sales best practices presentation - ken wood 052015

Sales Best Practices…And How They Can Be Applied To Your Career and Job Search!

Prepared by Ken Wood Triangle Execu6ve Careers Group May 20, 2015

The Origins of Selling

• Scarcity of specific resources and talent

• Rely upon others to meet our needs

• Opportunity to benefit from others’ resources and talents

Selling: Four Key Questions •  Is there an opportunity? What is the Compelling Event for the Customer to act?

• How do we compete? What is the Unique Business Value that we deliver to the Customer?

• Can we win the opportunity? •  Is the opportunity worth winning?

Is there an Opportunity? • What is the “Compelling Event”? • We need to understand the Customer’s: • Applica6on or project • Business profile •  Financial condi6on • Access to funding

What is a “Compelling Event”? •  “A compelling event has an economic owner, a defined date and is a direct response to a business pressure. The ac;on is expected to deliver a significant business result (either improving opportunity/capability or reducing pain). The compelling event defines the reason for the economic owner to act.”

Identifying a Compelling Event….extremely valuable!

• Reduces compe66on • Reduces sales costs •  Sales efforts are much more focused

• Gain credibility with Customer

Can We Create A Compelling Event? • An6cipate our Customer’s specific needs • Clearly explain the personal impact that our product/service will have on their business • Result: Change the nature of our conversa6ons and with Customer and poten6ally create a Compelling Event

How Do We Compete? • Customer’s formal decision criteria • Does our solu6on solve the Customer’s problem? • Sales Resources required • Current status of our rela6onship with the Customer?

The “Value Proposition” Concept

• A clear statement that: •  Explains how our product solves the customers’ problems or improves their situa6on (relevancy) • Delivers specific benefits (quan6fied value) •  Tells the ideal customer why they should buy from us and not from the compe66on (unique differen6a6on).

• Value has to be expressed in the Customer’s terms!

Value to the Customer is……

• Increasing Their Revenue • Reducing Their Costs

Can We Win The Opportunity? • Inside support (i.e., Customer advocate) for our solu6on? • Execu6ve Credibility? • Compa6bility with the Customer’s corporate culture? • Informal decision criteria? • Poli6cal landscape within the Customer’s organiza6on?

Formal Customer Roles In The Buying Process

• Approver • Decision-‐Maker • Evaluator • User

Key Customer Player Status • Mentor (or Advocate) • Supporter • Neutral • Non-‐Supporter • Enemy

What is a Customer “Mentor”? • An individual that will stand up and fight for our cause (should be also for the greater good of the Customer). •  Provides debrief on internal mee6ngs •  Helps navigate the poli6cal landscape within the Customer organiza6on. •  Coach on who’s ego to stroke •  Coach on Internal Enemies

•  Should be an “unofficial” member of our sales team • Value they provide is priceless.

Is The Opportunity Worth Winning? •  Bring Short-‐Term Revenue? •  Future business poten6al with the Customer? •  Profitability associated with winning the opportunity? •  Risks if our solu6on fails? •  Strategic value associated with winning this opportunity?

Summary & Key Take-‐Aways • Become genuinely interested in your Customer. •  Smile…be posi6ve and upbeat. • Remember that a Customer’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. • Be a good listener. Encourage your Customers to talk about their issues/challenges. •  Talk in terms of your Customer's interests. • Make your Customer feel important – and do it sincerely.

sales best practices presentation - ken wood 052015

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