My last post dealt with the “Problem” problems that cause deals to get stuck. There were quite a few.

As I promised in that post, there are other reasons that deals get stuck besides “Problem” problems. I call them “Us” problems.

These “Us” problems include:

1. No Solution. There are times when we believe that a prospect’s aggravation with the current provider is so acute that they will switch to us at almost any price. But their frustration is really only enough to get us in the door and in contention for consideration. Research has shown that the usual threshold for changing out a major supplier, vendor, or partner is the potential for an 8-14% improvement, or there will not be a deal. This improvement is the aggregate of improvements in price, cost, friction and value.
2. No Credibility. There is another side to the world of big claims: the TOO BIG CLAIM. When we claim that our solutions offer more than a 14% improvement, our credibility goes through the floor. The expectation of an 8-14% improvement comes from a Harvard Business School study, and I have found it to be in line with real world expectations. Though there are differences between industries, anything too far beyond a promise of a 14% improvement is likely to be seen by prospects as BS.
3. No Chemistry. The prospect has to be able to see their people company working with your people. When they can’t, or worse, when they can but they hate the idea, you have a chemistry problem. I have been on the inside of buying groups. Time and again personalities and chemistry have been major factors when value propositions are similar. It has even been the driving decision factor in multi-million dollar deals.
4. No Precision. Using generic answers that focus on what we can do, instead of on tailored, real-world solutions to their problems, issues and time frames create the sense of risk. Our one-size-fits-all approach creates the risk that we will miss something that will limit or eliminate the benefits that they prospect was seeking.
5. Solution Creates More Problems. Every solution holds the potential for greater damage during implementation. For some companies, the problems may be more political than they are financial or operational, but they hold a sense of great risk nonetheless.

With these “Us” problems, we are overwhelmingly dealing with what our solution means to our prospect… (more…)

In our business, more than half of our deal coaching work focuses on “unsticking” deals, and believe me, it’s exactly how it sounds. Sometimes a deal loses momentum, gets lost in the fold, or just gets plain stuck. Some symptoms of a stuck deal are:

These symptoms are measured against my three indicators of the health of a deal: information, people and time.

The reasons that deals get stuck generally fall into two categories: “Problem” problems and “Us” problems. In this post, we’ll focus on the “Problem” problems. Next time, we’ll focus on the “Us” problems.

“Problem” problems fall into these categories…
(more…)

By Tim Searcy

“. . . but nobody wants to die.” Or, so the saying goes. This is so true for all management change. I’ve been spending time with CEO’s that are frustrated with their teams. Although everyone wants to see better outcomes, the sales leadership has been unwilling to adopt behavior change. The fact is that if a company keeps using the same tools, thinking and approach, it will get the same outcome. Change requires in a word, well, change.

If you’re implementing Hunt Big Sales’ methodologies, or the concepts originally put forth in Tom Searcy’s book Whale Hunting, and are frustrated with the pace of internal adoption, consider the following three questions:

1. Have you been crystal clear about your unwavering commitment to the new sales process? Change of this nature is not collaborative throughout the organization, nor does the decision require “buy in.” This is a radically different approach to change management, but simply assuming that you’ll be able to get everyone on board diminishes the elements needed to enact revolutionary change. The only group-think that has to be done is at the very top of the organization, and that is the firm’s commitment to begin. Now, the second step of implementation requires tremendous discussion and explanation. This is about helping people understand, “why?” In tough times like the current recession, it is possible that the reason is as simple as survival.

