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Contents

PREFACEFOREWORDIF IT AIN’T BROKE: THE “WHY” BEHIND THE NEW STRATEGICSELLING

PART1:STRATEGICSELLINGCHAPTER 1: SUCCESSFUL SELLING IN A WORLD OF CONSTANTCHANGECHAPTER2:STRATEGYANDTACTICSDEFINEDCHAPTER3:YOURSTARTINGPOINT:POSITIONCHAPTER4:AGLANCEATTHESTRATEGYBLUEPRINT:THESIXKEYELEMENTSOFSTRATEGICSELLING

PART2:BUILDINGONBEDROCK:LAYINGTHEFOUNDATIONOFSTRATEGICANALYSISCHAPTER5:KEYELEMENT1:BUYINGINFLUENCES

CHAPTER 6: KEY ELEMENT 2: RED FLAGS/LEVERAGE FROMSTRENGTHCHAPTER7:BUYERLEVELOFRECEPTIVITYCHAPTER8:KEYELEMENT3:THEFOURRESPONSEMODESCHAPTER9:THEIMPORTANCEOFWINNINGCHAPTER10:KEYELEMENT4:WIN-RESULTS

PART3:COMMONPROBLEMS,UNCOMMONSOLUTIONSCHAPTER 11: GETTING TO THE ECONOMIC BUYING INFLUENCE:STRATEGIESANDTACTICSCHAPTER 12: THE COACH: DEVELOPING YOUR PRIMEINFORMATIONRESOURCECHAPTER13:WHATABOUTTHECOMPETITION?

PART4:STRATEGYANDTERRITORY:FOCUSINGONYOURWIN-WINCUSTOMERSCHAPTER14:KEYELEMENT5:IDEALCUSTOMERCHAPTER 15: YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER PROFILE: DEMOGRAPHICSANDPSYCHOGRAPHICS

PART 5: STRATEGY AND TERRITORY: MANAGING YOURSELLINGTIME

CHAPTER16:OFTIME,TERRITORY,ANDMONEYCHAPTER17:KEYELEMENT6:THESALESFUNNELCHAPTER 18: PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATION: WORKING THEFUNNEL

PART6:FROMANALYSISTOACTIONCHAPTER19:YOURACTIONPLANCHAPTER20:STRATEGYWHENYOUHAVENOTIMECHAPTER21:STRATEGICSELLING:ALIFETIMEAPPROACHAFTER TWENTY YEARS: RESPONDING TO OUR CLIENTS’ MOSTCHALLENGINGQUESTIONSAboutMillerHeiman

BUSINESSLEADERSANDTHEPRESSPRAISESTRATEGICSELLING

“EvenmoretimelyandeffectivetodaythanwhenTheDowChemicalCompanyfirstadopteditin1986.”

—Gary Hardy, global leader of sales education and development, TheDowChemicalCompany

“The ideaofplayingWin-Winhashelpedusconsiderably in thesalesprocessand also in our interoffice dealings with one another. No other principle hasimpactedusasmuch.”

—JoeDejohn,vicepresident,directsalesdivision,Atlet,Inc.

“At Harris Corporationwe have trained over 500 sales andmarketing peopleworldwideon theoriginalStrategicSelling concepts.Ourold copies arewornout.Thenewandupdatedbookiswarmlywelcomed.Theoldonehelpeduswinmanymultimillion-dollarorders,andI’msurethisnewonewillwinevenmore.”

—Carleton L. Smith, vice president, Asia sales and marketing, HarrisCorporation

“Apracticalguideofferingnewinsightintothewaysalesmencansuccessfullypromotebig-ticketitemstolargeorganizations.”

—FinancialPost

“Amethodthatsalesprofessionalscanuseeffectively.Theauthorsclearlyand

engaginglydescribenumerous‘workshops’inwhichreaderscanapplytheirownsalesexperiences.Professionallyyetclearlypresented.”

—ALABooklist

“Wequicklywentfromjustafewthousandamonthinsalestoover$100,000amonth.StrategicSellinggaveusconfidenceinwhatweweredoing.Wepeggedsomeaccountsaslowprobability,andevenonthosewewereabletopenetratedeeperandputouractionplansintoeffect.We’vebeenabletogetaportionofeveryaccountoutthere.”

—John Witkowski, director, Southeast business unit, AmershamHealthcare

“TheyearafterimplementingStrategicSellingwasourbestsalesyearever.Thisisthesecondfullyearwe’vebeenusingtheMillerHeimanprocesses,andwe’regoingtocomeveryclosetodoublingthat.”

—RogerBallmer,manager,districtmarketing,OwenHealthcare,Inc.

“ThelargestsaleeverdoneatmypreviouspositionusedStrategicSellingtowinanextremelydifficultandcomplexsale.Thesalewasover$5millionyearoneand it continues to gross over $2million a year for the past three years.Wecouldn’t have won it without the discipline and hard work of the team andcertainlynotwithouttheMillerHeimancourse.”

—AndrewLee,vicepresident,salesandmarketing,Microvision,Inc.

“ThebestbooksIhavereadonselling.”—ScottDeGormo,Successmagazine,onStrategicSellingandConceptual

Selling

“Efficient,professional…thefinesthigh-leveltrainingprogramIhaveseen…amini-MBAinhowtosellnationalaccounts.”

—HenryJ.Cockerill,formerseniorvicepresident,U.S.A.FountainSales,Coca-ColaCompany

“Thousands of HP sales engineers worldwide have been trained in StrategicSelling,andits influencescanbedirectlyseenintheresultstheyhaveattained…Itsusefulnesshasspannedproductdisciplinesandnationalboundaries.”

—JohnA.Young, formerpresident andchief executiveofficer,Hewlett-PackardCompany

“A totallyprofessionalplanningprocess. IfWillyLomanhad taken theMillerHeimanprogram,he’dhavebeensalesmanoftheyear.”

—Walter H. Drew, former senior vice president and general salesmanager,ConsumerProductsDivision,Kimberly-ClarkCorporation

PREFACE

Every year I meet or hear from dozens of graduates of Strategic Selling,ConceptualSelling,andotherMillerHeimanprograms.Ialsomeetalotofthesepeopleface-to-faceatplaceswhereIamspeaking,givingaseminar,oronsalescalls. Virtually all of them say the same thing to me. Invariably it is someversionof,“Bob,thankyousomuchforallthemoneyyouhavemademeovertheyears!ThegreatestthingaboutStrategicSelling,andConceptualSellingandLAMPis that theywork!”NowIamassusceptibleas thenextguy to flatterylikethis,andindeeditisverygratifyingtohearthisoverandoveragainfromsomanyalumni.ButIalwaysrespondinthesameway,“Weappreciatethegreatfeedback,butyouare theonewhohad thediscipline toapply it.”And thereinliesthekey.Countlessseminarsarefilledwithideas,somegoodandsound,andmanyworthlessnonsense.Butnoideaorconceptisworthanythingunlessitcanbe applied to situational reality. This has always been a planned hallmark ofMiller Heiman, Inc. programs.We can provide the knowledge and show ourparticipantshowtodosomething,buttheindividualmustdeliverthediscipline.

NorhasitbeenjustmoneythatgivescredittoStrategicSelling.Considerthestoriesofjustafewofouralumni,ofwhomweareveryproud:

•MikeJackson,westernregionseniorvicepresidentandgeneralmanagerforGeneralMotors,wastheCoca-ColaaccountmanagerforJackintheBoxwhenhefirstwasexposedtoStrategicSellingin1981.

•Rick Justice, executive vice president ofworldwide operations atCiscowasatwenty-two-year-oldsalesrepresentativeforHewlett-Packardwhenhe tookStrategicSelling.Heused theprocessoneveryoneofhisdealsthat year, became Sales Representative of the Year, and the rest ishistory.

• Mike Cronk was a young district sales manager at Saga Food Service(now part of Marriott Sodhexo) when he ran Strategic Selling for his

districtteam.(Incidentally,itwasthefirstseminarweranforaFortune500 company.) He just retired from being president of AramarkInternational.

• Reed Hilliard recently retired from a general manager’s position atAgilentTechnologies.HewasalsoayoungnewlyappointeddistrictsalesmanageratHewlett-PackardwhenheintroducedStrategicSellingtohisteamin1976.

These are but a handful of peoplewho thank Strategic Selling for helpingtheirsuccessovertheircareers.Therearehundredsmore.

Next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of the first Strategic Sellingseminar.Ofcourse,itwasn’tcalledthatthirtyyearsago,andtheexercisesweresortofa“work-in-progress,”butyouwouldrecognizethesamekeyprinciples:Win-Win,FourBuying Influences,FourModes,Win-Results,RedFlags, IdealCustomer.ThesehaveallbeenconceptsthatdistinguishedStrategicSellingfromtheverybeginning.

Manyalumnicommentthattheprinciplesinourprogramshavestoodthetestof time. “Everything you teach in each program is as valid today as itwas in1975,butmore so.Why is that?”The fact that this is true isnoaccident.Thereason they have stood the test of time is each of the key ideas taught in allMillerHeimanprograms,andinallofourbooks,relateafundamentalprincipleof the sellingprocess.Note the twowordsemphasized in thepreviousphrase,principleandprocess.ThatisthesecrettowhatmakesMillerHeimanprogramssopracticalanduseful.Andthatwasdonebydesign.Wehavealwaysfocusedon teaching our participants the underlying principle instead of just thetechnique.Ifyoulearnonlythetechniquewithoutunderstandingwhyitworks,youwillsoonforgetit.Ifyouunderstandtheprinciple,youunderstandwhatitsplaceis inthesellingprocessandyouwillgetmoresalesandbettersales.Forexample, one technique taught in Strategic Selling is “Make sure you identifyandcoverthebaseswiththeEconomicBuyer.”Theprincipleunderlyingthisis“There is one place and only one placewherein resides the final approval foreachsale.”InunderstandingthatprincipleyounowknowwhyitissoimportanttoidentifyandcoverthatEconomicBuyerbase.

Similarly, we focus on giving people principles that are part of a sellingprocess.Sellingusedtobelookeduponasahaphazard,trial-and-error,fits-and-starts, luck-related type of venture. One of the key contributions StrategicSelling has made is to prove to salespersons and their managers that, whileselling is not a science,we can go about selling in a systematicway because

thereare repeatableprocesses involved inbothbuyingand selling. Itdoesnotrestuponfickleluck.Aprocessissimplyasystematicsetofactionswetaketoachievedesiredresults.Havingrepeatableprocesses iswhat takes the trialanderror and guesswork out of life. Doctors have a very defined and systematicdiagnosticprocedure todetermine thecauseof illness. ITprogrammershaveasystematic step-by-step method for developing software. The beauty ofunderstandingandimprovingprocessesisthatmany,ifnotmost,areuniversal,thus not dependent upon the specific knowledge and content of a particularsituation.

OverthepastthirtyyearsIhavebeeninvolvedincoachingpeopleinliterallythousandsofsalesdeals.IhavehelpedSikorskyAircraftsellhelicopterstotheThai government; I have coached Hewlett-Packard to sell huge complexcomputer systems; I have helped Coca-Cola national accounts sell marketingprogramstoBurgerKing;IhavebeeninvolvedinCymer’ssalesofitsexcimerlaserstoNikonandCanonandinKimberley-Clark’spapergoodspromotionstoKroger; and so on. Am I an expert in helicopter technology? In computersystems? In consumer beverages? In consumer paper goods? Or in excimerlasers?Absolutelynot!Ionlyhavealayman’sknowledgeofeachoftheseareas.I do have a systematic repeatable proven salesprocess inConceptual Selling,Strategic Selling, LAMP, and our other process-based MHI programs. Thisprocessisapplicabletoallcomplexsalessituations,soIfocusupontheprocesssince I am not knowledgeable in all these industries. Another thing aboutunderstanding processes is that they are slow to become outdated if they areeffective processes. For example, the process for building a house is basicallythousandsofyearsold.Eventhoughthetechnologieshavechanged,thefirststepisstilltodigandlayafoundation,followedbyframingoftheoutsidewallsandinteriorsupportstructure,followedbythegablesandtheroof,andsoon.Dittoforthemakingofwine,thousandsofyearsold.

The third element is practice. Thirty years ago, the case study was theprimarylearningtoolforbusinessandindustry.Ialwaysfeltthattheweaknessinthisapproachwhenusedinseminarswasthetransitionfromthecasestudytoapplicationinreallife.Soworkshopstopracticetheprinciplesandprocessesweespoused were built into all of our seminars from the very beginning. It is amethodologythathasbeenmuchcopied,butnevermatchedinitseffectiveness—learntheprincipletounderstandwhysomethingworks,learntheprocesssteptounderstandhow todo it, and finally takea real-life situationuponwhich toplanandpracticehowtoimplementthistoreality.

Finally,nowthatIhavetalkedaboutwhyitworks,Iwanttotalkabouthowitworks.When talking to prospective clients, I practicewhat I preachwith this

Win-Winconcept.IabsolutelyknowthatI‘win’whenmycustomersgetmoreandbettersalesbyusingourprograms.Igetsatisfiedcustomers,repeatbusiness,andreferrals.However,Ialsoletthemknow,thatwecannotdelivertheresultsalone. I can provide and teach the processes and the principles to theirsalespeople and managers, and even provide the practice. But they have toprovide the discipline that makes it work and gets the results. I urge clientmanagerstotakeadisciplinedapproach,whichsays,“Thisisthewaywesellinthis company, and the expectation is that wewill all do it this way.WewillmakedealsthatareWin-Winforourcustomersandourselves.WedonotplayWin-Lose.Wehaveaplanbeforegoingonasalescall.Weseekoutcoaching,anddon’tcloseadealuntilwehaveidentifiedandcoveredbaseswithallbuyinginfluences.Weaskquestions,probingtounderstandthereal issues;wetalknomorethan20percentofthetimeandlisten80percentofthetime.Wetrytofindoutwhatwedon’tknow.WelookforBasicIssues.Wedoallofthisbecauseweknow that, if we do, we will havemore sales and better sales and long-termcustomerrelationships.”Corporatemandate,with theexpectation that therigoruseddayinanddayout,iswhatengrainstheprocessintocorporateculture.Thisisthedisciplineofsuccessfulsellingorganizations!

We know ourprocesses andprinciples work. They have been proven in acrucible of reality for thirty years. You, our readers and clients, need to bepreparedtoprovidethediscipline tohaveyourpeopleusethoseprinciplesandprocesses. It is our job to show you how, but we cannot do it for you. It isactuallysurprisinglysimple:processes,principles,anddiscipline.Wepromisenomagic.Therearenosilverbulletstosellingsuccess.Webothneedeachother.

ROBERTB.MILLERSanDiego,CaliforniaSeptember2004

FOREWORD

Marriott International, Inc., has been fortunate to grow substantially over theyears,tothepointwheretodayitoperatesinfiftycountriesaroundtheworldandemploys over 200,000 people. Yet we remain in significant ways a familyorganization, still committed to the values that were honored by my parentsseventyyearsagowhentheystartedinbusinesswithatinyrootbeerstand.

Among those values was a belief in the importance of relationships, bothwithinandoutside thecompany.Since1927,wehavesaid that ifyoucommityourselftotakingcareofyourownpeople,youcanbefairlyconfidentthattheywilltakecareofyourcustomers.Inaservicebusinesslikeours,thatisessentialtosuccess.Marriott’sglobalreputationforqualityandvalueisthedirectresultof our honoring this principle. That same principle is the heart of The MewStrategicSelling.

Throughout our history, we have found that our most productive businessallianceshavebeenforgedwithcompaniesthatsharethisorientation.Oneofthestrongest of these has been with Miller Heiman, Inc., whose commitment to“Win-Win” relationships parallels our own. We have worked together since1986,whenourcompanyintroduceditsfirstsalesassociatestoMillerHeiman’sStrategic Selling process. Since then, nearly a thousandMarriott people havebeenintroducedtothisprocess.

There is a practical reason for this. In the past decade, we have expandeddramatically,inbothourlodgingandourcontractservicesgroup,sothattodaywe can offer our customers a wide variety of choices. In managing thecomplexitythatnaturallyaccompaniessuchexpansion,MillerHeimanhasbeenan invaluable ally. Strategic Selling in particular has made importantcontributionstoourpositionwithbusinessclients.Inaddition,MillerHeiman’ssystematic approach to managing change has helped to enhance our salesassociates’flexibilityastheykeeppacewiththerapidchangesinourindustry.

Aside from the practical benefits that Strategic Selling has brought us, IbelievethatourassociationwithMillerHeimanisstrongbecauseofthenaturalfit between our companies. As we continue to expand toward our goal ofoperating2,000lodgingpropertiesbytheyear2000,weremaincommittedtothe“human side” of business. Miller Heiman understands and supports thatcommitment,andit’sonceagainevidentinTheNewStrategicSelling.

—J.W.Marriott,JR.ChairmanandCEO,MarriottInternational,Inc.

IFITAIN’TBROKE:THE“WHY”BEHINDTHENEWSTRATEGICSELLING

Strategic Selling was first published in 1985. At that time, even though theprocess onwhich the bookwas based had been in place for only about eightyears, it had already begun to reap significant benefits both for our company,Miller Heiman, Inc., and for the clients who attended our Strategic Sellingworkshopsandprograms.In1985,manyofcorporateAmerica’smostsuccessfulsellingorganizationshadalreadybeguntoseeusas the“processexperts,”andwehadearned the trustof such innovativemarket leadersasHewlett-Packard,Marriott,GeneralElectric,Hallmark,andCoca-Cola.

As we explained in the introduction to the original edition, we attributedmuch of our success with these and other forward-looking companies to ourimpassioned support of a non-manipulative selling philosophy that was thedriving forceof theStrategicSelling approach.That philosophywasbasedonthepremisethatgettinganindividualorderisneverenough:Truesellingsuccessrestsonsuch“beyondtheorder”achievementsasrepeatbusiness,solidreferrals,andlong-termrelationships.Thekeytosecuringthem,weinsisted,istomanageeverysalesobjectiveasajointventure—amutuallybeneficialtransactionwherebothbuyerandseller“Win.”

In1985,thenotionofsellingasa“Win-Win”process—indeed,thenotionofselling as a process at all—was still a novel approach to the profession.Evenamongcompanieswhoinvestedheavilyinsalestraining,whatwasbeingtaughtwas face-time skills and techniques—the traditional salesperson’s grab-bag ofhooks,lines,andclinchers.Manipulativetacticswerestillverymuchinvogue,andMillerHeimanwas nearly unique among consultants in insisting that this

time-wornapproach—theold“Gettheorderanywayyoucan”approach—wasultimatelyawayofshootingyourselfinthefoot.Twelveyearsago,ifyoutalkedabout“servingyourcustomer’sinterestsaswellasyourown,”manysalespeoplestillconsideredyouunrealistic.Everybodypaidlipservicetocustomerneed,butout in the trenches, according to the given wisdom of the 1980s, it was stillnumbers, and orders, and hardball, that brought you success. There wassomethinganomalous—someevensaidrevolutionary—inthecustomer-orientedprocessofStrategicSelling.

Therewasalsosomethinginitthatwaseminentlypractical—sopracticalthatourclients,whowerealreadysales leaders, realized that itwasawaytomakethemselves even better. As “unrealistic” as traditionally trained salespeoplemighthaveconsideredourWin-Winapproach,theincontrovertiblefactwasthatit worked. The proof of that could be seen in our clients’ financials, whichregularly reported major revenue gains that could be traced directly to theimplementation of our processes. It could be seen in the literally hundreds ofsuccessstoriesabouthowa“hopelesslyconfusing”accounthadbeguntoyieldsolidbusinessonce thesales teamwroteaMillerHeiman-inspiredactionplan.Asthosestoriespouredin,andasourclientsconfirmedthecontributionweweremaking,weweregratifiedtoseethatwehadearnedareputation,inthewordsofonedivisionalmanager,as“thepeoplewhobroughtprocessintoselling.”

