For the last 20 years, SPI has been a leader in helping global companies successfully transition from selling products to marketing and selling high-value solutions.
Cameron Wilson and the team at Sales Performance International (SPI) have been great supporters of the upcoming Sales E-Conference – “selling from recession to recovery”. Cameron has organised for one of the senior directors from SPI in the US, Tim Sullivan, to share his experience working with sales leaders in large US organisations as they have come to grips with the changes in sales strategies that have been part of the fallout from the GFC. Tim is also co-author of the best selling sales classic – “The Solution Selling Fieldbook”.
To complement the session in the Sales E-Conference that Tim Sullivan is presenting, I’ve asked Cameron Wilson to share some insights from a recent SPI white paper on strategies that successful companies have been employing to achieve sales success in a down economy.
Thanks Cameron – over to you.
We know that the GFC has caused a shift in selling – what do you see as the challenge that the GFC has highlighted?
Selling is never easy, but in periods of slowing economic growth, there are some key areas of the sales process which become more difficult for salespeople to navigate.
Let me explain what I mean by firstly looking at the typical buying process.
The main concerns that buyers consider in the buying process usually follow this cycle:
- Before entering into a buying process, customers initially need to recognise that there is a problem of some sort which will necessitate change to remedy
- In the first phase, price and cost considerations relate to the importance of the solution
- Then, as the buying process continues, cost becomes less important and risk becomes a more important consideration
In difficult times the customer’s perception of risk is often heightened.
Here’s where we see the challenge. A common response by sellers in times when buyer’s budgets are cut and their risk is exaggerated, is to discount – often aggressively.
And this often results in a death spiral which benefits neither buyer nor seller – and often also tends to confuse the situation and results in buyers simply deferring situations.
But – there are strategies which can be employed to counter this situation, and increase your chances of success.
Could you outline these strategies – and give us an idea of how they can be implemented?
There are six strategies that we’ve helped organisations with as they look to achieve successful outcomes in the current economy.
I’ll list them – then talk briefly about each one:
•1. Sharpen how you target your sales efforts
•2. Sharpen the messages you deliver to your customers and prospects
•3. Make sure you deliver value and reduce risk for the buyer at all points in the sales process – and ensure that you get credit for the value delivered
•4. Highlight and create urgency at all points in the sales process
•5. Sharpen the competitive tactics used in the sales cycle
•6. Leverage relationships
Sharpen how you target your sales efforts.
Effective targeting is critical to ensure sales potential is maximised. We recommend that you segment your accounts into three types:
- Hunting opportunities. These involve accounts – both current and potential – which have the highest future business potential. Typically this should take 80% of a salesperson’s time.
- Farming opportunities. These are accounts where you already have a relationship – but where future potential is relatively low. This should account for a further 15% of a salesperson’s time.
- Gleaning opportunities. These are the accounts with a low relationship rating and with low future potential. These are the accounts where marketing activities outside the sales team should be employed to ensure sales time is allocated to the first two categories.
Sharpen the messages you deliver.
Studies have shown that as few as one in 10 salespeople know how to position value and deliver consistent messages. In challenging times, this skill is even more critical. You need to develop a formal plan for improving the alignment between marketing and sales to ensure communication is as strong as possible.
Apply this 4 step program, and you will improve the consistency of your messaging:
•1. Understand your customer issues – and develop a problem-solution map.
•2. Identify at least 3 defensible differentiators for how you can address these problems.
•3. Consolidate this list of problems into a menu of critical business issues to provide a basis for engaging customer conversations.
•4. Loop this information back using a set of “solution message cards” which can be used by marketing and other areas of the organisation to reinforce the consistency of your messages.
Deliver value for the buyer – and get credit from the buyer.
In difficult times salespeople must ensure that they are getting measurable feedback from buyers as they move through the buying process. Whilst seasoned salespeople always look for buyer confirmation – in times when the perception of risk is higher for customers, this aspect of selling is essential.
Make sure each customer meeting and contact opportunity covers these four elements:
•1. Stimulate interest by demonstrating knowledge of the client’s challenges – and your ability to add value in meeting these.
•2. As you diagnose issues – ensure you quantify the potential positive impact your solution delivers to the client.
•3. Develop this into a compelling and measurable ROI for your customer.
•4. As you deliver – measure your success and demonstrate the value you have delivered.
Highlight and create urgency.
There are two things you can do to provide motivation for your buyer to move to action.
Firstly – be pro-active and get to a potential client first. This gives you the opportunity to set the guidelines and ground rules – which in harder times is even more important than usual.
When you’ve done this, present your solution – with competitive options – and help guide your client to the solution.
Sharpen your competitive tactics.
In tight economic times it is understandable that clients and prospects will review the value that your products and services deliver. It is common for existing clients to look at lower cost alternatives.
It is therefore critical that you understand the value of your own offerings – and how these compare to your opposition.
A tool we recommend our clients use is the Differentiation Grid. This simple tool will allow you to highlight your strengths by plotting capabilities and features across two axes – customer value and uniqueness.
You need to identify your unique features which are highly valued by your customers. These can – of course – vary from customer group (industry) to customer group and can even vary from customer to customer.
It is then important that you continue to reinforce the unique features you offer your existing customers, and to highlight these in competitive situations.
Leverage relationships.
Research indicates that 2/3s of B2B sales typically occur within your existing customer base. In a slow economy it is essential to sustain and capitalise all opportunities within this group.
Careful analysis will assist in identifying opportunities to widen and deepen your presence in your customer group. As the incumbent, you also have a relationship which can allow you to often identify these opportunities and provide solutions.
So – what should people be doing to plan & execute these strategies?
It’s critical that organisations take an integrated approach and develop a program to cover all aspects of the strategies outlined above. Some of the elements of an integrated program cover the following items:
- Begin with an objective assessment. Know your strengths and weaknesses – and develop your strategy to reflect this.
- Apply a structured approach to each strategic element which requires improvement. Look for areas of learning – then apply the selected actions and make sure you measure the outcomes.
- Ensure that salespeople receive the necessary education and development to be able to deliver deeper client value.
- Execute your plan with tangible actions that require the application of new skills by salespeople and managers.
- And finally – manage the process and measure the outcomes.
**********
Thanks Cameron – excellent practical ideas for selling as in our current economic climate.
Cameron’s colleague and co-author of “The Solution Selling Handbook”, Tim Sullivan will be expanding on these points – and others – in his presentation at the Sales E-Conference:
“The state of sales in 2009. How to survive and thrive with less resources, fewer people and less support”.
Make sure you don’t miss this session – register by clicking the link at the top of the page.
And if you’d like to find out more about Cameron Wilson, Tim Sullivan and the team at SPI, check out their web-sites. You’ll also find a series of white papers – including the one which gives some more background on today’s topic – “Selling in a Down Economy: Six Strategies for Success”.
Thanks for reading this post – Paul Sparks, Sales Effectiveness Australasia.
“Taking you beyond sales training and keeping you informed about the latest ideas, trends, innovation, research & best practice in professional selling and sales management”
If you would like to connect with Paul Sparks please email paulsparks [at] saleseffectiveness.com.au
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
As the saying goes, don’t confuse telling with selling. Rather than talking to the customer about what your product can do, use questions to lead the customer to the natural conclusion!