Craft a Winning Shopify Value Pitch PDF

Capitolo 4. Craft a Winning Shopify Value Pitch In this lesson What is the Shopify value pitch? The Shopify value pitch playbook What is the Shopify value pitch? The Shopify value pitch is the initial sales interaction with a prospect. During this interaction, the seller’s objective is to ident...

Capitolo 4. Craft a Winning Shopify Value Pitch In this lesson What is the Shopify value pitch? The Shopify value pitch playbook What is the Shopify value pitch? The Shopify value pitch is the initial sales interaction with a prospect. During this interaction, the seller’s objective is to identify the specific challenges that have led the prospect to search for a new commerce platform and simplify the value that Shopify Plus can offer in addressing those challenges. The Shopify sales teams have been trained on the Challenger sales methodology. You may already be familiar with this approach but if not, it simply means we look to understand the challenges and pain points of our prospective merchants current state first. The solution we present should then be more prescriptive to how we can address their challenges rather than feature selling or leading with the product first. When engaging with prospects, you should always lead with pitching the Shopify Platform vs. a specific plan, focusing on Shopify’s overall value proposition. After identifying prospect’s unique challenges via discovery, you can then tailor Shopify solutions to meet specific requirements in the next conversation. Supporting the later pitch with relevant case studies, you can then present a specific plan, product and features to effectively address the prospect's needs. The Shopify value pitch playbook The Shopify value pitch playbook consists of three phases; prepare, pitch, progress. Phase Sellers objectives Steps/sections 1: Prepare Before the interaction Predict the prospects’ top three challenges Customize slides based on the predicted challenges Investigate discovery research Customize the interaction 2: Pitch During the interaction Covey the value of Shopify Plus to the prospect by mapping the prospects challenges to the three sections of the Shopify Value Pitch Frame the challenge Why Shopify is different How Shopify delivers value Questions and next steps 3. Progress After the interaction Request information to uncover requirements via follow up email Follow up email Document results In this lesson Three phases Phase 1: Prepare the Shopify value pitch Predict the prospects’ top three challenges Tech stack: Utilize free tools Map the top challenges to the Shopify value pillars Repeat steps 1-4 for the remaining predicted top challenges Three phases The Shopify value pitch playbook consists of three phases; prepare, pitch, progress. Let’s take a closer look at the preparation steps. Phase Sellers objectives 1: Prepare Before the interaction Predict the prospects’ top three challenges Connect top challenges to the Shopify value pillars Let’s discover how to predict the prospect’s top three challenges. Phase 1: Prepare the Shopify value pitch Sellers objective: Predict the prospects’ top three challenges Execution steps: Spend thirty minutes investigating the buyers: Storefront experience Prospect/company/LinkedIn Tech stack Predict the prospects’ top three challenges The Shopify value pitch is designed for the early stages of the sales process. Whether the Shopify value pitch happens during the first or tenth in-person meeting with the potential merchant, there will inevitably be information gaps. These gaps present opportunities to dive below surface- level research and add value to the interaction. To execute the Shopify value pitch, the seller needs to budget thirty minutes before the call to predict the buyer's top three challenges to add a layer of discovery research on top of their findings. This preparation will enable the seller to align these challenges with the Shopify value pillars and focus their talk tracks for the interaction. To predict the buyers top three challenges, sellers should focus their attention on the buyer’s storefront experience, persona/company, and tech stack. Storefront experience Become their customer: Imagine you are the ideal customer for their product or service Revisit their website, add a product to your cart, and navigate through the site Discover their brands growth by exploring their social media pages, products on sale, and customer reviews Persona/ Company: Buyer LinkedIn research: Look up the specific prospect you'll be speaking with. Document their career path and current role. These steps will help you define the prospect's role, motivations, and company structure. Company LinkedIn research: Visit the company's page to note company size, departments, and roles Compare their business to industry standards using case studies or insights from your sales team Tech stack: Utilize free tools Tools like “BuiltWith“ or “Wappalyzer“ can reveal the technologies running on the prospect's website Copy and paste the prospect's website