Customer Experience — The Old Salesman

The boss of Elena was talking with an expert—his colleague and mentor in Amibor Tech company—and they were a bit pessimistic.

“Look, selling technology to the more traditional sectors like this, will be tough, you know? They are the manufacturers of small tractors with the greatest tradition in this country, they used to sell to small and medium farmers, so, their main market, also consists of traditional customers. Our product is high end, brings several modern concepts… I just want to see!”

“No problem, boss, they will put us to speak with a tech person, he seems to know us well, and our Customer Experience solution. Certainly, he is modernizing the company, that’s why he is there. This is what I felt.”

“I hope so! The head still turned to Elena and fired: — Look, notice how we will address this customer, the best learning experience for you will be of this kind. In the future, you can be alone.”

The Taxi was leaving them at the front door of Dig-A-Farm Company after a boring plane trip, plus an hour on the road. Elena realized that they were not so patient by now. But really, as she was new, she was eager to learn about sales techniques, but already felt comfortable to talk about the CX solution and had a confidence in her work, she knew that in a matter of time, she would help Amibor to sell Customer Experience.

At the reception, they had a surprise. They were informed that the Head of Technology had to leave for urgent personal matters. However, great news! The founder of Dig-A-Farm in person would talk with them.

He was known as an excellent salesperson and had taken the Dig-A-Farm to the greatness that today it possessed. However, today he was participating only as a strategic director, more like a counselor. He had 77 years.

Elena saw his boss and his colleague with a huge surprising-face and had no good hunches. Your boss agreed and they went to a very large, light and airy room, but without much luxury. The room looked like Mr. Benjamin aspect, the former salesman and advisor of Dig-A-Farm. There was a very old illustration of a hand tractor, which scared them too.

How to sell technology to someone like him? 

Mr. Benjamin was actually a traditional man and greeted them

 politely but without any fanfare. After formal introductions, and her boss tell the story about the leadership of Amibor, fell to his colleague to talk about the new technology, how it was revolutionizing the CX market, and how new customers were actually having amazing results with the changes.

Mr. Benjamin did not seem much excited. It was expected. Her boss sat back in his chair and seemed to expect the worst news, when the word turned to the distinguished client

“My dears. As you know, I do business half a century in this sector. Considering all our family, we are here for more than a century. We are pioneers and survivors. Do you know why?”

“We would like to know to help you — her boss replied.”

“Great. We made success because they trusted in us. We knew to whom we sold. We knew what the younger son had caught chickenpox and we sent one molasses pot of our own making together with the offer for sale of a tractor. You know, our products are good, but what made us sell well, was because the business was a continuation of our relationship. Today people sell everything with spreadsheets. How to differentiate with it? So tell me how can we get back to this time? Thereby, I assure you we would sell well and to the whole country… So, Just tell me.”

At this point, her boss and colleague alternated between arguments with success stories, features associated with the solution results, and described the solution in a very business-oriented way for Mr. Benjamin, in order to convince him that the move to that technology was the best way.

The old Benjamin not even seem convinced. Everyone realized that he was preparing an exit of the meeting. That would be terrible, a setback in the negotiations, so far.

He retorted: “Look, thank you. But you have not convinced me that I will be able to better serve today my clients, and know them better. They are people of flesh and blood and not characters created by the Internet, where it seems that you act very well.”

After many arguments, there was a short silence, Elena wanted to help his colleagues. She decided to open her mouth and follow her intuition.

” Benjamin” — At this time, the mood of the room was broken with her voice. It was a different tone, out of the game that had been created. Everyone breathed waiting for him to close it down, but he heard Elena.

“Look, I realized that Dig-A-Farm has a lot to teach us. We are saying how our customers were successful, but deep down, it’s because truly we did not understand  so far, how you’ve gotten here. Your success was gigantic and we want to fit in some way our solution in your history. But I think it does not work like that.”

The chief of Elena glanced an eye corner and she did not understand that as an incentive. However, she had the attention. It was now or never.

“Look. On the other hand, what we have done is to reconnect people. Nowadays, there are the so-called digital sales channels as we told you few minutes ago. The Internet, the stores, emails, social networks, communities, forums… So much that no one pays attention to anything else. However, we still need to get true people, even now that customers are more distant, they are also confused in this tangle of information, how to know which the best equipment to purchase for their farm?”

Elena remained firm. “You know what, Mr. Benjamin? We have nothing so new to offer. What happens is that deep down we understand the current technology as we explained to you earlier, enough to despise it.”

At this point, they were all really wanting to see where this was coming. — But the problem is: we cannot do business the old-fashioned way, just communicating as before. We have to do business the old-fashioned way, but understanding how people communicate today. Whether your client is going through a difficult time, if his farm is inside an industry that is experiencing difficulties or even understand who is celebrating something between your group of customers, it is what you want, right? Well, what we do is a return to this world, to understand it, to sell your tractors, but using today’s way of interaction.

Compare us to our competitors will have better or worse results in this or that feature, in one or another characteristic, but we here, we have worked for a dream. This dream right now is ours alone. When we deliver something, we want it to make sense to anyone who pays us some money. And our real value is to have a story to tell later. Sell just for sell is not our dream. This may seem like a sales pitch, but you began selling tractors to people from somewhere, right? I tell you, Mr. Benjamin, I, Elena, I will make sure that your clients will be closer to the Dig-a-Farm with our Customer Experience solution, and thus you will make a good advertise of us in less than a year. For this, let us do a first delivery pilot with our solution. You will have your customers closer to you, sell more and the technology will be only a mean like any other for that. If it works as I said, you buy from us.

Elena leaned in the chair, relaxing a little. What happened then was a wordless dialogue. First, Elena’s colleagues were a bit paralyzed for about 2 seconds. At this time, Mr. Benjamin opened well the eyes above his glasses, looked at the boss of Elena, and made as if to ask, “So?”. The boss smiled slightly, shrugged and spread his hands as if to say. “That’s right”.

Elena’s colleague broke the silence and then asked:

“When do we start?”

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