20 Questions on Selling Change

I saw an interesting phrase the other day that I felt I needed to address: selling change.

Wondering through several facets of the analogy presented by the idea of selling change, my mind began to chase a series of questions. See if any of these strike you. And at the end, please offer your own suggestions and ideas.

Macro-economic forces in the supply and demand for change

Are you a change supplier or a change consumer? What is the supply for change and the demand for change where you live and work? Do you find yourself trying to grow the market for change or do you find yourself being pulled into it?

Is change a commodity or is it a custom-delivered product? Can you purchase it like a box of corn flakes or a barrel of oil, or is it more like buying a car or a house?

Micro-economic forces affecting your market for change

How is the sales process for the change you propose? Is it long and drawn out? Must you work through layers of the organization to get the buy-in needed to make even small changes? Do individuals in your prospect organizations understand their purchase authority when it comes to buying change? Does your change require a significant purchase authority forcing you to market your change to the highest levels of your prospect organization? To what level do individuals in your organization have purchase authority? Is that even clearly known?

Organizational forces affecting the sale of change

What does your sales pipeline look like? Do you have a number of people who are buying the change you’re selling? Do you have repeat customers? Or is your proposed change a one-time purchase?

Miscellaneous questions

Do you have a business plan for selling change? What about a marketing plan? How do you identify the customers of this change? Or are you the potential customer and you need to get purchase approval? Have you considered the ROI on the change? Is it possible you’re waiting for purchase authority and you already have it?

When you think about the idea of selling change, what questions come to your mind? I’m always in the market for change. You might say I’m a broker. Some change I buy and some I sell depending on market conditions.

Where are you in the change market? What other questions might you suggest that could help people find their ideal market position for buying or selling change?
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