How to Paint A "New Reality" For Prospects

BY Jessica Helinski
To help prospects get a better idea of why they should work with you, you need to paint a new reality picture. By doing so, you help them envision the outcome that your partnership can achieve. This, according to RAIN Group’s John Doerr, is a huge influence over whether or not they buy from you. “Buyers need to understand what will be different for them and their organization if they purchase from you versus not doing it at all or buying from a competitor,” he writes. You need to show buyers how your product or service will
change their world. You can paint this reality for them by following Doerr’s
three suggested steps.

The first step is to establish
the new reality benchmark.

To help the prospect envision this new reality, you must
first know what he or she wants and needs. How do they want their future to
look? You can ask a few broad questions to get the prospect thinking about
their dream reality and what it looks like. Consider asking:

  • What is your current provider
    delivering in terms of creating the changes you need? Where are they falling
    short?
  • At the end of this engagement, what
    will success look like to you?
  • What do you want to have happen as a
    result of our work together?
  • After working with us for 6 months,
    what do you see happening/​hope will happen?

Be patient with the prospect; often, his or her response may
be “I don’t know.” Help him or her uncover these answers, which will not only
give you much-​needed insights, but also establish you as a valuable partner
already.

Once you have a clear picture of this desired reality, it’s
now time to translate how you can help the prospect achieve it. Reach Doerr’s
article to learn how to implement this step, as well as how the third step brings
everything together. As he writes, “When done correctly, the New Reality will
demonstrate that you understand what they're trying to accomplish, that your
solution will get them there, and the results you can provide will be superior
to other options available.”

 

Jessica Helinski Avatar

Jessica Helinski 

Jessica Helinski, Director of Research, manages the research department at SalesFuel. A SalesFuel veteran, she also reports on sales tips and credibility for SalesFuel. Jess has also worked at a reporter for the celebrity magazine Us Weekly and as a copy editor at JPMorgan Chase & Co. She is a graduate of Ohio University.

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