URL into these tools to uncover their current tech stack Each layer of research is a step towards a more comprehensive understanding of your prospective merchant's needs and challenges. If you want to dig deeper into themes you can explore during discovery conversations with the prospect and how to ask effective follow up questions, review the Prospecting course. After you’ve asked thoughtful questions to get at the heart of the prospects goals and challenges, we can use this information to inform how we pitch. There are lots of challenges or pain points big and small that can come up during discovery. Focus on the three with the highest potential impact to the prospect to frame your pitch. Once you’ve identified them, you can map the predicted challenges to the Shopify value pillars to determine which pillars to prioritize in the interaction. Map the top challenges to the Shopify value pillars Once the seller has gathered their top three predicted challenges, the next preparation step is to map the predicted challenges to the Shopify value pillars to determine what to prioritize in the presentation. Map predicted challenges and the Shopify value pillars to your Shopify value pitch. Step Description Gather the predicted challenge As an example, let's say that the seller's discovery research predicted “Increasing Topline Revenue” as one of the buyer's top challenges Map predicted challenges to the the Shopify Value Pillars Job Aid Open the the Shopify Value Pillars Job Aid Search within the Business Challenges column for topics related to “Increasing Topline Revenue” Select the Shopify Solutions to surface in the Shopify Value Pitch Explore the “Increasing Topline Revenue” row paying specific attention to the Shopify Solutions column Assess the use case of Shopify’s solution for the buyer’s business Customize slides for your Shopify Value Pitch interaction slides. Create a slide in your partners pitch deck that highlights The Shopify Value Pillar The buyers business challenge Shopify’s solution for the buyer's specific business challenge. Modify the text and theme to best represent your partner organization Repeat steps 1-4 for the remaining predicted top challenges Mapping the top challenges to the Shopify Value Pillars enhances the effectiveness, relevance, and engagement of the interaction. It shows the buyer that the seller has a thorough understanding of their needs, highlights Shopify's value pillars, and ultimately boosts the buyer’s chances of moving forward in the deal. In this lesson Pitch Section 1: Frame the challenge Pitch Section 2: Why Shopify is different Pitch Section 3: How Shopify delivers value Pitch Section 4: Questions and next steps: Now that we understand how to prepare the Shopify value pitch for our buyers, let’s outline the sequence of the Shopify Value Pitch itself. In the next lesson, we will watch an example of a live Shopify Value Pitch. Before we see the pitch live, this lesson will break down each section of the video you are about to watch and provide the sellers objectives and talk tracks to execute the Shopify Value Pitch. The Shopify Value Pitch consists of four sections: Section Talk Tracks Frame the challenge Discovery Recap Challenges across commerce The objective that unites the commerce industry Why Shopify is different Scale Innovation How Shopify delivers value Optionality, composability, innovation Value Pillar 1: Speed and Agility Value Pillar 2: Operate with confidence Value Pillar 3: Innovation you can customize Case Study Comparison Questions and next steps Objection handling Contents of RFI follow up email Pitch Section 1: Frame the challenge Sellers objective: Surface and validate their predictions about the buyer's challenges. Discovery Recap After the introductions, the seller presents their top three predicted challenges to their buyer. Talk track Let's make sure we’re aligned on the challenges and goals your business is facing. From our initial conversations, the top three challenges that Unearthed Apparel is facing are: Increasing topline revenue: Finding creative new ways to increase sales is something your team wants to explore. Enhancing customer experience: You’ve identified some hurdles to how your customers are experiencing your online store and you want to ensure you’re providing a smooth, enjoyable shopping experience Software integration complexity: You're juggling a few different software solutions that aren’t communicating well with each other and want to avoid headaches while you scale. Does that sound accurate to you? Is there anything else we need to address? Challenges across commerce Sellers objective: Contextualizes the prospect's specific challenges within their industry. Talk track: Upon confirmation from the buyer, the seller has the option to compare the buyer’s challenges to those commonly reported by Shopify merchants in two key industry-wide categories: market challenges and technology challenges. Challenges seen across commerce Market challenges: Rising interest rates and inflation pressure