Calm down.  I’m calling myself stupid.  Here’s why.  For those of you who don’t know, I work for a company that provides Transportation Management Software (TMS).  Having been in the industry for 33 years (I must have started early, right?), I completely understand the benefits and most importantly the outcome or results of using a TMS.  However, until recently I was too focused on the features and benefits of the product itself and not the outcome.

Hey, wanna buy some software?  Of course not.  Wanna be more efficient in your shipping, better satisfy your customers and help improve your bottom line? Well, tell me more.  Cadillac doesn’t sell a car, they sell an experience.  Rolex doesn’t sell a watch, they sell stature, Carnival Cruise lines doesn’t sell a boat ride and buffet, they sell fun!  Get it?  It took me a while to get that and in consecutive meetings with prospects, I realized what they were wanting, an outcome.

We were discussing with a prospect, who found us by the way, what they were looking to do.  They said they wanted to make their fulfillment process more automated so they could increase their throughput, lower manpower and speed orders more efficiently to their customers.  Naturally, when I heard this, I asked them to describe what they do today.  They had acquired an expensive ERP system, purchased the warehouse management module and were able to tell a customer on the spot that they had what the customer wanted and could process an order in a few seconds.  But, although the front and middle order fulfillment was automated (creating an order, checking customer credit, pricing and creating a pick ticket), the process came to a screeching stop when it came to routing the shipment.  They were seeking a way to automate the routing process using the lowest cost carrier, automatically tendering the shipment to their selected carrier, and retrieving shipment status back into their ERP so customer service could inform their clients of the order’s whereabouts.

They didn’t ask about helping with freight bill audit or reporting, but those outcomes were also possible.  Interestingly, many of the companies we meet have either recently implemented an expensive ERP or plan to in the near future.  That means they are wanting to become more efficient.  Wanna buy a TMS?  No thanks.  Want to completely streamline your order processing to ensure you are optimizing your customer experience and your bottom line.  Tell me more.

I’ll bet your company is marketing and selling the outcome you can provide.  Selling software is tough.  Selling outcomes should be a lot easier.