Itwasprocess,tobesure,thatlayattheheartofoursuccess,andthatwasthecasewhatever in-house terminologyourclientsused.AtPriceWaterhouse, forexample,oursystematicapproachiscalleda“methodology.”AtCoca-Cola,thepreferred term is “technologies.”Many of our other clients have adopted ourlanguagedirectly, speakingcomfortablyandnaturallyaboutBuyingInfluencesand Win-Results. Whatever the terms, the point is the same. The systematicapproach thatwepioneeredhas fosteredaquiet revolutionamong thenation’ssalesleaders.

Weprofitedfromthatrevolutionasmuchasanyone.Inasense,bythetimethefirsteditionofthisbookwenttopress,wehadalreadybecomeourownbestadvertisement.ByrunningourownbusinessonStrategicSellingprinciples,wewere increasing our revenues dramatically, year after year. Today, whilecountlesscompaniesarewrestlingthedownsizingdragon,MillerHeiman—likemostofourclients—isstillonaroll.Overthepastfiveyears,forexample,wehave increasedour annual revenues by an averageof 25 to 30percent a year,tripled thestaff inourcorporateheadquarters,andestablishedoffices fromtheUnitedKingdom andBrazil toAustralia.Workingwith a sales force that hasquadrupledinadecade—nottomentionhundredsofvaluedclientassociates—we have introduced over 150,000 sales professionals to one or more Miller

Heiman processes, and we continue to serve roughly 25,000 new ones everyyear.

All of this has occurred, moreover, during a period of tremendousinternational turmoil,ofdramatic fluctuations ingovernmentpolicies,andofabewildering “complexification” in selling itself. The world of sales has gonethroughathousandmajorchanges,buttheprocessesweteachhavebeenequalto the challenge. They’re still relevant, they still work, and they’re stillimproving the revenues of those who employ them. Books on selling“techniques” come and go. Strategic Selling, like the Energizer bunny, “justkeepsongoing.”

SincesomuchofoursuccesshasbeenbasedonStrategicSelling—boththeprocess and the book—youmight question the rationale for this new edition.Whymakeadjustmentstosomethingthat’salreadyworkingsoeffectively?Or,to rephrase the old business adage, “If it ain’t broke,why fix it?” It’s a veryreasonablequestion,andithastwoanswers.

The first is that our clients asked us to. Even though they found StrategicSellingtobejustaseffective,andtheconceptsjustasrelevant,astheyhadbeenin1985,someofthemfelt that,afteradozenyears,eventhebestofprocessescoulduseaface-lift.Someofthebook’sexamples,theypointedout,seemedalittledatedforthe1990s,andtheymightnotbeconnectingaswellaswewantedthemtowithsalesforceswhowereincreasinglygearedtowardthefuture.

When we described how rapid changes can generate “future shock,” forexample, we illustrated the point by referring to the Arab oil embargo of the1970s. That pivotal eventwas still a vividmemory in 1985, but as the 1990swaneandthemillenniumlooms,that’snolongertrue.“Manyoftheyounglionswho sell for us today,” a districtmanager told us recently, “were stillmakingmudpieswhentheoilcrackdownhappened.Ifyouwanttoconnectwiththem,youneed freshstories.”Becausewe takesuchconstructivecriticismseriously,we’ve tried to give this new book a more contemporary feeling, so it couldachieveaneffectivefusionofthetimelessandthetimely.

ThesecondreasonwerevisedStrategicSellingrelatestoabasicaxiomoftheprocessitself:“Whatevergotyouwhereyouaretodayisnolongersufficienttokeepyouthere.”Wehadbeentellingourclientsthatsince1977,andlastyear—after considerable exhortation from both clients and colleagues—we finallydecidedtoapplythisaxiomtoourselves,andtoundertakeathoroughrethinkingof the program that had “got us there.” In consultation with our expert fieldforce, therefore, we went through Strategic Selling with a fine-tooth comb,sharpeningandenhancingitlinebylinesothattheresultingtextwouldbeevenmore real-world and useful than the original text had been for more than a

decade.Someof the changeswemadewere chiefly cosmetic—the illustrations, for

example, have all been redrawn to give the book a more user-friendlyappearance.Butmostofourchangeswereonamoresubstantive level.Aswefiddledwiththismanuscriptthatwasn’treallybroken,weweren’tcontentjusttoslaponsomechromeandnewpaint.Wewantedtoimprovetheefficiencyoftheengineitself,tomakethethousandandoneminoradjustmentsthatwouldensurethat the analytical tools we were offering our clients were just as sharp andpowerfulastheypossiblycouldbe.

Theresultwasathoroughreworkingoftheoriginalvolume.IntheentiretextofTheNewStrategicSelling,youwillnotfindasinglepagethathasbeenleftuntouched. As good as the original was, it’s now even better—more precise,more clearly expressed, and (most important of all)more useful.A few of itsconcepts,moreover,arecompletelynew.Inresponse,onceagain,toourclients’suggestions,wehaveaddeddiscussionsof thefollowingstrategyconcepts thatwerenever a part of the original process or book, and that haveonly recentlybecomeapartofourcorporateprograms:

•Degree of Influence. The analytical foundation of any good strategy isthe identification of what we call Buying Influences—the multipleplayerswhocanimpacttheoutcomeofanysale.Overtheyears,severalclientshavepointedoutthat,whilecoveringalltheBuyingInfluencesisessential,it’salsoimportanttodistinguishbetweendegreesofinfluence,sothatyoucanavoidthemistakeofassumingthat“allBuyersarealike.”OurresponsetothisobservationappearsinChapter5.

•TheWin-ResultsStatement.Oneof themost useful, andyet trickiest,elements of Strategic Selling was the concept of determining yourBuyingInfluence’s“Win-Results.”InChapter10,weclarifythisconceptwith an analytical tool, the Win-Results Statement, that helps you tomakeapracticalconnectionbetweenacompany’sbusinessResultsandakeyplayer’sWins.

•Competition.Inresponsetoclientswhohaveaskeduswhywespendsolittle time talking about competition, we have added a entirely newchapter, Chapter 13, explaining our nontraditional approach to thiscritical issue. Here we provide a uniquely flexible definition ofcompetition,explainwhyobsessingaboutyourcompetitorscanbejustasdebilitating as ignoring them, and show how to handle competitivepressuresfromapositionofstrength.

• The “Refined” Sales Funnel. In the original Strategic Selling, we

introducedour time and territorymanagement tool, theSalesFunnel, acouple of chapters ahead of our unique qualification tool, the IdealCustomerProfile.Because some clients found this sequence confusing,we reversed the order of these two elements, and also spelledout theirrelationship more extensively. Their interaction is now described inChapters14through18.

Wehave also added, at the endof the book, a question-and-answer section inwhich we address some of the major selling challenges that our clients haveposedtous,andprovidesomethoughtsaboutprocess-centeredsolutions.

With these additions in place, and with the literally hundreds of smallerchangesthatwehavemade,webelievethatTheNewStrategicSellingisamajor“enhancement” to a process that has worked effectively for thousands since1977,andwhoseverysuccesshasearnedittherighttotheserefinements.

Initstime,StrategicSellingpointedtheway—bothforourcorporateclientsandforavastreadingpublic—towardsolid,incrementalsuccessintheComplexSale. Success magazine’s Scott DeGarmo spoke for many when he wrote, acoupleofyearsafter thebook’sappearance, that itand itscompanionvolume,Conceptual Selling,were simply “the best bookson selling I have ever read.”Since then,bothbookshavebeencontinually indemand,andStrategicSellingalonehassoldhundredsofthousandsofcopies.

Now, asMillerHeiman reaches its twentieth anniversary, and asAmericancompaniesarechallengedbyeverfiercerglobalcompetition,thetimeisripefora“reengineered”versionofourbusinessclassic.Weofferitwithconfidenceandenthusiasmtoanewgenerationofreaders,andalso,withthanks,tothepeoplewho havemade our company successful—the innovative professionalswe areproudtocallourclients.

To list every company with whomwe have worked over the years wouldmorethantriplethelengthofthisintroduction.Therefore,asarepresentationofourwork—andofourgratitude—wearehappytoidentifythesecurrentlyactiveclients:

3COMCorporation/U.S.Robotics

3M

AbbottLabs

ABB,Inc.AceMetalCraftsACI-US,Inc.AdaptecAdeccoAdiaPersonnelServicesADICADSEnvironmentServicesADTSecuritySystemsAdvancedControlSystemsAdvancedTechnologyLaboratories—ATLAEIMusicNetworkAerotekAlliantAllegianceHealthcareAllen-BradleyCompanyAllenSystems,IncAlliedVanLinesAlliedSignalAlternativeResourcesCorporationAlveyAM-REBrokersAmericanAirlinesAmericanMovieClassicsAmericanPaymentSystemsAmericanPhoenixCorporationAmericanPrintersAmericanSeatingGroupAmericanTechnicalResourcesAmericanTeleconferencingServicesAmershamCorporationAMPofCanadaAnderson&AndersonAndrewCorporationAngelicaUniformGroupAppleComputerUSAARAMARKARKArkwrightMutualInsurance

ASAPSoftwareAshlandChemicalAspectTelecommunicationsATCLeasingCompanyAtletAtoFindleyAdhesivesATOTECHUSA,Inc.AT&TBusinessMarketDivisionAT&TGlobalBusinessCommunicationAT&TWirelessServices(McCawCellularCommunication)Aurora/CenturyAutomaticDataProcessing—ADPAvis,Inc.AVLMedicalInstrumentsBairncoBaltimoreTherapeuticEquipmentBalzersPfeifferN.A.,Inc.BankCompensationBankofAmericaBankofAmerica,SeafirstBaroidofCanadaBASFMexicanaBattelleBayCreekRealEstateCompanyBayEngineeredCastingsBBNInternationalBecherCarlsonRiskManagementBeckettPublicationsBeckmanInstruments,Inc.BectonDickinson&CompanyBeechwoodDataSystemsBellHelicopterTextronBellPackagingBellSouthBentlyNevadaCorporationBerkshireComputerProductsBerlitzTranslationServicesBernhardtFurnitureBestPower

BetterBakedPizza,Inc.BetzDearbornPaperProcessGroupBetzDearbornWaterManagementGroupBFGoodrichBI-TECHSoftwareBioWhittakerBiogenBKMTotalOfficeBlack&DeckerBlueShieldofCaliforniaBoehringerMannheimCorporationBomarko/HollymaticBostonScientificCorporationBPS&MBroadway&SeymourBrowningFerris—BFIBryan,Pendleton,Swats&McAllisterBungeFoodsBurlingtonAirExpressBurtonGroupBuss(America),Inc.Cable&WirelessCommunicationCADDEdgeCal-SuranceBenefitPlansCal-SuranceCompaniesCaliforniaAmplifiersCaliforniaDayFreshFoodsCaliforniaEasternLaboratories—CELCaliforniaLotteryCaraCorporationCardinalBergenHealthCaremarkInternationalCargillProcessedMeatProductCaribinerCommunicationsCarrollCompanyCarvelCorporationCascadeCommunicationsCenturyCircuits&ElectronicsCeridianEmployerServices

CFMTechnologiesCharlesSchwab&CompanyCheckfreeCorporationCheckmateElectronicsCheckpointSystemsChemicalLeamanCorporationChevron-OroniteCheyenneSoftwareChironDiagnosticsCIEDCienaCorporationCignaCorporationCirqonTechnologiesClarifyClimatechServiceCompanyCMPInteractiveMediaCMPPublicationsCNAInsuranceCompaniesCognexColadGroupComdataCommScope,Inc.CommercialInsuranceConcepts,Inc.Communispond,Inc.CompassGroupUSACompucomSystemsComputechSystemsComputerPrep,Inc.ComputronComputronixCompuwareCOMSATInternationalCOMSATTurkeyCOMSATVenezuelaComstreamConAgraConnoisseurCommunicationsConsolidatedPrintersConsumersPowerCompany

ContelofCaliforniaContinentalSprayersCoopers&LybrandCornerstoneConsultingCornhuskersMotorLinesCorporateTravelConsultantsCPCFoodserviceCreativeLabs,Inc.CreativeOfficeInteriorsCredenceSystemsCSCConsultingCSCIntelicom,Inc.CSRGCunaMutualInsuranceGroupC.R.LaurenceCompany,Inc.DataDocumentsDataccountCorporationDataFloCorporationDatex-OhmedaDeanDistributorsDecisionOneDecisionTechnologyDefiningImageDellComputerCommunicationsDelmarvaPowerDelphiInformationSystemsDeluxeCorporationDeNormandieTowel&LinenDenron,Inc.DevelopmentDimensionsInternational—DDIDHLAirways,Inc.DiagraphCorporationDigitalSight&SoundDimensionsComputerAutomationDinersClubEnrouteDiscoHi-TecAmericaDittlerBrothersDornierMedicalDowChemicalCompany

DowCorningDragonSystemsDucksUnlimitedDunsianIndustriesDupontMerckDurkanPatternedCarpets,Inc.Dyna-TrendsInternationalEastmanChemicalEastmanKodakCompanyECCInternationalEdisonPlasticsEDS—SalesEducationEISAIElkayManufacturingCompanyEmblemEnterprises,Inc.EMCGlobalTechnologiesEmmisBroadcasting/RDSEmploymentLearningInnovationEndeavorInformationSystemsEngelhardCorporationEngineeredDataProductsEnviroMetricsSoftwareEPETechnologyErmanco,Inc.Ernst&YoungLLPEsterlineTechnologiesETCEtec,Inc.EthiconEndo-SurgeryEyecare&SurgeryCenterFairIsaac&CompanyFanucRoboticsFidelityInvestmentsFileNetFinaOilCompanyFirstHealthGroupFirstSecurityServicesFiservFisher-Rosemount

FlometricsFMCCorporationFocusFocusedMarketingAssociatesFoldcraft/PlymoldSeatingForresterResearchForsytheSolutionsGroupFortJamesCorporationForthShiftFourGenSoftwareFridenNeopostFrigidaireFTPSoftwareFujitsuMicroelectronicsFurturLabs,Inc.FutureNowGatesMcDonald&CompanyGECPlessySemiconductorsGeigerInternationalGencorpGeneralElectric—CapitalGensymCorporationGNNettestGraceSpecialtyPolymersGraphicsManagementGreatWesternChemicalGreenpagesGriffithLaboratoriesGTESupplyGTETelopsH&WComputerSystemsHADebari&AssociatesHackleyHealthHaemoneticsCorporationHallmarkBuildingSuppliesHallmarkCards,Inc.HallmarkInternationalHandshaw&AssociatesHansonGroup

HarbingerCorp.HarrisComputerSystemsHarrisCorporationHarrisSemiconductorHaworthCorporationHBM,Inc.HBO&CompanyHealthNetHeppnerHardwoodsHermanMiller,Inc.HermanMiller/MilcareHewlett-PackardCompanyHitachiDataSystemsHobbsGroup/ArkwrightHoneywell,IncHoughtonChemicalCorporationHughesNetworkSystemsHUSCOInternational,Inc.I-StatCorporationIPowerKCHeartlandIBMCorporationIBMInsuranceIDEXXLaboratoriesIDF,Inc.IntelligentMedicalImaging,Inc.—IMIInFocusSystemsIndependentHealthIndustrial&CommercialContractsINETCorporationInfographix,Inc.Informatech,Inc.InformationDimensions,Inc.InformationMappingInfotechInitialStaffingInsigniaSystems,Inc.Instromedix,Inc.InsuranceAutoAuctionsIntegratedFurnitureSolutions

IntegratedNetworkCorporationIntegrationAllianceIntellicorp,Inc.Intelligroup,Inc.InteractionAssociatesInteractiveBusinessSystemsInterCallIntercimCorporationIntermateInternational,Inc.InternationalBillingServicesInterpathIntertecPublishingIogenCorporationIPRAX,Inc.IrvinAutomotiveProductsISISystems,Inc.ItacSystemsITCITW/SignodeI.P.I.J&HMarsh&McLellan,Inc.JabuComputerServicesJamakFabricationJetLineCommunicationsJLGIndustriesJobscopeJohnWoodCompanyJohnsonControlsJohnson&JohnsonClinicalDiagnostics,Inc.Johnson&.JohnsonLatinAmericaJ.P.MorganSecurities,Inc.K&MElectronicsKeane,Inc.KellyServicesKeystoneGroupKGAEngineeringCompany,Inc.KimballInternationalKineticsTechnologyKippGroup

KLAInstrumentsKline&CompanyKnollGroup,TheKorn/FerryInternationalKorryElectronicsKPMGNolanNortonKRServices/ICATLogisticsKrauthannerInternationalKrohneLamResearchLambdaElectronicsLANSystemsLandis&GyrPowers,Inc.LawsonMargoPackagingLeFebureCorporationLendLeaserEmployerSystemLender’sCredit/InfoOneLibbey-Owens-FordCo.LifeTechnologiesLifescanLimitorqueCorporationLiphaTech,Inc.LittleCharlie’sFoodServiceLockheedMartinTelecommunicationsLogiCareLogiconLogikosLosAngelesTimesLotsoffCapitalManagementLucentTechnologiesM&M/MarsMacdonaldDettweilerManagementSystemsAssociatesManusMarathonSpecialProductsMaritrans,Inc.MarriottInternational,Inc.MarshallIndustrialTechnologyMasonLaboratories

MassMutualMasterChemicalCorporationMatlack,Inc.MayoMedicalLaboratoriesMcCallConsultingGroupMcDonald’sCorporationMcGraw-HillMcPeakCenterForEyecareMedexMediUSAMedicalTrackingSystemsMedicode,Inc.MedicusSystemsMeditrolMEDSTATGroupMegasoftMerck&Company,Inc.MetrixMetromediaRestaurantGroupMicroMotion,Inc.MicroageMicrografx,Inc.MicrosSystems,Inc.MicrosoftCorporationMidconCablesCompanyMillenniaVisionMizar,Inc.MMSInternationalMOACModernBuildingMaterialsMolecularApplicationsGroupMolecularCoolingTechnologyMolecularDynamicsMonsantoChemicalCo.MoogControlsInc.MooreProductsMoosbruggerMarketingResearchMorrisonHealthcareMotorola

MTELInternationalMTIAbraxys,Inc.MurataWiedemann,Inc.M&IDataServicesNationalCarRentalNationalEducationTrainingGroupNationalSemiconductorNaturalMicroSystemsCorporationNAVCONCIInformationSystemsNCSNellcorPuritanBennettNetcomCommunications,Inc.NeuralApplicationsCorporationNewAgeElectronicsNewWorldVanLinesNewsbank,Inc.NicholasApplegateNobleStarSystemsNorstanCommunicationsNorthAmericanDrägerNorthwestBankNovaBiomedicalNovell,Inc.NowSoftware,Inc.NutraSweetCompanyO’ConnorBurnhamProductionsOacisHealthcareObjectTimeLimitedOctelOfficePavilionOfficeSpecialistsOliverWightEast,Inc.OliverWightWest,Inc.OmegaPerformanceOnTechnologyOneWave,Inc.OpenDevelopmentCorporationOpenGroup

OpenSoftwareFoundationOpTel,Inc.OpticalDataSystemsOrangeCountyRegisterOrbcommORCElectronicProductsOrmecOrthoDiagnosticsSystems,Inc.OsbornLaboratoriesOSIOwenHealthcareOwossoCorporationPacifiCarePadiPADS,Inc.ParadigmGroupPathlorePaychexPaycoAmericanCorporationPCSHealthSystemsPDP,Inc.PerformanceSoftwarePerrierPharLapSoftware,Inc.PharmaciaBiotechInc.PharmaciaDiagnosticsPharmacia&Upjohn,Inc.PHHAssetManagementPhilipsMedicalSystemsPhillipsKeyModulesPhoenixTechnologies,LTDPickSystemsPicturetelCorporationPID,Inc.PillsburyCompanyPilotSoftwarePinkertonSecurityServicesPioneerElectronicsPlastron

