Numbers Sometimes Lie: Take a Look at Your Sales Pipeline and Sales Process

w w w . l a n d s l i d e . c o m Building World Class Sales

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© Landslide 2009. All Rights Reserved

Numbers Sometimes Lie: Take a Realistic Look at Your Sales Pipeline and

Selling Process Before It's Too Late!

Landslide Technologieswww.landslide.com

Building World Class Sales

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About Mark Sellers

•Author, The Funnel Principle©

•Sales Consultant and Funnel Expert

•Founder Breakthrough Sales Performance® 1996

Clients Include: Whirlpool Corp., Mass Mutual, Goodyear, Honeywell, and Smith & Nephew


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Context for Today’s Webinar

• Achieve 2009 quota or budget or goal - a race to the finish!


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Five Objectives Today

Using the BuyCycle Funnel™

Learn the most important question to ask for every sale on your 2009 funnel

Learn why Stage 2 deals can help you increase your close rate

Learn to quickly disqualify deals that won’t close in 2009

Learn the five variables that are present in every sale and,

Learn how to organize that information using a process to consistently set effective sales strategies


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Quick Poll

1. Do you expect to hit your 2009 quota?

2. How confident are you in knowing which deals deserve your attention and which ones do not?

3. How confident are you that your strategies for key deals will take you one step closer to winning these sales?


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Three Foundation Principles

1. Know if funding has been committed

2. Focus on Stage 2 opportunities

3. Embrace deal process


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#1 – The most important question…

• Is the customer committed to spending money this fiscal year if necessary to fix the problems?


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This may seem obvious, but…

• What tangible evidence do you have?• Are you confusing budgeted with committed funding?

• Do you know who actually committed funding? • Do you know what’s at stake if the customer delays

or cancels a purchase? • Does the right person know how your solution avoids

jeopardizing what’s at stake? • Do you know the alternatives to making a purchase? • Has your sales strategy adapted to how ‘the

economy’ has changed the way your customers buy?


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How you find out

• Get it from the source – the Person with Financial Authority (PFA)

• Ask the question – don’t beat around the bush• Don’t assume budget = committed to spend

money• Use Advocate to validate


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Once funding is committed, then what?

• Are we sole sourced or flat spec’ed? • Are we the lead alternative?• Do we have access to the Person with Financial

Authority and other really important people? • Is our solution a fantastic fit to their needs? • What makes us unique and valuable to the customer

right now?


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#2 – Stage 2 deals help you increase your close rate

Stage 2 Define Economic Consequence

• The customer is exploring the costs of the problems and has at least somewhat defined the financial impact of the problems


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Why Stage 2s are important

• Customer still investing time • In the ‘go/no-go zone’• Early enough for you to shape • Not so far as to be ‘proposal fodder’

Stage 2 Opportunities


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How to strategize Stage 2s

• Understand the ‘problem economics’• Learn scope of problem • Know who’s feeling the pain or who has

something to lose• Uncover the emotional trigger • Get access to the PFA, possibly

through an influential Advocate• Know the alternatives


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Sales Production System


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#3 – Disqualify the deals that won’t produce revenue in 2009

• Disqualify vs qualify • Goes against faith, hope, and

optimism


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• Will it be a sale for anyone in 2009?

• Has funding been committed? • Is our solution a really REALLY

good fit for this customer?

Filter One


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Filter Two• Advocate• Access to PFA• Perceived fit that we’re better

than any others• Flat spec-ed/sole sourced• We know their BATNA isn’t good


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Buyer Management Tools – Know when the buyer is engaged and integrate the buying process in the selling process



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#4 and #5 – Use sales process to make your sales analysis pay off

Learn the five variables in every sale to set the most effective strategy

Learn why process is needed to make your sales strategies most effective


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The 5 variables

• The Problem• The People• The Money• The Motivations• The Alternatives


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Setting process to these variables

• A series of seller actions• An ‘if this then that’ kind of flow • Use the buying process as your guide


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Four Elements of a Sales Production System

1 – Four-tiered Selling Process

Tier 1 - Developing an end-to-end sales cycle

Tier 2 – Identifying goals for each phase

Tier 3- Identifying activities to achieve each goal

Tier 4 – Identifying tools need to complete the activity


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Ex. Seller Focus for a Stage 2 sale (Define Economic Consequence)

• Problem• Understand the problem economics • Learn scope and reach of problem • Help build a business case

• People • Who’s feeling the pain • Does the PFA know costs of problem?

• Motivation • Who’s motivated to act? Who’s not and why?

• Money• How does PFA feel about spending any money to fix the

problem?


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Monitoring Tools • Volume of deals flowing through the production line• Velocity of deal flow• Effectiveness of the sales tools• Effectiveness of salespeople



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Summary

• Commit Funding 2009• Stage 2s can be promising• Deal process


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Customizable Sales Process by Industry, Sales Culture, Product and Mode

Identifies the best selling practices for your organization Make process central to the everyday sales activities of your team

Selling and Conversation Tools Monitoring and Research Tools Buyer Management Tools

Outsource Data Entry to a Sales Assistant Expert Guidance during the Sales Cycle Pipeline Management Support

Landslide Sales P3 System – Sales Production System


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WAIT! Before you go…

• Contact Mark SellersPhone: 1-614-571-8267 Email: [email protected]

Web: www.funnelprinciple.com

• Slides for today’s webinarDownload at www.landslide.com/webinar

• Sign up for a live online demo of Landslide:Phone: 1-866-450-8522 Email: [email protected] Web:

www.landslide.com/demo

Numbers Sometimes Lie: Take a Look at Your Sales Pipeline and Sales Process

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Transcript of Numbers Sometimes Lie: Take a Look at Your Sales Pipeline and Sales Process