Resolve Client Concerns with BOFU Sales Collateral

One reason marketers and salespeople have trouble communicating is because we speak different languages. For example, we fill a pipeline, while they have a funnel. We name things in a way that makes sense, like first meeting, discovery call, solution design, and so on. Marketers break their funnel up into ToFu (top of the funnel), MoFu (middle of the funnel), and BoFu (bottom of the funnel).

Because we live and sell in the digital age, one in which buyers search for the information they believe they need, marketers design content for each of the three stages of their funnel. This content moves prospects into the funnel and provides them with what they need to continue to the BoFu, or what we might describe as closing. Marketing may provide you, the salesperson, with new sales collateral. This collateral is more valuable than the four-color glossy brochure of yesteryear.

In this post, we'll share ideas about the bottom of the funnel, what clients need from salespeople, and some of the new sales collateral that may be helpful for your prospective clients.

The End Game, Closing Deals, and BoFu

I documented my ideas about the end game in a book titled, The Lost Art of Closing: Winning the 10 Commitments That Drive Sales. Some of this may not be in the order you expect.

• The Commitment to Investment: Our BoFu starts with a conversation about the investment. You provide the investment at the end of the sales conversation, making it difficult to negotiate your pricing.
• The Commitment to Review Your Solution: BoFu requires a review of your solution and the better results your client needs. You never want to give a client a proposal they can't agree to because it isn't right. You can forestall objections and concerns in this stage of the sales conversation.
• The Commitment to Resolve Concerns: More than ever, your clients are concerned about their results. This is especially true when the external or internal environment is unstable and uncertain.
• The Commitment to Decide: After resolving your client's concerns, you can ask for their business. Marketers want you to close the deal, and they build content to make it easier and certain.

BoFu and the Sales Conversation: Investment

Your prospective client may not know how to assess the investment you are asking them to make. When they have never bought from you before, they may be concerned that they may pay more than they should. They may also worry about the results they need and your ability to deliver them.

It is common for your prospective clients to research your pricing and your competitor's investment. You need not have a lower price, but you must explain how your model invests more in the results the client needs. The BoFu content you need helps you converse with your prospective clients. One of the best ways to enable this is to have marketers build vendor comparisons, coupled with a strong triangulation strategy (You can find this strategy in Elite Sales Strategies: A Guide to Being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative)

The Sales Conversation and BoFu: Review

To improve your close rates, you will benefit from asking your client to review your plan to improve their results. By asking your prospective clients to make sure you have built the exact right plan, you make it more likely they buy from you. This is a differentiator when your competitor doesn't have this BoFu conversation.

The most helpful marketing BoFu content is often case studies, but they need to be of a certain type. You need case studies categorized by the challenges and obstacles your clients experience. By matching the case study to the reason behind the client’s change, you provide an asset in which the client can see themselves. In terms of style, cases that are shorter and on point are better than those that rely on a long narrative.

BoFu and the Sales Conversation: Resolve Concerns

Have you ever had a client tell you they will reply to you after they meet with their team? Often, that is the last you hear from that contact. After discussing the change internally, their team’s concerns make it difficult to move forward. Where you may hear an objection, I hear a real concern, one that needs to be addressed and resolved.

You ask your prospective clients to share their concerns so you can resolve them. You might need references, case studies, a demo or trial, or, what is often more helpful, a conversation with the stakeholders who have concerns. You may have to ask an existing client to let you bring your contact to their location so they can directly see how things work for your clients.

BoFu Assets

One of the best things your marketing team can do is create new collateral that will let you resolve your client's concerns at each stage of the sales conversation. Creating the assets and resources for this conversation can make it easier for your prospective clients to move forward through your sales opportunity stages or your marketing funnel.

Much of the ToFu content appears on your website, and some of your MoFu content may also be available electronically. But as you move closer to a decision, it's important that you have the BoFu content to provide your prospective clients with what they need to be certain about their decision.

Expect questions and concerns as you find your contacts in the bottom of the funnel. Anticipate their questions and concerns, and work to resolve them early in the sales conversation. Sometimes, if your prospective client is hedging, you may have to ask your them what they would need to be 100 percent confident moving forward. These assets are part of the overall sales experience and help you close deals.