crossing the chasm in b2b salesGeoffrey Moore first published a book in 1991 called Crossing the Chasm.

If you sell anything that is even remotely related to technology, then you have to read this book.

It really is the Bible for selling technology.

And this relates to both products and services.

So, even if you sell services for your technology, or you sell services that help other companies use their technology, then you need to read this book.

Actually, if you have any sort of a B2B business, you should read this book.

Moore makes references to how technology should be sold, but I want to focus on one particular strategy he talks about.

He talks about a group he calls the “early majority”.

This group consists of about 30% of all companies that will make or break a product’s growth.

They are looking for products that will give them a productivity improvement for existing operations.

They are looking to minimize the discontinuity with the old ways. They want evolution, not revolution. They want technology to enhance, not overthrow, the established ways of doing business.

These companies will not buy new technology that could disrupt their organization. They must have references, that are similar to them, that have used the technology before.

The next group he mentions are the “late majority”. Again they are about 30% of all companies that would buy a product for their company. And they definitely will not buy without a good reference base.

As you are aware, if you read any of my articles, I strongly believe that you need to know everything about how and why your current clients bought from you, before you should even try to sell anything to a prospect.

Then you can use these clients as references. More importantly, you will be able to sell more to them because you get to understand their business a lot better, when you fully understand how and why they bought from you.

So, how do you get to know how and why your current clients bought from you?

Well, the first thing you need to do is interview the most senior people, in their organization, that have anything to do with the use of your products and/or services.

And the best way to interview them is by using a third party. Someone who has done a lot of interviewing, and has all of the questions needed to get the understanding you need to move forward with your business.

Without this solid knowledge, most companies flounder in selling to prospects, because they haven’t established a connection between their current clients and their prospects. IE: are they similar?

They haven’t really established what their market is.

By interviewing your current clients properly, you will gain the following benefits.
1. Your prospects generally won’t buy from you without knowing someone else, similar to them, has bought and used your products and services.
2. You will then fully understand why your current clients bought from you, and you can use this knowledge as your value proposition to others.
3. The knowledge you gain, from interviewing your clients properly, will allow you to sell more to your current clients, even if you have only one product or service you offer right now.

I have performed hundreds of client interviews over my business career, for my clients.

Because of these interviews, I have developed a full interview questionnaire that reveals all, for your company, about how your clients feel about your company and your products/services, and whether they would be open to further business with your company.

There are three reasons why you should have a professional third party interview your clients.
1. Your clients will usually give a third party more honest and direct answers.
2. If there is a problem, the third party interviewer can uncover them more objectively.
3. Your client will be impressed that you paid somebody to interview them. It makes them feel special to your company.

Contact me, through my email in my signature below, and let’s talk about how you can grow your business the right way, which also usually results in the fastest way to grow.

In the meantime, please download my 24 page eBook – Grow Your B2B Business with Strategic Account Management
 
 
Ian DaintyKind regards,
Ian Dainty
Ian Dainty’s Email
Author of the Book – Grow Your B2B Business With Strategic Account Management

 
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