If your sale requires multiple meetings with different stakeholders, how do you know if each one is a success? Here’s how:
Steve Bistritz
8mo
It’s difficult to answer that question, because we don’t know if these meetings are related to a specific sales opportunity or to simply build relationships with the stakeholders. If its related to a specific sales opportunity, the salesperson should be prepared to answer three compelling questions, namely: 1) Should we pursue this opportunity? What’s changing in the client’s environment that’s creating the need for our solution? 2) Can we effectively compete for this opportunity? Do we have a solution that can be integrated into the client organization and have we identified the specific business value of that solution? 3) Can we reasonably expect to win this opportunity? Are we aligned with the most powerful people in the client organization who can help us win this deal? As we meet with various stakeholders, success to me would be the ability to identify the relevant executive for the sales opportunity. My definition of the relevant executive is the executive who stands to gain the most or lose the most as it relates to the outcome of the project or application that’s related to our sales opportunity. That person can influence the buying decision as it relates to your sales opportunity.
Gary Summy
8mo
Very well stated! I always wanted my sales teams to focus on what customer action will occur if the call is successful, that is the call objective. Without a customer action it was a “social call”, not a business meeting. You identified several good ones; agree to success metrics, make an introduction to another stakeholder, establish a plan and timetable, etc. I love your decision gates, my only addition to the process (and knowing you it is already embedded) would be to jointly establish the gates with your client sponsor or key stakeholder to ensure both the selling gates and buying gates are identified. As usual, you capture things essential to the process of developing and delivering mutual value.
Thomas Preiss
8mo
Love it Maria! And as you move the customer through the next decision gate make sure it's firmly closed behind them:-)
John Fowler
8mo
Great Maria - SSO - single sales objective
Founder & CEO at Edelson
8moAnn-Ronel Bruwer So glad you enjoyed the post!