Sell the Pain, Not the Program

Contact BDA

While this post applies to all verticals restorers “sell” to, we’ll use the commercial market for our example.

Often, salespeople default to the lowest common denominator simply because they don’t know any better, it’s within their comfort zone, they get little to no training, etc. This means that they sell what they have to offer (as far as they understand it).

This is a huge problem with restoration sales in general because there is so little in the way of creative or competent marketing in our industry. The result is that most reps are selling the same features and benefits as the competition; relying on the broader brand power of the organization; or trying to build a referral and client network based on personality. Tough rows to hoe!

When restorers seek to build their commercial business, they often focus on promoting Emergency Response Plans or ERPs. In days gone by, these were often paper documents in a binder that were sometimes converted to PDFs. Forward thinking restorers started including Matterport or Docusketch scans, which add a lot of detail.

Still, it would be a crapshoot if facility personnel knew where the darn thing was when they needed it, whether in a binder or on a server somewhere! 

(As an aside, today, there is a state-of-the-art app based digital ERP that has been created by my good friend Jeff Carrier at Restoration ERP, but that’s not the topic of today’s post!)

The sales challenge is that salespeople calling on Property and Facility Managers often lead with the offer of a (usually free) ERP. Who wouldn’t want that?

Well, as it turns out, a lot of people don’t! For some it sounds like a lot of work, they think maybe it costs money, maybe they don’t see the value because they don’t have losses all that often. But in most cases, I think the reason that prospects resist the ERP is that you are asking them to get married on a first date! 

You are asking for an escalation of the relationship that requires some of their time, energy and attention. You are asking for significant details about their property that may be semi-confidential and take time to gather. They are going to provide a lot of information about their facility to you based on vague promises about the benefits of doing so. And people don’t want to do all that that unless they are sure that they will be calling you when disaster strikes. 

This is why leading with the solution (the ERP) to a variety of pains is a mistake. First, salespeople must establish the pains that a prospect has, explore those more deeply and if a proposed solution is desired, then and only then offer the ERP as one part of the solution.

Starting off with the ERP is a symptom of “selling-too-soon-itus” and it afflicts a lot of salespeople regardless of industry.

What happens when salespeople lead with the ERP and the prospect doesn’t want it? Good luck trying to convince them! Instead, salespeople must understand the need to “sell the pain” not the program (ERP). Smart salespeople always start with pain because, “no pain, no deal!”

Even then, the ERP may not be desirable to your prospects. What is a far better approach is to have a menu of services, including a full-blown ERP, that they can select from. 

This way, you can increase engagement and gain at least some commitment. I have always said that an ERP in and of itself guarantees you nothing. Instead, it represents permission to continue to build the relationship. 

So, once you have some level of engagement it is up to you to “farm” the relationship such that you become someone that the client knows, likes and trusts as the face of your company such that they will call you when disaster strikes.

Over time, you work to become a trusted resource with both a personal and professional relationship with your clients as you build your network.