TO SCALE YOUR AI BUSINESS, YOUR PRODUCT HAS TO BE BUILT TO SELL

Business AI solutions are in high demand as they offer the fulfilment of the high scale, fully automated, intelligent, digital future promised by the 4IR however, AI sales cycles can be long, complex, frustrating and educational.

For your AI business to scale, your product has to move from hard to sell to easy to buy. This means shorter sales cycles, higher conversion rates and happy customers. Easy to buy happens when your product is built to serve the two customer buying cycles, investigation “Why would I consider you” and seeking value “Why would I choose you?”. We share some components of the Sw7 B2B Sales Acceleration Playbook that help shorten AI sales cycles.

Sell The Way The Customer Buys

1. Focus on Your Customer Problem Statements

Customer Problem Statements are your North Star to make sure you don’t drink too much ‘cool tech’ Kool-Aid. The Customer Problem Statement is the Compelling Event inside your target business that indicates the appetite to act. What has changed inside their business that would make them act now? Why would your project make the top three items on their to-do list? These statements only surface after a problem has been identified, internal awareness levels have been raised and there is some consensus to act. They surface at the end of an internal change management journey that could have taken weeks, months or even years. Customer Problem Statements ensure we have a business sponsor, political support, appetite, awareness and budget and identify the Compelling Event that indicates the customer is likely to act. The ultimate goal of B2B sales is to connect with a need that already exists, not try to create it.

2. Choose a Sector Your Customer Understands

When the customer experiences a problem, they will seek a solution in a particular Sector. The Sector invites competition so if your sale is not competitive the chances of closing a deal diminish considerably. No competition means your largest competitor is the status quo, ‘do nothing’ is the hardest competitor of all to beat. So, choose a Sector based on the customer buying journey you wish to serve. The customer will expect you to have base-level functionality of all products in your chosen Sector. If you choose a Sector the customer does not care about or understand they will not know how to buy your product. Confused customers don’t buy.

3. Identify the Category you will lead

The Category you lead is framed by the customer aspirations and supported by your domain expertise and how you leverage state-of-the-art technology. The Category will describe a future that the customer aspires to. Your Category will eliminate competition and will identify why the customer would choose your solution over the alternatives. If you have to explain the Category to the customer, it is not usually aspirational for them. Lead a Category the customer cares about so you need to name it, frame it and claim it.

4. Ensure Your Customer receives value from your solution

Value is measured by the benefits received by the customer, not the benefits offered. If a process or behaviour change is required to realise benefits, then the project has a high chance of stalling. The Coping Mechanism indicates the capacity and capability of the business to embrace and act on your insights. The Coping Mechanism provides you with the evidence that the customer is able to engage with what you do and receive value. The Coping Mechanism is the workaround in place to cope with not having the data and insights you are offering. If there is no Coping Mechanism, there is no evidence to show that the customer has a genuine appetite to solve the problem or is able to ingest or action the insights. The Coping Mechanism will lead to existing datasets, business rules and decision processes. Are you asking the business to do something new or are you helping them do something they are already doing faster with better insights? Often you will find that your customer wants innovation, as long as it’s not new.

5. The Customer Buying Journey

We have to sell the way the customer buys, we can’t change it

When the Customer experiences {this problem} (the Compelling Event)

They will seek a solution that is in {this Sector} (Investigation/Invite Competition).

They will choose a product that leads {this Category} (Seek Value/Eliminate Competition) because it takes them to a future they are invested in (Customer Aspiration).

Evidence of the ability of the customer to leverage your solution is indicated by the existing behaviours (Coping Mechanisms).

Whilst working with technology and data to build your product is exciting and creative, this is just part of the journey to scale your AI business. Success can only be measured by the value the customer receives. Scale will depend on the rate you are able to acquire new customers and show them which is driven more by how you sell than what you sell. How you sell is more important than what you sell. Sales does not fix all problems, but it does fix most problems!