Selling Business Value of Software

The company will reach a Goal by resolving an Operational Roadblock using a Software Capability generating Business Value.

I really like this approach because it forces you to not just list benefits and over-compensate on broad generalities, however focus more narrowly on expectations of the customer and specific circumstances.  The consultative approach is easily consumed and the client can regurgitate the value-driven expectations of the software to others easily in an anecdotal approach (which has the most likelihood of going viral to get others to buy-in). 

Example:  

The company will achieve speed and efficiency in sharing and collaborating across multiple teams by resolving the disparate information sources that exist using the collaboration and real-time communication feature generating over $500,000 in ROI by eliminating redundant business processes and improving decision making accuracy and efficiency. 


This approach allows you to use the most relevant product feature mapped against the correlating capability that the software provides and minimize the "how are you going to do that?" quotient that the customer will have in connecting the dots of various benefits.  Being overly quantified in your business value has good and bad - be sure the customer will remember the value when a dollar amount is tied to it.  This means that you should deliver on that number and it likely means you'll get the chance to deliver it because if its compelling enough, it will warrant enough attention and garner enough support to fund the software's purchase.  

Happy selling!

Post Product Stage

So now you have a product.  You believe in it, have the conviction to make it produce business value to your customers... but now what do you do to leverage and create a demand quotient?  Lets focus on that.

All you need to know is that business software has to do a few simple things to maintain relevance and attract buyer interest.  To me, as a simple-minded guy, it has to do:

1. Create a distinctive value proposition.  What can you do that other applications, systems or IT personnel have a problem to produce or leverage?  How does the software become (with ease) a significant asset with a ROI to their business objectives?

2. What is your value to the C-suite?  They are going to approve the purchase, either based upon end-user value and belief in the influencers and administrators and/or you need to get them comfortable with the ability to use the software to gain insight or information they previously struggled to obtain.  What interaction that gives them the dashboard or business intelligence that was previous elusive to obtain?

3. I love your vision and believe in what you can do.  I want to buy because my colleagues, trusted advisers and others who aid me in making smart decisions about business systems are also in belief.  This in its raw form is the complex sale and creating interdependency value-driven buy-in.

4. Know your buyers, the way they can attract and recruit other teams and influenced team-members and ultimately make the buying model and price point a detail to obtaining the business value.  I use user-personas when you define a segment or industry, you can begin to know how to present to those distinct audiences to maximize value. 

5. ROI.  Tell and show how this software will produce a tangible and proven return on the purchase in a defined period of time.   Be sensitive to the fact that this may not be such a quantitative analysis and more about the long term strategy and based upon ideas and more about how the tools and applications and extend or provide output of the data.

Happy software selling. 

-James