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Author of How Winners Sell |
 ES
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Which Sales Training Companies are in the Leadership Position and Why?
The 2006 ESR Sales Training Vendor Guide
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Featured
Guest Article |
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When the Big Ones Get Away: Insights that Make a Difference By Guest Columnist
The link between expert coaching and high performance is well established in the competitive worlds of politics, sports and military engagement. Few athletes, politicians or generals would consider competing without the analysis and insight of one or more coaches/advisors. Although not widely recognized as essential for high performance in selling, a similar coaching/performance link exists in sales, particularly large account sales. While making the case for sales coaching is a worthwhile topic for another time, I'd like here to share some coaching insights from working with large account sellers. Although it's impossible to eliminate all of the things that lose big deals, several reoccurring themes surface consistently in loss reviews, and the good news is they are all preventable. 1. Watch for low buying motivation, the silent killer It's not sexy but "the status quo" is the strongest competitive force large account sellers must overcome. Examine the sales pipelines of large account sales organizations and they are littered with projects designated as "on hold," "delayed" or "pending." One organization we worked with had upwards of 35% of their total pipeline designated as "pending," and any experienced seller knows the vast majority of those deals are dead. (Article continues below.)
As a coach, you can help sellers in two ways here. First, restrain your team from positioning solutions until they have validated a solid buying motivation. Questions to explore include:
In addition, the best sellers not only identify buying motivation, they elevate it. Arm your sellers with simple follow-up questions to use in discovery dialogue like, "what issues has that created?" and "what impact is that having?" By responding to questions like these, a prospect's buying motivation is naturally elevated. 2. Don't drown in the details, find the strategy link Decision process studies(1) conducted over the last fifteen years have surfaced two principles that every large account seller should consider. 1. Organizations go through a predictable series of steps when making major purchase decisions. 2. Major purchasing decisions originate with senior management at the top of the organization. Translation, no matter what a prospect is purchasing, their decision can ultimately be traced back to senior management at the top of the organization. Consequently, all purchases are in some way strategic. Many sellers get bogged down in detailed technical requirements and never uncover how a purchase links to their account's strategic priorities. Without demonstrating this linkage, sellers are easily out-maneuvered by more enlightened competitors or labeled "non-essential" by decision-makers. On the flip side, making the strategy link can be very powerful competitive advantage. One of our clients was asked to bid on a multi-million dollar project. After reviewing the RFP, they concluded their competitor was in a much better position to meet the prospect's stated requirements.
However, in meetings with the company's senior managers, they uncovered a strong desire to tap an emerging market. In their RFP response, they focused less on stated requirements and more on helping the prospect penetrate the emerging market. This approach was effective in positioning them as a more strategic choice and earned them the business. 3. Don't compete on multiple fronts, frame the debate In their book, Twelve Secrets from the War Room, political pundits, James Carville and Paul Begala outline a critical competitive principle for large account sellers. Many sellers attempt to persuade prospects by presenting a laundry list of their company's/solution's advantages. This menu approach is a poor way to create differentiation and leads to many lost sales. Instead, Carville and Begala recommend what they call "framing the debate." In sales, framing the debate entails selecting one core reason the prospect should buy from you and making that reason the theme of your solution message. Uncomfortable with choosing a single solution theme, many sellers default to no theme at all. To help avoid this trap, coaches need to help sellers consider the following aspects of the sales situation and reduce them to their essence:
By refining and integrating these elements, normally the one theme that best frames the debate in the seller's favor emerges. Do you remember, "It's the economy, stupid?" Endnote: 1 Creating Value Business with Business, A Decade of Insight, © 2000, by Randall Murphy, Acclivus Corporation.
(c) 2006--Brad Helmer
As CEO of ES Research Group, Inc., Dave Stein features sales consultants, authors and practitioners in this e-Zine. To send reactions or comments, please e-mail editor@ESResearch.com |
This e-Zine is Copyright 2006 -- ES Research Group -- All Rights Reserved.
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