People who can get others to spend millions of dollars on not yet proven ideas are masters at selling. Greg Hext and Jim Mullens are two such masters. Their process of selling is what makes them successful at getting others to open their checkbooks. It will be easier for your customers to open their checkbooks for you when you master their presentation process.

What they do.

Greg Hext is the co founder of Chapman, Hext and Company, a CPA firm primarily serving businesses in the North Texas area. Chapman, Hext also founded the North Dallas Investment Group two years ago to bring efficiency to early stage companies in capital markets. Over $10 million of funding has gone through this group. Jim Mullens, whose experience is in public securities, is the director of Professional Services for CH Consulting. Between the two of them they have seen well over 1000 business presentations for funding. As Mr. Mullens says, "Five percent or less are persuasive; maybe 30-40 percent are interesting; and the rest are a waste of time and money." It's surprising that many of these are public companies with access to resources to communicate their value. Mr. Mullens and Mr. Hext have identified what they need to be doing.

The process.

Many presenters immediately start talking about what they do and how they do it. This is done without regard to what a decision maker wants and needs to hear. Hext and Mullens advise their clients to start with identifying the problem they are going to solve. That gets a customer's attention. Think about a presentation that starts with, "Have you ever had a very important business call dropped on a wireless phone?" That should get your attention. Then identify clearly and succinctly the solution to the problem. If you heard, "Our unique product eliminates dropped calls" you would think you need to pay attention. They say to follow with a discussion of the value your solution offers. As Mr. Mullens points out, "Being able to move from interest to value is the objective of salespeople." A customer understanding a product's value comes from the salesperson's ability to establish its 'pedigree' or association to things the customer values. The idea of pedigree comes from the increased value from being associated with other things of great value. This is much like the offspring of a racehorse. Pedigree can come from the amount of research done on a product; who has invested in a company or product; or company name recognition. Mr. Hext adds, "If you have a great problem with the pedigree established, people will automatically raise the quality of it." Finish with a discussion of the action you want your customer to take. In their case, it is how to invest.

These accountants know that identifying key problems early gets people's attention and they listen. In your selling are you starting your sales presentations with a clearly identified compelling problem, or are you starting with a discussion of what your product does? Your presentation introduction should create interest early so that your customer hears his concerns, not yours.

Why it works.

Mr. Mullens says, "Human nature teaches us if we believe the person really understands our problem, he also knows the solution. So the solution is easier to sell. Most people don't cover the problem, they just tell you what they do." When Hext and Mullens have used this presentation process of starting with a problem, they find it makes less work for customers to make a buying decision. Customers don't have to determine how the product relates to something that is valuable to them. It also works because it helps customers listen.

Most people are untrained listeners. Some statistics say that they remember 30 percent of what is heard and a week later remember 10 percent. Mr. Mullens says, "If you're going to talk, tell them the 10 percent you hope that they'll remember next week."

Greg Hext says, "You can tell when the process is done right. When you get to the end of the presentation, your customers tell you they understand and they tell you why they need what you've got." When you use the Chapman Hext process in your presentation, your process will end with many new customers.

Have you heard the joke, why is it that a man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants and a woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't want? Subtle gender differences in behavior, especially in communication, also appear in the selling arena. We should be aware of these differences to make our selling easier and understand their impact on our selling.