Return to Step One
Step 1: Pick a Problem - Step 2: Pick a Reason - Step 3: Explore Solutions
Our Recommendations
Solution Selling and Strategic Opportunity Selling
Position for sellers research on how buyers buy procedurally and behaviorally so that they could "go behind the scenes" to see the process that buyers go through when determining their buying criteria. They would learn about the phenomenon called "the bond of joint discovery" that often causes buyers to favor the selling organization that arrives first and helps the buyer understand and establish their requirements - then they go out and shop the requirements in essence using other vendors to validate what they want to do with the first vendor. Furthermore, sellers would see that budget, authority, need and timeframe usually are the result of buyers "being down the road" in their evaluation... which means there is an opportunity but often it is already wired for the competition - thus affecting how one may traditionally qualify an opportunity
Expand qualification criteria (beyond BANT) so that your criteria helps to objectively assess the actions of the prospect and not just what they are saying to the seller (i.e. buyers can be misleading). These criteria would include a simple formula (Pain, Power, Vision, Value & Control) that would allow sellers to make a quick qualification decision [Successful Sales Formula] while also allowing for a deeper analysis (set of questions) for more strategic opportunities
Sales Management and Coaching and Opportunity Reviews
Use either version as the basis for quick opportunity reviews by sales management and as a way to identify areas of coaching
Additional Questions to Consider
- What is the process for opportunity qualification?... What criterion makes an opportunity qualified? BANT (Budget, Authority, Need, Timeframe)?
- What % of opportunities that sellers engage in would you say are "unqualified" and result in a loss or no-decision?
- Do sellers sense they are at a disadvantage if they enter opportunities late?
- Do sellers disengage from opportunities if they recognize them to be unqualified?
- How do managers debrief opportunities to ensure they are qualified?
Next Step
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