Salespeople are under more pressure than ever to sell. But more selling is not the answer. That is because, generally speaking, it does not help buyers to buy. So, what exactly is required to progress buyers who show an interest?

Sellers have come to realize that what happens from the point of the first meeting to just before the proposal is submitted has a major impact on the likelihood of a sale. This is what we call the effective management of sales cycles or opportunities and it offers the greatest potential to boost sales success.

This chapter will challenge your beliefs about the role of the sales process, how to accelerate the sale and the way buyers look at needs and solutions. It will demonstrate how sellers can help buyers to navigate their internal buying processes and move in the direction of the buying decision.

More Selling Is Not The Answer

Sales professionals at all levels must realize the new basis for competition is not selling, but buying. Those sales organizations who really understand how buying has changed and who successfully adapt how they sell to reflect these changes, will outsell their competition.

The role of the salesperson is to help the buyer to buy. For professional sellers this is a major shift in mindset. However, this shift will prevent a mad dash for the order, the futile preparation of ‘hit and miss’ sales proposals and misguided attempts to accelerate the sale.

Adopting the Buying Perspective

To improve win rates salespeople need to embrace the Seven New Rules in respect of how sales cycles are managed:

1.       Think Buying Process, Not Sales Process.

2.       Think Business Decision, Not Buying Decision.

3.       To Speed Up, Slow Down.

4.       Access is a Privilege, Not a Right.

5.       First Needs, Then Solutions.

6.       Think Total Solution.

7.       Review Early and Often.

The fact that decisions are now being made at a higher level necessitates a completely different approach to selling. The modern salesperson is confronted with many challenges, including issues around access.

Indeed, our experience from dozens of UK sales campaigns suggests it is now 50% more difficult to access C-level (CEO, CFO, or CTO) executives in major British companies, compared to just five years ago.

“The air is thinner higher up in an organisation, and the salesperson may struggle to survive…”

Getting to the top, though, is not the end of the challenge; the salesperson has to be able to stay there. The air is thinner higher up in an organisation, and that means that the salesperson’s features and benefits message may struggle to survive.

Fear Factor

Most salespeople believe that it is easier to sell to somebody who is closer to their own level. Understandably enough, they can sometimes feel intimidated when dealing with senior managers.

“…they are often afraid of being ‘found out’.”

For one thing, they are often afraid of being ‘found out’. That’s because they fear that senior managers may think differently, ask different questions and perhaps even use a different language than their own. They are skeptical about whether the senior manager will really want to talk to, and engage with them.

On the positive side, however, the salesperson who can sell to senior managers has a real advantage.

Ready to Sell to The Top? – Take The Test:

• Will you be invited to sit at the board table?
• Can you talk strategy? Can you add value?
• Will you be treated as a peer?
• Can you speak the language of the CFO, the COO, etc.?
• Do you understand the company and the industry it operates in?
• Can you help to build the business case?
• Do you know the manager’s priorities, metrics and goals?
• Can you become a trusted adviser?

To find out who’s really making today’s buying decisions, click here.

‘You say ‘tomato’, I say ‘tomatoe’… let’s call the whole thing off’ so go the words of the song.  For salespeople determined to sell higher – that is at C Level – the experience is something similar.

C Level executives don’t think, act, or even talk like their lower level colleagues.  That is because the view from the board room, or corner office is different from lower down in the corporate HQ.  One of the implications is that when salespeople start selling higher they need to revamp their vocabulary.

The New C Level Vocabulary

The salesperson who wants to sell higher must speak the same language as the C Level executive.   Having eves dropped on 100s of C Level conversations we put together a glossary of some of the most commonly used terms that those salespeople selling higher are likely to hear.

To boost your success you need to pack your presentations, conversations and proposals with these terms:

Having scanned the above table, how many of these terms did you use in your last sales pitch, presentation, or proposal?  Are you having conversations with  buyers on these subjects?  If you are not then you’re not quite selling to C Level yet.

What’s In A Word?

Having read the list you will have figured out that it is not just a matter of doing a ‘FIND AND REPLACE’ in your Word documents and Power Point slides. That is because the words don’t mean a whole lot in and of themselves.  Take for example, ‘strategic fit’ – that is how any new project, purchase or proposal – fits with the web of organisational decisions, strategies and goals.   However, start a conversation on the subject of ‘strategic fit’ it is likely to bring many important issues to the fore:

• Why this project / purchase should receive funding over other projects?
• What projects are competing for the same resources?
• How the project supports the achievement of key business objectives?
• The key market and business drivers which underpin the project?
• How the project fits with past decisions?
• How the project /purchase fits with company culture, processes and systems? Etc.

Want to find out who’s really making today’s buying decisions, then click here.

You have ‘the ideal solution’ and you cannot wait to tell the buyer about it. Don’t!  You will get your chance later, first you must focus on what the buyer wants to achieve. You must address the buyer’s needs first and only then offer solutions.

If a salesperson wants to sell their solution they must clearly demonstrate how it can solve the buyer’s needs. The problem is that listing product features and benefits is an ineffective way of doing this.