Complex regulations Changing customer behavior Competitive threats Technology challenges : Lack of innovation Reliability and security risks Disconnected customer experiences Expensive and time consuming Framing the challenge showcases the seller's expertise in the commerce landscape and sets the stage for the next section of the Shopify value pitch – Why Shopify is different. Pitch Section 2: Why Shopify is different Scale and innovation Sellers objective: Explain why scale and innovation competitively differentiate Shopify as a commerce platform. Talk track After framing the challenge, the seller transitions to the second section of the pitch. In this section, the focus shifts to highlighting what sets Shopify apart from its competitors, with an emphasis on scale and innovation. Why Shopify’s different Scale and innovation Talk track Shopify has strategically prioritized both scale and innovation deep into their platform. This provides you with superior tools and services so that you can focus more on growing your business and less on the complexities of digital commerce. Scale Shopify has approximately 10% of US ecommerce flowing through their platform Shopify has seen over $700B dollars in sales flow through their platform In 2022, Shopify had 561 million unique shoppers purchasing from businesses on Shopify Shopify has millions of businesses on our platform in over 175 countries Innovation In 2022, Shopify spent $1.3B on R&D - all dedicated to commerce. In the first half of 2023, Shopify spent $1.1B - which is more than 34% of their revenue. Shopify employs over 4,500 engineers - who all report into the head of R&D. That also happens to be Shopify’s CEO, Tobi Lutke - which makes engineering innovation core to our DNA. On Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for digital commerce, Shopify is rated highest on ability to execute. Pitch Section 3: How Shopify delivers value Sellers objective: Compare the buyer’s validated top three challenges to the associated solutions within the Shopify value pillars. Talk track After explaining why scale and innovation competitively differentiate Shopify as a commerce platform, the value of the sellers’ preparation is realized. Using the slides they customized for the interaction, the seller compares the buyer's validated top three challenges to the associated solutions within the Shopify value pillars. How Shopify delivers value Value pillar Business challenge Innovation you can customize Stitching together preferred specialized softwares to manage a business is complicated. Since we know software integration complexity is a top concern for you, let's discuss Shopify’s value pillar: Innovation you can customize through our ecosystem. Shopify leverages its expansive ecosystem and open API architecture to offer seamless integrations with top-tier commerce tools. You can easily expand your tech stack with expert support, data extensibility solutions, and comprehensive services including data migration and 24/7 priority support. Speed and agility Need to increase topline revenue. One of Shopify’s key value pillars is speed and agility. With Shopify, merchants can go to market faster. One of our key platform solutions is Shopify Checkout, which securely converts up to 36% more than other platforms. This means Shopify can provide you with more revenue per visitor, more security for your customers, and more growth for your topline. Operate with confidence Not meeting customer expectations for a seamless online shopping experience. Now let’s take a look at how Shopify can help you create a more seamless customer experience. The world’s best storefronts are built on Shopify, in part because you can build any commerce experience imaginable with a uniquely preferred stack. Shopify offers versatile online store features that work great on mobile devices, letting store owners easily tailor and grow their online sales with sophisticated tools. These tools include Liquid templates for themes, Headless commerce, and Shopify's command-line interface. Additionally, Shopify helps enhance how customers see and interact with products through easy-to-use design updates, options to create product bundles, and subscription services. Pitch Section 4: Questions and next steps: Sellers objective: Respond to the buyer's questions or objections and leave the interaction knowing what combination of Shopify Plus the buyer believes would create the most value for their business. Talk Track After explaining how Shopify delivers value, it's time to conclude the interaction. The seller should prompt the buyer to express any uncertainties they may have about the value Shopify could add to their business by asking an open-ended question: Questions and next steps Talk track Having learned about what sets Shopify apart and how it delivers value, you may have a lot to process. What questions do you have that I can address to clear up any confusion? Make sure that responding to the buyer’s questions and/or objections are prioritized before moving on to asking