What’s the Return on Investment?

Have you ever stopped and ask yourself what the return on investment is for your clients who work with you?

It’s an important thing to quantify.

Think about it, behind almost every objection, the ultimate question a prospect is asking is how much they’re going to gain, should they invest with you.

In their own heads, if the return on investment is low, how likely are they to seriously consider working with you?

However, if they can clearly see how the investment is worth it, it makes your life as a seller much easier!

Recently, some of our clients have introduced an “ROI calculator” which they’re able to demonstrate to their clients.

That is, via asking some questions and punching in some numbers, the calculator is able to spit out a tangible and quantifiable number, a return on investment, that the prospects can review.

This one thing has helped these very clients close anywhere from 10-35% more sales than they did prior to introducing the calculator. Interesting, right?

Here’s the thing, at face value, one may think that the calculator alone lead to the increase in sales for these companies. And, while there is truth to this, I believe there’s more going on here.

In fact, I think while the calculator is undoubtedly helping, it’s the actual act of asking the probing questions required to make the calculator work that is helping not only the sellers demonstrate tangible value, but it’s developing clarity and trust between the buyer and the seller.

Questions can include:

• The cost of labor/parts/time
• The cost of fixing/replacing products
• Average lifetime customer value
• Scheduling
• List of upsells

The exact questions you ask will, of course, be dependent on your particular company’s offerings and industry, but the important thing here is that you ask clear and deep questions.

Now, your concern might be the actual manufacturing of this calculator. Don’t worry, you don’t have to call up Texas Instruments and get one built for your company. These calculators have been easily designed in Excel.

But, again, the important point here comes down to:

1) Asking questions.

2) Demonstrating clear and tangible value based on the responses.

This is how you show a return on investment to your prospects, build trust, and establish a clear understanding of your prospects’ needs…all of which lead to greater sales results!