PlatinumTechnologyPolyFibronTechnologiesPotlatchCorporationPowderRiverPowerOnePowerPackingCorporation,Inc.PowerservePowersoftCorporationPRTaylor,Inc.PrairieDevelopmentPraxairInc.PrecisionSystemsConceptsPreferredHotels&ResortsPresentationProductsPressureVesselServicePrincetonFinancialSystemsPrincetonSofttechProBusiness,Inc.ProgressiveNetworksProLightPromtCareCompany,Inc.P.K.Taylor,Inc.QualixGroup,Inc.QuantraCorporationQuantumCorporationRacalDatacomRadianCorporationRadissonHotelsInternationalRCBConsultingRedBrickSystemsReedTravelGroupReichholdReicholdChemicalReliablePowerMetersRestatRexPackagingInc.Reynolds&ReynoldsComputerDivisionRichardA.Eisner&CompanyRiskManagementGroup

RittalCorporationRiversidePaperCompanyRockwellAutomotiveRockwellCollinsRockwellInternationalCorporationRollinsHudigHallRosemountAnalyticalRoyalMahoganyProductsRTMSR.R.Donnelley&SonsCo.SabatassoFoods,Inc.SabreTravelInformationSachsGroupSAPAmericaSaraLeeBakerySASInstitute,TheScantronCorporationSchenckTrebelSchlumbergerIndustriesScholasticSchwabInternationalScitexAmericaCorporationSDCCoatings,Inc.SeagateSoftwareSMGSecuredFundingSourceSeikoInstrumentsSensoryCircuits,Inc.ServiceMasterServonexShareConsultingServiceSharedMedicalSystemsShawIndustries,Inc.Sheldahl,Inc.Shine-EtsuSHLSiemensEnergy&AutomationSiemensMedicalSystemsSiemensNixdorfInformationSystemsSiemensPowerCorporation

SigmaAldrichResearchSigmaDiagnosticsSimtecHVACSituationManagementSystemsSixFlagsOverGeorgiaSkyTelSLWaber,Inc.SmallworldSystems,Inc.Smith-Blair,Inc.SofamorDanekUSASoftwareArtistrySolectronSonocoProductsCompanySoutheasternMillSpectrumManagementGroup,Inc.SprintSPSSSquareDCompanyStandardRegisterStateStreetTrustStellarFinancialSteri—OSSSterlingHealthcareStralforsInternational,Inc.SunDataSunGardFinancialSystems,Inc.SungardSecuritiesSunRiverDataSystemsSupplyTech,Inc.SycomSymbiosLogicSyncorInternationalSystemsResearchLabsTLineServicesT&DConsultantsTalarianTallySystemsCorporationTapemarkCompanyTastemaker

TechnologyServiceSolutionsTeklogixTeknionFurnitureTeknowlogyTelDataControlTelectTelxonCorporationTencorInstruments,Inc.TesseractTexasInstrumentsTexonicsTextronSystemsCorp.TexwipeCompany,Inc.TimeResourceManagementTimeWarnerCommunicationsTivoliSystemsTMPWorldwideTony’sFoodServiceTosohSMD,Inc.TranscatTransitionSystems,Inc.TranswitchTrendCircuitsTripleMMarketingTuftsHealthPlanTulinTechnologyTuscarora,Inc.T.T.C.ULTRADATACorporationUltratechStepper,Inc.UMI,Inc.UNCBusinessDevelopmentUNEXCorporationUniccoServicesCo.UnionBankUnionGasLimitedUniphaseCorporationUnitedVisual,Inc.UniversalFlavors

UniversalForestProductsUniversalInstrumentsUNO-VENCompanyUSARoofingU.S.RoboticsInc.U.S.TobaccoVALICVangardTechnologyVanstarCorporationVarianAssociatesVerilinkCorporationVertagVerteq,Inc.VintaBusinessSystemsVisigenicSoftwareVLSITechnologyVoiceProcessingCorporationVoiceTechnologiesVWRScientificProductsWalkerInteractiveSystemsWalkerParkingConsultantsWallStreetInvestorServiceWatermarkSoftwareWausauInsuranceWEMAutomationWendoverCorporationWesleySoftwareWestCoastInformationWestcoWesternAtlasWilliamsTele-CommunicationsWindRiverSystemsWisconsinPower&LightWoodAssociatesWoodwareGovernorCompanyWorkGroupSolutionsWorldComWOZZ/WFDFWyeth-Ayerst

W.L.Gore&Associates,Inc.XenejenexHealthVideosXeroxCanadaXylumCorporationYaskawaElectricAmerica,Inc.YorkInternationalYushinAmericaZurn/Nepco

In compiling this list,we’ve been as thorough and up-to-date aswe could.Given the pace of business change and the length of publishing productionschedules, however, it could well be in need of revision by the date ofpublication. If we’ve inadvertently omitted any clients, we hope they willunderstand.

Wemustalsoofferourthankstoall thefinepeopleatMillerHeiman,Inc.,bothatourRenoheadquartersandinthefieldwhohavecontributedsomuchtomakingourcompanyasuccess.

PART1

STRATEGICSELLING

CHAPTER1

SUCCESSFULSELLINGINAWORLDOFCONSTANTCHANGE

An old Greek legend tells how the ruler of Crete, King Minos, has anunderground maze, the Labyrinth, constructed near his palace to serve as anescape-proofprisonfortheinfamousMinotaur—aravenousmonsterwhoishalfman andhalf bull.Anyonewho enters themazebecomeshopelessly lost, andoncethathappenstheMinotaurfindsanddevourshim.Thisgruesomescenariorepeatsitselfagainandagainuntil theyoungheroTheseus,withtheassistanceoftheprincessAriadne,devisesastrategytokillthemonsterandgetout.

Killingthemonsteristheeasypart.Theseusisahero,afterall;killingishisbusiness.Theproblemisfindingawayoutofthemaze.Realizingthis,AriadnetiesalongthreadtohiswaistasheenterstheLabyrinth,holdingtheotherendtightly in her hand. It’s a simple but effective solution. Deep in the cavern,Theseusdispatchesthemonster,andthenretraceshiscircuitousroutebackuptodaylight.HeandAriadnearemarried,andthepeoplerejoice.

WhatinthenameofZeus,youareprobablyasking,doesthisancientlegendhavetodowithselling?

Quite a lot. If youwill suspendyourdisbelief just long enough to imagineTheseusasamodernsalesprofessional,wethinkyou’llreadilyseetheanalogywe’redeveloping.Insellingtoday,especiallyatthecorporatelevel,youhavetocontend every daywith organizational labyrinths.A hundred years ago—even

twentyor thirtyyears ago—itwaspossible, ifnot alwayseasy, toclosemajorbusinessbycallingonandsatisfyingakeydecision-maker.Thosedaysaregone.Today, in the era of what we call the Complex Sale, every major piece ofbusinessentailsmultipledecisions,andthosedecisionsarevirtuallynevermadebythesameperson.

Notonlydoyouhavetocontendwithmultipledecisions,butthepeoplewhomakethosedecisionsmaynotevenworkinthesameplace;togetacontractfordelivery of a shipment toMilwaukee, you might easily need signatures frompeople in Chicago or Detroit—or Chicago and Detroit. To make things evenmorechallenging,youcan’tbe sure that thepeoplewhosaidYesononedealwill have the same authority two weeks, or even two days, from now on aseconddealtothesamecompany.

In an era of downsizing, nonstop mergers, and executive musical chairs,selling has become so complicated, and so fraught with unknowns, that thelabyrinthmetaphormay evenbe a little too conservative.At least the originalLabyrinthwasn’tconstructedona fault line. In today’scorporate labyrinths, itseemsasifit’salwaysearthquakeseason.

Weadmitthatthetypeofbullyouusuallyencounterinthebusinessmazeisnot exactly the hungry Minotaur variety. No matter how confusing theorganization chart, how tough your competitors, or how demanding yourcustomersmaybe,you’reneverindangerofliterallybeingeatenforlunch.Butfiguratively?Ithappenseveryday.Andthere’sabsolutelynowaytopreventitunlessyouhaveastrategy.JustlikeTheseus,youneedaplanofaction,andyouneeda“safety line” tokeepyouproperlyorientedasyounavigate through themazeofyoursalesopportunities.

Youcanthinkof thisbookasanAriadne’s thread,orasafloorplanof theshifting corporate labyrinth.Whichever metaphor you prefer, the point is thesame.Tosurviveinsellingtoday,youneedstrategy.Thisbookisaprovenguidetohelpingyoudevelopit.

To demonstrate the critical difference between having and not having astrategy,we’llrelateastoryaboutoneofourcorporateclients.

Notlongago,amajormanufacturerofinformationsystems—acompanythatdoes hundreds ofmillions of dollars’worth of business a year—was about toclose the sale of a sophisticated computer system to a potentially huge newaccount. The sales representative who was handling the negotiations, a manwe’llcallRay,seemedtohaveeveryreasontobeconfident.Hehadbeentalkingto the client’s top management for months, and as the deal moved closer tosigning,heknewhewasfirmlyentrenched.Thedepartmentheadwhowouldusethe new equipment, the purchasing agent who would sign for it, the data-

processing people—all of them were delighted with his proposal. Ray evenbelonged to the same club as the company’s CEO, and he knew that thisexecutivetoowasbehindthedeal.Withafive-figurecommissionpracticallyinhispocket,Raywasalreadyshoppingforanewcar.

Ray’scompanywasn’t theonlyonewith itseyeon thisaccount.Asmallerfirm had also approached the customer, and Ray was aware of the potentialcompetition. Judging from the general receptivity to his proposal, though, hefigured he had nothing to worry about. The smaller firm had half themarketshareofhisown,andnomatterhowgood itsproductmightbe,Raywaswayaheadon reputationpoints alone.Rumorhad it, he congratulatedhimself, thatthesalesmanfortheothersidehadn’tevenmettheCEO.

What Ray didn’t know was that the rival firm had one major advantage.Many of its best salespeople, including an eager young lion namedGreg, hadrecently attended one of our Strategic Selling programs. There Greg hadacquiredawholenewperspectiveonselling.HehadlearnedhowtoidentifythecriticalBuying Influences in a sale,how tominimizehisuncertainties about acustomer’sreceptivity,howtoavoidinternalsabotage,andhowtoleveragefromhis own strengths to maximize his competitive advantage. When he left theprogram, he took with him a detailed, pragmatic system that allowed him toanalyzethecomponentsofthependingsalefarmoreeffectivelythanRaycouldeverhope to.Armedwithhis understandingof these components, andofhowthey all fit together in the sale, he was about to steal amarch on themarket“leader.”

ItwastruethatGreghadn’tmettheCEO.ButthankstotheStrategicSellingprogram he had attended, he didn’t have to. While Ray was congratulatinghimself for knowing the customer’s senior management, Greg was quietlyfinding out who the real decision-makers were for this sale, and uncoveringotherinformationthatcouldhelphimclosethedeal.Specifically,hewantedtoknowwhowouldhavetogivefinalapprovalforthesale.Hefoundwhathewaslooking for in Jeff, an outside consultant whomRay had entirely overlooked.JeffwasabletogiveGregtwoinvaluablepiecesofinformation.

First, he explained that for this specific sale, it was the division generalmanager,nottheCEO,whohadtogivefinalapproval;Ray’sconnectiontotheCEOwasthusegogratifyingbutirrelevant.Second,ifGregwantedtosellthiscritical decision-maker, he coulddonobetter than to go through Jeff himself.Prior to becoming a consultant, he had been a valued senior member of thebuying organization, and the division generalmanager had routinely relied onhimforinformationaboutstate-of-the-arttechnology.

WhatGreg did, therefore,was to show Jeff thematch between the buying

firm’sneedsandhiscomputersolution—andthenletJeffdemonstrateit to thegeneral manager. Soon all the parties involved in the purchase decision weresold on his proposal. He was the one who got the new car, while Ray, whosupposedlyhadhadthesaletiedup,wasleftwonderingwhathadgonewrong.

When Ray’s company realized its sure thing had fallen through, its salesmanagementnaturallywantedtoknowwhy.Whentheydiscoveredthatwehadhad a part in their misfortune, they contacted us to find out more about ourprograms.TodaybothGreg’sandRay’s firmsareourvaluedclients,andbothreport regular increases in account penetration and sales performance directlyattributabletoourprinciplesandplanningprocess.

Anybody who sells for a living can tell you similar stories about how a“locked in” deal fell through because the salesperson in charge had failed tocoverallhisbases,pitchedhisproposaltothewrongpersonatthewrongtime,oroverlookedacrucialsignalthatthesalewasintrouble.Nomatterhowexpertorexperiencedyouare,youhaveprobablyfeltthepangofdisappointmentthatcomeswhenyourcompetitionunseatsyoufromatotally“secure”position.

Whatyoumaynotrealize(andveryfewsalespeopledorealizeit)isthatthereis always a specific, clearly identifiable reason that such a sale is lost, eventhoughyoumaynotknowwhatitis.Thatreasonneverinvolvesmerely“luck”or“timing”or“hardwork.”Whenyouloseadonedealat the lastminute, it’salways because you failed to bring to that sale what Greg brought to hiscomputerdeal:aclearlydefinedandreliableprocessforsuccessthattakesintoaccount all the elements of thepending transaction, nomatter howobscureor“trivial”theymightappear.

Thisistrueinanysalessituation,butit’sespeciallyrelevantinwhatwecalltheComplexSale.That’swhatour salesdevelopmentprocessesand thisbookare about. The goals ofTheNew Strategic Selling are to help you understandwhythingshavesometimesgonewronginyourComplexSales,andtogiveyouatested,reliablesystemforsettingthemrightfromnowon.

THECOMPLEXSALE:WHATITIS

Our processes are built on reality, not theory, and it would be unrealistic tosuggestthateveryoneinvolvedinsellingcouldprofitequallyfromthem.That’swhyweneedtostartbydefiningtheComplexSale,sothatyoucandeterminewhether or not, given the type of selling you do, you can benefit from themethodologywehavedeveloped.Inourcorporateprogramsandinthisbook,we

usethefollowingdefinition:

AComplexSaleisoneinwhichanumberofpeoplemustgivetheirapprovalorinputbeforethebuyingdecisioncanbemade.

That sounds simple enough, and it is simple, but the concept nonetheless hasenormousimplications.Tofleshoutthisdefinitionsomewhat,wecansaythatinthetypicalComplexSale,oneormoreofthefollowingelementsareinplace:

•Thebuyingorganizationhasmultipleoptions.•Thesellingorganizationhasmultipleoptions.•Inbothorganizations,numerouslevelsofresponsibilityareinvolved.•Thebuyingorganization’sdecision-makingprocessiscomplex—meaningthatitisseldomself-evidenttoanoutsider.

Thepresenceof thesecomplicatingfactorsmakesselling inanyComplexSalearenacomplicatedtoo.ThevarietyofpeopleinvolvedintheComplexSale,andthe variety of often conflicting decisions that these people commonly have tomake, mean that in Complex Sales the sales representative has to develop aselling method that’s distinct from, and more analytical than, that of thetraditionalhand-pumpinggoodoldboywhomadeitonashoeshineandasmile.As thestoryofGregandRay indicates,having this typeofmethodcanbe thedifferencebetween failure and success.Ourprocesses are indemandpreciselybecausewedemonstratethisdifferencetoourclients.

Ifyou’veever soldsomething toacoupleasopposed toahusbandorwifealone, you knowhowmultiple approval can complicate a sale. If your sellingtakes place in a corporate or government environment, you know that thecomplications are even greater when approval has to come not just fromindividualsbutfromcommitteesandboardsofreview.Thebottomlinehereisthatwhenever twoormoreyesvotesareneeded fora sale togo through,youneedaveryspecialstrategytohandlethesituation.

Thisistruenomatterhowsimpleorcomplextheproductbeingsoldis,andnomatterhowmuchorhow little it costs.Thedecisive factor in theComplexSaleisnotproductorpricebutstructure.

Take basketballs—certainly a small-ticket product—as an example. ThesalespersonwhosellsadozenbasketballstooldPopJonesatthelocalsporting

goods store is making a simple sale; he doesn’t need our help. But if you’retryingtoplaceahundredgrossofthatsameproductwithKmart,youdefinitelydoneedit,becausemakingthissalewillrequiresomanyapprovals.Peoplewhosellinthiskindofarena,atthebusiness-to-businesslevel,areconfrontedeverydaywith structural complexity—and thereforewithwhatwe call theComplexSale.

With this definition of the Complex Sale in mind, you should be able todeterminehowrelevant thisbookwillbe toyou. Ifyousellprincipallyoveracounterordoortodoor,youprobablywon’tfindit tobeindispensabletoyourwork,sinceyourarelyneedmorethanoneyestocloseyourtransactions.Butifyou’reinvolvedinanyaspectofcorporateselling—whetherornotyou’vebeenstymied, likeRay, by corporate complexity—theStrategic Selling process canhelpyouhonetheskillsyoualreadyhave,developnewonesyoumaynothavethought you needed, and fit them all together into a visible and repeatablestrategyforsalessuccess.

Thepeoplewhohavealreadylearnedthisprocess,andwhoarenowusingitsprinciplesintheirownsalesoperations,formavirtualWho’sWhoofAmericanbusiness:Wedeliverourprogramsmainly to theFortune1000 Industrials andthe Fortune 50Transportation, Financial, Insurance, andCommercial Bankingfirms.Manyofthesefirmsdealinobviouslybig-ticketitems,suchasairplanes(Lockheed) and computer systems (Hewlett-Packard, IBM).Others sell small-ticket products, such asKleenex (Kimberly-Clark) and soft drinks (TheCoca-ColaCompany).AllofthemoperateinthearenaoftheComplexSale.

Inthatarena,thepeoplewhoprofitmostdirectlyandimmediatelyfromourprocessesarecorporatefieldsalespeopleandtheirmanagers.Inaddition,we’vebrought significant success to inside salespeople, customer service people,product managers, and many senior executives whose work in one way oranotherinvolvessalesperformance.Butyoudon’thavetoworkforaFortune-listedgianttoprofitfromTheNewStrategicSelling.Whateverthesizeofyourcompany,andwhatevertheproductorserviceyoudealin,ifyou’reinvolvedintheComplexSaleaswe’vedefinedithere,thisbookisforyou.

Togetthemaximumbenefitfromreadingit,however,youshouldunderstanditsparticularrelevancetoyourcurrentsalesenvironment.Thatenvironment,asyou already know, is characterized by virtually constant change. Because thischange isoften troubling to thesales representative,beforewestart layingoutthe Strategic Selling process, wewant to describe the impact of this constantchangeontheComplexSale.

THEONLYCONSTANTISCHANGE

Adozenyearsago,whenthefirsteditionofStrategicSellingappeared,weusedthethenfashionableterm“futureshock”todescribethestressanddisorientationproduced by constant change. As relevant as the point was back then, it hasbecomeevenmorefiercelyrelevanttoday.Intheearly1980s,“constantchange”was probably felt most acutely in the computer, communications, and otherhigh-techmarkets.Today, it’ssafe tosay that,whateveryourbusiness,bettingonthestabilityoftomorrowislikebuildingcastlesinthesand.Askanyofthethousands of corporate employees who, in the past decade, have lost theirsupposedly“lifetime”positionsovernight.Youmaynotknowtheexactheightordirectionofthenextcastle-threateningwave,buttwothingsyoucansaywithabsoluteconfidence.One,therewillbewaves.Two,ifyouwanttosurvivethem,youhavetoprepare.

Whatare the“waves” thatweare talkingabout?Whatare thechanges thatarethreateningtoday’sbusinessstability?

