Psalm 119:130

Psalm 119:130

"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."

Christian Based Selling

The bible reminds us to know our audience.  I recognize I meet with very smart, experienced executives.  However, I often need to present complex products or solutions that are a challenge for anyone to get their head around at first.

I once had a meeting with a VP of Supply Chain.  I had met with a number of his subordinates and understood there was an issue that could warrant investment in my solution.  It was one of those meetings you are excited about because you believe it will result in a proposal.

One of the aspects of our solution included a technology component that was different from the competition and was critical to the value proposition in my pitch.  When the moment arrived I went into great detail about how the calculations are determined, algorithms, programming language, etc.  The next thing I knew, the meeting was over and I left bewildered.  

​I knew they had a problem my solution could solve--it was at least worthy of further exploration.  So why, I wondered, did the meeting shut down?  Upon reflection I realized I got far too caught up in sharing and demonstrating my technical knowledge under the assumption that he would know what I'm talking about.  Perhaps my desire to feed my ego and the pride I felt for the solution fueled my overly complex pitch.  I should have kept it simple.   

We need to be careful that we don't lose our prospect by presenting our solution in too complex of a manner.  This is an art aspect of selling.  We need to allow the details of a complex solution to unfold at the proper pace and level for our audience.  

How do you strike the balance of explaining a key differentiator of your solution that is challenge to present due to its complexity?