i Dentífricos

The first account-planning strategy I mentioned at the begin- ning of this chapter was the account development cycle. But re- call that I said there were two facets to this planning strategy. That other facet is the sales discovery process, and this entails dealing with the various parties involved in making the purchas- ing decision. Although this is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 5, there are a few points to be made now.

Procurement and Purchasing

In the typical sales process, a sales professional works with someone from the customer’s procurement organization (to get the purchase order processed) and someone from their technical organization (to have their product or service evaluated and ap- proved from a technical perspective). The procurement organi- zation issues the purchase order as well as your payments. In general, purchase orders, or POs, are required for a customer to set aside funds to pay for the purchase of your products or ser- vices. A purchasing agent usually prepares the purchase order and negotiates the business terms of the relationship. By ‘‘busi- ness terms’’ I mean things like pricing, payment terms, contract volume, contract duration, warranties, post-sale training, and post-sale support.

Because the purchasing agent or procurement department plays a critical role in the sales process, most sales professionals know that they must work with these people as part of the sales process. Most sales professionals also realize that this is typically where the price pressure in a sales process originates. Purchas- ing agents are given a budgeted amount for the purchase of a product or service and are also given the price that has been negotiated up to this point. Their job is to negotiate whatever

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additional discounts they can for the transaction, as well as nego- tiate the remaining business terms and conditions listed above.

Purchasing agents often have very little, if anything, to do with the beginning of the sales process—the part when business needs are discovered. Their role is at the end of the process. So, when working with the procurement department, regard pur- chasing agents as you would any other part of the organization. They should be included in the sales discovery process, in the relationship-building process, and in the business solution that you develop. The more you address the needs of the procure- ment department, the more likely they will support the purchase of your products and services versus those of the competition.

Technical Review

Sales people must also work with the technical part of the orga- nization. There is always someone to evaluate the technical mer- its of your solution. In the training business, this is the role of the sales-training organization, the more general training orga- nization, or possibly even the human resources department. If you were selling technology, the customer’s IT department would be the ones to evaluate the merits of your solution.

When I say that the customer must evaluate the ‘‘merits of your solution’’ from a technical perspective, what I mean is that your product or service must work as specified in your proposal, within the customer’s existing technical environment. For exam- ple, a training program does not get delivered in a vacuum. There were other training programs delivered before your train- ing program is implemented and there will be additional train- ing programs delivered after your training program is finished. All of the training programs, yours included, must mesh for the customer. Likewise, technology does not get purchased or work

in a vacuum. There is technology prior to the installation of your solution and there will be technology that will be installed after- wards.

So, you need to include the person or people in the technical organization—in the sales discovery process, in the relationship- building process, and in the business solution that you develop. Again, the more you address the needs of the technical evalua- tors, the more likely they will tend to support your solution ver- sus that of the competition.

The Originating Executive

The person most sales people often forget to include in the sales process is the original executive who generated the need for your solution. Companies do not purchase training without an under- lying business need. Companies purchase goods and services because they have a specific business need that must be ad- dressed. This obvious point is often neglected during the sales process. Don’t make that mistake.

You should see the originator as the most important person in the process. He or she is the source of the business need, likely the person funding the purchase, and often the final deci- sion maker. I have seen many sales professionals lose a sale at the last minute owing to having ignored the source of the busi- ness need. Consistent with my other recommendations, the more you address the needs of the business executive at the source of the process, the more the individual will support your solution versus that of the competition.

One challenge to this admonition is addressing the stature of the executive within the organization. Many sales people feel intimidated when working with senior executives; however, the great equalizer in sales is the ability to help someone achieve his

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or her business objectives. For example, this past summer I was working with a client for which calling on senior executives was a real concern. The sales people on staff did not believe it appro- priate to call outside of their technical contacts and they resisted my urgings to do so. However, there was one sales professional, very new to the business, who decided to give it a try.

I had also asked these sales people to stay abreast of the busi- ness issues facing their customers, and this sales person had read an article about his customer that allowed him to create a compelling value proposition. The customer was a major bank headquartered in the UK. The CEO at the bank had decided to make his bank the ‘‘direct bank of choice’’ in the UK. By ‘‘direct bank,’’ the CEO meant that he wanted to be the most available bank in the UK and he would do this by giving customers two easy and immediate ways to access their funds—the Internet and a strong branch system.

The challenge faced by the CEO was that the branch system was heavily burdened by unnecessary costs. The strategy wasn’t working because the CEO was unable to sufficiently lower the cost structure within the branch system to achieve his objectives. The sales person read the story and decided to contact the CEO. This CEO was a top business executive and the opportunity was both significant and intimidating for the new sales person. Nev- ertheless, he made the call, armed with an incredibly valuable proposition. He was welcomed with open arms by the CEO, and was able to follow through on the idea and make a considerable sale.

You cannot walk into a senior executive’s office just for the purpose of presenting your wares—your ticket to the executive suite is a strong value proposition. Being armed thus so gives you the right to learn about the customer’s business from the perspective of the executive office. While I can’t guarantee that

this approach will work every time, it is incumbent on all of us to make this effort part of our account plans.

The End Users

The end users of your products and services are no different from any of the other groups I have mentioned here. By under- standing their perspective on the sales transaction, you can de- velop a more comprehensive and valuable solution.

Unfortunately, end users are often not included in the sales process because they typically appear to have the least influence over the final decision. What sales professionals often forget is that because this is the group that actually uses the business solution day in and day out, these folks can be a great source of new ideas. They may not be in on the decision to select your solution, but their input will help you shape a value-filled busi- ness solution.