Test your buyers on your VP

Today’s meeting with a buyer on a hot account will be the third in three weeks…and you think he has a good understanding of what you do and what you offer…

…but does he?

Buyers are pitched to constantly, and they absorb much less than you think.

Just because you’ve said it three times doesn’t mean they’ve heard it once.

Before assuming your value prop is landing, find out what this particular buyer actually understands—and remembers—about the value you’re offering.

Today, test your buyer…but don’t ask, "Do you understand what we do?” Of course they’ll say yes.

Instead, work questions like this one naturally into the conversation: “If you had to explain our value to your boss, what would you say?”

Then listen carefully.

What’s missing and misunderstood? What did they remember that surprised you?

His answer is also a grade on how well you’ve communicated.

You can explain your value prop perfectly…and your buyer can still hear “fold in the cheese.”

This fun two-minute Schitt’s Creek scene shows the difference between saying something and actually communicating it. David doesn’t understand what Moira is saying, and Moira thinks she’s perfectly clear.

Your buyer won’t buy if s/he doesn’t understand how to deal with the cheese!