sales enablement tools webcast: make sales more effective with alinean value-selling tools

Selling to Today’s Economic-Focused Buyer:

Leveraging Value-Based Tools for Sales Enablement Success

TOM PISELLO, Chairman & Founder

Blog: http://tompiselloroiguy.blogspot.com/

Twitter: @tpisello

http://www.alinean.comhttp://www.fightfrugalnomics.com

http://tompiselloroiguy.blogspot.com/

http://www.alinean.com/

http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com/

© 2011 Alinean, Inc.2

Today’s Economic-Focused Buyer


The Economic-Buyer

• Size

Longer Sales Cycles

Price Focus = Reduced Deal Size

More Leads to Close Same

Amount of Business

Stalled Deals

Increased Competition


Successive Downturns Cause Fundamental & Permanent Change

-8.0%

-6.0%

-4.0%

-2.0%

0.0%

2.0%

4.0%

6.0%

8.0%

10.0%

12.0%

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

B2B Spending Annual Growth

IDC historical spend

Forecast compiled from IDC, Forrester, Gartner and Goldman Sachs

Two successive downturns in past 10 years have permanently changed buyers

Affected technology marketplace first:

Prior: Innovation, growth, time to market, features / functions drove purchases

After: Saving money, bottom-line impact, best value and fast payback

“Great Recession” downturn reinforcing / accelerating this fundamental change

All areas of economy impacted for all of B2B purchase decisions

Tech Bubble

Great Recession

IDC 2010


Quantifiable benefits

are mandatory

On average 90% of corporations surveyed require

quantifiable proof of bottom-line benefits on most

projects.

Quantifying value is

difficult for buyers

Two-thirds (65%) of buyers indicate that they do not

have the knowledge or tools needed to do business

value assessments and calculations.

Third party validation is

essential

Most trusted sources are: Industry Analysts (31.4%),

and Peers (28.7%).

Vendors lag as a trusted source for only 8.1%.

Buyers turn to vendors

for value proof points

81% of buyers expect vendors to quantify business

value of proposed solutions.

Source: IDC 2010, survey of 200 B2B buyers,

Sirius Decisions 2010 B-to-B Buyer Survey on trusted sources.

Frugalnomics: the new mantra for B2B Buyers


Internet Fueled Buying Cycles

• Buyers do more research independently and online

• Arm themselves with ideas, solution, competitive product knowledge

• Firmly in control of buying process

• Using online vendor content + 3rd party sources / social groups

• Inviting sales later, after set strategy, budget and solution roadmap

Not Prepared29%

Somewhat Prepared

36%

Well Prepared35%

At Same Time, Perceived Sales Readiness Is On the Decline

IDC 2010


CFOs Gain More Control

• CFOs responsible for more groups

• Taking control of strategy + buying-

cycle

• More financial due-diligence on all

purchases

• #1 Reason for NOT Meeting Sales Quotas –

Inability to Communicate Value Messages (27%) – SiriusDecisions 2010

• Only 38% of sales reps understand the

customer’s issues and can identify how vendor

can help – Forrester 2010


Fight Frugalnomics with Value Selling

http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com



Product / Solution Selling Reigns

Forrester - 2011


Fight Frugalnomics with Value Selling & Marketing

Value Focus

Discussion:

• Prescriptive & Quantified

• Discover… Is customer

aware of issue?

• Diagnose… How bad is it?

• Quantify … Value of change

• Compare … Value vs. Status

Quo / Competition

Drive: Diagnostic Led: What

is issue & value of change?

Product Focus

Discussion:

• Customer knows issue

• Tie features / functions to needs

• Compares product alternatives

• Feature • Function • Price

Drive: Sales Led: Product

Driven

Solution Focus

Discussion:

• Customer knows issues &

desired outcome

• Questions to discover pain

points

• Recommend solution to

solve pain

Drive: Sales Led: Pain-Point

Driven

Solution Provider Trusted AdvisorVendor


Strategic Vendors Reap Rewards

More Opportunities

Greater Deal Size

Shorter Sales Cycles

Greater Competitive Advantage


Value Selling: How Companies Buy vs. How to Sell

SiriusDecisions Buying Cycle

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing to

Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Justifying

the

Decision

Making

the

Selection

Committing

to a Solution

Decision

Consideration

Discovery

Requirements Definition

Sales Qualified Lead

Value Demonstration

Proposal

Negotiate

Close

Traditional Sales Cycle


Discovery

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing to

Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Justifying

the

Decision

Making

the

Selection

Committing

to a Solution

Decision

Consideration

Discovery

Risk adverse / overloaded

Easier to do nothing than change

Don’t have time to fully understand

issues

Executive driven / CFO aligned

Internet fueled via 3rd party sources

Sales often not engaged yet


Discovery - Diagnose with Assessment Tools

– Survey current spending and practices

– Diagnose issues

– Benchmark status quo versus competition and leaders

– Recommend improvement strategies

– Map solutions to improvement strategy

– 3rd party validation to improve credibility

14


Profile for Benchmarking

Benchmark comparisons

Typically by industry, location and size


Survey

Survey Questions – Multiple Choice, Pulldowns, Quantifications, Rankings

Spending, Sentiment or Current Practice Questions

Don’t Force Customer to Fill All In prior to Seeing Some Results


Diagnostic Assessment Results

Compare current responses vs. peer averages and leaders

Drive priorities through benchmark comparisons

Collaborate with customer / teammates to complete / refine


Detailed Drill Downs

Drill into details, layer by layer via pop-ups / drill downs

Confirm where doing well, illuminate areas needing improvements


Roadmap and Next Steps

Intelligently recommends solutions to resolve most pressing issues

Recommends next steps in buying lifecycle


Personalized Report

Results expanded in Word report. Can be further personalized.

