A frequent comment I hear from business developers is that their client or sponsor has not used all the features and benefits that are available to them as part of their entitlement and as a result do not see full value in the relationship.
An example
A number of organisations I work with offer venue hire as part of an overall package to companies and it’s not uncommon for the company not to use their full entitlement and then not to value venue hire as a benefit.
This is despite the fact that organisations spend a small fortune across all departments on venue hire for team meetings, training sessions, planning days, social events and their AGM.
Find the person with the need
The key in any successful sale is providing a solution to the person that actually has the need, the pain.
In my observation, each department in a company makes decisions independently of each other on venue hire and it’s usually the Executive Assistants that are given this task.
These are the people with the need who require a solution, not the person that is managing the overall relationship such as the Marketing Manager or Sponsorship Manager
Action to take
The key is to ensure that the people with the need in the organisation are aware of the features and benefits that you offer which can address their need.
In this example, the key would be to ask your main contact to find out the total spend across the organisation on venue hire. I would suggest that this will be an eye opening exercise for the organisation!
Having helped them to uncover the pain (spending too much money) and identify a real need (to save money), you can then provide them with a solution saving them tens of thousands of dollars a year.
They can’t book it if they are not aware of it
The key is then to develop communication material to go to all the Executive Assistants to make them aware of the venue hire options, how to book the venues and the price that they would pay if they were not getting the venue free as part of the package. You can then demonstrate at the end of the year the cost saving to the organisation and the value that you have generated
In summary, find the person with the need, provide the solution and demonstrate value