Whenweaskthatquestioninourcorporateprograms,weseldomgetexactlythe same answers twice. That’s not surprising. In fact, that’s our point. If wecouldpredictexactlywherethenextchangewascomingfrom,theconstancyofchangewouldn’tbeproblematic.It’spreciselybecauseyoudon’tknowwhattoexpectthatbusinessinconstancyinducessuchuneasiness.

Youmaybeexperiencingchangeinyourmarketplace,yourtechnology,yourcustomer base, your product line, your competitive position, your marketingstrategy and tactics, the structure of your organization—or in any number oftheseareas, in anycombination.Youmaybeexperiencingchangeasa subtle,gradualerosion(suchasthemoveofmanufacturingsitesoffshore),asasuddenevent(suchasaprecipitousdropinstockprices),orascontinualgrowth(suchasthe computer and software industries are experiencingnow).Butwhatever thescopeor the rate of the changes that are affectingyour environment, they canbringyouheadtoheadwiththeshockoftheunknown.

This isn’t necessarily cause for despair. It isn’t change itself that producesdisorientation,buttheuncertaintythatisoftenassociatedwithit.Nomatterwhatchanges are going on in your industry, you can still develop reliable sellingstrategies ifyou learn tosortout theopportunities fromthe threats,and ifyoucontinuallydevelopthespecificskillsthatareneededtoestablishstabilitywherenonenowseemstoexist.

Thisbook isdesigned togiveyou those skills,whateveryourbusiness and

whatever your product or service.You’ll getmaximum benefit from it if youfirstaccepttherealitythatchangehasbecomeaconstant.ToclosetheComplexSale today, you need to know that yesterday’s business as usual is today’soutdated system and tomorrow’s millstone around the neck. We believe thisrecognition is so important that we identify the acceptance of change as aprerequisiteforunderstandingtheStrategicSellingprocess.Weevenputthisintheformofanaxiom,orpremise.

Premise1ofStrategicSelling:Whatevergotyouwhereyouaretodayisnolongersufficienttokeepyou

there.

Thispremise,werealize,goesagainstthegrainofallthosewhohavebeendoingthingsthesamewayfortwentyyearsandarecomfortablewiththeirestablishedpatterns. Yet accepting this premise is essential to sales survival. Today,instabilityistheonlythingyoucancounton.Thepersonwhorefusestoalterhisor her “time-tested”methods to adjust to this reality will soon be left behindbecauseonefactisplain:Evenifyou’vebeensellingforonlyafewyears,thesellingenvironmentinwhichyoulearnedtooperatenolongerexists.

The disorientation caused by rapid change isn’t peculiar to the sellingenvironment,butthespecificchangesassociatedwiththeComplexSaleare.Asecondpremise isaddressed to this fact. It’smeant to identifyoneof themostimportantchangesyouwillhavetomakeifyouintendtocarryyoursuccessintothenextcentury.

Premise2ofStrategicSelling:IntheComplexSale,agoodtacticalplanisonlyasgoodasthestrategy

thatleduptoit.

Tactics,asweusetheterminourprogramsandinthisbook,referstotechniquesyouusewhenyou’reactuallyface-to-facewithaprospectorcustomerinasalescall.Itincludesallthetime-honoredtoolsofthetradethatyoulearnedinSelling101,suchasquestioningtechniques,overcomingobjections,presentationskills,trialcloses,andsoon.Bystrategy,ontheotherhand,wemeanaseriesoflesswidely recognized, but equally identifiable, processes that you use to positionyourself with the customer before the sales call even begins. You use tactics

duringyoursalespresentation;strategymustcomebeforeit.Intoday’scorporatesellingenvironment,strategyisaprerequisitetotactical

success.AsRay found out to his dismay, tacticswill get you nowhere if youpresent them to the wrong person, or to the right person at the wrong time.Furthermore,goodstrategy, likegoodtactics,canbe learned. Infact theentirefocusoftheprocesswe’llbepresentinginthisbookisondevelopingeffectivepre-callsellingstrategies.

Not that tactics are unimportant. We acknowledge the value of goodpresentation skills, and in fact our company’s second oldest program,ConceptualSelling,focusesexclusivelyonface-to-facesellingtactics—onwhatyouhavetodowhenyou’reinthecall.Butthat’sAct2.Act1isgettingyoutothecallinthefirstplace.

Thereasonthismatterstoyouisthat,whilesalesprofessionalsunanimouslyagreethattacticsareimportant,theyroutinely,anddisastrously,neglectstrategicpreparation. Strategy, in fact, is the single most neglected element in sellingtoday,notonlyamongsalesrepresentatives,butevenamongtheverymanagersand sales trainers who are supposed to be teaching them to cope with theComplexSale.Infactitwasourfrustrationwithtrainingprogramsthatledustodevelopourstrategicprocessinthefirstplace.

Our third and final premise also addresses itself specifically to the salesenvironment, but is much broader in scope than Premise 2. If Premise 1identifiedtherealityofgeneralsocialchangeandPremise2therealityofchangein the Complex Sale, then Premise 3 points to the need for personal, internalchangeasawayofhandlingwhat’sgoingonoutside.

Premise3ofStrategicSelling:Youcansucceedinsalestodayonlyifyouknowwhatyou’redoingand

why.

Thismay sound obvious, but it’s not—at least judging fromhow infrequentlytoday’s sales representativesactuallyapply it in the field.Wecandemonstratethattoyoubyrelatinganexperiencewehadfrequentlyduringtheyearsweweresalesexecutivesinmajorcorporations.Asregionalandnationalsalesmanagers,we interviewed literallyhundredsofprospective sales representatives.Mostofthem were already successful when they came to us, and so our task, inreviewingcandidates forourownselling teams,was to sortout theverygoodfromtheexcellent.Todothiswedevisedaquestiontotestnotthecandidates’

individualperformance(wealreadyknewthatwasgood)buttheirperceptionofthatperformance.Weasked them,“Whyareyousosuccessful?Whatsetsyouapart from the other people in your branch or division whose sales figuresconsistentlyfallbelowyours?”

The answerswere surprising.Not one in a hundred of our candidateswasable to identify the real reason forhisorher success.Usually, in trying topindown the essential ingredients, they talked about luck, connections, or hardwork.Onlyatinyfractionunderstoodthatitwasthewaytheywentabouttheirwork—whatwe call theirmethodology or process—thatwas the real clue towhytheydidsowell.

Itwasthatfractionwesoughttohire.Ofcourseweknewthatworkinghard,buildingupcontacts,andluckprobablyhadn’thurtthesepeople’strackrecords.Butwealsoknewthattheseweretrivialfactorscomparedtotheirawarenessoftheir own working methods, and their willingness to refine those methods toimprovetheirsuccess.Whatwefoundconsistentlywasthatthepersonwiththebestunderstandingofhisorherowneffectivewayofdoingthingswastheonewhowouldprove themostproductiveforus.Thosewere thepeoplewehired,andwithfewexceptionstheirperformanceconfirmedourexpectations.

Thiswasonly logical. If you relyon luckor territoryor connections, yourworkwillalwayshaveahighdegreeoftrialanderroraboutit,andtrialanderrorisn’tareliabletoolinaworldthat’sasriddledwithchange,andascompetitive,as ours is. In addition,without an understanding of your ownmethod, you’redoomed to approach each sale as an entirely new experience. You’ll neverdevelop a testing procedure to see what works and what doesn’t, and you’lltherefore see each change in your business environment not as an opportunitythatcouldbeunderstoodanddeveloped,butasadangersignalsaying“Goback.DonotpassGo.”

Success today depends on your developing not this kind of catch-as-catch-can approach to your work, but a clearly defined, professional salesmethodology. Knowing what you’re doing and why is fundamental to thestrategicprofessional’sprofile.

PROFILEOFTHESTRATEGICPROFESSIONAL

Surprisingasitmayseem,manypeoplewhosellarereluctanttoadmitthattheirprofession is a profession. The old, unfortunate image of the salesperson as amereglad-hander,someonewhoseonlyskillis“knowinghowtotalktofolks,”

still commands a good deal of credence, even among sales professionalsthemselves.Thinkof thephrasesthatcometomindwhenyouthinkofselling.“Agood salesperson is born, notmade.” “Selling is 90percent luck.” “A realsalespersoncansellicetoEskimos.”Underlyingalltheseadagesistheviewthatit’spersonality,notunderstanding; temperament,not training;magic,not skill,thatmake the top sales representativeswhat they are. Formany people in thesalesfield,HoratioAlger’sold“luckandpluck”isstillthetalismantowhichweattributeoursuccess.

Evenifthisviewwasaccurateinformerdays(whichisdoubtful),ithasnobearing on the world of constant change. Selling, no less than teaching ormedicineorlaw,isaprofessionalcalling,andthosewhoprosperinitarethosewithahandleontheirownprofessionalmethods.They’rethepeoplewhohavedevelopedaconscious,plannedsystemofsellingstepsthatarevisible, logical,andrepeatable.ThepersonwhomakesourStrategicSellingprocessworkneverseessuccessintermsofmagicorcharismaorluck.Noonewhomakesitbiginthe Complex Sales of the coming century will be able to rely on that oldmythology.Tomorrow’ssales leaderswill succeedbecause they think like,actlike,and—mostimportantly—considerthemselvestobepros.

One of the things these pros will have in common is a special brand ofpersistence.We’renottalkingaboutthetime-worn“Keepknockingonthedooruntil it opens” kind of persistence. That’s important, all right, as you can seefrom a recent survey done by a national association of sales executives: Itconcluded that 80 percent of the new sales in this country are made by 10percent of the sales representatives—and that they close those sales only aftermakingfiveormorecallsontheclient.Butourresearchshowsthatanotherkindofpersistenceisequallyimportant:thekindthattoppeopleshowinworkingontheirownsellingmethods.

Inthefollow-upsurveyswedoofourcorporateprogramparticipants,we’veobserved one fact a hundred times. If you want to predict the next salesrepresentative of the year, the next star regional manager, the next nationalaccount executive, find out which salespeople are analyzing their ownmethodology,which ones are constantly reassessing sales strategy and tactics,which ones are looking for reliable, repeatable methods to improve theircompetitiveedge.Anattentiontoinnerprocessaswellastoexternalchangeisfundamentaltotoday’s(andtomorrow’s)salesleaders.

Inadditiontohavingahandleontheirsalesprocessesandunderstandingwhyprocess is important, all strategic professionals share one other profilecharacteristic:They’reneversatisfied.This facthelps toexplainwhy thesalesrepresentatives andmanagerswhoaremost excitedbyourprograms, theones

who are most eager to introduce our strategies into their own companies’methodologies, are thosewho arealready doingwell.And it helps to explainwhy the firms that thesecommission leaderswork forarealsoalready leadingtheirindustriesinsalesvolume.

Aswe’vealreadymentioned,ourclientsaredrawnprimarilyfromamongthemost successful corporations in the country. Why do these firms, which arealreadyleadingthepack,haveusworkwiththeirpeople?Whydomanyofthemspend tens of thousands of dollars so that their salespeople can learn theprinciplesofStrategicSelling?Whydo they send their revenue leaders toourprograms?

Fortheparadoxicalbutverygoodreasonthatit’sthebestwhoalwayswanttodobetter. Inany sellingorganization, it’s that top10percentof individualswithpersistenceanddedicationtotheirownsellingskillswhoultimatelypaythebiggestdividends to thecompany.Somaking itpossible for that10percent toreassessandrefinetheiralreadygoodworkpatternsjustmakeseconomicsense.Asyougothroughthisbook,you’llseethatdiscipliningyourselftofollowthesetopcompanies’examplemakesthesamekindofpracticalsenseforyou.

HOWSTRATEGICSELLINGWORKS

Whatdo thesepeople learn inourworkshopsandprograms,andhowwillyoulearntheStrategicSellingprocessfromthisbook?

To begin with, at Miller Heiman we don’t cook up any of our sellingprocessesinalab.StrategicSellingwasnotderivedfromabusinessprofessor’s“optimizing purchasability” model but from our experiences as lifetime salesprofessionals in the field. In this we are very nearly unique. Sales trainingprogramstypicallystartwithasqueaky-clean,highfalutin theorythat theythenattempttoimposeonthefacts.Wedon’tdothat.Ourprogramisgeneralizableallright.Asourclientscanattest,it’sbeentestedintheroughestarenapossible,theglobaleconomy,duringgoodtimesandbad,duringrecessionsandbooms—anditworks.Butitworksbecauseit’spractically,notjusttheoretically,sound.Thereason thatsomanynationalsalesmanagerssend theirsales forces toourprogramsisthatwehelpthemfixthenutsandboltsofrealsituations.

Thelessonsofthisbook,therefore,aren’tdesignedtoillustratesomeabstract“salesphilosophy,”toimpressyouwithgimmicks,ortogiveyouabriefcasefulloffive-dollarbuzzwordsthatyoucanuseintheplaceofNytolatyournextsalesmeeting.We’llkeepthediscussionsimpleandtothepoint,becausethegoalof

thebookissimpleandtothepoint:It’s tohelpyousort throughtheconfusingdataassociatedwitheveryComplexSaleandtogiveyouareliablemethodforanalyzing thatdata, forpositioningyourselfbetterwithyouraccounts, and forclosingbusinessonevenyourmostdifficultsales.Amongthespecificskillsthatyou’lllearnfromthisbookare:

1.Howtopositionyourselfwiththerealdecision-makersandavoidthosewithoutapprovalpower

2.Howtospotthetwokeycustomerattitudesthatcanmakeasale,andthetwothatusuallybreakit

3.Howtogetnotonlytheorderbutasatisfiedcustomer,repeatsales,andenthusiasticreferrals

4.Howtoincreasesalespenetrationinyourcurrentaccounts5.Howtominimizetheuncertaintiesofacoldcall

6.Howtofreeupastuckorder

7.Howtoavoidsellingbusinessyoudon’twant8. How to identify and deal with the four different Buying Influencespresentineverysale

9.Howtopreventsalesfrombeingsabotagedbyanantisponsor10.Howtorecognizesignalsthatindicatewhenasaleisinjeopardy11. How to avoid dry months by allocating time wisely to four criticalsellingtasks

12.Howtotrackaccountprogressandforecastfuturerevenue

Wewant you to remember that this is only a sampling of the topicswe’regoingtobecovering,andtorememberalsotwomajordistinctionsbetweenourapproach and that of sales training programs you may have previouslyencountered.

First:Our focus is on success, not failure. In trying to avoid failure,manysalestrainingprogramsactuallyguaranteeit,byemphasizinglonglistsofthingsthatcangowronginasalescall,andbyblamingthesalesrepresentativewhentheydo.Wedon’twantyou toconcentrateonyourshortcomings,and for thatreasonwefocusnotonyoubutratheronyouraccountorprospect:Ourgoalistoteachyouhowtounderstandthataccountsowellthatonceyougetintothesalescall,you’llalreadyhavedealtwithyourownuncertaintiesandbefreetodevoteyourattentiontomakingthepresentationcount.

Second: The work is on your accounts and prospects. Most trainingprograms,inanattempttolinktheoryandpractice,giveyouaseriesofcannedcase studies as illustrative material. By working on these hypothetical cases,you’re supposed to develop the skills needed to work on your own accounts.Whenweweredesigningourprograms,werealizedthatthiswasaroundaboutand inefficient method of getting you to analyze your own situation, so weeliminated the case study approach and zeroed in on our clients’ problemsdirectly. This book, like our programs, takes a hands-on approach. Instead ofhypothetical situations, you will get a series of Personal Workshops that arebased on theworkshopswe use in our Strategic Selling programs. Thesewillenableyoutosetstrategiesforyourownaccountsandprospectsrightnow.

Thepeoplewhohavebeenthroughourprogramstellusthatthisdirect,real-casemethodisoneofthemostusefulandlastinglessonsoftheexperience.Oneregional manager put it well, months after his people had taken the StrategicSellingprogram,whenhesaid,“I’vebeentoalotofdifferentcourses.Thisonemypeoplearereallyusing.”StrategicSellingisdesigned tobeused,andtobeused at once. It’s meant to help you deal with your stuck orders and troubleaccounts,yourinsidesaboteurs,yourdrymonthsanddifficultrenewals.Andit’smeanttohelpyoudothatrightaway.

By using theworkshopmethod thatwe developed in our programs, you’llreap the benefits of your own hands-on experience, and turn those benefits toyouradvantageevenbeforeyou finish thebook.By the timeyoucome to thelastpage,you’llbeabletosay,assomanyofourclientprofessionalsarenowabletosay,“It’sthewayIgoaboutitthatmakesmenumberone.”

CHAPTER2

STRATEGYANDTACTICSDEFINED

Imaginethatyou’rethecoachoftheWashingtonRedskins,andthatyourteamisanticipatinganappointmentwiththeDallasCowboys.Thebiggameisoneweekaway,andthefilmsoftheDallasteam’slastcoupleofgameshavejustcomein.Yourplayersareeagertoseethemsotheycanstartworkingoutgameplans,butyou’vegotabetteridea.“Nofilmsthisyear,boys,”youtellthem.“We’regoingtospendthisweekworkingonthebasics.Blocking,tackling,running,kicking,passing.WeknowtheCowboysaregood,butbynextweekwe’regoingtobebetter.Justconcentrateonhowhardyou’regoingtohitthemonceyougetontothefield.Therestwilltakecareofitself.”

How longwould you last in theNational Football Leaguewith an attitudelike that?Maybe twoweeks at the outside. In a league as competitive as theNFL,itwouldbesuicidetoignoreyourpregameplanninganddevoteyourselfentirely to “basics.” In the world of professional football, analyzing youropponents’moves inadvance isascrucialasdoingpasspatterndrills,and theproballcoachwhoneglectedsuchplanningwouldsoonbeshoppinghisrésuméaroundonthehighschoolcircuit.

Thesameprincipleapplies toprofessionalselling.Yet, to judgefrommanysales representatives’ reactionswhenwementionsalesstrategy, itwouldseemthat“hittingthefieldwiththebasics”constitutestheirentiresalesapproach.Tomanypeople,theonlyskillsthatcountarethosethatemergeintheactualsales

call: the tricks of the trade that help you deal effectivelywith the buyer onceyou’reactuallysittinginheroffice.

Inotherwords,it’sstilltacticsthatareseenasessential.Strategy—bywhichwemeanthatprocessyouusetolayoutyourmovesinadvanceofthesalescall—is still considered something of a gimmick: a newfangled, computer-ageinnovationthatdoesn’thavemuchtodowithhowtoppeoplereallyperforminthefield.

Thislimited(andlimiting)viewofstrategycomespartlyfromthetraditionalpictureofthesalespersonasaprofessionalshaker-of-hands,andpartlyfromtheinfluence of sales training programs that specialize in teaching sales calltechniques. The old-time salesperson and the trainers who initiate most newsalesrepresentativesintotheirfool’sparadisesharetheviewofthesalespersonas an “action” individualwhowould rather be on the road than at a desk anyday,andwhoreallycomesaliveonlywhenthestakesarehighandwhensheisgoingheadtoheadwithadifficultcustomer.Manyofthesegunghocounselorsseestrategyasawasteoftime.“Getoutthereandsell!”istheiradvice.“Getoutandgetyourhandsdirty.You’renotpaidtositintheoffice.”

Wehave nothing against dirty hands and, aswe’ve already said, this bookpromotesadefinitelyhands-onapproachtoselling.Nobodycanaffordtoneglectthe face-to-face fundamentals.But the tactical techniquesyouuse in thedirectencounterwillpayoffonlyifyoudevelopasoundstrategybeforehand.

