5 Do's and Dont's for Selling Technology to Non-Technical People Here's how as a technologist, you should be ready to adapt, adjust and tweak your product to meet the client's needs

There is probably no business vertical today that can stay competitive and relevant without integrating advanced technologies. In the era of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and constant emphasis on improving efficiency in a responsible manner, technology is evolving rapidly. In fact, the rate of technological advancement is so high that unless you are dealing with true-blue technology industry people, chances are that your clients might not be adequately aware of what you are offering them. The buyers are usually not even interested in knowing the intricacies of the technology unless they are going to undertake repairs or reverse-engineering of the technology being sold.

Apple has been the shining beacon in selling technology to non-technical people. Apple products have simple yet elegant descriptions. In fact, in this age of smartphones almost, every brand focuses on highlighting things like processor, camera pixels and other such features. On the other hand, Apple prefers telling the buyers that their phone cameras offer professional quality life-like images and their devices charge rapidly and wirelessly.

Another brand that focuses on minimalism and elegance instead of jargons. It simply displays their cars from different angles, thus making prospective buyers get the feeling that their cars are superior without revealing hardly any details.

Each buyer is different from the other, and there is no standard sales pitch that can be used to sell technology to non-technical people. However, there are certain do's and don'ts that can definitely be instrumental in enhancing the sales conversions.

1. Talk Problems, Present Technology as a Solution

Keep it simple: Problem-Objective-Solution. This is the first step to grab your clients' attention towards your technology.

The sales talk has to start with the challenges faced by them and your understanding of their needs. That should be followed by a demonstration or description of how your technology would solve this problem and give additional benefits to them. There is no need to bore them with elaborate technical details.

Talk about the problem and how the technology on offer will solve it. A client's laptop frequently gets disconnected from the Wi-Fi or shuts down abruptly. In such a scenario, it won't be a great idea to tell the client how his device's motherboard is faulty or there is a problem with the drivers installed on his computer that cause connection outages. Rather, the client would be more appreciative of the seller who acknowledges the problem and says, "we have fixed the issue, and you won't face any further inconvenience while using this machine."

2. Use Examples and Always Contextualise

Technology, to the non-technical person, is consumed very differently. To sell technology efficiently, use examples, user journeys and stories. Contextualise the problems the technology solves to each client. Instead of deep diving into the product feature set, craft a story around a perfect upgraded user experience while covering all the features along the way. There is no need to walk them through the details of how you built the back-end processes. You should present the bigger picture that shows how the product is bound to make things better for them with examples they can relate to and associate with. Take for example, a cloud-based web development platform. It intelligibly shows the process of creating your own website to a layman, which is a traditional task of a web developer. It edits the technicalities involved and sells the idea of website making to the user.

3. Support, Reliability& Further Enhancements

With good technology comes reliable support. Ensure to the customers of your capability and willingness to provide customer support, which is both prompt and thorough. Potential clients are not just looking to purchase technology but also looking for a reliable partner to provide dedicated support as they integrate the technology product into their business. Stress on your availability, ease their fears and share all future product enhancements, features and upgrades in the pipeline. This helps create a long-term relationship with the customer and allows you to increase your customer lifetime value.

4. Keep it Simple and Basic But Don't Play Dumb

Focus on the benefits and the product USP but do not over-simplify it; businesses are constantly looking for innovative tech to differentiate their businesses to their various stakeholders. Give them a reason to get excited about your product and what you're providing them. When you have established the importance of your technology to the client, it is time to dive deep into the intricacies of your product. Start by understanding your clients' tech-lingo fluency in the respective technology. The commonest mistake is to go on trying to educate the customer about the functionalities and the tech that is deployed, instead of highlighting how the end user experience is improved by the new product.

5. Adapt but do not Overcommit

While selling technology products you will come across all types of potential customers and clients who will have an array of questions, concerns and ideas. Being prepared is essential when pitching technology solutions to businesses, curating the pitch to match the business goals and objectives. As a technologist, you should be ready to adapt, adjust and tweak your product to meet the client's needs. Simultaneously, it's paramount never to overcommit to any client. Setting high, unachievable expectations will inadvertently lead to disappointment. Be sure of your capabilities and commit in accordance with the same.