A New Sales Perspective

I have been on both sides of the sales fence as both the sales guy and the customer buyer.  The opposing poles with very different objectives in any sales negotiation; one to convince you're about to make the best investment ever at the best price, the other looking to get exactly what they want at the lowest possible cost.

At least that's how it used to be. Nowadays business to business sales should be more focused on selling and buying value and that's where these once opposing roles converge in objectives. One needs to sell the value to make their money, the other has to ensure it is delivered to the business.

So here's how to make that critical sale and more importantly long term client relationship. And I'm going to start with something alien to a sales mind. So rather than think about the sale and the bonus contribution, think first like the buyer sitting opposite you.

1/ Understand their objectives but don't just get their point of view. Before even sitting down with them you have researched or already have relationships with the business. The 101 approach of any Account Manager. By understanding the criticality and timeliness of their need, you'll be able to gauge strength of your negotiating position. However ,even if it's in your favour don't be over-confident or fringe on arrogance. You might get the sale on this occasion but risk any longer relationship.

Remember buyers want people they can work with and know there will always be times they win and when the sales guy wins. Play by those rules and you have more likelihood of securing a new and fruitful business partnership.

2/ Don't go round the buyer, they like their position to be respected. I have witnessed occasions when the sales guys have used another business stakeholder to get the sale and continued to bypass the buying team. That only gets tolerated for so long before the buyers will exercise some kind of governance , commercial reason or internal escalation to put an end to that channel, especially if they find you're not providing the best value when compared to other suppliers!

3/ The value angle is always a winner. If you can provide a solution which meets the price points and can articulate wider benefits why wouldn't a buyer go for that. Not only can they spin that up as an outcome of their strong negotiation tactics, they are seen internally as a valuable asset. Everyone including you is happy. OK you may be abdicating the credit but if you're getting the sale and other rewards, does that really matter?

However if you know you're providing real value for money and the buyer isn't getting it or indeed rejecting value proposals in favour of less favourable ones, then that's the time to raise a flag.

Best way to do this is by giving the buyer a chance to redeem themselves or at least give a clear rationale as to why they're not getting on board with your value propositions.

If they can explain neither then that's the time to flag elsewhere within your client organisation. I've found in the past the best way to do this is by getting a more senior manager to deliver to a peer level within the customer environment.

That way you get the message delivered without compromising your relationship with the buyer.

4/Innovation is key in a dynamic 21st century corporate environment. Customers don't particularly want supplier churn or a proliferation of similar suppliers. All that does is increase their workload and overhead.  But exclusivity or having a small number of suppliers also has it's drawbacks- it inhibits choice and limits price negotiation tactics.

However customers love suppliers who are proactive, innovative and do what they say they will at an acceptable price. There is nothing better than being a prime supplier but that means being able to adapt and still deliver effectively in line with the customer's evolving needs!

But if you can't evolve quickly enough you leave your sales channel exposed to your competition! Depending on the contracting term you could find the door closed for quite some time, no sales person wants to be chasing without reward !

Again I have seen sales guys too focused on tactical short term gain that they have lost their territory to strategic hunters who have been busy focusing on the longer term goals! 

So best thing to do is to be a step ahead. Work with the customer to look at their strategy, be part of it and get ahead of the competition and keep your relationship strong. This may mean spending time away from tactical selling but that should be easily looked after through digital ordering portals or a volume support desk ?