WHYYOUNEEDSTRATEGYFIRST

Both “strategy” and “tactics” are derived from ancient Greek. To theGreeks,taktikosmeant “fit for arrangingormaneuvering,” and it referred to the art ofmoving forces in battle. Strategos was the word for “general.” Originally,therefore, strategywas the “art of the general,” or the art of setting up forcesbefore the battle. In military terms these definitions still apply; with them inmind,youcaneasilyseewhystrategymustprecedetacticsinamilitarysetting.BeforeyoucanfightatGettysburg,you’vegottogettoPennsylvania.

Thesameprincipleapplies inthesalesarena.Theobjectiveofagoodsalesstrategyistogetyourselfintherightplacewiththerightpeopleattherighttimeso that you canmake the right tactical presentation.You can accomplish thatonly by doing your homework first, by logging the desk time that so manysalespeople resent, so that once you get into the actual selling event, you’recertain to have everything you need to make your presentation count. It was

becausehedidn’thaveeverythingheneededthatRaylostthecomputersaletoGreg.Ifhehadpaidmoreattentiontotheuncertaintiesofthesale—inthiscase,the “hidden” outside consultant and the competition—hemight have kept the“surething”inhisownpocket.

When we ask our program participants what they like best about ourprogram,manyofthemreply,“Ithelpedmeorganizemydatabetter.”Thisisn’tasurprisinganswer.Thinkof thebulkof informationyouhavetodealwith inany Complex Sale. Think of the maze of offices, the overlapping managerialdecisions,thegamesofreceptionistroulette,thevice-presidentialtimetables,thesheerweightofpaperworkthathastobeattendedtobeforeyoucancloseadealandpocketacommission.Ifyouplungeintothesellingsituationwithouthavinga reliablemethodof sorting, organizing, and analyzing this vast bodyof data,you’regoingtobeinthesameimpossiblepositionastheNFLcoachwhoreliesona“waituntilthegame”approachtogivehimavictory.

Themistake thatRaymade isaverycommonone in theComplexSale. InChapter 5we’ll look at thatmistake inmore detail, whenwe talk about howimportant it is to distinguish among the various Buying Influences, and tounderstandhowtherolesplayedbytheseBuyingInfluencescanshiftfromsaleto sale—even sometimes within the same sales cycle. Ray discovered howimportant that was a little too late to help him. So does every other salesrepresentativewhodisplaystacticalwizardryatthewrongtimeorinthewrongplace.

You’veprobablyalreadyrunintothissituation.YouwalkintoSamWilson’sofficeandgivehimaclassic textbookpresentation.Heissuitablyawed.“Thatwas terrific!” he says. “I only wish I’d known ahead of time how well yourproductmatchesourneeds.IwouldhavehadJuneRichardsheretoapprovethesale.I’msureshewouldhavegiventheOK,butshe’sinNigeriaforamonth.”

Ortakeanevenworsesituation.You’re in themiddleof thatbrilliantpitchwhenyousuddenlyrealizebyyourself,withoutbeingtold,thatyou’retalkingtothewrongperson.Andyourealizethatifyounowtrytogoaroundhimtogettothe right person, he’s going to cut youoff at theknees.Realizingglumly thatthere’snowaytorescuethesale,youwalkoutoftheofficemumbling,tacticallyflushbutstrategicallyunwound.

Situations like these are always the result of poor planning, of thesalesperson’sneglectingtogetanimportantpieceofinformation,andofgoinginto the selling event with an overconfident or otherwise distorted view ofreality. Only a strategic approach can provide you with a reliable method oftesting your impressionsof thepending sale at every stepof the sellingcycle,andthereforeofbeingcertainofyourpositionbeforeyoubeginthepresentation.

Without thisstrategic testing,youmayacton thebasisofwhatyouwishweretruerather thanwhat is true,andfindyourself in theridiculouspositionof thefellow who lost a quarter in the park but decided to look for it downtownbecausethelighttherewasbetter.

We’re not saying that strategy is “better than” or “more important than”tactics. They’re equally important elements of sales success—and they’reinseparable.Youcan’tusetacticseffectivelyoutsideofastrategicActionPlan,andyou can’t set good strategies unless you’re flexibly responsive to the newplanning information that eachnew tactical encounter givesyou.Onceyou’vefully incorporated theprinciplesofStrategicSelling intoyourwork,you’llseethatstrategyandtacticsmustworktogether.Weemphasizestrategybecauseit’salmost always neglected. And it’s the place where every good sales processstarts.

LONG-TERMSTRATEGY:FOCUSONTHEACCOUNT

The tendency of “tactics only” salespeople to ignore preparation is only onefactor in their undoing. Another is a tendency to focus exclusively on theindividualsaleandtoignoretheaccount.Aswe’vealreadyemphasized,it’stheselling event that occupies the bulk ofmost representatives’ attention.There’snothing wrong with attending carefully to the selling event—whether it’s aphonecall,anintroductoryletter,orthesalescallitself—butsuchattentioncancreaterealproblemsifitleadsyoutoignorethelargerpicture.

In aComplexSale arena,youhave short-termand long-termobjectives. Intheshort term,youwant tocloseasmanyindividualpiecesofbusinessasyoucan.Inthelongterm,youwanttomaintainhealthyrelationswiththecustomerssigningforthesedeals,sothatthey’llbewillingtomakefurtherpurchasesfromyouinthemonthsandyearstocome.Itwouldbegreatif thesetwoobjectivesalwayscoincided,butyouknowthattheydon’t.Allofuswhomakealivinginsalescanpointtobusinessthatwewishwehadn’tsold—tosalesthat“seemedlikeagoodideaatthetime”butthatturnedout,downtheline,tobeliabilities.

You’veprobablyseenthishappenyourselfincaseswheresomebodysellsaproduct toacompanythatcannotreallyuseitwell—wherethefitbetweentheproductandthecompany’sneedssimplyisn’tasexactasthesalespersonwouldlikeittobe.Whatdoyoudoinasituationlikethis?Ifyouconfinedyourselftotheshort-termview,youmightbeinclinedtoglossoverthebadproductfitandgofortheinstantpayoff,yourcommission.Butyouwouldn’tlastverylongwith

thataccountoncethecompanydiscoveredthatithadbeensoldabillofgoods.Youcouldforgetaboutreferralsandrepeatbusiness.Andyouwouldverysoondiscoverthatyourtacticalvictoryhadturnedouttobeastrategicdefeat.

One of the hardest decisions any sales professional has to make is thedecisionnottocloseasale,eventhoughit’spossibletodoso.Oneofourmajorclientsfacedthisdecisionseveralyearsago,justaftercompletingproductionona new computer assembly. The assemblywas so sophisticated and difficult tooperate that, if ithadbeenputon themarket (amarket thatwasveryeager tohave it), our client would have been deluged in weekswith service calls andangry customers. The company’s officers understood this, even though thepotentialcustomersdidnot,andsotheymadeapainfulbutverysavvydecision:Theyallowedacompetingfirmtobefirstinthishungrybutinexperiencedfield.Itwas the competitorwho ended up having to dealwith frustrated customers,whileourclientreapedlong-termprofitsfromitscautionanddiscretion.

Thisstoryhighlightstheimportanceofanaccount-centeredapproach.Ifyouconcentrate chieflyon tactics,you’llbe likely to forget theaccount, and togofromsellingeventtosellingeventasiftheyweretheirownrewards.Toreverttothemilitary analogy, you’ll tend to focus onwinning individual battles whileforgetting about the war of which these battles are only components. Ourstrategicapproachoffsetsthisself-defeatingtendency.

Onecaveat, though.Wedonotmean to imply,byusing themilitary terms“battle”and“war,”thatweseesuccessfulsellingasavictoryoftheselleroverthebuyer.Onthecontrary.Weusethemilitarymetaphorpurelyasashorthanddescription.Incontrast towhatyoumighthavelearnedearlier insalestrainingprograms, ina successfulComplexSaleyouneverbeat thebuyeror trickhimintosigning.That’sanotherproblemwith the“tactics first”approachandwiththe “go get ’em” philosophy ofmany sales trainers. They set you up to keepscore,togaugeyoursuccessbyhowmanycustomersyou’veropedin.

We all know people who relish “sticking it to the customer,” who arecontinually asking themselves, “How can I con this buyer?” The questionwestress inStrategicSellingisverydifferent.It’s“HowcanImanagethissale?”Only by asking that question throughout the sales cycle can you avoid theadversarialviewthatsooftenturnstacticalsuccessintostrategicdefeat.

SETTINGTHEACCOUNTSTRATEGY:FOURSTEPSTOSUCCESS

Now you’re nearly ready to begin setting strategies for your accounts. Before

you can do that effectively, though, there’s one further principle we have tointroduce.It’stheprincipleofastep-by-stepapproach.We’vefoundthatmanypotentially excellent sales representatives ignore this principle. They “jumpsquares,”thinkingthatthesoonertheyreachtheendoftheirsellingcycles,thesooner they’ll pocket their commissions. This hurried approach almost alwaysresultsinlostbusiness.

In the following chapters, we’ll be introducing what we call the Six KeyElementsofeffectiveaccountstrategies.Tounderstandandusethemwell,youhavetokeepthestep-by-stepprincipleinmind.Eachtimeweintroduceanewelement,we’llaskyoutoexamineitsapplicationtoyouraccountsinalogical,step-by-step fashion.We know you may find this overly meticulous, but ourexperienceshowsusthatit’snecessary.Goodstrategicanalysisrevealsalogicalsequence.Thesequencethatwehavefoundeffectivehasfoursteps:

1. Analyze your current position with regard to your account and withregardtoyourspecificsalesobjective.

2.ThinkthroughpossibleAlternatePositions.3. Determine which Alternate Position would best secure your objectiveanddeviseanActionPlantoachieveit.

4.ImplementyourActionPlan.

Sincefromnowonyou’llbeconstantlysetting,testing,andrevisingyoursalesstrategies, you shouldbe referring frequently to these steps.Weadviseyou torunthroughtheminyourmindeverytimeweintroduceanewKeyElementofStrategy,andtousethemasabenchmarkeverytimeyoucontemplateachangeinthewayyou’reapproachinganaccount.

The four stepswill be relevant to your thinkingwhenever you’re trying tomakesomethinghappeninanaccountthatisn’thappeningrightnow.Youcouldbepreparingtosellanewproductorpromotiontoanexistingaccount,toqualifyanewprospect,topenetrateotherdivisionsofanexistingaccount,ortogetbackin the door after losing out to a competitor. When we speak about settingaccount strategies,we’re referring to all your selling situations and to all yourprospectsandaccounts—past,present,andfuture.Strategicthinkingisimportanttothemall.

Notice two things about these four steps to success. First: Taken together,they illustrate the importance of constant review—or, to use a contemporaryexpression, of constant feedback. Review, feedback, reassessment: Whatever

you call it, it’s essential to good account planning. Second: Notice howfrequently theword “position” appears in this four-stepdesign.Understandingyour position with regard to a given account is so central to setting goodstrategiesthatweoftensay“havingastrategy”and“havingaposition”aretwowaysofexpressingthesamething.Thewholekeytostrategyisposition.Ittellsyouwhereyouarenow,andwhereyoumighthavetomoveinthenearordistantfuturetoincreaseyourchancesofsuccesswithagivenobjective.

Becausetheconceptofpositionissofundamental, thatisexactlywherewebegintheStrategicSellingprocess.Thefirstthingyou’lldoinusingthisbooktosetastrategyisaPersonalWorkshoptodetermineyourcurrentposition.

CHAPTER3

YOURSTARTINGPOINT:POSITION

To themilitary strategist, position is a critical element in anycampaignplan.Thegeneralwhodoesn’tknowwhereheisinrelationtotheenemy—whetherinterms of geography, knowledge of forces, lines of supply, weather, or otherfactors—issimplysettinghispeopleupforthekill.Onthebattlefield,beinginthewrongplaceat thewrongtimecanbeafatalerror,becausenomatterhowbrilliantlyanarmymayperforminaface-to-faceencounter, itwillnevergetafair chance to do so if its leaders don’t know where they are or if they’remarchingoffinthewrongdirection.

Thesameprincipleapplies inselling.Inaccountstrategy,positioningis thenameofthegame.What“settingastrategy”reallymeansisdoingwhateveryouhave to do to put yourself in the best position to accomplish a particularobjective or set of objectives. Of course this can entail a great deal. It caninvolveallaspectsofyoursellingsituation—physical,psychological,economic—withregardtoagivenaccountorprospectandagivensalesobjective.Fullyunderstanding your current positionmeans knowingwho all your key playersare,howtheyfeelaboutyou,howtheyfeelaboutyourproposal,whatquestionstheywanttohaveanswered,andhowtheyseeyourproposalvis-à-vistheirotheroptions. Itmeans in shorthavinga reliable fixonallofyour strongandweakpointsbeforeeachsellingencounterevenbegins.

But even if you’re foggy on some of these points, even if you’re unclearaboutyourposition,younonethelesshaveastrategicposition.Youalwayshave

aposition,and for that reasonyoualwayshavea strategy,whetherornotyoucanarticulatewhat it is.Ifyou’renotcertainwhereyoustandwithregardtoagivenaccount,youareorsoonwillbelost—andthatwillbeyourposition.

ToavoidtheperiloussituationofbeingpositionedintheGreatUnknown,thefirst thing you need to dowith each account is tomake your current positionvisible. Just as a generalwould find a fix on amap, you have to fix yourselfwithin your current sales situation, so that youwill fully understand—as theyusedtosayinthe1960s—“whereyou’recomingfrom.”You’regoingtodothatnow,withregardtoaspecificaccountandaspecificsalesobjective.

Firstyouneedtopicktheaccountorprospect.Wedon’twantyoutoselectone in which everything is going fine. That would defeat the purpose of theworkshop and the process.We’ve designed this book, as we’ve designed ourprograms, to help you work through the difficulties of your current salessituations.Therefore,youshouldchooseanaccountwheresomethingisn’tquiteright. Itneedn’tbeone inwhicheverything is fallingapart—although if that’sthe one youwant to attack, fine. In theworkshop environment clients usuallydiscover that the best kind of account to work on is one in which, althoughthingsmaylooksmoothonthesurface,youstillfeelsometwingeofuneasiness,uncertainty,orconfusion.

You’ll beworkingwith this accountorprospect throughout the rest of thisbook,sobesuretheoneyouchoosewillrepaytheeffortyouputintoit.Besureit’s one, in other words, where you’re really eager to have reliable answers.Eventually, afteryou learn theprinciplesofStrategicSelling sowell that theybecome second nature, you’ll be using them to set strategies for all youraccounts.Butforthisfirstrun-through,you’llbefocusingonasingleimportantpieceofbusiness.Bythetimeyoufinishthebook,you’llhaveanalyzedalltheelementsofthisoneaccountandhavedevisedanActionPlanformakingyourstrategicpositionwithitmorevisibleandmoreeffectivethanitisnow.

Onceyou’vedecidedonanaccount,you’llneedthefollowingtools:aspiralnotebook(theside-boundschool type rather than the top-boundstenographer’stype), some pencils, and some highlighting devices. In our programs, we usesmallRedFlagandStrengthstickersashighlighters;youcanusesimilargum-backed stickersor aMagicMarker.Findaplacewhereyoucanworkwithoutdistractionsandgiveyourselfabouttwentyorthirtyminutestothinkaboutyouraccount position.Thenwork through the followingPersonalWorkshop. It hasbeendesignedtoidentifythecausesofyourcurrentuncertainty,tohelpyouseehowthosecausesaffectyourcurrentsalesobjective,andtoallowyoutomakeyourpositionwiththeaccountmorevisible.

PERSONALWORKSHOP1:POSITION

This workshop is divided into five steps. In the first step, you identify theparticular changes in your sales environment thatmay affect your handling oftheaccount.

STEP1:IDENTIFYRELEVANTCHANGES.Positionwouldbeaminorproblemifyoudidn’thavetodealwithchange,andmore importantly with the uncertainty that change often makes us feel. InChapter 1 we observed that it isn’t change in itself that causes stress anddisorientation, but the uncertainty of not knowing how to react to it. Youprobablycan’tdoverymuchtostopthechangesthatyou’renowexperiencinginyoursellingenvironment,butidentifyingthosechangesisanecessaryfirststepinbeingabletodealwiththemmoreproductively.

Sotakeoutyourpencilandwritetheheading“Change”atthetopofaleft-handpageofyournotebook.Thenmakealist,innoparticularorder,ofallthechangesthatyoufeelareinfluencingthewayyoucurrentlydobusiness.Nexttoeachone,asanextracheckonyourunderstandingofthechange,notewhetheritis a sudden event, a longer process of subtle erosion, or an example ofcontinuous growth. Don’t worry about being exhaustive or “correct” in yourchoices.You’renottakingatest.You’rewritingdownwhatyouobservetobehappening.Thebeststandardbywhichtomeasuretheimpactofchangesinyourbusinessenvironmentisn’tnecessarilytheWallStreetJourna’slatestfront-pagestory,butthewayyouarefeeling,daytoday,aboutyourwork.

Sincethenationaleconomyaffectsthewayallofusdoourjobs,someofthechangesyoulistwillnodoubtbethestuffofnightlynewsreports.Otherswillbespecific to your industry, yourmarket, your geographical base.Whatever youconsider a significant change should go on this list. If you spend about fiveminutesonthisstep,youshouldn’thaveanytroublecomingupwitheightortensignificant changes. Commonly, in our programs, participants list twenty ormore.

STEP2:RATETHESECHANGESASTHREATSOROPPORTUNITIES.Now go down your list of changes and put an O next to those you perceive

mainlyasopportunitiesandaTnexttothoseyouseemainlyasthreats.Ifyou’relikemost sales representatives, you’ll probably be hesitant about this. As ourclientstellusallthetime,practicallyanychangecanbeseenasbothathreatandanopportunity:Italldependsonhowyoureacttoit.That’strue,butwe’renotjudging your potential reaction here.We’re trying to develop an overview ofyour current position with your account. So as you debate the threats andopportunities, start from where you are today. Is the change you’re thinkingabout,rightnow,primarilypositiveorprimarilynegative?

The questionwill be easier to answer for some changes than for others. Ifyou’re experiencing a drastic shift in customer loyalty from your products orservices to a competitor’s, it’s not hard to identify that as a threat. If yourengineershave justdevelopedanewassembly technique thatwilldramaticallycutyourproductioncosts,thiscouldeasilybeseenasaneconomicopportunity.But if a major customer is moving toward single sourcing, this is a changewhoseimpactmightgoeitherway,dependingonyourcompany’spositiononapreferredvendorlist.Onlyyouknowyoursituationintimatelyenoughtomakereasonable decisions about rating the changes plus or minus. Just be sure toconcentrate on how you see these changes today. Take about another fiveminuteshere.Whenyou’vemadeyourlist,putitaside.We’llbereturningtoitinamoment.

STEP3:DEFINEYOURCURRENTSINGLESALESOBJECTIVE.Now,onthefacingright-handpageofyournotebook,writedownyourcurrentsales objective with regard to the account you’ve chosen.We need to clarifywhat we mean by current. You always have a long-term objective with anyaccount,whichistokeepthedecision-makersinthataccountsatisfiedwithyourrelationship, and therefore ready to domore business with you. But you alsohave specific, short-term objectives that change from sales period to salesperiod, and very often evenmore quickly than that. Salespeople typically callthese objectives “sales” or “orders” or “deals” or “pieces of business.” InStrategic Sellingwe call them Single SalesObjectives. Pick one Single SalesObjective that you’re pursuing in your chosen account right now. Define itbrieflybutprecisely,andwriteitdown.