To remedy this problem here is a checklist to guide you in identifying and then meeting the needs of the buyer:

1.         Avoid premature diagnosis of the problem. Don’t make assumptions regarding the customer’s needs or assume they need what you are offering. Ask first and give the customer a chance to say no.

2.         The expert may immediately know the problem and perhaps even the solution. However, they must take care to involve the customer in the discovery and build trust along the way. Connecting with buyer’s needs requires a consultative approach with the salesperson adopting the role of an expert or trusted advisor.

3.         Understand what stage the buyers is at:

•      The need is hidden (blissful ignorance)?

•      The need is recognized?

•      A budget has been set?

•      They are actively looking to resolve the need?

4.         Understand the company and its industry, as well as its goals and strategy. Without this the seller will struggle to grasp what is motivating the buyer. Recognize the trade offs, constraints and complicating factors that bear on the needs. Understand needs from the perspective of the different stakeholders.

5.         Don’t take the buyer’s needs at face value. Dig beneath the surface. Look to the implications of the needs. Help the buyer to develop a clearer picture of their needs and the advantages of solving them.

6.         Clarify the language and terms used and what they mean to both parties. For example, simple terms such as ‘process re-engineering’ or ‘stock accuracy’ can have different meanings to different parties.

7.         More questions are not the answer. Ask better questions that relate to needs and their implications.

8.         Buyers can be slow to open up. Earn the right to ask questions by showing tact, and a willingness and ability to help.

9.         Be tactful and sensitive regarding how you unearth the buyer’s needs. Protect the person when identifying the problem and don’t make the buyer feel like a fool.

10.     It is not enough just to listen and understand needs, but to probe, inspire, enthuse and engage with the buyer around the opportunities and challenges facing their business.

11.     The salesperson must help the buyer envision life after the problem has been solved. They must help them develop a clear vision regarding the business impact. Tact is required in highlighting buyer problems and challenges as there are likely to be sensitivities.

12.     Sell to those with latent needs. The role of the salesperson now includes demand generation. That means traditional prequalification criteria (budget, authority, needs and timing) no longer apply.

13.     Sell higher in the organization. This after all is where priorities and budgets are set in response to the identification of needs. This will require a new vocabulary and a new message. It also requires confidence and skill.

Salespeople spend nine-times longer talking about their solutions and companies than about the needs of the buyer. This means they are up to nine-times more likely to get it wrong.

How do you know if you are more focused on the buyer’s needs rather than your solution?

Review the language you use in sales pitches, presentations and proposals, and using the table below circle the words that dominate your sales vocabulary.

You should be concerned if you are using the seller-focused language on the left-hand-side of the previous table. However, if you find you are using the words on the right, it is a strong indicator that you are focused on the real needs of potential buyers.

The Challenge Of Uncovering Needs

So, what is so difficult about finding out about the buyer’s needs before arriving at a solution?  Well here are some possible answers:

•      The buyer is reluctant to reveal the full details of their problem to the seller.

•      The buyer tells the salesperson what is wanted and the seller accepts it on face value.

•      The salesperson does not have the knowledge or confidence to uncover the buyer’s needs.

•      The problem is obvious to the salesperson so getting straight to the solution makes sense.

•      The seller assumes that the buyer can join the dots and link the solution to their problem.

•      The seller believes blindly that their solution is the best regardless of the specific needs of the customer.

•      Time with the buyer is limited so communicating key product information is a priority.

•      The salesperson is selling at the wrong level (i.e. too low down) or selling to the wrong organization.

If access can be difficult to win, engagement is even more challenging. Decision makers may be readily available, but without real engagement the salesperson is lost at sea.

Salespeople increasingly complain that buyers are playing their cards close to their chest. The result is that they ‘are left to do all the running’.

Far from selling being a joint-venture exercise, the buyer can easily be a passive participant. This poses a problem for the salesperson who wants to work with the buyer to explore alternatives and find the best solution.

Answer the following questions to explore the level of engagement buyers grant you:

1.         Can you pick up the phone and meet the buyer whenever you need to?

2.         Has there been any social contact with the buying team — has an interpersonal dimension to the relationship developed?

3.         Does the buyer call you unsolicited looking for information or advice?

4.         Have you been able to talk to all those involved in the buying decision?

5.         Do you have all the information you need?

6.         Have you got all the questions you need answered?

7.         Have you been able to review internal documentation?

8.         Have you been told how the buying decision is going to be made?

9.         Is there a good working relationship?

10.     Has the buyer completed all the items that were agreed?

11.     Has there been good two-way interaction during meetings?

12.     Is there good follow-up and follow-through by the buyer?

13.     Is there a high level of openness?

14.     Has the buyer taken you into their trust?

15.     Can you raise any concerns or issues that arise?

16.     Is there mutual respect, including for each other’s time?

17.     Is there ownership of the solution?

18.     Has it been arrived at jointly?

19.     Is there a two-way exchange of ideas?

20.     Is there feedback on proposals and presentations?

21.     Is documentation jointly prepared and reviewed?

22.     Does the buyer value your opinion, seek your advice, ask you to help prepare documentation and enlist your help in navigating the buying process?

