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So, you’ve built a great product. Bravo!
Better yet if you’ve figured out how to market it. You’re getting it in front of prospective
customers and they quickly see how it can be helpful.
But just showing the product’s benefits and advantages isn’t
enough. Prospects need to see more than that.
Before they make a purchase decision, they want to see a
smooth path to implementing your
They want a painless way to get from where they are now to where you’re
promising to take them.
solution.
They especially want to know that things won’t go wrong during
the transition.
·
Important data won’t get lost
·
Reports won’t be delayed
·
Essential work won’t be interrupted
·
There’ll be no pushback from end users.
No matter how wonderful your solution might be, prospects know
that adopting a new product is risky. That
risk and fear can bring the purchase process to an abrupt stop.
What not to do
I’ll offer some advice on how to overcome this obstacle, but
first let me point out what probably won’t work: Doing more demos. Showing more features, benefits, and advantages
doesn’t address the core objection.
These prospects already see the value of the new features.
And dropping the price is probably equally ineffective. Fear of moving from one process to another is
the issue, not cost.
What could help
Instead, you should show prospective customers a clear,
low-risk path to successfully adopting the solution.
Share your step-by-step implementation process. Show them that you have a proven methodology
for moving data, creating reports, training users, etc. Make it clear that you’ve thoroughly worked
through the process and can navigate them through it flawlessly.
Show customer success. In addition to talking about the benefits and
advantages of the solution, these stories should also show that transition
process has been painless for others. Happy
customers shouldn’t just tout the wonders of the new solution. They should also talk about how easy it was
to get there.
Sell the whole solution. Don’t just talk about the features and
functions of the product. Focus as well
on the implementation, training, and support services that go along with the
product. With a software-as-a-service
(SaaS) solution, you’re selling more than just software. (See link to “Are
you forgetting the service part of SaaS?”)
Free trial… maybe
Some of you might be thinking, “What about a free
trial?” That might be one way over the
“fear of transition” obstacle. The
prospect gets an opportunity to see first-hand how the product works.
On the other hand, when using a trial, it’s difficult to assess
whether a full-blown implementation will go smoothly. If the product you’re selling is to be
deployed widely for a critical application - an expense reporting application,
for example - that looks easy enough to an HR administrator or Finance
professional, might be rejected by the employees forced to rely on it. (See link to “A
free trial isn’t really free.”)
Don’t miss this key step
I’ve written before about the long and often interrupted
purchase and evaluation process for B2B SaaS solution. (Link to “Are
you giving up on your prospects too soon?”)
And I know the challenge for marketers in guiding prospects through
it. Adding yet another step doesn’t make
your life any easier.
But omitting the work where you show prospect’s how to painlessly
“get from here to there” and overcome the fear that bad things will happen
during the transition isn’t something you can avoid.
