Skip The Pretty Pictures - My Second Lesson in Product Marketing

As a young engineer, I was asked to support our sales team as a technical subject matter expert on competitive opportunity for a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) System we were hoping to being awarded.

The meeting was scheduled for 7PM at radiologist’s office.  They did not want to meet during normal business hours because that time was dedicated to serving patients and generating revenue.

After spending two days preparing for the meeting, we drove from Long Island to a diner near the radiologist’s New Jersey office.  We used this time to review the handouts and presentation we had assembled and reearsed who would lead each agenda point during the meeting.

We were confident that we were prepared for a great meeting.

The Meeting

When we arrived, the receptionist led us to the room where the future MRI system would be installed.  It was effectively a construction site with studded wall frames covered by heavy plastic sheeting.

After a short wait, the radiologist entered the room followed by a large, imposing man dressed in a fine pinstripe suit and glistening cuff links.  This man, I soon learned, was his business manager.

After introductions, our saleswoman distributed our handout package.  It contained our impressive marketing materials, presentation, pricing, and project details.  She then began to take the prospect through the package.

“Skip the pretty pictures,” the business manager blurted.  “I want to know, how many people can I scan in a ten hour day, how much can I expect to get paid for each scan, how much of that is profit, and how many days will it take for me to break even?”

We stumbled, scrambled, and - ultimately - recovered.  The long ride home was largely spent in silence, with someone occasionally asking “What the heck just happened?”

The Lesson

The lesson that I learned is to always understand and be ready to discuss your product’s Return On Investment (ROI).

Particularly when selling technology, it is exciting to talk about all of the wiz-bang stuff your product does.  Your features, advantages, benefits, and pretty pictures all matter.  They get the prospect to the table.  However, a savvy buyer ultimately needs to know the bottom line.

You never know when that conversation is going to present itself and you always need to be prepared.

I have found it best to incorporate the ROI discussion thought your product marketing campaigns.  This helps attracts qualified prospects and shorten sales cycles.

By the way, we did win the deal.