Inbeingprecise,you should include inyourdefinitionexactlywhat you’retryingtoselltheaccount,whenyouexpectfinalapproval,andifpossiblewhatquantityyouexpect thecustomer toorder.Don’t say:“GetNewberrychain tobuysofas.”Specifywhichsofas,howmany,andwhen:“GetNewberrychainto

ordertrialpackageof100SlumberLinesofasbyJune1.”Itmaystrikeyouasbelaboring the obvious to do this, butwe have a reason for asking you to beprecise.Ourworkasmanagershastaughtusthatmanysalespeople,workingona hundred things at once, often create problems for themselves by lumpingtogether two ormore Single Sales Objectives. Since even two closely relatedobjectives may have quite different sets of decision-makers, this fusion oftenleadstoconfusion,andobjectivesarelostbecausethesalespersondoesn’tknowwhattheyare.

Thebottomlineisthis:Everypieceofbusinessisunique.It’seasiertokeepthatfundamentalfactinmindifyourememberthateverySingleSalesObjectivealwayshasthefollowingcharacteristics:

• It’sspecificandmeasurable. Itgivesnumericallypreciseanswers to thequestionswho,what,andhowmuch.

• It’s tied to a time line. That is, it defines exactlywhen you expect theordertoclose.

• It focuses on a specific outcome that you’re trying to bring about in aspecific account. It answers the question “What am I trying to makehappeninthisaccountthatisn’thappeningrightnow?”

• It’s single rather than multiple. Each Single Sales Objective can bedefinedinasimpleratherthanacompoundsentence.Inasentencewherethe connector “and” is lurking in themiddle, you’ve probably got two,notone,SingleSalesObjectives.

We’renotsuggesting,whenyou’reworkinginalargeaccount,thatit’sdesirableor evenpossible togoafteronlyonepieceofbusiness at a time. In corporatesellingyou’realwayspursuingmultipleopportunities.But insettingstrategies,it’s got to be one “battle” at a time, because each Complex Sale has its ownuniqueconfiguration,andyouhavetodesignaseparatepositioningforeachone.BreakingacomplicatedaccountoutintomultipleSingleSalesObjectiveshelpsyougiveeachpotentialordertheuniqueattentionitdeserves.Thisisessentialtokeepingyourinformationundercontrolandwellorganized.

If, like many sales representatives, you’re unclear about your currentobjective, note this as a possible cause of your general uneasiness about theaccount.Tohelpyoudefine the immediateobjective,writedownbrieflywhatyou’redoingwiththeaccountrightnow,andwhatyou’dliketobedoingwithitby the end of the next sales period. Think of other objectives you could be

pursuing at this time, andwhichof themwouldbemost gratifying toyounotonlyin termsof immediatecommission,butalsoin termsofmaintaininggoodrelationshipswiththeaccount.Andtakeyourtime.Ourprogramparticipantstellusconstantlythattakingafewminutestothinkaboutwhatthey’retryingtodowiththeiraccountsalmostalwayshelpstoreducetheirconfusion.Theyfindoutthattheyknewthingsabouttheaccount,andabouttheirapproachtoit,thattheyweren’t aware they knew. And they discover gray areas—areas where theyshouldhaveinformation,butdon’t.

Whenyou’vedefinedyourSingleSalesObjective,lookatitsidebysidewithyour listof“Changes.”Howdoeseachchangeonyour listaffectyourcurrentsalesobjective?Arethechangesthatyou’vemarkedasthreatscreatingproblemsfor you in attaining this objective now? Are the ones you’ve marked asopportunitiesmaking it easier for you to attain it?Or can you see someway,nowthatyou’rerelatingthesechangestoaSingleSalesObjective,inwhichtheycould be turned to your advantage? The purpose here is to help you definespecificallytheconnectionsbetweengeneralchangesandyourimmediategoal.Doing this won’t alter the environment, but it may help to reduce youruneasinessbymakingyoumoreconsciousofwhat’shappening.

STEP4:TESTYOURCURRENTPOSITION.Thenextstep inclarifying thesituation is to testyourcurrentposition: to findout how you feel overall about your prospects in this account and about yourspecificchancesformakingthisobjectiveworkout.Askyourselfthefollowingquestion: “How do I feel right now about closing this piece of business?”Bebrutally realistic,and listen toyourgut.Your feelingsarenot thewholestory,butthey’reanecessarystart.

Tohelpourclientsdefinehowtheyfeelaboutthisquestion,weaskthemtoidentifytheirpositionalongwhatwecalltheEuphoria-PanicContinuum.

We’vereproducedithere:

You may feel that none of the adjectives we’ve listed on the continuum

exactlydescribeyourfeelings,andifthat’sso,fine:supplyyourown.Thisisnotamultiple-choicetest,butaguideforyoutodeterminewhere,alongalinefromeuphoria to panic, you feel you belong.Whether you use your ownwords orours,thepointisforyoutodefinehowgood(howclosetoeuphoria)orhowbad(howclosetopanic)youfeelrightnow.

TheuseoftheEuphoria-PanicContinuumseemsstraightforwardenough,butwedowanttoaddafewcommentssothatyou’llgetmaximumbenefitfromthisexercise. First: Be straight with yourself. Unless there’s absolutely nothingwrongwithyourcurrent situation (whichhappensonly inNever-Never-Land),identifyinghowyoufeelaboutitislikelocatingsymptomsoftroublebysensingpain in your body.Your uneasy orworried feelings about the situation signalyou that something is “off.” Don’t ignore the signal and don’t kid yourself.Don’tsimplyputonabravefront,adopta“positive”or“winning”attitude,andforge ahead as if everythingwere fine. If you don’t treat your feelings aboutyour accounts seriously, you’ll be like the football playerwho “plays throughpain”withtheuseofpainkillers,andendsupinthehospitalbecausehecouldn’tfeelhimselfbeinghurt.

Second:It’sjustasdangeroustobeblissfullyhappyaboutyouraccountasitistobeinapanicmode.Ifyoufindyourselfateitherendofthecontinuum,bewary: You’re probably being unrealistic in your assessment. You cannotfunctionwellineitheraeuphoricorapanicstate.Intheformeryoutendtodonothing because you think things are already perfect. In the latter you doeverything and anythingyou can, andmost of it has no impact. In either caseyou’reoutoftouchwithreality.

In fact, the personwho’s euphoric and the onewho’s in a panic are reallymuch closer than they think, in terms of how they’re probably handling theiraccounts. We illustrate this in our programs by drawing the Euphoria-PanicContinuumnotasastraightline,butasanearlyclosedcircle.Whenwedrawthecontinuumthisway,youcanseethatthedistancefromeuphoriatopaniccanbeveryshort.Asourfranticlittlegraphiconpage62indicates,itisoftennomorethanasinglephonecallaway.

Euphoria, left unchecked, leads to complacency; complacency leads to

arrogance; and arrogance inevitably leads to disaster. The cocksure salesrepresentativealwaysoverlooks“trivial”piecesofinformationthatindicatethesaleisindanger—andsoonendsupinastateofpanic.

Thedistancebackfrompanictoeuphoria,unfortunately,isn’tnearlysoshort.Onceyou’vefallen intopanic,youhave toworkyourwaybackslowly,goingthroughthewholelongcircleofrealityuntilyou’refeelingconfidentagain.Sobeverysuspiciousofeuphoria.AsaregionalmanagerinatoughEasternmarketoncetoldus,“Iwantmycompetitiontogeteuphoric.That’swhenI’vegotmybestshot.”

The final point to notice about the continuum is that it isn’t a predictivedevice,merelyadescriptiveone.Itspurposeis to letyoutestyourstrategy,orposition,uptothispointbyallowingyoutogaugeyouremotionalreactionstothesituation.Throughouttherestofthisbookyou’llbemakingadjustmentstoyourstrategythatwillmoveyoutotheleftofthecontinuumifyou’renowfaroff to the right, and ensure that you staywhere you are, in spite of changingconditions, if you’re already feeling good. As conditions change, you’ll bereassessingyourpositionmanytimes.Thecontinuumisdesignedtohelpyoudo

thatefficiently.

STEP5:EXAMINEALTERNATEPOSITIONS.Onceyouknowwhereyouare,younextwanttoknowwheretogo.Intermsofthefourstepsweoutlinedinthelastchapter,you’venowfinishedthefirstone,analyzing your current position. Now you need to examine alternatives, todiscover how you might reposition yourself to make the attainment of yourSingleSalesObjectivemorelikely.

The entire rest of this book will help you to identify and take AlternatePositions.Rightnow,wewantyoutofocusonwhatyoualreadyknow,andtothink about areas of possible change—areas in which something you do cancounteracttheenvironmentalchangesthatarecausingyoudistress.You’llnoticethat on the continuum, apredictable, successful outcome ismore likely if youfindyourselfontheleftthanifyoufindyourselfontheright.Butthisisonlyalikelihood,andittooissubjecttochange.Thesignificantthingtoobserveatthispointisthat,nomatterhowyou’refeelingaboutyourcurrentaccountandsalessituation,youstillmustconsiderchange—thatis,changethatyoubringabout.

Thestopsigninthediagramismeanttopointyoutothatnecessity.Ifyou’reontherightsideofthecontinuum,youneedtoconsiderchangesinyourpositionso that you can reduce anxiety. If you’re on the left, you need to considerchangesthatwillensurecontinuedsuccess.Sostopnowforafewminutes.Putyourpencildownandlookatwhatyouhave.Lookoveryourlistof“Changes”andathowtheyrelatetoyourobjective.Lookatthatobjectiveitself:Haveyouidentified it clearly for yourself, or is it an area for possible change? Finally,review how you feel about the account and the objective in question. Whatchanges,intheaccountorintheenvironment,wouldmakeyoufeelbetterthanyoudo?Andwhatcanyoudorightnowtobringthatabout?

Tomakeyour optionsmore visible, turn to another pageof your notebookandwrite theheading“AlternatePositions.”Thenlist the thingsyoucando toimproveyourposition.Savethislist.You’llberevisingitthroughoutthebook.Atthispoint,it’slikelytobeshort.That’sfine.Learningthatyoudon’tyethavealltheanswersisitselfapositivestrategicachievement.

Now that you’ve spent half an hour thinking about the effect of outsidechanges on your position, you should be more certain about where you’reuncertain,evenifyoudon’tknowwhattodonext.You’reinthepositionofthehousecarpenterwhoknowsthatthesouthwallneedswork,butneedsablueprintbeforehestartsusinghistools.Holdontoyourtoolsandtoalltheinformation

you’vecollectedinthisworkshop.You’regoingtostartbuildingastrategy,andwe’regoingtogiveyoutheblueprint.

CHAPTER4

AGLANCEATTHESTRATEGYBLUEPRINT:THESIXKEYELEMENTSOFSTRATEGICSELLING

You’ve justdoneaPersonalWorkshop tomakeyourposition regardingyourcurrentsalesobjectivemorevisible.You’veidentifiedareasofuncertaintyanddrawn up a list of Alternate Positions that you might take to broaden yourstrategicoptions.We’veacknowledgedthatthisoptionslistislikelytobeshort.We’renowgoingtogiveyoutheblueprintyouneedtoexpandandreviseit,sothat by the end of the book you’ll have turned it into a working paper for astrategicActionPlan.

That Action Plan will grow out of not one but many Alternate Positions.There’sneveronlyonecorrectstrategyforasalesobjective,butalwaysachoiceofoptions.Indeed,asasalesprofessionalyou’llcommonlyhavetoadoptseveralstrategies—to change your position several times—between your firstmeetingwithakeyplayerandthesuccessfulcloseofanysale.Theblueprintwe’regoingtogiveyouwillhelpyoudothatwithaminimumoftrialanderror,andwiththegreatestpossibleunderstandingofallthesale’selements.

In our years of coaching sales leaders in a vast array of businesses,we’vefoundthateverygoodsalesstrategyalwaysattendstosixsuchelements.TheseSix Key Elements of Strategic Selling are the fundamental analytic tools youneedtomovefromthepositionyou’vejustdefinedtoanyAlternatePositionofgreaterstrength.TheSixKeyElementsare:

1.BuyingInfluences

2.RedFlags/LeveragefromStrength

3.ResponseModes

4.Win-Results

5.IdealCustomerProfile

6.SalesFunnel

Futurechapterswill showyou indetail andwithexampleshow tobring theseSixKeyElements together intoa tested,practicalstrategyforsalessuccess. Inthischapterwe’rejustgoingtodefineourbasicterms,togiveyouanoverviewoftheentireblueprint.Treatthechapterinthatway—asanovervieworglance.Don’t“study”itortakenotesorworryaboutunfamiliarconcepts.Justgiveitaquickrun-through,togetabasicfeelforthetoolsyou’llbeusing.

Asyoudoso,keeponethinginmind.WepresenttheSixKeyElementstoyou in the same sequenceweuse in ourStrategicSellingworkshops, becausewe’ve discovered that it makes the material accessible in the most orderlyfashion. Don’t infer from this numerical presentation that they are ranked inorder of importance. On the contrary. The element of Buying Influences isdiscussed first, for example, because you can’t fully understand the other fiveelements without it. But the Six Key Elements are equally essential to yoursuccess.Theonlyproperwaytousethemisinteractively,asasystem.

KEYELEMENT1:BUYINGINFLUENCES

We’vedefinedaComplexSaleasoneinwhichseveralpeoplehavetogivetheirapproval or input before the sale can go through. Identifyingall those peopleaccurately,andunderstandingtherolethateachofthemplaysingettingyoutoyoursalesobjectives,are twoof themajor stumblingblocks for salespeople—

evenverygoodsalespeople—intheComplexSale.Many sales managers address the problem of identifying key players by

tellingtheirsalesrepresentativestogetintouchwith“myoldbuddyJim”ortofind out the departmentmanager’s name. They concentrate on the individualswhohavebeenimportantinprevioussales,whoare“friends,”orwhosepositionortitleinthebuyingorganizationsuggeststhatthey’rekey.

Wetakeamoresophisticatedapproach.Sincecorporatestructurestodayarein constant flux, we tell our clients to begin their strategy by looking not forpeople,butforroles.Then,wesay,lookforthepeopleplayingthoserolesforaspecificsalesobjective—withoutbeingdistractedbytheirtitles.

In every Complex Sale, there are four critical buying roles. We call thepeoplewhoplaytheserolesBuyingInfluences,or,moresimply,Buyers.

Toheadoffapotentialmisunderstanding,weneedtoemphasizerightawaythat we don’t use the capitalized word “Buyer” in the conventional sense, toindicate a department store’s “dry goods buyer” or amanufacturing division’s“purchasingagent.”Weknow that“buyer”commonly implies someonewhosejob involves designated purchasing responsibilities, butwe use the term quitedifferently.

Whenweusethecapitalizedterms“Buyer”and“BuyingInfluence,”wearereferringtopeoplewhoplayoneofthefourbuyingroles.Theremaybefour,orfourteen,or fortypeople in thebuyingorganizationwhocan influenceagivensale,buteachoneofthesepeoplealwaysplaysat leastoneofthefourBuyingInfluenceroles.Wedefinethemasfollows:

• Economic Buying Influence. The role of the person who will act asEconomicBuyerforyoursalesobjectiveistogivefinalapprovaltobuy.There isalwaysonlyonepersonorsetofpeopleplaying this role foragivensalesobjective.TheEconomicBuyercansayyeswheneverybodyelsehassaidno,aswellasvetoadealthateverybodyelsehasapproved.

•UserBuying Influences. The role ofUserBuyers is tomake judgmentsabout the potential impact of your product or service on their jobperformance.UserBuyerswilluseorsupervise theuseofyourproductorservice,andsotheirpersonalsuccessisdirectlytiedtothesuccessofyoursolution.TheremaybeseveralpeopleplayingUserBuyerrolesinasale.

•TechnicalBuyingInfluences.TheroleofTechnicalBuyersistoscreenoutpossiblesuppliers.Theirfocusisontheproductorserviceitself,andtheymakerecommendationsbasedonhowwellitmeetsavarietyofobjectivespecifications.TechnicalBuyerscan’tgiveafinalyes,buttheycan(and

oftendo)giveafinalno.AswithUserBuyers,thereareusuallyseveralpeopleplayingtheroleofTechnicalBuyerforagivensalesobjective.

•Coach. The unique andvery special role of aCoach is to guide you toyourparticularsalesobjectivebyleadingyoutotheotherBuyersandbygivingyouinformationthatyouneedtopositionyourselfeffectivelywitheachone.Youusually(althoughnotalways)findtheotherthreeBuyersinthebuyingorganization.Coachesaredifferent.Theymaybefoundinthe buying organization, in your own organization, or outside of themboth.YourCoach’sfocusisonhelpingyoutomakethissale.

Understanding these fourBuying Influence roles—and then identifying all thepeople playing them with regard to your sales goal—is the foundation ofStrategicSelling.

KEYELEMENT2:REDFLAGS/LEVERAGEFROMSTRENGTH

ThestoryofRayinthefirstchaptershowedthatevenexperiencedsalespeoplecanmakefatalmistakesinpositioning.Whensalesrepresentativesormanagersfail to spot them in time, to understand why they’ve arisen, or to take themseriously,theycanbedisastroustothesale.OursecondKeyElementofstrategyhelps you to identify your positioning difficulties with precision before theythrowyourbusinessinthecompetition’slap.

We’ve chosen the symbol of aRedFlag to highlight areas of strategy thatneed further attention.Weuse theRedFlagdevice for the same reason that aroadcrewdoes—becauseitmeans“warning”or“danger.”Wewantyoutothinkof the uncertainties and problems in your sales in just thatway: not asminorannoyances, but as hazards that can jeopardize the sale. Inourpresentationofthe secondKeyElement,we identify commonsales situations thatyou shouldconsider automaticRedFlag areas.Andwe stress thatRedFlags arepositive,becausetheyhelpyouidentifytroublebeforeitfindsyou.

TheRedFlagdevice,whichyou’llbeusingthroughout thisbook, isoneoftwo principal ways in which you will test the effectiveness of AlternatePositions.Theotherway canbe seen as theRedFlag’smirror image. It’s theprinciplewecallLeveragefromStrength,and it’s represented inourprogramsby a barbell icon. When you lever from a Strength, you highlight areas thatdifferentiate you from the competition as a way of offsetting or minimizing

threatstoyourstrategicposition.EverysoundAlternatePositioneitherleveragesfromaStrength,eliminatesaRedFlag,or(ideally)doesbothatthesametime.You’llbepracticingthesetwohalvesofthesecondKeyElementinteractivelyinalltheremainingPersonalWorkshopsinthebook.

KEYELEMENT3:RESPONSEMODES

If the foundationof your strategy is knowingwhoyoukeyBuying Influencesare, thenext thingyouneed toknow ishow they feel aboutyourproposal. InStrategicSelling, youdetermine that by identifying their current receptivity tochange,specificallythechangetotheirbusinessthatyourproposalrepresents.

Intheworkshopyoujustdid,yousawthatchangecanbeacriticalfactorinthewayyouviewthesalesenvironment,andthatit’salwayspossibletoperceivechangeaspositive,negative,oramixtureofthetwo.Butchangedoesn’thappenjust to you. It impacts eachof yourBuying Influences aswell.Understandingtheir perceptions of change is what helps you to predict their level of buyerreceptivity.

TherearealwaysfourpossiblereactionstochangethataBuyercanhaveinagiven selling situation. We call these reactions Response Modes. They’redeterminedby:

1.TheBuyer’sperceptionoftheimmediatebusinesssituation.2. The Buyer’s perception of how your proposal is likely to change thatsituation.

3.TheBuyer’sperceptionofwhetherornotthatchangewillcloseagap,ordiscrepancy, betweenwhat’s seen as the current reality and the resultsneeded.Nomatterhowgoodamatchthereisbetweenyourproposalandthose“objective”needs,noBuyerwillbereceptivetochangeunlessheorshefirstrecognizessuchadiscrepancy.

In the firstResponseMode,Growth, theBuyerdoesperceive this essentialdiscrepancy,andfeelsthatthegapbetweencurrentrealityandthedesiredresultscan be closed only if quantity can be increased, quality improved, or both.ABuyer inGrowthModewill thus be receptive to you, provided you can showthatyourproposalwillmakeitpossibletodomoreorbetter.

