The “Complex Sale” in Financial Services, Part 2
Previously, I wrote about the “complex sale” as those sales to financial institutions, which are usually characterized by: • A sales process that involves a committee or input from multiple people, • Buyers who seek multiple options, • Long sale cycles, and • Decisions that address a strategic need or solves a mission-critical issue. Getting to “safe” status means convincing your prospects that your company, even if small or new, is the right choice. The earlier post described the challenge and some insights on accomplishing the mission. Now, let’s look at how to get to safe status through communications. As background, most everyone in our industry who manages or owns the marketing/communications area of a company did not arrive there via a straight line or career path. Most came from sales departments or did marketing in other industries. I don’t believe there is a “Marketing to Financial Institutions” degree available either. Therefore, most people have to learn on the job and thro...