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Overcoming Resistance to Prospect/Customer Visits
When approaching a prospect or customer for a "visit the market" activity, what's a good way to respond to their question, "How does this benefit my company?" I think it's fair for them to ask what they're going to get out of the meeting, but I have no idea how to answer the question (in a way that will compel them to participate).
This is an excellent question, and one we hear from our customers as well as when we help our clients conduct these visits. A boss of mine from years ago used to say it as: "What's in it for me?"
Understanding that we all write and talk differently, feel free to take the essence of my response (below) if the exact words don't work for you. But here is how I would reply.
Q. How does this benefit my company?
A. Lots of us in technology are notorious for building stuff simply because we could not because we should. Then we sell it to you and you try to use it, getting frustrated and feeling like the value you expected won't ever surface.
Direct contact with the market is the way we work to avoid this problem. Whether you are an existing customer or not, our job is to learn more about you and your needs, then weave that knowledge into our product strategy. The benefit you receive is that we build products that solve real problems for you, and produce real value for your organization.
Answered by Jim Foxworthy
