Bringing Down Your Deal: A good friend of ESP, who happens to be one of the best big outsourcing deal drivers out there, shared with us a little insight into winning deals. Unfortunately, his analogy was developed while watching six NFL games in two days while down with the flu. He concluded that solution sales was a lot like a pro football game in a couple ways. First, even if one team is on paper much better than the other, it usually isn't a blow out. TAKE AWAY - Don't get over confident, you probably aren't that much better than your competition. Second, it ain't over 'til it's over - or at least 'til the contract is signed. Think about great come- from-behind victories in sports. (Need an example, see Texas vs. Oklahoma State, NCAA Football. Texas was down 35 - 7 and came back to win 56 - 35. That is not giving up.) GM is known for taking two companies all the way through contract negotiation before pulling the plug on one of the vendors. TAKE AWAY - Make adjustments along the way. If you are ahead, shorten the game, press to get the deal done ASAP; if you are behind, lengthen the sales cycle. Buy yourself some time, look for ways to change the deal. Third, it comes down to details - the little things. In football, holding a down-field block can spring a tailback for another ten yards. Gutting out an extra couple first downs can shift the field position and then the outcome. In sales, a little more responsiveness, a little more creative financial model, a little better understanding of the decision-making process can be the difference in winning and losing. TAKE AWAY - Pay attention to the little things.

Who Is In Your Patch? Are you prepared for a shrinking market? Even the largest IT companies get tired of getting hammered by huge customers. That's why they develop and invest in "Middle Market Groups". Think about it, big companies dictate the rules of the game. They think of themselves as more savvy, more hard-core, and more deserving of vendor's best terms. For example, Wal-Mart is basically driving the RFID market, they make the rules and will eventually squeeze much of the profit out of it. Don't like it? Don't play. That attitude amounts to a grueling sales cycle and big vendors with strong capabilities start going after smaller, less demanding companies. There they meet the smaller vendors on the rise. How does this impact you? If you are with a large firm, prepare to get more responsive and more flexible. In strategy sessions, identify what hurdles you may encounter and get solutions to those hurdles agreed to in advance. Having to go back to the boss for every decision not only shows the bureaucracy, but makes you look like a piker sales person. If you are with the smaller firm, pitch your niche and the ease of doing business. Also, carve out pieces of large deals that may need a specialist's touch.

Where's the Money? A big chunk of it is going offshore - no matter what the politicians say. According to two major consulting organizations, we can expect what is already being spent there to rise even further. TowerGroup indicates that they foresee the top 15 global financial institutions' IT spending for vendor-direct offshore outsourcing increasing 34% per year, going from $1.6B in 2004 to $3.9B in 2008. Gartner, looking at BPO numbers, sees the offshore persentage jumping from 1% of the market in 2002, to 14% in 2007 - that's estimated to be $24B of a $173B market. Is your company able to offer an offshore component to your solutions? If not, take the initiative and dig up a partner. Cash is still king and, all things being equal, price is the major driver of your deal.

Separating Yourself from the Pack: Do you know each of the Decision Makers' and Deal Influencers' personal needs? Do not kid yourself into thinking they are not there and that the whole decision will be based on your business case. The personal biases and needs are there, and prospects want to know you are looking out for them. Everybody involved in the deal will either gain or lose something when the project they signed off on goes well or not so well. Thus, understanding and addressing that vested interest will help you close the deal. Clearly you have to be aware of the degree of sensitivity each of those needs carries. But, remember, logic and strong business cases support the buying decision - personal interests get the contract signed. As the saying goes, if logic was the only factor in a buying decision, cigarette companies would be out of business.

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Elite Sales Professionals is an executive search firm specializing in high-level sales and sales management searches, primarily for postions selling technology and services into the Financial Services and Insurance verticals. If you would like to correspond with us or submit your resume, please e-mail us at Alpha@saleswolves.com.

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