ThesecondResponseModeiscalledTrouble.ABuyerinTroubleModealso

sees a reality-results discrepancy, but it’s a discrepancy on the down side.Somethinginthebusinessenvironmenthascausedadeviationfromtheplannedcourse; therefore the Buyer needs help and will welcome any change thatpromises to takeaway thesourceof theproblem.Hereyouhaveanothergoodcandidate for a sale—provided you can show that your proposal will quicklyeliminatethediscrepancy.

The third Response Mode is called Even Keel. A Buyer in Even Keelperceivesnodiscrepancybetweencurrentrealityandthehoped-forresults,andis therefore perfectly satisfiedwith the status quo.SinceBuyers inEvenKeelhavenoincentivetochange,theprobabilityofsellingthemchangeisverylow.Buyers in Even Keel consistently demonstrate the truth of the maxim “Nodiscrepancy,nosale.”

Thesame thing is true,onlymoreso, for theBuyer in the fourthResponseMode,Overconfident.ABuyerwhoisinOverconfidentModeperceivesrealityasbeingfarbetterthanthehoped-forresults.OverconfidentBuyersarethereforetotally unreceptive to change, and your chances of changing their minds arepracticallynil.

In Strategic Selling we stress that the four Response Modes are notdescriptions of overall attitude or personality, but rather of the way in whichindividual Buying Influences see a given sales situation, and a given salesproposal, at any particularmoment.Changing business conditions canmove aBuyerfromOverconfidenttoTroubleModeextremelyquickly,andthestrategicsalespersonhastobereadytocapitalizeonsuchshifts.

KEYELEMENT4:WIN-RESULTS

Youalreadyknowthatwebelievethesmartsalespersonneverthinksofsellingasabattleorofcustomersasenemiestobebeaten.It’spossibletogetanorderbytrickingorpressuringyourcustomersintosigning,butwhenyoudothatyouaremakingthemLose,thatis,allowingyourselftoWinattheirexpense.Thisisanextremelyshortsightedstrategy.Acustomerwhomyou’vebeateninthiswaywill get out, get even, or do both. In the short run, youmay not care. But interms of the long-range management of that customer’s account, you’ll bekiddingyourselfevenmorethanyou’vekiddedthecustomer:Anorderthatyougetby“beatingthebuyer”nearlyalwaysturnsouttobebusinessthatyouwishyouhadn’tsold.

InStrategicSellingwelookbeyondtheindividualorder.Weconcentrateon

theaccount,andwehelpyoutodevelopeverwideningnetworksofqualitysalesandnewprospects.Wemaketheassumptionthat,asasalesprofessional,you’reinterestednotonlyintheorder,butalsoin:

•Satisfiedcustomers•Long-termrelationships•Repeatbusiness•Goodreferrals

Theonlywaytoensurethatyou’llgetthesethings—theonlywaytokeepeveryone of your accounts productive over time—is to approach every one of yourBuyingInfluencesasapotentialpartnerinyoursuccessratherthananadversarytobeovercome.It’stoconcentrateondeveloping“Win-Win”outcomes.

Thereareonlyfourpossibleoutcomestoeverybuy/sellencounter:

1.Inthefirst,orWin-Win,scenario,bothyouandtheBuyer“Win.”Thatis,youbothcomeoutofthesalefeelingsatisfied,knowingthatneitherofyouhastakenadvantageoftheotherandthatbothofyouhaveprofited,personallyandprofessionally,fromthetransaction.

2. In thesecond,orWin-Lose,scenario,youWinat theBuyer’sexpense.Youfeelgoodaboutthesale,buthe’salreadylookingforrevenge,oratleasthowtoavoidyouandyourcompanyinthefuture.

3.Inthethird,orLose-Win,scenario,youallowtheBuyertoWinatyourexpenseby“buyingthebusiness.”Youprovideaspecialdiscountorfreetimeorother services inhopesof a return favor in the future.Often, itnevercomes.

4.Inthefinal,orLose-Lose,scenario,bothyouandtheBuyerLose.Eventhoughyougettheorder,neitherofyoufeelsgoodaboutthesale.

Ofthesefourscenarios,onlyonecanbringyouthelong-termsuccessthatyouwant.ThatistheWin-Win,“partnership”scenario.Butyoucannotachievethatscenariojustwithgoodintentions.Unlessthey’reactivelymanagedintoaWin-Win outcome, both Win-Lose and Lose-Win ultimately, and inevitably,degenerateintoLose-Lose.

TobeabletomanageallofyoursalesintotheWin-Winscenario,youhaveto go beyond the conventional wisdom about why people buy. Many sales-

trainingprogramsactonthepremisethatpeoplebuywhenyoudemonstrate tothem that you can meet their immediate business needs. Such programs areproduct-oriented. The trainers who use them pack sales representatives’headsfullofdataaboutthefeaturesandbenefitsoftheproduct,andthensendthemoutto collect orders from people who “can’t help but be impressed” with theproduct’sadvantages.

Of course you need sound product knowledge, but to a sales professionalthat’s not enough, because the reason that people really buy is only indirectlyrelatedtoproductorserviceperformance.Forthatreason,wedon’tfocusontheproduct.Instead,weshowyouhowtouseyourproductknowledgetohookuptoyourBuyingInfluences’personalreasonsforbuying.Youcan’tjustmeettheirbusinessneeds.Youhavetoservetheirindividual,subjectiveneedsaswell.YoudothatbygivingthemwhatwecallWin-Results.

AResult,aswedefineit,istheimpactthatyourproductorservicecanhaveon the Buyer’s business processes. The product-oriented salesperson sellsResultsalone.

AWin is a lesswidely recognized, but equally important, factor in buyingpsychology. It’s a personal gain that satisfies an individual Buyer’s perceivedself-interest.

AWin-Result, finally, is aResult that gives one of your individualBuyingInfluencesaWin.Win-Resultsaretherealreasonthatpeoplebuy.Weshowyouhowtodeterminethem,howtodraftaWin-ResultsStatementforeachBuyingInfluence,andwhydeliveringWin-Resultsconsistently is fundamental toyoursuccess.

KEYELEMENT5:THEIDEALCUSTOMERPROFILE

Every sales representative you know, nomatter how successful, has up to 35percent poor prospects working at any givenmoment—prospects that will beimpossibletocloseor,ifthey’reclosed,willeventuallybecomeliabilities.Thatmayseemlikeasurprisinglyhighpercentage—butjustthinkofhowmanytimessinceyoubegansellingyou’veheardsomeonesay,“IwishI’dneverclosedthatorder.”Thinkofhowmanytimesyou’vesaidittoyourself.

Salespeopleendupregrettingordersforasimplereason.Somewhereduringthesalescycle,theyallowedthemselvestobeseducedbytheoldsaw“Anysaleis a good sale.” They allowed themselves to believe that it’s quantity, notquality, that counts. And so they ended up selling a customer with a poor or

nonexistentmatchtotheirproductorservice.Aswe’vejustmentioned,youcansellacustomerwhoperceivesthesaleasa

Lose,butyou’reriskingyourownneckasmuchasthecustomer’swhenyoudoso.Our fifthKeyElement carries that observation to its logical conclusionbyintroducing a concept we call Ideal Customer. Its function is to help you inidentifyingyour realbestprospectsand in separating themfrom theoneswhowillproveliabilities.Sellingtoeveryoneindiscriminatelyisboundtocreatebadmatches and bad orders. Judging your actual customers against an IdealCustomerProfilewillkeepthosebadorderstoaminimum,andensurethatthebulkofyoursaleshaveaWin-Winoutcome.

WeusetheIdealCustomerProfilebothtoanticipateproblemsinourcurrentcustomer base and as a sorting device that helps us to cut down on that 35percent of prospects that we probably shouldn’t be working with in the firstplace.You’ll do the same thing in this book.You’llmake up your own IdealCustomerProfilebyanalyzing the characteristics common toyour current andpastgoodcustomers.Thenyou’lluse it to testopportunitieswithyourcurrentsalesprospects.

Thiswill leave youwith a shorter list of prospects than the one you havenow. But the shorter list will be real. It will allow you to focus on thoseobjectives that canbeachievedwith aminimumamountof aggravation in theshortestperiodoftime.ConcentratingonthemiswhatisgoingtokeepyouWin-Win.

KEYELEMENT6:THESALESFUNNEL

Before they come to our programs, even ourmost successful clients find thattheirsalesfigurestendtobewayuponequarterandwaydownthenext.TheyexperiencewhatwecalltheRollerCoasterEffect,inwhichaJanuarybonanzaisfollowedbyaseemingly inevitableAprilslump. In thewordsofaWestCoastregionalmanagerwhohassentushundredsofhispeople,“BeforeIsendthemtoyou,practicallyeveryoneofthemdreamsofputtingtwogreatquarterstogetherbacktoback.”

Ashe’sdiscovered,andasyou’lldiscover,thisdoesn’thavetobeadream.There’sareasonfortheRollerCoasterEffect,andthere’sawaytoavoidit.Inourdiscussionof thesixthKeyElement,weshowyouamethodformanagingallyoursalesobjectives,andallyouraccounts,sothatyoucanfulfillthedreamofhavingregular,consistentincome.

Thatmethodinvolvestheuseofaconceptualtoolthatwedevelopedassalesmanagers, and that we have used with excellent results not only in our ownbusinessbutinallthebusinessesthathireustohelptheirpeople.WecallittheSalesFunnel.

Thefunnelmetaphormaynotbeentirelynewtoyou.Manysalespeopletalkabout throwingprospectsandleadsintothe“pipeline”or“hopper”or“funnel”and thenwaitingfororders tocomeout theotherend.Thedifferencebetweenour use of the Sales Funnel and theirs is thatwe don’twait.We actively andmethodicallywork theFunnel,sothattheprospectsthatmakeitthroughtotheorderdosoonapredictablebasis.

The Sales Funnel enables you to use yourmost precious commodity, yourselling time, in thewisest andmost efficientmanner possible.You know thatsellingtimeisaresourcethat’salwaysinshortsupply.Whatyoumaynotknow—or may not have articulated consciously—is that every successful saleinvolves four different kinds of selling work. If you don’t divide your timeefficientlyamongthesefourkindsofwork,youcaneasilyendupsquanderingwhatlittletimeyouhave.TheSalesFunnelwillhelpyoutoidentifythetypeofworkyouneedtobedoingatanygivenmomentoneachsalesobjective,andtobringaboutabalanceamongthefourtypes.Itwillalsohelpyoudeterminehowmuchtimeyoushouldallocatetoeachtypeofwork,onaregularbasis,toensurepredictablerevenue.

AFINALWORDOFINTRODUCTION

You’llprobablyrecognizetheuseofacustomerqualifyingprofileasanexampleof amarketing-oriented approach to sales.We encourage the peopleweworkwithtothinkinmarketingtermsratherthanin“productfirst”termsbecause,aswe’vebeenstressing, theStrategicSellingprocessfocuseson theaccount.Wewantyoutobesuccessfulwithyouraccountsnotjustforthissalesperiodbutforaslongasyouhavethem.Youdothatbyreallysellingtoneed,notjustpayingitlipser-viee.AlltheSixKeyElementsoftheblueprintaredesignedtohelpyouassess your customers’ needs accurately, so that you can deliver them Win-Results on a predictable, consistent basis. Satisfying their needs in this way,experienceproves,isalsothesurestwaytosatisfyyourown.

You’venowdoneallthepreliminaryworkyouneedtodotounderstandtheprinciples of Strategic Selling.We’ve introduced the concept of the ComplexSaleandexplainedwhyyouneedtoplanbothstrategyandtacticstomanageit

effectively.You’vemadeapreliminaryassessmentofyourcurrentpositionwithregard to a particular sales objective, and you’ve started to considerAlternatePositions to make the attainment of that objective more predictable. Finally,we’vepresentedinoutlineformtheSixKeyElementsofstrategythatyou’lluseasablueprint.

We know you have questions.We know youwant details of the blueprintfilledin,andweknowyou’reanxioustobeginapplyingittoyourcurrentsalesobjectives.Solet’sgetstarted.

PART2

BUILDINGONBEDROCK:LAYINGTHEFOUNDATIONOFSTRATEGICANALYSIS

CHAPTER5

KEYELEMENT1:BUYINGINFLUENCES

Yourstrategycanbeginonlywhenyouknowwhotheplayersare.Therefore,thefirstKeyElementofthestrategyyou’regoingtostartdevelopingnowistoidentifyalltherelevantplayersforyoursalesobjective.Fornowyou’llcontinuetoworkwiththeobjectivethatyouchoseinChapter3.ButthemethodologyforusingthisKeyElementwillalsoapplytoeverysalesobjectiveyoutacklefromhereon.

Identifying the relevant players may seem like an obvious first step. It isobvious. It’s also frequently mismanaged—with predictable results. Becausemostsalestrainingprogramsemphasizetacticalratherthanstrategicskills,evenvery good salespeople sometimes find themselves cut out of a sale at the lastminutebecausetheyfailedtolocateorcoveralltherealdecision-makersforthatspecificsale.Unfortunately,mosttrainerspaylittleattentiontothisinitialtaskofidentification. Assuming that their salespeople already knowwhose approvalsthey need, they concentrate on explaining how to deal with those individualswhentheymeetthem.

Wedon’tmakethatassumption.Experiencehastaughtusthat,iflefttofindthekeyplayersontheirown,manysalesrepresentativessimplyenduptalkingtothe people with whom they feel most comfortable, who have approved theirorders in thepast,orwhohave the“right” titleson theirdoors.Noneof these“methods”ofidentificationisreliable.Evenifoneofthemleadsyoutotherightplayersforagivensale, itcannothelpyouunderstandwhy theyweretheright

players, and why they were right for that sale only. They’re not reliable,repeatablemethodsoffindingoutwhoseapprovalscount.

The reason thismatters is that, in today’s corporate sales arena, the namesand faces of the players are in constant flux. You may understand who therelevantplayerswereinaten-thousanddollarsaleyoumadetotheWilliamsonToolandDieCompanyinNovember.Itdoesn’tfollowthatyouknowtherightpeopletocontactforafifty-thousand-dollarsale—orevenanotherten-thousand-dollarsale—to thesameaccount the followingMarch.Everysalesobjective isunique.Nomatterhowwellyouknowtheplayersinagivenaccount,youstillneed a systematic method for locating the correct ones for the Single SalesObjectiveyou’recurrentlyworkingon.

InStrategicSellingwedothisbyfocusingnotonwhatchangesfromsaletosalebutonwhatisuniversalandconstant.

FOCUSONBUYINGROLES

Nomatter howmanypeople are involved in abuyingdecision, andnomatterwhat official functions they play in their organization, the same four buyingrolesarepresentineveryComplexSale.Thepeoplewhoplaytheseroles,whomay number far more than four, are the key players that we call BuyingInfluences,orBuyers.

As we mentioned in Chapter 4, we use the term “Buyer” very differentlyfromthewayit’susuallyused.Whenyousee“Buyer”capitalizedinthisbook,don’t read it as “dry goods buyer,” “purchasing agent,” or anything else thatsuggests merely a person with purchasing authority. We use “Buyer” asshorthand for the term “Buying Influence.” In Strategic Selling, a BuyingInfluence, orBuyer, isanyonewho can influence the outcome of your sale—whateverthetitleonthatperson’sdoor.

True,somepurchasingagentsdoplayaBuyingInfluenceroleinmanysales.Butothersdonot.Evenmore to thepoint,mostof thepeoplewhowill act asBuyersinyoursaleswon’thaveanythingtodowith“purchasing”or“buying”per se. In addition, in some sales scenarios, certain playersmay take onmorethanoneofthefourkey“Buyer”roles.

In order to sort through the tangles of authority that inevitably result fromsituations like this, the first thing you have to do in setting an effective salesstrategyistopositionyourselfeffectivelywithallofthepeopleplayingeachofthefourroles.Thisinvolvesthreesteps:

1.UnderstandingthefourBuyingInfluencerolesthatarecommontoeveryComplexSale

2.Identifyingallthekeyplayersineachofthesefourrolesforyourspecificsalesobjective

3.Ensuring thatallof theseplayersare“covered”—that is, thatyou fullyunderstandandhavedealtwiththeirattitudestowardyourproposal

To understand why we focus on roles rather than on comfort level, pastcontacts,ortitles,considerasportsanalogy.Infootball,thelinemanwhostandsin front of the quarterback has a clearly defined position, or “title.” He’s thecenter,andhisprimaryrole,onmostplays,istosnaptheballandthenblock.Onafourth-downkick,however,his rolechanges.After thesnap,he’sstillcalledthecenter,buttherolehe’sexpectedtoplayisthatofdefensivetackier.Ifyouthinkthedistinctionismerelysemantic,considerwhatwouldhappentoapuntreceiverwho,confrontedbyacharging280–poundlineman,saidtohimself,“Idon’thavetoworryaboutthisguy.Hejustsnapstheball.”

IntheComplexSalenolessthaninfootball,agivenplayerinanaccountcanshiftrolesquicklyandunpredictably,eventhoughtheplayer’stitleandofficialfunction on the buying “team” remain the same.A purchasing agentwho hasroutinelyapprovedyourthreeprevioussalesobjectivesmaysuddenlybeunableto do so—unable to play her usual role—if your fourth sale is for double theusualorder,orforanewproductorservice.Afinancialofficerwhohasneverbeen remotely involved in your orders may suddenly become a key BuyingInfluence because corporate headquarters has just changed its capitalexpenditureprotocols.FocusingonthefourBuyingInfluencerolesthatarefilledin every Complex Sale will help you weave your way through the corporatelabyrinthsofyouraccountsandgettotherealBuyingInfluencesforyouruniqueobjectives.

The fourBuying Influences thatneed tobe identifiedandcovered ineverysale are the Economic Buying Influence, the User Buying Influence(s), theTechnical Buying Influence(s), and your Coach(es). Each has a differentbusinessfocus—thatis,adifferentpointofviewregardingyourproposalandadifferentreasonforconsideringit.Andeachonemustbesoldtoclosethedeal.

THEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE

TheEconomicBuyeristhepersonwhogivesfinalapprovaltobuyyourproductorservice.TheroleofthisBuyingInfluenceistoreleasethedollarstobuy.Forthat reason,we sometimes say that the EconomicBuyer exercises theGoldenRule:“Whoeverhas thegoldmakes therules.”Thispersoncansayyeswhereeverybodyelsehassaidno.Heorshecanalsovetoeverybodyelse’syes.

THEECONOMICBUYER’SFOCUS—ANDIMPORTANCE

We don’t call this Buying Influence the Economic Buyer because his or hermajorconcernisthecostofthesale.Thefocusisneverpriceperse,butpriceperformance.SincetheEconomicBuyerhasadiscretionaryuseoffunds,ifyourproduct or servicematches the firm’s priority needs and is goodvalue for themoney,heorshecanadjustthebudgettofindorreleaseunallocatedfunds.Theultimate focus—the ultimate business reason this person will buy—is thebottom-lineimpactyoucanmakeontheorganization

Although the identity of the person filling the role of Economic BuyingInfluencemaychangefromsaletosalewithinthesameaccount,there’salwaysonly one Economic Buyer per sale. Even though many others may giverecommendationsandadvice,onlyonepersongivesfinalapproval.That’swhyit’scriticaltofindoutwhogivesthefinalyesforyoursale.

Oneclarification:TheroleofEconomicBuyermaybeplayedbyaboard,aselectioncommittee,oranotherdecision-makingbodyactingasasingleentity.Butevenwhensuchagroupis involved, there’susuallyonepersonwithin thegroupwho is first among equals andwhose “final final” approval is essential.Youalwayshavetodetermine,whenyou’resellingtosuchagroup,whoreallyhasdirectaccesstothefunds.Itmaynotbethebeststrategyforyoutocontactthis individual personally, but it’s always your responsibility as “director ofstrategy” for the sale to identify accurately the single person filling theEconomicBuyerrole.

