Selling Software

There’s an almost endless supply of material available that will tell you how to sell your wares. It tells you how to sell business to business, how to sell ecommerce, how to sell if you’re a start-up, how to sell if you’re not, how to sell like a pro, and many more variations on the theme. And there are frameworks galore too, including the Bowtie model, which seems to be very popular at the time of writing.

Will it endure?

Who’s to say?

But if there’s one thing we can all be sure of, it’s that something new will come along and it will doubtless be superior to all that’s gone before. After all, it’s hard to believe that today, right now, as I rattle away at the keyboard, we as a species have reached peak sales skills and there’s nothing left to learn and no new approaches to try.

While I’ve been exposed to a great deal of selling in one form or another, I have but a passing knowledge and I’m most definitely neither a marketer nor a sales guy, just as those who promote their selling and marketing skills are rarely if ever software people.

So if, like me, you're somewhat of a layperson and just as good at selling as I am, I thought I’d share five of the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

Don’t show up and throw up

Nobody likes that sales guy. You know the one. He turns up with a tailored PowerPoint presentation with your logo and corporate colours, and then proceeds to tell you all about the features of the product and how it’s the best on the market and blaargh!

Always remember, you're not selling features. You’re selling the massive value you deliver and a solution to someone’s problem.

People buy people

This was my first proper lesson from a sales professional, back when the year began with a one. It was true then and it’s true today.

First and foremost, we’re all human, and whether you’re selling indirectly via a website or in person, you’re still dealing with other people. So you can forget all the sales nonsense and instead just be yourself. I’ve found over the years that being sincere, honest, passionate, authentic and knowing what you’re on about is an excellent way of doing business.

Two ears and one mouth

This was my second proper lesson.

You have two ears and one mouth and when selling you should use them in that proportion. Translated this means you should listen twice as much as you talk, and of course this makes perfect sense. Your job is to find out all about the prospect, their problems and what they need and want.

Once you know that you can explain how your solution resolves them all.

Don’t sell to the wrong prospect

I know you want the money but selling a solution to someone who’ll neither make good use of it nor appreciate its true value rarely ends well for either party. You’ll waste your time and effort working on a deal that has a low lifetime value when you could be finding a far more lucrative one, and there’s every chance the customer will never have anything good to say about you either.

All in all, it’s a false economy.

Ask for the business

All that effort qualifying and getting to know your prospect. All that time taken to listen and to explain how your solution will deliver exceptional outcomes. And then you shake their hand and go home?
Like most fish, software prospects are unlikely to just jump into your net, so when you’ve answered all their questions, be sure to ask them one in return. Ask them if you can have their business.

You’ll be amazed at the difference a simple question can make.