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subject, or otherwise communicate, `We are not doing that.`
Their reaction to your plan is one of the best ways I know to find out which clients want our help to make a great buying decision and reach point `C.` Of course, just because they don`t turn a backflip when you show it to them doesn`t mean it won`t help later. Just keep using the plan for your own benefit. You can show it to some of the other play- ers in the buying decision later on. Many of those clients who are not overly impressed initially come around later, after they`ve met with some of your competitors who seem to be focused more on making a sale than helping the customer reach their goals.
5. It Helps to Justify Access to the Right Executives
Notice that in the column labeled `Client personnel` of the process shown in Figure 8.3, we specify who needs to be involved in these various activities and events. To begin with, you may not even have the names of the people in these various roles. That`s fine. Just put the title or the role in for a place holder.
This way of requesting executive access is remarkably effective. I have never found a better way to gain access to the `right` people. It is really quite surprising how much less resistance you will encounter. Think about the difference here. In one scenario you hand your customer a piece of paper that defines a certain event, shows where that event fits in the overall scheme of things, spells out the purpose of the event, and lists the personnel who should be in attendance. In another scenario you ask, `Would you please set up a meeting with your CFO.` In the former, it only makes sense that the CFO should be there. In the latter, it seems like you are just trying to go over their head. You may not be able to appreciate how effective this is until you try it yourself, but I`ll share one of many examples of how this has worked for me.
I met a woman at a tradeshow who was the vice president of information systems (IS) for a midsize construction company in New York City. She had been hired by the president and owner of the company for the express purpose of buying and implementing an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
At first she was very resistant to any request for access to those who would be involved in the final decision. It was one of those, `Just send me your questions via e-mail, and I will get the answers and e-mail them back to you,` routines. I couldn`t blame her. She started with fourteen potential vendors, and she was just trying to do her job without tying up everyone`s time answering questions from vendors.
After a couple of meetings, I showed her the skeleton of a plan I had put together. It was very incomplete at that point, but she saw the value right away. It was as if a lightbulb went on for her. She helped me figure out the additional hurdles we needed to clear. She took joint ownership of the plan and began arranging meetings with all the right decision makers that needed to be involved. It was an amazing change to observe.
She told me later on, `You know, we had no intention of going with your company when we started out. Your system seemed too big, cumbersome, and expensive for us. But when you showed up with your process, it seemed to make so much sense. You helped us define exactly what issues we were trying to solve. From there you quickly determined what pieces of your overall solution we should spend our time looking at. You helped me think about a lot of the decisions we would be faced with that had nothing at all to do with the solution, but with resource allocation, funding, and the strategic direction of the company. Most of all, you made my job easier because after we mapped out the steps along the way, and who needed to be involved in each step, I just printed out a bunch of copies and went around from office to office saying, ‘I need you on this day. I need you on that day.` You made it very easy to buy from you.`
Now I must admit, not every client I have shared this process with has responded with this level of enthusiasm. For many of my customers, it simply helped them to better clarify and document the plans they already had. Other customers have used it in a more limited fashion, to organize meetings or plan resources. And some just yawned and said, `Thank you for your time.` But if this plan served no other purpose than to justify, or simply provide a good reason for, gaining access to key decision makers, it would be well worth the effort.
6. Finalizing the Agreement Is Just One Step Along the Way
Because the process that we use includes activities and events both before and after point `B,` finalizing the agreement is just one step along the way. When your customer understands that you`re `in it with them` all the way to `C,` closing the deal is not such a scary event. Yes, it`s important, and there will most likely be negotiation and certain objections that arise when it comes time for them to commit, but your focus-and your customer`s focus-will be on getting the
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agreement worked out so you can move forward together. The act of closing will carry a totally different dynamic.
This idea, just like every other tool or technique, doesn`t work every time. But when it works, this is how it works. Your own results will impress you more than any success story I can tell. But please remember, a good two-thirds of the customers who you share this with probably won`t jump all over it, but for the one-third that do, your chances of winning that business will increase exponentially. As one of my workshop attendees pointed out, `By developing and providing this kind of process, we`re not only providing `B,` we are providing the arrows (the process) that connect `A` to `B,` and `B` to `C.` Give that man a star!
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Six Reasons Clients Don`t Move Forward
If, or when, your customer doesn`t want to work with you to put together a plan, or doesn`t jump right into the plan you propose, there is usually a specific reason why they don`t. I have found the following six issues at the root of most customer hesitation to move forward with you on a Process of Mutual Discovery. If you`ve shown them your plan and asked, `Is there anything we need to change about this plan, or are you ready to move forward with the next step?` but did not get a `Yes!` it might be that:
1. The Plan Isn`t Right
Sometimes we don`t listen well enough, we don`t really understand their buying process very well, or the timing of the plan isn`t right. Somehow what they told us, and what we propose back, just doesn`t match up. So, when you sense their hesitation, make sure and ask, `What about the plan itself? Does this match with what you told us in terms of the steps involved and the timing and so forth?` Maybe they will suggest a change or two. Or maybe they will say, `No, this is pretty much what we told you. But . . .` You might need to move on to the next potential objection.