questions that qualify the buyer for a tailored solutions pitch. To avoid being perceived as pushy or losing trust, sellers must strike a balance between being curious and being direct when asking hard questions. Here are some closing questions that sellers can use to strike that balance. Shopify value pitch closing questions Can you share any timelines or deadlines that you’re working toward for implementing a new solution? Is there a budget range already allocated for this project? OR - What kind of budget range are you considering for this project? Are there additional team members that should be involved in our discussions to ensure all your team’s needs are met? Are there any concerns or challenges you foresee that we should address to help you choose the best solution? When would be a convenient time for us to schedule our next discussion or a tailored solutions pitch? Once the seller knows the answer to these questions, inform the buyer of an incoming follow up email that provides details on next steps and expectations regarding your partner's sales process then say goodbye, and end the interaction. Pro tips recap: Shadow the Shopify value pitch Video Pro tip Framing the challenge Don’t be afraid to mention that you’re taking notes or that you’ll follow up after the call with more information. Why Shopify is different Shopify can be complex, in this section our merchant asked a question about high traffic volume. If you don’t know the answer off the top of your head, you can always let the prospect know that you’ll follow up with more information after the call. Remember to be patient and make sure they are following your pitch. How Shopify delivers value Connecting Shopify’s value pillars to the merchant’s challenges engages them and allows them to make direct connections between Shopify and their needs. Questions and next steps It's very likely that a question about a competitor might come up. It may be a good idea to prepare a comparison slide in your appendix on either their current platform or competitor they’re considering to show that you did your homework. But you don’t need to go into too much detail - the point of the call is to focus on the merchant, their challenges, and how Shopify can provide solutions for them. In this lesson Follow up email What is an RFI? What in the RFI? Specific technical requirements Documenting the interaction Concusion Follow up email Send a follow up email and document the results of the interaction after the Shopify value pitch to generate momentum in the sales process. As the final minutes approached in the Shopify value pitch the seller informed the buyer about an incoming follow-up email that would contain resources mentioned in the interaction and a request for information (RFI). Let’s outline the content and specific resources within this follow up email to enable your partner’s sales team to modify it for your sales process. What is an RFI? An RFI is a document that gathers detailed information from prospects about their requirements, preferences, and constraints. The RFI process helps the partner’s development team identify the project's scope. What in the RFI? Input from various stakeholders Partners may use RFIs to solicit input from various stakeholders, such as the developer team, project managers, and marketing, sales, and service admins. Specific technical requirements They may also use RFIs to learn about specific technical requirements, such as ERP configurations, data security, or compliance with regulatory standards. Software sales processes use RFIs to ensure all stakeholders are aligned on the project's objectives and requirements. RFIs are an opportunity for a partner development team to learn about their prospect's current systems and processes through observation and active inquiry. By leveraging the prospect's data and expertise, partner development teams can design a strategic and practical solutions approach that meets the prospect's needs in the upcoming phases of the sales process. Documenting the interaction The final step in the Shopify value pitch, sellers will need to document a summary of their findings during their interaction into their CRM. It is important that they record their valuable insights to ensure their team is prepared to schedule the buyer's tailored solutions pitch. Conclusion This course was designed to empower Shopify Partner sales teams with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver compelling Shopify value pitches that drive sales momentum. By focusing on understanding potential merchants' challenges and aligning them with Shopify's value pillars, participants can create tailored, impactful pitches that resonate with prospects. Armed with these skills, you are now better equipped to drive sales momentum and close deals more effectively. Remember, the key to a successful pitch lies in thorough preparation, clear communication, and continuous follow-up. Thank you for participating in this course, and we wish you great success in your future sales endeavors with Shopify!