23.     Do you have a sponsor on the buying team?

24.     Have you been given the ‘inside track’ regarding the buying decision, including complicating factors, issues of politics and so on?

Clearly, there is no point in salespeople doing all the running unless the buyer is at least following. If the buyer is not prepared to engage then the likelihood of a successful outcome is low and the opportunity may not be worth pursuing.

Maybe they do not understand your value or the benefits of your solution or perhaps it is not sufficiently important to the buyer at this time. Just as buyers get to choose when and how to engage, so too can vendors. In particular there may be situations where a seller should decide to walk away.

This is something that is examined in more detail in Revolutionizing Orders, rule number 6: ‘Walk if You Cannot Talk’.

Here are some rules that buyers have told us are important to gaining and maintaining access:

1.         Always obey the rules regarding access, don’t go over or around others to speak to the stakeholders that you want.

2.         Map the buying process to the organizational chart to identify who you need to meet. Then pair it with your team as appropriate (e.g. CFO to your CFO).

3.         Tell them why you want to meet, ask them what they want to get from it and set a clear agenda in advance.

4.         Take advantage of other means of interacting with those managers of interest, for example, industry association events, conferences and sporting events.

5.         Use access sparingly and plan it to get the most from any time you have with stakeholders. That includes meeting at the right time in the process to get most value from it. For example, before meeting the executive buying team, make sure you have your initial briefing or scoping completed with their direct reports.

6.         Do your homework in advance and make sure you are fully prepared. Don’t waste time gathering information in the meeting that you could have found from the company’s website or annual report.

7.         Research the key participants involved in the buying team to understand their role, their previous positions, their qualifications and any contacts you have in common.

8.         Consider the use of workshops that have a value to the buyer as a means of making access efficient. For example, a workshop on defining requirements, completing the business case, trends and best practice.

9.         Watch the clock. Make sure meetings and presentations don’t go on for longer than they have to.

10.     Reward the buyer for their time. Provide the buyer with useful insights and information to aid the decision-making process. Provide tools and templates that can support eliciting requirements, defining the specification, building the business case and making the business decision.

11.     Adopt a consultative approach. Don’t assume the buyer needs your help or that your metrics, models and analysis are what they want.

12.     Tailor the approach to the functional background and seniority of the manager in question, in particular relating to their key priorities and metrics.

13.     Be judicious and tactful regarding the questions you ask of the buyer, remember you have to earn the right to ask questions that are invasive or sensitive.

14.     Set a follow-up action and promptly send a note with a summary of the meeting and some useful piece of follow-up material or information for the buyer.

15.     Keep your main contact in the loop regarding any meetings you have with their colleagues.

Here are some of the key barriers sellers hear when they ask for greater access, in particular to senior managers:

•      ‘They are busy and don’t have time.’

•      ‘If you tell me the information you want I will get it for you.’

•      ‘If they were to talk to you then they would have to talk to all companies bidding.’

•      ‘To maintain fairness we must stick within the competitive bidding framework.’

•      ‘We don’t want to prejudice the outcome or suggested solution’.

•      ‘It is too early — there will be an opportunity to present later on’.

•      ‘I will pass you on to IT, procurement or the consultants that are handling that’.

So, the salesperson must be able to overcome these objections, as well as the underlying antipathy towards salespeople generally. They must present a clear rationale for access and explain how it will benefit the buyer.  Equally, important there are rules that you must follow if you are to be granted access.

Even though there are six to eight decision makers involved in any buying decision, salespeople tend to only have access to half that number. Even more troubling is that these contacts tend to typically be those of lower rank within the buying organization.

No Access, No Sale

To win the sale the salesperson must first win access to the boardroom. This is where the real decision is going to be made. However, while access is the essential currency of the complex sale, it is in short supply.

Based our involvement in campaigns targeting thousands of managers in the UK and North America, we have seen executive access decline by 50% in five years. In other words, it takes twice as long to reach a C-level executive in a major organization than it did five years ago.

Little wonder then that salespeople are complaining about their ability to access the people and the information they need to win the sale. Without access and information sales presentations and proposals involve more guesswork than ever before. Such guesswork has an adverse affect on every sales team’s closure rate, as the following manager’s story shows:

‘We were disheartened by the loss of the latest deal, but struggled to understand what we had done wrong. We badly needed the work so lessons had to be learned.

We did a little soul searching asking questions, such as: ”Who was the sponsor?”, ”How many people were involved in the buying group?“, and ”How much interaction did we really have with the seller?’

‘Suddenly, the problem became clear. We had only met with two people from the buying company and most of the interaction, besides a formal presentation, had taken place through the ‘sponsor’ who managed access to the buying team. More worrying still, the sponsor was an independent consultant whose role, influence and allegiance we did not fully understood at the time.’

We set a new rule of thumb — before preparing a proposal for submission for future prospects we must talk to at least four people and have at a minimum four meetings.’

Director of Business Development, International Architectural Firm