2. We Have Confused `B` with `C`
Once we learn our product and solution set thoroughly, and once we develop a well-rounded `problem knowledge,` it`s easy to start broadcasting solutions before we fully diagnose the problem. We can inadvertently start positioning our solution as their desired outcome instead of what the solution is going to enable them to do, and the results they are trying to achieve. You might need to clarify by asking, `Have we misunderstood what you are trying to accomplish here? The objective is ____ (fill in the blank), right?` If that`s not the problem, then move on to the next possible issue.
3. The Desired Result or Point `C` Isn`t Very Compelling
Sometimes, things look good and sound good, but not quite good enough to take action on. There might be other uses of capital and resources that are simply more compelling than the project you are part of. There just may not be a very powerful motive to make the change, or there is no consequence to the status quo. Or, despite how great `C` looks, the perceived risk is just greater than the perceived return. Perhaps you could ask, `It sounds like the payback or the return on this project just isn`t that compelling right now. Is that what`s holding you back from moving forward?` If not, try the next one.
4. The Customer Plans to Reach Point `C` with Someone Else
It is entirely possible that your plan is great, but some other vendor has provided a plan or a solution that is more closely aligned with their vision or is perceived to be lower risk. Despite all we do, we don`t lead in every deal, so maybe we should ask, `Are you leaning toward another solution to solve this problem, or maybe another provider has a better plan?` Sometimes they do have someone else in mind. Other times, that isn`t it, but they still aren`t sure they are ready to take the next step. Keep digging.
5. You Are Dealing with the Wrong Person
One mistake that we all have probably made is asking the person we think is our buyer to `buy-in` to our plan, when he or she doesn`t have the authority to do so. We might be asking the wrong person. If the person we are dealing with really doesn`t have the authority, it would make sense that they are going to be hesitant to commit to working with us, wouldn`t it? We need to be very careful if we decide to ask a question about this. We might try, `You know, John, maybe you would feel more comfortable if we took the time to garner a little more support for the project before we jump into a process like this. Maybe we should get a few more folks on board. What do you think?`
What we wouldn`t want to do is make them feel as though we don`t respect their position by coming across with something like, `John, it sounds to me like you really don`t have the juice to make any decisions around here.` Be careful not to insult somebody who you want as an ally. We`ll need all we can possibly get.
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6. The Next Step You Are Proposing Isn`t the `Next` Step
Perhaps the most common reason that our customer isn`t ready to start working through the milestones and clearing the hurdles as they have been defined, is that the next step we have proposed simply isn`t the next step. Something else internally or externally may need to happen before they can move forward. Sometimes they have to meet with three more vendors in round one before they can proceed with any vendor. Other times, they need to report back to the committee to get guidance or approval to move forward. We could try asking, `I`ll bet there is something else that needs to happen first, right?`
When this happens, then that new hurdle just becomes one more line item on the plan. You`ll simply need to `Insert Row` and plug the new task or the new activity in wherever it belongs on your table or spread- sheet. You will probably insert dozens of rows as you work with your client through the Selection and Buying Process, and as pointed out earlier, the few milestones we defined in the Implementation and Utilization Process will probably be replaced by a more complete implementation plan once we get to that point.
Whenever you hit a bump in the road, a brick wall, or a really big pothole, think about these six issues above. Asking questions around these six is a helpful way of troubleshooting the process to try to determine where things have gone wrong and how to get back on track.
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Selling Your Process
This process of managing a sales campaign is so effective, and delivers such benefit in terms of managing your own time and resources, that it`s worth using even if your customer has no interest in it. For years I have used this kind of a plan for every complex sales opportunity I`ve pursued. I start piecing it together from the very first interaction I have with the client.
One of the techniques that I have found very effective is to print out the plan and take it with me starting with the very first meeting. Now, in that first meeting-where all I know are the few names and facts I was able to pick up during a preliminary phone call-the plan will be skeletal at best. But as the meeting progresses, I make my notes about other people who the customer happens to mention on my `plan sheet.` If they mention certain dates, or an upcoming event, or anything that binds the process in time, I make notes of that on the sheet as well. I construct the plan on a preprinted sheet right in front of them. After a couple of meetings, in which I have very obviously used the plan as a mechanism for capturing and organizing what I have learned, clients will often ask, `What is that you are writing on there?`
Sometimes the best way to sell something is not to sell it at all, but to create curiosity about it. Sure, you can present it to your client for their consideration whenever you feel the time is right. But before that, just use it for your own benefit, in plain sight. They might surprise you by asking about it before you even bring it up. I`ve seen this happen many times.
Regardless of how you approach it, your customers will only be as interested and as excited about it as you are. I believe if you use this idea the way it has been presented, and you share your plan with a few customers, you will be amazed at how well it will be received.
If you were the customer, it would be pretty hard not to be impressed if a vendor took the time to understand your internal policies, your business processes, and your organizational structure, and rolled all of that into a step-by-step plan of how to help you reach your business goals. I encourage you to . . .
Sell your process, and let your process sell your product.
According to the customers I have worked with over the years, this method of selling is quite different from what they are used to seeing. Oh, I didn`t win every deal, and neither will you. But you will win more than your share if you`re willing to do the work. It`s one of the best ways I know to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Try this approach for yourself, and you`ll soon be wondering why you weren`t selling this way all along.
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