The sale includes both personal and business value. Critical Business Issues (CBI) are why you are playing the game. But, do you really know what the business value is that your solution addresses ? It is necessary to align with pain, but that alone is not sufficient to swing things your way. Every vendor in competition with you can also solve the problem.
How do you determine the personal value to the customer ? This is where a true professional sales person will shine. If you can set expectations of a personal win, you will be able to insure the support of the person.
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