building an enterprise sales strategy

Sales Strategy from go2marketstrategies.org

Building an Enterprise Sales Strategy

Linda Cadigan, CEO Go2Market Strategiesgo2marketstrategies.org


ThesisAs technology and social media allow businesses of all sizes to compete in the global marketplace, how do we build an enterprise, best in class sales team for growing companies?

We can start by setting aside irrelevant buzzwords, establish a genuine sales leader, execute processes, messaging, identify opportunities and seek proof and validation of success via keen measurement.


Prospect Focused Selling vs. Reputation Based Selling

Understand audience, then build processSeller Activity Buyer Behavior Sales Process


Sales Process Flow

Opportunity Identification

Develop Needs and Solutions

Establish the Value

Proof & Control of

Sales Cycle

Selection and

NegotiationClose


Sample Sales ProcessOpp Id Develop

Needs/Solutions

Establish Value

Proof and Control

Select & Negotiate

Close

Selling Skill QualificationInterest Development

Need DevelopmentSolution Development

Prospect Industry KnowledgeValue Questions

Recourse Utilization Opportunity QualificationSales Cycle Control

Retaining MarginResisting the Squeeze from Procurement

Know when to walk Know why we won/lost.

Job Aid Success Stories,Vision and Value Proposition and Props

Call intro messaging needs Solution Development Prompter

Solution Development Prompters- Valuable differentiators—email templates, one pagers, archived webcasts, etc.

Follow up notes/details /agendasSequence of eventsEmails re: milestones

Negotiation worksheet

Win/loss analysis

Process Output Lead Conversion > Contact> Account> Opportunity

Opp Debrief-sanity check

Value Analysis Email threads, call logs, event sequence

Negotiation Worksheet

Win/loss analysis


Buyer Behavior - “People love to buy (even corporate buyers) but hate being sold”

Traditional Sales Processes Prospect FocusedMake presentations Converse situationallyOffer opinions Ask relevant questionsRelationship focused Services as solution focused

Gravitate towards users Target business people/business casesRely on reputation Relate applicable services/provide value-add

media to inform, create distinction.

Compete as busy work Compete to win-continue to add value, provide tools so prospect closes themselves.

Attempt to sell by: Sell by helping buyers:-Convincing/persuading -Achieve goals-Handling Objections -Solve problems

-Overcoming resistance -Satisfy needs


Concise Messaging Current messaging concerns – are we

always able to?

– Achieve a goal– Solve a problem– Satisfy a need

“Up to 90% of collateral created as marketing/messaging is never used by sales.” –AMAThis can cause salespeople to invent or “wing” messaging.


Sales Ready Messaging• More effective Touch Time (increasing

revenue, spinning fewer cycles with same or fewer resources.)

• Shorten time to revenue• Increase selling time • Increase close rates and margin (thus

improving quality of interactions)


Opportunity Identification includes:

Industries ServedKey Players/titlesKey Players’ goals and objectivesValue Proposition


Target Internal Sales GoalsSales Leadership: Increase revenue, profit, market share, sustained, enduring and healthy corporate growthDecrease: Costs, sales cycles, attritionMarket Driven: Federal and/or industry regulation/compliance, alignment with business demands


Sales Ready Messaging EQPA• Event- The circumstance causing a specific job title to

need a specific service, training and/or product.• Question- Asking facilitates buying. Telling feels to

buyer like you are selling. • Player – Who/what/system will take action in response

to the event.• Action – How the solution feature set can be used to

state in terms the buyer understands that relates to their current event.


Components of Success Stories

Key Players Job Titles/Industries

Goal or issue Goal happy client had (told in past tense.)

Contributing reason Contributing factor preventing achievement of the goal (which our solution helped.)

Capability Capabilities that allowed the client to negate contributing reason above.

Benefit Statement By stating the capability provided by SC to client solution ownership empowers the buyer.

Actual Benefit Provide measurement, ROI savings on remediation, etc.


Build Incremental Interest via Messaging

< 1 minute cold contact/”pitch” “how

we help”

Prospect is curious

Prospect feels team is competent –

curiosity converts to INTEREST

Prospect Shares GoalProspect agrees to

Scoping/Solutions Development/Proposal

discussion

2 Minutes Introduce Value Prop Messaging


Develop Needs and Solutions –Take time to diagnose, don’t prescribe:

Goal Admitted Solution Admitted

Step A: How do you ______today? Step D: Determine solutions via diagnosis in steps B & C—”How do you see yourself fixing______________?”

