ACTIVIDADES DE LA OBRA QUE GENERAN MOLESTIAS A LA COMUNIDAD .1 Objetivo

I was once involved in a large selling opportunity with a well-established manufacturing firm. This was a unique situation in that some years ear- lier I had lost a sale at the same company to a competitor. In the time that followed, that decision had not worked out to the company’s satis- faction, so I found myself with a second chance to win the company’s business. This time I was much better prepared. This time I asked for and obtained access to the inner circle.

For this second chance, the decision process was different, and it had a much larger cast. The new group consisted of 12 key person- nel—a tough crowd filled with large egos. It was the classic example of “too many officers and not enough soldiers.” There were lively exchanges and even some heated arguments. It seemed that everyone had his or her own agenda. I knew which person played the role of the trigger, but otherwise, the clash of personalities made it difficult to discern who was influential, who wasn’t, and what role each person played in the decision process.

One of the members of this inner circle had worked with me in a previous life at another company, had been pleased with the results, and wanted me to win the business. Because of my prior rela- tionship with her, she proved to be invaluable in helping me to do just that.

At my initial meeting with the inner circle, the trigger publicly informed me that the committee would be looking at several of my competitors. Yes, I expected that. Then my mole pulled me aside dur- ing a break and whispered excitedly, “Guess what? Your firm is the only option we are considering!”

Well. That was nice to know.

At our second meeting, the trigger also told me, again publicly, to sharpen my pencil—that cost would be a significant factor in the group’s buying decision. The mole pulled me aside during a recess in the discussion and casually asked me, “Would you like to know what the budget is?”

Yes, I replied. As a matter of fact, I would. Very much.

We eventually got to the proposal stage and—surprise!—this sec- ond time around I won the account.

Now you understand the value of having a mole.

Having a mole in the competitive sale is the single biggest advan- tage you can hope for. This is a person who wants you to be the win- ner—and therefore is motivated to work proactively to influence the other members of the inner circle in your favor. As in my case, the mole will share information with you that you aren’t supposed to have—and he oe she will advise you on how to best deal with the other members of the group. The mole will tell you what your competitors are up to, who within the inner circle is hot for one of your competi- tors, who supports you, who doesn’t, who is trying to stab you in the back, who doesn’t care either way, and a host of other interesting tid- bits that make all the difference in a competitive selling environment.

Unfortunately, the example provided—where you have a mole preestablished from the outset—is exceptionally rare. However, this does not prevent you from developing a mole relationship within the prospect company. The mole can be anyone within the inner circle— but you are looking for a person who makes it clear that if it were his or her sole decision, you would be the selected vendor.

What motivates someone to be your mole—to work with you as a partner in the competitive sale? Liking you personally is a plus, but that alone is rarely enough to make the person become the kind of proactive ally that you need. For this relationship to bloom, you will need the right circumstances. Examples:

• Prior knowledge of your firm, either from a prior experience or, more commonly, through word of mouth from a friend or colleague

• A poor experience with one of the competitors involved or a negative report from a friend or colleague

• A perception that your firm is uniquely capable of serving his or her personal interests in the decision

• The perception that your firm has an offering or strength of particular significance to the needs of the company

• A dislike of another member of the inner circle who is leaning toward your competition, with a corresponding desire by your mole to scuttle this person’s “getting his or her way”

As you begin working with the group, pay close attention to who among the group seems to gravitate toward you. Select a mole candi- date, and work to align yourself with this person. Address his or her “What’s in it for me?” and develop a proactive partnership that yields benefits for both of you.

Outliers

Depending on the complexity of the opportunity, your inner circle may lack expertise regarding the decision being made, or you may have people in the group who simply want to reduce their personal risk with regard to making a poor selection. In either case, they some- times decide to include an outside firm that will be contracted by them to render an objective opinion on your and your competitor’s capabilities. I have served in this capacity on a few occasions. Such independent firms most often participate as “Spock for hire” in this capacity, and they usually will have a well-established relationship from prior dealings with the company. I will refer to these hired advi- sors as outliers.

Outliers behave, for all practical purposes, just like Spock does, with a twist—they first and foremost want to use this opportunity to impress their client with their expertise. In fact, this is just one of several polit- ical angles that outliers may work within the competitive buying deci- sion. Consider the situation that I outline below.

I recently had a worst-case scenario in which I found myself dealing with an outlier who had a separate agenda from the buying decision. A man who owned several different but related business units was inter- ested in my services. He had a close relationship with a consulting firm, one on whom he relied heavily for advice in the other business units. What the owner did not know, but I did, was that this outlier from the consulting firm had a very close and formal business relationship with

PREDATOR POINT

The mole is the single most valuable asset you can have during the course of any competitive sale.

a competitor of mine who also was being considered. The owner made the assumption that his outlier could be of value in objectively assess- ing outside resources, not knowing that the outlier favored my com- petitor. I knew better. In fact, as soon as the discussion began, I realized that this entire process was going to be a complete waste of my time. The outlier had hand-picked his buddy to get the work. I was an unex- pected interruption to that formality, chosen to be there by a separate senior executive, and none of my firm’s value-adds were going to mat- ter one bit in what the outlier recommended to the client. Faced with the choice of exposing this political power play to the buyer or remov- ing myself from the process, I elected, in the interest of time manage- ment, simply to “punt.” I informed the decision maker that I did not feel that I was the best fit for this particular application and moved on to other, more productive uses of my selling time.

Drones

Aside from triggers, Spocks, moles, and outliers, there can be other members of an inner circle who were recruited to participate, although their interest level in the outcome may be limited or even nonexistent. Their role is therefore a peripheral one. I refer to these individuals as drones. I will discuss such secondary participants in more detail in Chapter 5.

Drones, in most cases, will act as passive members of the inner cir- cle. For a variety of reasons, it may not be in their interests to take an active role in the decision—and they therefore will serve primarily as observers.

Some examples of drone participants include

• A member who has a highly specialized skill or expertise relative to your offering and therefore is asked to sit in as a special guest

• A member whose previous career experience included time with a company that sold the same or similar things that you and your competitors do

• A protégé of Spock or the trigger who is being groomed for promotion and therefore is participating as an observer for the learning experience

• A valued assistant, such as an executive secretary, who is routinely included in these decisions based on demonstrated business acumen, tenure, and good judgment

A common mistake that sellers make with drones is to assume that their job title or role in the company reflects their role in the buying process. Don’t make this mistake! One of the most important inner circle players in one of my key accounts is the secretary of the exec- utive vice president; her opinion is a key factor in all major buying decisions. Keep your eyes open, and get to know everyone. You will be able to determine from observation most of the key players within this group.