Connecting to financial metrics

- Connecting to financial metrics and KPIs allows you to win larger contracts and keep customers longer because your solution isn't viewed as replaceable. In my first job I sold advertising, and the biggest sale I ever made was to a chain of car dealerships. I sold them $5,000 a month in paid search advertising. It was a tough sale, but once it was sold they renewed every month without fail, and they kept renewing it long after I left. They never reevaluated because I connected that price tag right to their bottom line. We tracked how many leads they got from it and they knew they were seeing an ROI. You can connect to financial metrics in your sales process even if you aren't tracking clicks. There are a few different ways you can connect yourself to these metrics. If you know your prospect is seeking investor funding, one option is to align yourself to their ability to get that funding. A lot of venture capital firms give young companies a score. The factors that contribute to the score depend on the investor, but they include things like the level of risk, the customer base, the current revenue, and the reach online. So, for example, say you sell legal services and you're trying to win a new startup. It would be easy to talk about the services you provide, but to win the deal you need to connect those services to something your buyer cares about: the financial metric. Positioning your product or service as something that reduces risk can help you make them feel secure in patents and can reduce the threat from competitors. Or maybe you help with customer retention by improving their response system. Another way to connect your product to financial performance is through market share. Improving market share leads to expanding your customer base, growing revenue, and improving profitability. The winner is the company with the biggest piece of the pie. A third option is to connect yourself to hard cost. Helping a tech company improve their cashflow or reduce their debt makes them more attractive to investors or potential employees. It gives them the chance to put those dollars into acquiring new customers or being innovative with their products. There are some other financial metrics that still matter but are less emphasized in the world of technology. For example, salaries. In tech, salaries tend to be higher and they're seen as an investment in the business. Companies are willing to shell out the big bucks for the best talent. The second you say you're cheaper talent, your buyer thinks you're less skilled. Try to suss out which of these financial metrics matter to your buyer and then align yourself closely with those metrics. Find a measurable way to tie their success to your product or service. You'll create a deeper, more meaningful sale that has a good chance of being repeated month over month.