The Risk of Being in the Risk Phase
Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 8:03AM Have you ever felt the horror of being on your way to losing an important opportunity? All you hear from the customer indicates problems. They are asking for proof on things you thought were perfectly clear. New competitors show up and seem stronger than before. The panic is near…
What is the solution to such a situation?
I met a salesman this week who truly are feels the risk of being in the risk phase. The snowball started to roll when he was on a vacation and the CFO (power sponsor) checks with the CEO about the business case. The CEO asks the standard questions: price level, who else did you look at, is this the best alternative etc… The CFO felt she had a lot more homework to do, like talking to more vendors. The CFO is now in the risk phase.
Rule #1: Keep talking to the customer
Rule #2: Ask why they need the proof
Rule #3: Give them all what they want
And the most important rule:
Rule #4: Demonstrate how much you want their business
People buy from people …who are serious and willing to go the extra mile.
Written by and posted with the permission of:
Jens Edgren, Lindgren Partners Solution Selling
+ 46 8 651 25 00
www.lindgren-partners.se
Keith Eades comments featured in Selling Power Magazine...
In a recent article by author Heather Baldwin, “The Rebirth of the Purchasing Manager: How to harness the power of the new (and much more important) purchasing manager” (Selling Power Magazine - May/June 2010 issue - Vol.30 No.3 - pages 50-53), this trend in titles and responsibility structures is examined and scrutinized to the overall conclusion that they not only play a vital and important role in the sales cycle, but to overlook their influence is to potentially lose the deal.
Baldwin’s article sites interviews with key sales leaders including SPI’s own, Keith Eades. Eades’ take on the importance sellers need to place on procurement is included in the following excerpt(s):
…page 53
Sales Performance International (SPI) CEO Keith Eades states it even more strongly: “It’s almost insane for sales organizations not to make procurement a part of their normal calling cycle or not target this department as people they need to sell to. If you wait until the RFP comes out and that’s the only time you talk to procurement, you’ll lose, statistically, more than 90 percent of the time.”
…page 53
SPI is doing just that. It’s sales force now embraces procurement as a key player in the buying process, connecting with this group early in the buying cycle, treating procurement personnel like business people, and educating them on SPI’s value. The strategy is paying off: SPI recently won a multimillion-dollar opportunity, and CEO Keith Eades credits the salesperson’s work with procurement as a major contributor to the win.
“The role that purchasing team members are playing now is probably broader, deeper, and has more influence than ever before,” says Eades. “Rather than just administering a purchase, they’re answering, ‘Does this solve the business problem? Does it work? Is it right?’ And they’re staying involved longer after the purchase. I would describe them now as more internal consultants to the business functions they’re supporting.”
For the full written article, click here to go to Selling Power Magazine’s website.
To read more on the topic of procurement, buyer-aligned selling and getting to power, look at the following articles:
A Short Chat with a Procurement Manager about RFP’s
A Question of Power
Power Buys From Power
Collaborative Sales Negotiations