One of the best aspects of offering ancillary products and services is the lack of client objections. We’d insert the word “utter” in there, but let’s not get cocky. Every expenditure demands a raison d’etre, and in the current economic conditions, precious few end-users will free up some bucks unless they can be reasonably assured of attaining an ROI, gaining efficiency or other enhancement that will improve the quality of work life.
And now that we’ve exhausted our supply of gratuitous French phrases, we continue this month’s State of the Industry report on ancillary products—a.k.a. hidden gems—with a look at how dealer sales reps are able to coax noncommittal clients across the finish line.
Christopher Malatesta, senior sales executive with IMR Digital, a branch of Aston, Pennsylvania-based KDI Office Technology, believes it’s less about overcoming objections. The key for his group is to meet expectations.
“Customers expect certain things to just happen, and the truth is there are many steps that need to be executed to reach the desired output,” Malatesta offered. “We need to meet the customer’s timeframe, maintain the security of the customer’s data, and provide a finished product that streamlines the customer’s process.”
When IMR Digital communicates its process well, he added, the client sees how much easier its business life will become. That also makes the vendor’s service a must-have.
In the case of LED walls, which is a gem offered through Pulse Technology of Schaumburg, Illinois, quite often the customer comes knocking at the dealer’s door, notes President/CEO Chip Miceli. Significant objections are the exception, rather than the rule.
“We educate our customers on the many benefits that LED can provide,” he said. “And we have a strong display at our Schaumburg headquarters which helps show all the capabilities.”
As is the case with any offering, those customers who may be on the fence can be convinced through a number of options, notes Erik Crane, president and CEO of CPI Technologies in Springfield, Missouri. An online demo is usually a jumping-off point, and in the case of interactive white boards, CPI can furnish a demo unit for the client to interact with it for several days to get a hands-on experience.
“On bigger installations, (manufacturer) ViewSonic will bring in a demo unit and help us with the presentation. Having their rep there raises the comfort level as well,” Crane said. “Having a good partner really helps. Once the customer sees the unit and all the things it can do, it becomes an easier close.”
When it comes to a managed offering such as marketing-as-a-service, Las Vegas-based Advanced Imaging Solutions (AIS) initially had its sales team discover such opportunities. Once candidates were identified, they were handed over to the marketing team for a follow-up consultation, according to Keven Ellison, the dealer’s vice president of marketing.
“Then, by integrating sales in the marketing-as-a-service strategy and planning meetings, they can become educated on everything we offer,” Ellison said of prospects. “It allows us to have the freedom and flexibility to build a custom marketing plan for each customer.”
When it comes to making a commitment to be data-driven, it requires a top-down dedication from the client’s executive team, notes Fred Barrionuevo, emerging technology and AI team lead for Impact Networking of Lake Forest, Illinois. For organizations that have poor data maturity, it can lead to a clash with the existing culture and the conventional wisdom that exists. Thus, he notes, the biggest tripping point in a sale is getting clients to understand that the top executives need to be a part of the conversation from the onset.
“In order to do it correctly, you can’t treat it as ‘let’s build a simple report’ or ‘let’s build a simple dashboard’ into a small proof-of-concept or a small project,” he said. “It needs to go hand in hand with bigger, broader planning and truly enterprise-wide initiatives in order for that to get rolled out successfully.”
