help financing the purchase.
2. Why do they want to purchase?
The why is where their drive comes from. They have assessed that this purchase will alleviate some part of their process, whether that means their current equipment is out-of-date, they have outgrown what they already have, or a multitude of other scenarios.
3. How do they want to purchase?
To achieve the best customized plans for your customers, finding the answer to how they want to purchase will help you understand where the customer is at, both financially and operationally. It will also connect you with the final decision maker for the company/team.
It is important to have clarity on the three components to a sale before providing a quote. Also, understand that it is unlikely for the technology decision maker to have all the purchasing power so it would be highly beneficial to ask directly for the finance team. To keep the finance team involved, make sure you are asking questions that keep them engaged and on top of this sale using best practice questions listed below. Getting requests in for legal language reviews in a timely manner will also be essential in this type of approach.
This is, also, where GreatAmerica comes in and can help by offering flexible payment options via pay overtime technology financing.
The benefits of understanding the answers for each customer will help you make more informed decisions and help you give them the most fitting customized options for purchasing.
Best practices for achieving customized payment plans
Getting the best customized payment options in front of customers requires asking the right questions to decision makers. A few good ways to start these conversations are through the following opening questions.
- “Hey, lots of technology can now be paid for overtime, with no more up-front purchases. How do you feel about that trend?”
- “When making purchases like this, at what point do your financial decision makers get involved?”
- “What do you think about us having a quick discovery session with your financial decision makers?”
After using these conversation starters, make sure the following questions are asked to get customized payment plans in front of the customer faster.
- “How do you consume your office technology equipment today?”
- “Do you have any strategic initiatives this year that will require capital?”
- “Do you have any budget challenges that can be saved with a flexible payment schedule?”
What stage are you?
During the sales process, there are stages every seller goes through to achieve the sale. These stages are developed and easy to follow, however they aren’t as efficient as they could be. We have found that the financial questions and conversations typically happen in the negotiation stage, but we propose they should happen in the discovery stage to have better efficiency and service. This is demonstrated in the following graphic.
The key information you can and should be gaining in the discovery stage are the following:
- Identifying financial decision makers
- Accessing financial decision makers
- Gaining directional buy-in from financial decision makers
By implementing the best practices mentioned earlier, we can give a more customized experience to the customer. The goal of this strategy is to allow for both parties involved to feel like they are getting the most out of every conversation and develop a good working relationship. As the seller, you are hoping this experience entices your customers to come back.
Offer monthly payments for technology equipment today!
The major takeaway we hope you walk away with is understanding how your customer wants to finance this purchase. The simple question following is a great way to find that answer.
“Would you benefit in paying for this investment over time versus all upfront?”
And if your customer answers yes, contact GreatAmerica today!
