Quick Tips for Strengthening Your Design Sales Strategy
Negotiation doesn’t have to be dreaded by designers.
Not all designers and tech leaders have a built-in sales gene, but it’s likely an aspect of the job whether it’s welcome or not. Learning how to sell your design ideas to clients is an art, but there are some relatively easy ways to bone up on sales and negotiation tactics so that clients are drawn to and compelled by your best ideas. For a sales slam-dunk, your pitch should be straightforward, concrete, direct and open-ended.
•Eliminate Guesswork — Delivering data-based evidence is the best way to get skeptical clients on board. Prototyping is a strong pitch for questioning clients: they’ll get the right feedback, analytics, data and suggestions for how to build their product before they sink in too many resources. Try not to use phrases suggesting any sort of experimental or ongoing design strategy, i.e. words or phrases like “eventually,” “for now” or “down the road.” The most discerning clients will appreciate extensive research, testing and honest feedback rather than design built on hunches or feelings.
•Be Direct — Clients often want the most clear-cut answer to a problem. Eliminating meaningless phrases or comments that reference the design workflow and process — which, in many cases, your client simply won’t understand — will help keep negotiations on a level playing field. Try to use the “Explain Like I’m Five” methodology. You can achieve this without insulting the client by paring down your explanations and eliminating company-specific or design-specific jargon from the conversation. Try to argue your reasoning (politely, of course) and back up your decisions and ideas with data and research.
•Be Inquisitive — Always begin and end your pitch with questions for the client. You never want potentials to walk away from a meeting feeling like they didn’t get their point across. On the same token, you always want to ensure that you’re approaching client interactions with the goal of listening instead of talking. When you approach negotiation with an open ear, clients feel like you’re going to use their direction rather than your own strategy.
•Be Empathetic — Interestingly, it can help if you approach your client’s concerns with a more empathetic, understanding position rather than a “we can fix that” attitude. Although you probably can come up with some on-the-spot solutions to a client’s design troubles, it really helps if the team feels that you get where they’re coming from on a deeper level. Plus, it adds a layer of humanity to what can often feel like a very robotic dialogue.
•Prepare Your Story — It can be hard to find the right balance between a compelling, story-focused pitch that gets your clients interested and offering a concrete vision. At the very least, you’ll want to draw up a draft of your pitch beforehand and prioritize what’s most important. When you structure your pitch like an essay or with clearly outlined points, you’ll surely walk away from the meeting without kicking yourself for forgetting some important aspects of the conversation.
Originally published at prototype1.io on April 4, 2016.
