A friend of mine works for a solar installation company. Recently he told me a story.
Many Jewish synagogues are investigating the idea of installing solar panels to generate electricity. Like churches and community centers across the country, these synagogues all have Green Committees that are evaluating ways to operate more sustainably.
After some discussion, the Green Committee members at these synagogues say to themselves “Let’s get a sales person in here to talk about solar electricity generation so we can decide what to do.”
The sales person gets the call and though she doesn’t know much about synagogues, she wants to go make a presentation. She’s thinking, “Hey, they called me. It’s a good lead, right?”
And if she hesitates, the buyer says “We called your competitor. They’re sending someone. Why can’t you come out and make a presentation?”
But my friend, who is a member of a synagogue and has served on their Board, knows what’s going to happen:
- The sales person will make the presentation.
- Everyone in the room is a “green” activist. They will all get excited about the possibilities. They can picture clearly the story they will tell their friends about how they were able to get the synagogue to “go solar”.
- The salesperson will leave (feeling positive about this great opportunity) and the Green Committee will discuss the next step, which will likely be a presentation to the Board.
- The Board will listen sympathetically. They’ll probably even be warm to the idea. But then questions will come up about how this fits into the overall Facilities and Capital plan. Questions about budgeting and financing. Questions about evaluating multiple vendors.
If the Green Committee isn’t prepared for these questions, it will be sent off to do more research. It will have to meet with the other committees.
This will take time.
Ouch. Both the salesperson and the Green Committee misunderstood what they were getting into.
Could the solar company take a different approach that would produce a better outcome for the solar company and the synagogue?
At this point, let’s step back and recognize a fact. Collectively, this solar company knows more about the buying process at a synagogue than the buyer does. It has worked multiple deals. It knows the internal policies, the people who must be involved, and the likely pitfalls they will encounter.
Beyond having a great product and the ability to demonstrate its capabilities, how can the solar company create value for the buyer and increase the probability of a purchase?
Here’s the answer. It can create value by preparing the Green Committee for a journey in their own organization that they don’t even know they will have to take. By teaching them how to navigate the obstacles and move their agenda forward. By giving them the tools to prepare for each step in the journey.
If you were running the Marketing department for this company, what would you have to do in order to support the salespeople for this strategy?
- Negotiate agreement with Sales on which markets are viable for your company. Evaluate whether the opportunity in the synagogue market (or any other vertical market) is worth the investment, then act in accordance with the decision.
- Map the buyer’s journey and how the company can create value for the buyer at each stage. Many of the ways to create value have little to do with the product and much to do with enabling the buyers to navigate their own organization.
- Create the marketing structure that responds to the buyer map – articles, web pages, instructions, case studies – anything that will enable the buyer and make the salesperson’s job easier.
- Create the persuasive arguments for each stage. Ask yourself: What is your goal at this stage of the buyer’s journey? What is your goal for the buyer at this stage? How do you create trust that your company has the synagogue’s interests in mind? What logic will you use to make your case? How will you persuade them to make an emotional commitment to your goal and to take action?
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