2. Do you have a step-by-step time line for implementation? In my client experience, it is wise to understand that everything cannot all happen at once. Take for example something simple in nature, but complicated in acceptance: the movement pipeline. Many companies attempt to put in place the movement pipeline in one afternoon. This approach is doomed to confusion and frustration. Instead, follow this order of introduction as an example for all aspects of the HBS system:

• Define your terms: Without a clear understanding of what words mean (in writing), too much interpretation will take place and misalignment is assured.
• Lay out the process: In the case of the movement pipeline, this means making certain that everyone understands what each step means, followed by agreement on the order of steps, and the policies if an account moves outside the process.
• Test the system: Take five or ten of your last accounts and put them in the pipeline report to see if reality matches design. If not, then change the design properly, or examine if reality has actually been the problem.
• Implement on a beta basis: The movement pipeline dictates strong accountability in both the positive and negative for failure to accomplish 10 movements per week, or to eliminate wasted accounts. For this reason, try out the system for 60-90 days prior to placing it into stone.
• Implement the system and review semi-annually: So often organizations get started on a process and then spend tremendous amounts of time tinkering with the process without allowing the system to just work. Let the process run for awhile before making changes, and resist the urge to modify on the fly when something does not feel right for a specific account.

3. Are you following the “prescription?” Medication does not work if you do not take it in the dosage prescribed or at the intervals directed by the physician

These questions should lead to the truisms of change excellence. In short, you have to mandate change as its most passionate agent, engage a plan that has clear milestones for assessment of delivery, and work the plan as it is prescribed by Hunt Big Sales.

And, obviously, if you need help in these three areas, just give us a call so we can talk about where you’re stuck. We love this stuff, and are happy to help.

(Start a dialog by calling or emailing Carajane Moore: 317-847-8037 or carajane@huntbigsales.com.)

What is a sales team’s likely response when their buyer involves a bunch of people in a sale who don’t know much about what they’re buying?

“These people are IDIOTS!” [Paraphrased from frustrated sales people the world over, dealing with “new” buyers at their big targets…]

When big companies lay people off, the functions of those people get stacked on top of the already-full desks of other people. These new responsibilities most often don’t come with training, a manual, or any relevant experience on the part of the recipient. And these new job requirements just show up. Often times, one of these responsibilities is to be the buyer of products and services with which the “new” buyer is very unfamiliar.

So, what do these people do with their new responsibility? Most of the time they choose one of the following:

1. Do nothing. They don’t buy anything- they just put it off 2. Stick with the incumbent. 3. Buy from the lowest-priced vendor.

In the rapidly-shifting organizational charts of companies dealing with downsizing, ignorant buyers can be dangerous to your sales process for new accounts. Face it—there are a lot of options that are easier and safer than going with a new provider like you.

Getting these new buyers to sway away from the three easy options listed above will require you to adjust your approach. Here are some recommendations…

• (more…)

At some point, we all say dumb things. It is natural and human, but for all our communication abilities, salespeople can say the darnedest things! I have compiled some classic ones below, but hope that you will add to the list with your own. Think of this as the list of things to never say if you are a salesperson.

• “It could be huge!” We have used this four-word exclamation in almost every seminar we have ever given.   However, when a salesperson says it, they’re asking for the owner to either berate them for exaggeration, or pepper them with questions. A salesperson knows that both of these reactions are  painful, and yet can’t help but say it anyway.
• “It could be the next . . .!” Like the previous statement, this statement comes jam-packed with assumptions and pixie dust. Of course, the worst of it is that the salesperson thinks that the last really big deal that was brought in looked just like this one. Now, he/she is not only subject to the wrath and ire of the boss, but also to that of all of his/her co-workers, since they’re going to have clean up the mess that “the next” creates.
• “This is going to be fairly easy … We only have to do a couple things different than usual.” Whenever the salesperson starts talking about how easy someone else’s work is going to be, she has lost the audience. It is never as easy as they think, because they don’t have to do the work.
• “We have the inside track on this one.” I know that I shouldn’t be superstitious, but I’ve found that the minute you taunt the world by declaring how good you are, or how something is definite when it isn’t, you invite trouble. Trouble usually comes in the form of the unexpected, the unanticipated, and the unstoppable. Don’t brag to the sales gods.
• “Now . . . this is full commission, right?” Any salesperson dumb enough to ask this question already knows that the answer is most likely “no.” Salespeople that worry that they won’t receive full commission are either cutting a deal that doesn’t deserve it, or working for firms that have a history of not paying.

As a lifelong salesperson, I am certain that I’ve said all of these things before. This, of course, is why they are so familiar. What assumptive phrases have you heard before from either your own mouth, or a salesperson you know?

