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Simply talking about your product is rarely enough.  Few people care about your claims of having one of the top widgets in the industry; especially if you are the one making the claims.  A good sales executive knows how to focus on clients and their needs. Clients are focused on two things and two things only; risk and reward.

 Risk can come in many forms, but they almost always boil down to three major areas.  Financial risk has become increasingly painful in today’s market.  Many decision makers work in fear of change, worried about the potential of wasting their dwindling budgets.  They stay with what they know, even if the alternatives appear superior.  Your product or service might be less expensive, but the fear of the unknown ROI often keep purchasers from moving away from what has worked in the past.

 Strategic risk is the fear of not knowing how your product or service will fit within the customer’s system.  Is there a learning curve that will hinder production?  Are special adaptations needed to implement the new product? Or worse, what if the product doesn’t fit the process at all?  Financially, there is a risk, but strategically, product failure could shut down a division until a solution is found.  Finding that solution requires more risk.

 Then there is the gamble of  bringing in a new product on a personal level.  If the product doesn’t work or is inferior, what will the purchaser’s supervisor think?  What will the actual product-users, both employees and coworkers, think about the person who decided to rock the boat by buying a new product?

 Thankfully, with every risk there is a potential reward.  These rewards break down into the same categories as the risks.

 Your product might cost less, resulting in financial savings.  Your service might eliminate an entire step in the production process, leading to strategic rewards.  And significant savings or revenue growth can result in personal rewards of all kinds.

 Every client has different needs and, therefore, different tolerances of risks and rewards.

 This is where the art of sales comes in.  An effective sales executive asks the right questions to determine the perceived risks and rewards associated with the buy.  There is no formula for finding these touchpoints, but it begins with good listening.  It ends with alleviating the risks through product demonstration, supporting data and customer testimonials.

 Next, the science of the sale.