PPT and PDF options available as well.

Multiple report options in single tool.


Discovery - Diagnose with Assessment Tools

– Reason to connect & engage earlier in decisions

– Earn right to call higher with executives

– Help set strategies, budgets and roadmaps

– Establishes urgency of resolving these issues over others

– Reduces time to realize issues and commit to change

– Elevate relationship from Vendor to Trusted Advisor

– Improves competitive position

21


Consideration

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing to

Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Justifying

the

Decision

Making

the

Selection

Committing

to a Solution

Decision

Consideration

Discovery

Recommend solutions to address

issues / goals

Quantify the cost of doing nothing

Make the case for change

Quantify rewards vs. risks

More stakeholders involved – Value is

in eye of beholder


Consideration : Justify Change with ROI Analysis

– Discover current costs for status quo, quantifying the “cost of doing nothing”

– Recommend solution and quantify the investment required

– Quantify the business benefits / savings for each stakeholder

– Tally the project’s net cash flow in CFO terms:• Return on investment (ROI)

• Net present value savings

• Payback period

• Internal rate of return (IRR)

– 3rd party validation to improve credibility

23


Profile

Profile current environment and opportunity.

Collect information about proposed solution / configuration.

Key defaults provided from research to streamline discovery


Benefits, Investments and ROI

Applying research, case studies and pricing, calculate investment, benefits & ROI

Allow specific benefits to be included / excluded based on what is important


Review Details and Edit Assumptions

Drill down into details to understand how each benefit / investment is calculated

Defaults provided, but allow review and editing of all metrics


Printed Report

Results expanded in Word report. Can be further personalized.

PPT and PDF options available as well.

Multiple report options in single tool.


Consideration : Justify Change with ROI Analysis

– Increase urgency for this project proposal over others

– Reduce time it takes for customer to build own business case / justify change

– Reduce discounting (value vs. price)

– Prove value of add on solutions / services

– Improve competitive positioning

28


Decision

Loosening

of the

Status Quo

Committing to

Change

Exploring

Possible

Solutions

Justifying

the

Decision

Making

the

Selection

Committing

to a Solution

Decision

Consideration

Discovery

Sales teams make the case for change,

but lose deal to competitor…

B2B customers strategy has changed –

“to buy only what they need at the

lowest possible price.” (Forrester)

Need to prove solution as best value

Total cost of ownership (TCO)

comparisons can help


Decision – Differentiate with TCO Analysis

– Select solutions to compare

– Quantify costs for unique opportunity

– Tally total costs over product lifetime not just up-front costs

– Prove better value via total cost of ownership (TCO)• Lower lifecycle cost

• Better benefit realization

• Lower risk

• Intangible benefits (more upside potential)

30


Profile

Organization Profile to customize TCO comparison for specific scenarios /

configurations


TCO Comparison Overview

Head to Head comparison of solutions total cost of ownership

Capital & operating costs over useful product life

Ability to select comparisons / customize configuration pricing & cost

assumptions


Comparative Cash Flow and ROI

Can combine TCO comparisons with comparative ROI / Cash Flow Analysis


Detailed TCO Comparisons

Detailed results to highlight advantages & review / fine-tune assumptions

3rd party validation and sources


Report Options to Match Stakeholders / Decision Phase

Multiple report options available including Word, PPT and PDF.

Different reports templates designed to target different audiences / different

stage in buying lifecycle.


Decision – Differentiate with TCO Analysis

36

– Validate selected solution as best value

– Quantify low risk of decision for buyer

– Reduce decision cycle in final stages of buying cycle

– Reduce competitive discounting


Value Selling Tools and the Buying Lifecycle

37

Diagnose to Engage Earlier:

• Diagnostic assessment to identify issues

• Benchmark for urgency of issues

• Develop strategies

• Set priorities and build roadmap

Justify to Make the Case for Change:

• Prove “cost of doing nothing”

• Cost justify the investment with ROI

• Prioritize urgency vs. other projects

Differentiate to Prove Superior Value:

• Compare competitive solutions / configuration

head-to-head

• Prove that the selected solution represents best

value

• Quantified lower cost of ownership (TCO)

• Competitive feature comparison


Next Steps

1. Your Sales & Marketing Ready to Do Business with Frugal Buyers? Take this Diagnostic Assessment to Find Out.

2. Research White Paper: Sales Enablement and the Economic Buyer

3. Over 200% ROI from a Value Selling Program Sound Impossible? Find Out for Yourself

4. Why Alinean? Alinean Vendor Profile (SiriusDecisions)

Alinean powered tools can significantly upgrade the quality of sales interactions

throughout the buying process, allowing prospects to drive at the beginning

through simpler, self-service tools and sales to provide greater depth as the buying

process proceeds – SiriusDecisions 2010

http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com

https://roianalyst.alinean.com/enterpriseroi/AutoLogin.do?d=583481707964037332


http://www.alinean.com/docs/Alinean_Sales_Enablement_and_the_Economic_Buyer.pdf



http://www.alinean.com/Resources/Alinean2010Profile_SiriusDecisions.pdf




sales enablement tools webcast: make sales more effective with alinean value-selling tools

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