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You might think you’ve got an unsellable product on your hands. But maybe you just need to update your sales strategy.  

 

As the saying goes, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. In a sales context, a lemon is an unsellable product, and the lemonade is your sales pipeline. But successfully transforming lemons into lemonade will depend on your sales strategy.   

A true ‘lemon’ is something so poorly designed that it causes customers nothing but problems – an issue that needs to be solved during manufacturing. In a sales context, an unsellable product is more likely a product or service that’s necessary but boring. This is also known as a ‘grudge purchase’ — a product that a customer only invests in when they have no other choice. 

Grudge products can be a tough sell, even for even the most talented reps. Depending on what they are, however, such products and services might represent a higher profit margin or could open the door for a sales rep to lead a customer further down the sales pipeline. 

So don’t despair if you’re trying to move a product or service no one would ever call “cool.” Try these approaches instead:

1. Let your customer sell it for you

You might have an existing sales strategy and plenty of collateral to boot. But that doesn’t mean detailed brochures will necessarily inspire customer interest. 

Instead, showcase the unsellable product as part of a story within the customer’s life. Think about it: no one is inspired by their new tyres; they’re inspired by where they can go. 

Here are some questions you could ask: 

  • Does your product or service save time? 
  • Are there goals people could achieve by investing in it? 
  • Does it make them safer or more secure? 

From there, you can draw on stories from your other successful endeavours to lead them down the sales funnel. For example, you could tell a story about what someone else has achieved with their new-found spare time, how someone else has achieved their goals, or how safety and security helped them do something they want to do.  

Do the buyers you’re targeting have any other common characteristics or aspirations? Talk about some of the most successful role models or peers they might share and show how investing in your product or service was part of their journey. If nothing else, this will show you’re actively listening to your customer community.

2. Pair the unsellable product with a cool sidekick

If your company offers something more desirable or compelling, find a way to show how the unsellable product or service complements it. You don't have to create a sale bundle or suggest the two offerings do similar things. It’s about aligning the value they both offer. Remember to show as well as tell here — perhaps with videos of your customers who use both products. 

If all else fails, use the awareness and popularity of the cool product as an entry point to your sales funnel. You can reposition your difficult product or service as the ‘best-kept secret’ only your smartest customers know about. The word will spread soon enough.

3. When the going gets tough, the tough get data

If you’re using a sales CRM, you’ll have developed fantastic customer relationships that could simplify pitching an unsellable product or service. 

Using a Sales CRM will help you dig into the data and get a new perspective on the sales pipeline. You might just discover there’s an ideal time, from a budget perspective, when a customer is more willing to invest in a grudge purchase like the one you’re suggesting. Or, the data might help you identify other ways to reach a prospect. 

For example, Trustpower mixes out-of-home channels such as retail, traditional outreach techniques such as telephone and field sales, and advanced digital marketing. By optimising their channel mix using real-time data, they are able to constantly improve their customer journey, while also increasing sales productivity.

Most of all, use your Sales CRM — as well as information culled from social media and other sources — to deeply understand your customer or prospect’s biggest objectives or pain points. The more personalised and relevant your pitch, the more likely they’ll pay attention.

4. Make it relevant to their stage in the sales funnel

The product you’re selling might sound boring, but only if you let it. Think of what might motivate your customer at each stage of the sales funnel. This will help your reps make more genuine pitches guided by the customers needs.

For example, design platform Canva adds genuine value at the bottom of the funnel thanks to always-on ROI selling. The team focuses on showing value rather than simply describing it. This helps customers understand the ROI that they're getting from the tools, helping them understand the data analytics they provide.

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This article was updated in October 2022.