It’s a simple question…
Yet it’s one that can sometimes throw us for a loop when a prospect asks.
Salespeople reaching out to eCommerce managers spend hours on the phone with eTailer prospects discussing the benefits of services and products. They share slideshows and case studies all with the goal of convincing the prospect that the service can add value.
Let’s take a step back and make the answer to this question simple again.
Time, Money and Effort
These three things are what people willingly pay for in life.
Your eTailer clients are no different in this respect. They want to save time so they can work on the top priorities at their companies. They want to make money for their companies (and for themselves) and they want to do it with little effort.
That last one is human nature. We generally seek the road of least resistance and even though it’s sometimes best to take the hard road we generally look for ways to do things that offer the easiest path.
The value your product brings to eTailers needs to answer one of these three basic needs.
Let’s look at three examples.
1. Email Service Provider
The email service provider has immense value to eTailers. Email is a great way for eTailers to build long-term revenue streams. Many people use email as a preferred communication channel and eTailers want access to those people.
Email service providers allow eTailers to make money, but the ESP also saves time for the eTailer by making it easy to send mass emails to customer files.
2. Display Advertising Vendor
It wouldn’t necessarily be impossible for eTailers to go out and purchase displays ads across the Web, but it would be a lot of effort. Display advertising vendors provide software that makes this process much faster and in many cases they do all the work for the eTailer while working on commission.
It’s a good model.
3. Search Consultant
Search consultants, especially SEO experts, provide something that’s a little different. They provide knowledge and direction that allow eTailers to fine tune websites to effectively communicate with people searching for information on the Web.
The consultants help the eTailer save time while increasing website traffic.
Final Thought
The next time you have a call with an eTailer manager listen to yourself discussing the pitch. See if you cover the three things managers value most.
If you are you’re likely to close the deal and earn a new client.