Mike Taber – How to Sell Anything to Anyone – MicroConf 2013

The MicroConf Hub Page with links to all the notes for all the talks can be found here.

Speaker: Mike Taber (@singlefounder) – a.k.a. the Liquor Fairy

• We are all in sales – all the time
• Sales is a learned skill
• Sales is a process
• Sales can be used for Good … or Evil

Why do people buy things? (emotional triggers)

• Greed (Mike’s kids are supposedly good at this)
• Altruism (Tom’s shoes)
• Pride (it makes me look smart / good – MicroConf ticket)
• Fear (bad things will happen, if I don’t buy – insurance)
• Envy (Rolex anyone?)
• Shame (Flowers for your wife – I guess)

Headline

• First impression takes .2 seconds on page
• Impression is virtually set in stone after 2.6 seconds
• First Impressions last forever
• First impressions will dominate regardless of how often it is contradicted by new experiences

Stop Selling Software

• People don’t buy Software – they buy Solutions to Problems
• Billy:
  • Feature: Bluetooth
  • Benefit: Music/Phone Calls
  • Valued End State: Self-Esteem
• Mom:
  • Feature: Bluetooth
  • Benefit: Music/Phone Calls
  • Valued End State: Peace of Mind (she’ll be able to call Billy at any time)
• you need to talk to the following two people:
  • just purchased your product
  • just stopped using your product
• “Products find a certain market only when they help their customers get done the jobs that they have already been trying to do.” – Clayton Christensen
  Job of the Milkshake: Make the long commute easier

People don’t Buy Software

1. They buy ways to overcome pain
2. They are outsourcing processes
3. They choose to allow other people to build things they need
4. They don’t prescribe to the “Not invented here” syndrome
5. [MISSING]

Iterating on Your Sales Pitch

• Make the pitch all about what is important to them
• Don’t be afraid to invoke fear or shame (“Would you like to help kids with cancer?”)
• Be a sexist: Invoke the shame in the women (it works better than with men)
• Do A/B testing

Enterprise Tactics

• Ask if they have a Budget and how big it is
• Ask for Authority (Who makes the decision? Ask to speak to that person!)
• Ask for Need (Why would you like to do that?)
• Ask for Timeline (How long will the purchase process take? Is there a deadline?)
• Use Market Data (Example: After 6 months there are 10 pounds of human hair in your carpet)
• Lead them to Yes
• “Magic” Enterprise Pricing (2 Dollars below the assigned budget)

Experience might be the best teacher… but the tuition rates are really high

-Christoph