Watch out for 'Product Gravity'!

I've noticed something about technical sales conversations

They often start with the product

The specification

The capability

Which is understandable

That's where the expertise sits

Most engineering and manufacturing businesses I work with have talented people, strong products and genuine expertise

The challenge is that customers are often thinking about something much bigger

Downtime

Labour

Risk

Growth

Implementation

Internal pressure

I've started calling this Product Gravity

The natural pull back towards the product

Not because people are doing anything wrong

Just because that's where they're comfortable

What I've noticed is that the strongest technical salespeople seem able to resist that pull

They stay with the problem a little longer

They become curious about what's driving the need

They spend more time understanding before explaining

Structure helps. The VALUE Framework gives this

🔸 Validate = right opportunities

Make sure there's a problem worth solving, not just a product to discuss

🔸 Align = right research

Understand the operational and commercial drivers behind the requirement

🔸 Leverage = right conversations

Explore the consequences of the problem before discussing solutions

🔸 Underpin = right solutions

Connect capability to the outcomes the customer is trying to achieve

🔸 Evolve = right outcomes

Keep the focus on what success looks like after the purchase

Something interesting happens then

When the problem becomes clearer... the product often becomes more valuable.

The machinery matters

The expertise matters

They're just rarely the whole conversation

(On the road for a live kick of a new Collaborative Selling Accelerator
In person seems popular again)