“That’s just stupid!”

I swear these words came out of my mouth before I could reach out and grab a hold of them and rein them in.

I was talking to a CEO prospect at an event in Seattle last week and in the course of a lively conversation, enhanced by a Tito’s Vodka martini and the jet lag from my flight from Atlanta, I gave my inner voice an outer voice and said, well, what I said.

He looked as if he’d just been slapped (by me). Then he smiled about as big as you can and said, “I know, I’m the one doing it and I don’t know how to stop.”

We were talking about CEOs who insist on being on all of their company’s sales calls. I outlined (quickly, lest the smile fade…) the big dangers of CEOs being on every sales call…

(more…)

In her book On Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross addresses outlines the five-stage process through which people deal with life tragedies:

1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance

On a slightly less depressing note, I’ve been noticing similar stages of grieving within big companies as they deal with the recession, specifically in terms of how they’re buying:

1. Freeze buying 2. Squeeze vendors 3. Look for trade offs 4. Buy for value

This isn’t scientific; it just represents some observations I’ve had in the last six months. I think one of the key findings of Kubler-Ross was that those who grieve can move back and forth between stages during the course of their journey towards acceptance. The same thing is happening to businesses—you see them move forward and backwards between the various stages, but I’m starting to see them move slowly through the cycle (even though we still seem to be a ways a way from stage 4).

Currently, the conversations I’ve been having are regarding Trade-Offs. Big companies are working through the trade-offs between what they are willing to pay and accept in performance with what they can receive in function and value. The trade-offs that I am seeing are…

(more…)

I’m working on some big sales right now with my clients. I act as either a member of their team or as a key advisor. We’re aiming at accounts ranging from $500,000 to $100,000,000. This is a great part of my professional life. People hire me typically for one or more of three reasons:

1. They’re looking to “double their double.” They want to double the speed with which they can double the size of their company and they believe that landing large accounts is the way to do it.
2. They want a manageable and scalable approach to running their sales process, measuring it and improving their success rates.
3. They have a mega-sale that they want to land and they want me to be their adviser and coach. I play the role of “deal-doctor” for lack of a better description.

I’m doing all of this work right now for a variety of clients, but it just so happens that in the area of mega-hunts, we’re in a very busy hunting season.

Every one of these deals is different – different size, industry, competitive landscape, personality mix… You get the idea.

But there are a few things that each of these mega-hunts has in common…

(more…)

(Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to your prospect on the phone. Yes, really.)

In most horror films, at some point two people are in a scary place and they get separated. And at that moment, the tension begins because where there was conversation, now there is just the sound of the person’s breathing…the silence begins to play tricks with the imagination…and the suspense builds on itself until the character is at a level of irrational panic. Usually the person is calling out into the darkness repeatedly the name of the other character…and getting nothing back.

Silence is the worst when you’re on a hunt. One day there is a great dialogue and lots of discussions and the next you’ve entered some twilight zone of communication—emails aren’t returned, phone calls deadend at voicemail, and even your ace-in-the-hole contact (the one you’ve cultivated to give you the inside scoop) has dropped into some witness protection program, never to be heard from again.

Prospects smell fear and desperation; it’s pungent and unpleasant, so screaming into the night or begging for a returned phone call will not create a sense of strength and often doesn’t result in a returned call or email anyway.

However, humor can really work, so I want to share a few of the ways I have broken sustained silences in a big hunt and I want to hear some of your ideas in return. So, here are some cheap tricks and favorite techniques for reactivating the dialogue during a hunt that has gone silent…

(more…)

Chevy Chase was famous for saying that working with Christie Brinkley in National Lampoon’s Vacation was like holding an ice cream cone all day that you were not allowed to lick.

Lots of my clients have been stuck at “yes” in their sales processes lately. They get the deal, or so it would seem. They have a signed agreement and approval….yet they are not able to turn that into money. Sometimes, they can get the first dollars of the deal and then get stuck at a fraction of what they anticipated. Others get a big piece of the business, but full revenue realization bogs down. We have broken it down in this way… (more…)