Step B: Diagnostic Questions“How do you handle this currently?” “How many times has that happened?” “What does it cost when that happens?”

Step E: Usage Scenarios: “What if there was a way to EQPA—would that help?”

Step C: Recap/Confirm “From what you have told me, today you_____________.”

Step F: Confirm goal achievement with your capabilities “From what you said, IF you had the capabilities to _________then could you?”


Goal > Problem > Need

Frame“How do you…..today?”

Diagnose“Today do you experience…..?”

“How much, how often…?”

Confirm “So, the way you do it today

is…..?”

Frame “What solutions have you

considered?”

Usage Scenarios “When ….would it

help….if….could and how much would it help?”

Confirm“If you had the capabilities we offer could you then (achieve

goal?)”


Establishing Value• Emotional decisions are justified by value

and logic.• Value Justification vs. Cost Justification

– Reasons for participation • Initiating• Closing • Minimizing pressure to discount• Mandatory requirement


Why Value?

“Projects are 60% more likely to be approved with a cost justification and a business case.”“More than 82% of IT decisions require Cost/Benefit analysis.”“Only those services/solutions that clearly demonstrate cost versus benefit are considered.”“ROI is king. Projects with a clear cost/benefit are more likely to get funded.”--Gartner


Value Measurement and Validation

Value Measurement• Avoid eliciting emotion • Establish baseline with

diagnostic questions:• “How much?”• “How many?”• “How frequently?”

Value Validation• Correlate the value of

your company’s capabilities to current situation, previously diagnosed:

• “You said today you have to…..which is costing you…..what if you could leverage our capabilities via EQPA…would that help?”


POTENTIAL OF CAPABILITIES• Summarize clearly your capabilities as a

solution to the problem• “If you had the capability we’ve discussed

would you achieve your goal?”• Confirm value of solution with buyer:• “Of the amounts discussed how much do you

think you’d recover if you had the capabilities we ‘ve discussed?”


Proof• Proof provided to qualified prospects• Proof aligns with buyer function/title• Salesperson guides proof sessions• Review buyer’s solution• Proof for adversaries should be witnessed by allies• Proof aligns with each opportunity

Cost/Benefit is not proof, it is speculation as to what MIGHT happen.


ProofInexpensive

• Success Stories• Testimonials• Reference Calls• White paper• Case studies• Web site• Online demos• One pagers per

service

Expensive• Reference/Site visits• Proof of Concept• On-site demos• Meetings with influencers

and decision makers• Free training, licenses,

added on products etc.


Competitive Strategies• Sell scared (assume competition exists)• Identify competitors• Identify potential adversaries and try to neutralize

them with allies and champions• Determine if the Prospect’s expectations were set by

the competition. Are these expectations realistic? Manageable?

• Develop a strategic plan with sales leadership• Conduct periodic competitive sanity checks


Competitive Strategies• Pre-emptive – Win by being

first/avoid battle– Exclusive deal– Alliances– Pre-wired/partner– Walk away

• Frontal- Direct Assault– Company Reputation– Services differentiators– Plausible Emergencies

• Flanking-Rule Changes– Expand prospect’s goal– Enhance solution– Change power structure by

introducing new influencers

– Change the process• Fractional-Divide/Conquer

– Isolate competition– Strategic alliances


Motivating Stalled Prospects• Call to follow up• Ask to schedule a refocus

meeting • Prior to meeting, document

prospect’s goals, identify if these have changed

• Apply EQPA to each goal• Request for attendance by as

many key players as possible or set stage for meetings for each key player

• Begin the follow up with review of suspected goals

• Confirm current goals and consensus from key players

• Determine sense of urgency• Determine missed criteria, ask

if there’s anything missing• Follow up with new evaluation

plan via email to document


Manage Buyer Tactics• Typically need multiple

bids• May have already

selected preferred provider

• Won’t let us know if we’re winning or losing or why deal seems stalled

• Price negotiation pressure applied to soon

• Price negotiation may occur in reverse preference order

• Buyer may fabricate pricing/discounting by competitors

• Buyer more heavily commoditizes services (countered by consequence questions.)

• Buyer may orchestrate buying time frame.


Selling by Habit

Knowledge – (what to do,

why it’s important)

Desire (why we want this)

Skills (how we do it)

HABITS


Creating Effective Habits“Creating a habit requires work in all 3 areas –It’s sometimes a painful process. It’s a change that has to be motivated by a higher purpose., by the willingness to subordinate what you think you want now for what you want later.”

Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People


Thank You

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building an enterprise sales strategy

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