Quarterly Sales Bulletin                                                                                         Volume 6, Fall 2009

Where ARE We? - I remember waking up in a hotel room in California back in my days as an outsourcing sales exec. It was pitch black in the room, the clock indicated it was not yet time to get up, and I had NO idea where I was - NONE. It literally took 30 seconds to recount my meetings for the week to conclude I wasn't in Dallas, Philly, or another city. Once I had settled the matter in my head, it was easy enough to go back to sleep as the upcoming day's agenda was clear. But, what if the scenario isn't as simple as a distant hotel room and the factors are more numerous and complex than our physical location? Welcome to your customer's world in Q4 of 2009.

The signals right now are very mixed. On the side of economic improvement are a stock market well above its recent bottom, the need for solutions beginning to outweigh the desire to build reserves, and comments from various sources (like the Fed) stating that the worst is behind us. On the side of continued economic difficulty are huge capacities in manufacturing and real-estate, very tight credit markets, almost 10% unemployment, and flat household income. Depending on your preferred side of the coin, you can easily build a complete portfolio of e-zine articles to support either position in about 10 minutes. Figuring out which direction things will go is not the point (and, no matter how good you are, no one knows the future with certainty). The point is, it is rare for us to find ourselves in a period of such UNcertainty, where messages are so completely mixed, data points so conflict with each other, and our prospects are so scattered in THEIR view of what's ahead of us. When our prospects are unclear, it is much more difficult to sell effectively.

So what do you do? Similar to what we discussed last quarter (work fewer deals so you can be laser focused), think about prioritizing opportunities based on how concrete they are. The more concrete a deal is, the more efficiently and effectively you can use your time. As a simple example, a deal that is truly heading toward closure will entail questions that have real answers - not fluffy inquiries about your company's approach to some broad topic like quality. With that in mind, I would be allocating the most time to deals with a real compelling event. After those, I allocate time to deals with budget and some indication the CFO is on board with the project (see below note on CFOs). Next, time goes to deals with healthy companies (tend to be less affected by short-term changes in conditions) who can articulate a real business advantage they will gain from implementing the target solution (the solution is strategic to them, not a nice-to-have). Finally, time goes to deals where the above factors do not exist but the company does have a defined budget, decision-making process, and reason for pursuing the solution (being more heavily invested in the process and thus, less likely to abandon the pursuit or delay significantly). If all of the above are absent in these uncertain times, you should qualify them much harder than usual; otherwise, you will likely find yourself wrapped around the axle of a deal going nowhere.

There May be a New Sheriff in Town - Working with a prospect company's CFO is nothing new to any of us. They dictate ROI requirements, monitor budgets, and just scrutinize spending in general. They are always there ready to make difficult demands.

But now, with clearly heightened business/economic risk, the CFO's opinion is carrying more weight - as it should. Afterall, the CFO is the person with the most complete financial picture of a company. They turn the small pictures into a big picture - having influence in every department, being evaluated by the board, the senior management, and external entities. When the money is not making sense, they have to answer the tough questions. CFOs' jobs are hardest in hard times so they become even more vigilant in protecting the corporate coffers. So, while we have always needed the CFO's OK on a deal, we'd better be getting it earlier now to avoid glitches arising from any new rules the CFO might have implemented.

Think of the CFO as a prospect's internal credit market. Just as they can facilitate a deal by approving funding, they can also kill a deal for a host of reasons your sponsor might not even be aware of. It is interesting, as I recruit, I speak with lots of sales execs who are interested in starting their own businesses. Many believe they will go the bank or SBA and take out a loan to start the company. What they don't realize is that the rules have changed. Banks will no longer loan on the potential value of the company. They will only loan with confirmed assets as collateral - personal assets. The rules have changed. The last thing you want is to find out about these changes when you are in the final stages of your deal (your boss doesn't want those surprises, either). So, get to the CFO early in the process. Confirm anything your coach has told you.

Also, there is a relatively new trend in business organizations - establishing the position of an IT CFO, or Vice President of IT Finance. As technology deals have become more and more complex, companies have found it advantageous to have a finance executive who specializes in technology and deals with hardware, software, and services contracts on a daily basis. That specialization cuts both ways. On one hand you are dealing with a customer who "gets it" so you are not having to educate or justify common financial contract terms. On the other hand, they are likely to dig in and be much more scrutinizing of the details because they know what they are looking for and where other companies have been willing to negotiate. As with the standard CFO, better engage this contact early.

Separating Yourself from the Pack: Just as you compete against other companies' sales execs for deals, you also compete, hopefully healthily, internally for resources. These would be technical, support, and administrative resources. Those resources are typically assigned by some third party, but the degree to which they allocate effort is something of an internal decision, and it is usually based on how hard you work, how successful you are at closing deals, and how you treat them.

One of the biggest influencers people take away from their interactions with us is the degree to which we are encouraging. Often times that encouraging involves praise for assignments well done. Did you know there are right and wrong ways to give praise? Here are four little nuggets on "praise" from an articel I came across by an author named Steven DeMario. They may help you garner a little extra help as you press deals through the internal support process.
1. Be VERY Specific - The more general your praise, the less weight it carries.
2. Being Polite is not the Same as Praising - Please, thank you, and nice work are not the same as "That solution section of the proposal was outstanding. I can tell you spent a ton of extra time on the graphs and it was perfect. I really appreciate your effort."
3. Actions Speaker Louder than Words - If you can, find a way to go beyond the words of praise. Bonuses, e-mails to bosses, etc. demonstrate your praise is sincere.
4. Don't use Praise as a Buffer - If you have to deliver some negative feedback or constructive criticism, don't throw in some empty praise to soften the blow. It dilutes the effectiveness of both.



CHECK THIS OUT:


Quote(s) of the Quarter:

As these relate to working with your prospects, give these a little thought...

"The solution to a problem changes the nature of the problem."

- Source - John Peers


"Delay itself is a decision."

- Source - Theodore C. Sorensen

A little break from the day...
A Master Seller Working Magic

Note: NEVER underestimate the importance of a minimal amount of product knowledge.

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HOT OPPS:

These are some priority searches we have under way. Please drop us a note if you see one that might be a fit for you or someone you know.

  • P&C Enterprise Software - Senior Sales Exec - Bay Area preferred, Western US okay


  • P&C Claims Analytics - Sales Manager - anywhere in Eastern 2/3 of US


  • Predictive Analytics Sales - P&C vertical - anywhere in Western 2/3 US


  • Senior Outsourcing Sales Exec. - Insurance Vertical - Los Angeles

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