Failingtodosocanbefatal,asanAmericanairplanemanufacturerfoundoutrecentlywhenittriedtosellaconsignmentofjetstoaMiddleEasterncountry.Everybodyinthatcountrylovedthem—theking,theairforcegenerals,eventhepilotswhowouldeventuallyflytheplanes.Butwhenthemanufacturerdrewupthecontractandpresentedittothekingforhissignature,helookedbothpleasedandbemused.“Thisisverynice,”hesaid.“Nowallwehavetodoistoaskourfriends the Saudis to lend us themoney for the planes.” And amultimillion-dollar “sure thing”was suddenlyonhold,pendingapprovalof anunidentified

EconomicBuyingInfluence.Werecognizethatthisisanextremeexample.Fewofusareevergoingtobe

involvedinasaleofthismagnitude.ButthesameprincipleappliesinComplexSalesofanysize. Ifyoudon’t identify thesourceof funds—anddo itearly inthesellingprocess—youruntheriskofhandingtheballtothecompetition.

Theboxonpage87summarizesthefocusandimportanceofthisfirstcriticalBuyingInfluence.

FINDINGTHEECONOMICBUYER

InidentifyingEconomicBuyersinyoursales,youhavetoknowwheretolook.Almostbydefinitionyoudon’tfindpeoplewhogivefinalapprovalfardownonthecorporateladder.PeopleplayingtheEconomicBuyerroleareusuallyhighlyplacedintheirorganizations.InsmallerfirmstheCEOorpresidentmayplaytheEconomicBuyerroleformanysales.Butyoudon’talwayshavetogothatfarup.TheEconomicBuyerrole,likeallbuyingroles,canshiftfromsaletosale,and the organizational position of the person playing it depends on severalvariables. Five critical ones are the dollar amount of the sale, businessconditions,thebuyingfirm’sexperiencewithyouandyourcompany,thebuyingfirm’sexperiencewithyourproduct,andtheexpectedorganizationalimpact.

1.DollarAmount.Thegreaterthedollaramountofyoursale,thehigherupin the buying organization you need to look for the Economic Buyer.

Every company has its own cutoff points at which final approval forpurchases passes up or down the organizational ladder. These pointsrelatetothedollaramountofthesalerelativetothecompany’ssize.Thepresident of the Apex Food Company, which does a hundred milliondollars’worthofbusinessayear,mayfeelhehastopersonallyapproveevery sale over ten thousand dollars. InMultiplex Toys, where annualsalesamount tohalfabilliondollars, thepresidentmayget Involved—may be called in to play the Economic Buyer role—only in purchasesover fifty thousand dollars. Sales that in a small company have to beapproved at the top may, in a large concern, be handled by middlemanagement.

2.Business Conditions. In hard timesmanagement starts counting paperclips. Therefore, the less stable the overall business environment, themorelikelyitisthatyourEconomicBuyerwillbefoundhigherupintheorganization.Wehaveseenthisnumeroustimesinourclientcompanies.Oneof them isamajorcomputer firm thatdoes severalbilliondollars’worth of business a year. In “normal” times, the CEO has to approveeveryexpenditureoverfiftythousanddollars.Duringarecentrecession,however,hebecametheEconomicBuyeronexpendituresaslowasfivethousanddollars.ThisisnotanuncommonpracticeeveninFortune500firms.

3.ExperiencewithYouandYourFirm.Italwaystakestime,evenforthemost reliable salespeople, to build customer confidence in their firm’scapabilities. Lack of trust means greater perceived risk for the buyingfirm,andgreaterperceivedriskmeansthatthefinaldecisiontobuywillmoveupthecorporateladder.Conversely,themoreexperienceabuyingorganizationhashadwithyouandyour firm—that is, thebetteryou’veestablishedyourcredibilityandthatofyourcompany—themorelikelyitisthattopmanagementwillentrustfinalapprovaltomiddlemanagement.

4.ExperiencewithYourProductorService.Evenifabuyingorganizationhas had a solid history with your company, its Buyers may still beunfamiliarwith the specificproductor service involved inyour currentproposal.Ifthat’sthecase,theEconomicBuyerroleisgoingtomoveup.Thesamethingistrueifthey’veboughtyourtypeofproductbefore,butnot from you. A buying organization’s initial decision to introducerobotics into its manufacturing division is obviously going to requirefinal approval from top levels. So is a subsequent decision to shiftsuppliers—tostartbuying thesame typeofautomation fromadifferentsupplier. Once they have experiencewith your particular robotics line,

though, they’ll be willing to entrust decisions about servicing andreplacement to lower-level executives. Thus theEconomicBuying roleforthosefuturesaleswillprobablyshiftdownward.

5.PotentialOrganizationalImpact.SincetheEconomicBuyer’sbusinessfocusisonlong-termstabilityandgrowth,buyingdecisionsthatradicallyaffect those areaswill involve ahigher-placedpersonplaying that role.The decision to computerize all billing procedureswill bemade at thetop;subsequentdecisionsaboutpersonnelretraining,service,orsuppliesmaynothavetogothathigh.

Acriticalpoint to remember is that there’snever a singleEconomicBuyerfor a company or account. There’s no such thing as “the Apex Company’sEconomicBuyer.”Thereareonlypeople filling that role.for individualbuyingdecisions. Within any account, the identity of the person playing the finalapprovalrolemayvaryfromsaletosale,dependingontheabovefactors.

In looking for the Economic Buyer, many of our most astute clients havefounditusefultoaskthequestion“Atwhatlevelinmyownorganizationwouldsuchadecisionhavetobemade?”TheanswermaynotgiveyoutheEconomicBuyer’s title for your sale, but it will start you looking at the right corporatelevel. That’s one way of focusing in on the person who actually controls thefunds.AnotherwayistoutilizeyourCoach.MoreaboutthatcriticalanduniqueBuyingInfluenceinamoment.

USERBUYINGINFLUENCES

UserBuyersarethepeoplewhowillactuallyuse(orsupervisetheuseof)yourproductor serviceonce thepurchase ismade.Their role is tomake judgmentsabouttheimpactofthatproductorserviceonthejobtobedone.

FOCUSOFTHEUSERBUYER

Thekeyphrasehereis“onthejob.”UserBuyersareconcernedprimarilywithhow a sale is going to affect everyday operations in their own areas ordepartments; their focus is therefore narrower than that of Economic Buyers.PeopleactingasUserBuyingInfluenceswillaskyouaboutareasofday-to-day

concern, such as the product’s reliability, service record, retraining needed,downtimerecord,easeofoperation,maintenance,safety,andpotentialimpactonmorale.

Because the focusofUserBuyers ishowa salewill affect their jobs, theirreactionstosalesproposals,aswellastheirpredictionsaboutperformance,tendtobesubjective.Thisdoesn’tmeanthattheyareeitherirrationalorirrelevant.Itmeansthat,becausetheirpersonalsuccesshingesonthesuccessofyourproductor service, you have to take subjectivity into account when you’re selling tothem. User Buyers want good performance not only because it makes theirpeopleproductive,butalsobecausebetterproductivitymakes themlookgood.You get User Buyers on your side, therefore, by giving them satisfactoryanswers toonesimplequestion:“Howwillyourproductorserviceworker forme?”

There’salwaysatleastonepersonwhosecentralfocusisthejobtobedone;therefore,there’salwaysatleastoneUserBuyer.MostComplexSales,however,have more than one person playing this role. In fact, in certain scenarios, amajorityofthepeopleyou’recallingonmightfallintotheUserBuyercategory.Ifyou’resellinggroupinsurancetoalargefirm,forexample,UserBuyersmightinclude the employee benefits manager, a personnel manager, unionrepresentatives,orotheragentsoftheemployeesbeinginsured.Ifyou’resellinglaboratory equipment, they might include a technical administrator, an R&Dmanager,andvariouslabtechnicians.Ifyou’reputtingthirtynewcomputersintoa branch office, they might include the branch manager, a head of dataprocessing, and individual operators. In the case of the airplane sale we justmentioned, the User Buyers were themilitary personnel—the pilots and theircommanders—who would actually operate the planes. Because the primaryinterest of all of these people is the job to be done, all of them must beconsideredUserBuyers.

TheroleandfocusofthevariousUserBuyersinyoursalearesummarizedintheboxonpage92.

USERBUYERSCAN’TBEIGNORED

IfakeyUserBuyerisn’tsold,you’llhaveaverydifficulttimeclosingthesale.Management can, and sometimes does, approve orders for products that UserBuyers just as soonwouldn’t buy; but the eventual outcome of these sales isgenerallybadforeveryoneconcerned.YouhavetopleaseUserBuyersbecausethewaytheyuseyourproductdirectlyaffectshowthatproductisviewed—and,evenmore important, how it is implemented—by everyone else in the buyingorganization.That’swhy“goingaround”akeyUserBuyercanbesohazardous;when you do that, the chances are good that future orders to his or herdepartment will be hampered by resentment, lack of cooperation, or outrightsabotage.

A friend of ours encountered just this type of sabotage several years ago,whenhesoldahalf-million-dollartrainingprogramtoamajortextilefirm.Theprogramwasdesignedtohelpmechanicsandotherskilledlaborerstroubleshootmore efficiently. The textile company president was so impressed with itsmiraculouspossibilities thatheagreed togive ita trial run ineveryoneofhistwelve mills. Unfortunately, our friend neglected to contact the managers ofthosemills—thekeyUserBuyers—beforeheclosedthesale.

Afterthepapershadbeensigned,whenheshoweduptohelpimplementtheprogram,theplantmanagerstreatedhimlikeanoutsidetroublemakerwhohadgoneovertheirheadstoTheBoss.Thenotsomiraculousresult?Amonthaftertheprogramwentonline,troubleshootingineveryoneofthetwelvemillswas

farlesseffectivethanithadbeenbeforethesale.Therewasnothingwrongwiththeprogramitself.TheUserBuyermanagers,annoyedathavingbeenignored,hadjustseentoitthatitwouldn’twork.Asaresult,theendofthetrialperiodwasalsotheendoftheprogram.

Our friend learnedavaluable lesson from theexperience.Realizing thathehadbeendoneinbyhisownignoranceoftheplayers,hevowedneveragaintooverlookaUserBuyer.“Thenext timesomebody’sgoingtousemystuff,”hetoldus,“he’sgoingtowantitfirst!”

TECHNICALBUYINGINFLUENCES

User Buyers can be difficult, but Technical Buyers have to be. One salesrepresentativeweknowdescribestheseBuyingInfluencesas“peoplewhocan’tsayyes,onlyno—andusuallydo.”As is thecasewithUserBuyers,ComplexSales usually involve several people playing different Technical BuyingInfluenceroles.Becausetheirinputissooftennegative,thecombinedpresenceofthesemultipleplayerscanoftenposearealproblemforthesalesperson.

THETECHNICALBUYERASGATEKEEPER

Popularopinionnotwithstanding,TechnicalBuyersdon’tsaynobecausethey’reornery.Theythrowblocks inyourwaybecause that’s their job.TheTechnicalBuyer’s role is to screen out. They’re gatekeepers. You might call them theprofessional Saint Peters of the Complex Sale. At a wedding, the TechnicalBuyerwouldbetheonetostandupandsay,“Holdit!Iknowareasonwhythesetwo should not bemarried!”On a hockey team this kind of personwould beunanimouschoiceforgoalie.It’stheTechnicalBuyer’stasktolimitthefieldofsellersandtocomeupwiththeshortlist.Theydon’tdecidewhowins,buttheydodecidewhocanplay.

TheobjectionsofTechnicalBuyingInfluencesmayseempettyattimes,butthesepeopleserveanecessaryfunction.ThescreeningthatTechnicalBuyersdooncandidatevendorsmakes itmuch less likely that,asacloseapproaches,anunforeseentechnicalitywillget in theway.Wecall themTechnicalBuyers, infact,becausetheyscreenoutbasedontechnicalities.

That’snotthesamethingastechnologies.True,someTechnicalBuyersareconcernedwithtechnology,butmanyofthemarenot,andevenonewhosearea

of expertise is electronics, for example,may still know less about a particularelectronicproductthanthesalespersondoes.TechnicalBuyersmakejudgmentsabout themeasurableandquantifiableaspectsofyourproductorservicebasedon howwell it meets a variety of specifications. These specificationsmay ormaynotbetechnology-related.

Yourcustomer’s legalcounsel, forexample,mayknownothingatallaboutyourproductfromatechnologicalpointofview.Butthelawyercanstillscreenyou out based on the terms and conditions—the legal technicalities—of acontract. An accounting consultant may not be able to tell a carburetor fromspaghetticarbonara,butshecanstillblockamajorautomotivetransactionifshedeemsthecredittermstobeunsatisfactory.

AmongthepeoplewhomostoftenserveasTechnicalBuyersarepurchasingagents.Evenwhen there’sa seeminglyperfectmatchbetweenyourproductorservice and a potential customer’s needs, a purchasing agent still can throw awrenchinto theworksbyscreeningyououtbasedonspecifications—anythingfrom price and delivery schedules to logistics and references. But purchasingagentsareonlyoneexampleofthesegatekeepingBuyers.Apersonnelmanagermight block a sale because of a potentially harmful impact on morale. Agovernmentagencycouldscreenyououtbecauseofregulations.Ineachoftheseexamples,andincountlessothers,aTechnicalBuyer,makingjudgmentsabouttechnicalities,canpulltheplugonasalethateveryoneelsewants.

In identifying these gatekeeping Buyers before they shoot you down, youhave toknow that their principal focus—the reason they’ll recommendyouorshowyoutothedoor—istheproductitself.Alltheyreallywanttoknowishowwellitmeetstheirscreeningtests.Therefore,thebetteryouknowyourproductandunderstandallthetestsitmighthavetomeetinagivensalessituation,thebetteryourchancesofgettingyourTechnicalBuyers’recommendations.

The box on page 96 summarizes the critical facts you need to rememberaboutTechnicalBuyers.

THEHIDDENORCAMOUFLAGEDTECHNICALBUYER

Because Technical Buyers are often more difficult to spot than either UserBuyers or Economic Buyers, they pose special problems for the salesrepresentative.ItcanbefataltounderestimatethepowerofaTechnicalBuyer,or to assume that because someoneplaying a screening role isn’t immediatelyevident in the buying organization, that person is irrelevant to the sale. Afinanciallytroubledairlinefoundthisoutrecently,whenittriedtousesomeofits grounded planes to reorganize itself as a limited entrant in the commercialcarriermarket.

Thetroubledcompany’screditors,thecourtthathandleditsdefault,andtheairlineunionswereall incompleteagreementon the reorganization,butat thelastminutetheFederalAviationAdministrationsteppedintoinformeverybodythat the critical airway slots—theold firm’s takeoff and landing rights—couldnot be made available because they had been reassigned. If the negotiatingpartieshad thought throughall theramificationsof thedealstrategicallyaheadof time, they might have identified these government players in time. Theymighthaverealizedthat theFAAplayerswerenot irrelevant—that theywouldhavetobecontactedandsoldbeforeanythingcouldbefinalized.BecausethoseTechnicalBuyerswereignored,thedealfellthrough.

WhilesomeTechnicalBuyersarethusseeminglyinvisible,othersarealltoovisible. Technical Buyers can be difficult not only because of their screeningrole but because, in playing that role, they often run interference for the

EconomicBuyer,makingithardforyoutosee,orevenidentify,thatperson.Infact,thefavoritegameofTechnicalBuyersistotrytoconvinceyouthattheyareEconomic Buyers—that they have the final authority to approve the sale.Believingthiscangetyouintotroubleevenbeforeyoubegin.

SomeoftheTechnicalBuyerswhoplaythisgamedeliberatelylieabouttheirrole in thesale,but this isn’talways thecase.SomeTechnicalBuyersactuallybelievethattheydohavethefinalsay.AlthoughtheTechnicalBuyer’sroleistosaynoratherthanyes,thatmaynotbecleartothepersonplayingthatroleifheorshehasgottenmixedsignalsfromtherealEconomicBuyer.Forexample,anEconomic Buyer, trying to save time, may ask a Technical Buyer for a“recommendation”inconfusingterms:“We’lltakewhoeveryousay,Margaret.Just run itbyme first.” IfMargaret is a totally rationalpersonwithnoego todefend,she’llreadthisasitismeanttoberead:“Yougivemeyourinput,andI’llmake the decision.”But if she’s a normal humanbeing, itwill be easy toread itas“I trustyou,Margaret.Youdecide.”Soyoucaneasily findyourselfconfronted by an earnest, well-meaning Technical Buyer whomisunderstandsherroleinthesale.Ifyoutakeheratherword,youcanmisunderstandit,too.

It’s to help you avoid problems ofmisidentification like this one that youneed to rely on the people playing the fourth Buying Influence role—yourCoaches.

YOURCOACHES

TheroleofaCoach is toguideyou in thesalebygivingyou information thatyouneedinordertomanageittoasatisfactoryclose—onethatguaranteesyounot only the order, but also satisfied customers, solid references, and repeatbusiness. A Coach can help you clarify the validity of your Single SalesObjective, identify and meet the people who are filling the other BuyingInfluencerolesforthatobjective,andassessthebuyingsituationsothatyou’remost effectively positioned with each one. To close any Complex Sale, youshoulddevelopatleastoneCoach.

Looking for aCoach is different from looking for your other threeBuyingInfluences.ThefirstthreeBuyingInfluencesalreadyexist.They’rewaitingtobeidentified,andyoujusthavetofindoutwheretheyare.Coacheshavetobenotonly found but developed. The first three Buying Influences will already beplaying their roleswhen you find them. The Coach’s role is one that you, ineffect,create.Indoingthat,youmustrememberthattheCoach’sfocusisyour

successinthespecificsalesobjectiveforwhichyouwanttheCoaching.Theboxonpage99outlinesthesalientfactsaboutthisfourth,uniqueBuying

Influence.

THETHREECRITERIAFORAGOODCOACH

In searching for someone to develop into a Coach, you judge by threecriteria:

1.Youhavecredibilitywiththatperson.UsuallythisisbecausetheCoachhaswoninasalewithyouinthepast.Bydefinition,then,agoodplacetofind potential Coaches is among your own satisfied customers. If yousold someone a product last year and he has been grateful ever since,you’vegotanidealcandidateforaCoachintermsofthisfirstcriterion.Thisperson’spastexperiencewithyouisthatyoucanbetrusted.That’swhatcredibilitymeans.

2.TheCoachhascredibilitywiththeBuyingInfluencesforyourSingleSalesObjective.Onceyoufindsomebodywhotrustsyou,youthenhavetobesurethatthispersonisinturntrustedbythebuyingorganization.ApotentialCoachwhodoesn’thavecredibilitywiththecustomerisgoingtobeapoorliaisontoitspeople,andtheinformationheorshegivesyouaboutthesalemaynotbereliable.

Because credibility with the buying organization is so important, you’ll

often find goodCoacheswithin that organization itself.We’ve alreadynotedthatpeoplecanplaymorethanoneBuyingInfluenceroleinasale.A Technical or User Buyerwho’s on your sidewould be an excellentcandidatetoplayaoachingrole.Thebestofallpossiblescenariosis toturntheEconomicBuyerintoaCoach.

3.TheCoachwantsyoursolution.Inotherwords,heorshewantsyoutosucceed—although not necessarily in your career in general. A Coachmaybe,butisnotnecessarily,amentororafriend.ButbydefinitiontheCoachwantsyoutosucceedinthisparticularsalesobjective.Forsomereason—itdoesn’tmatterwhatthereasonis—thispersonseesthatit’sinhisorherownself-interestforthecustomertoacceptyoursolution.

CoachescanusuallybefoundamongtheBuyingInfluencesinthecustomerorganization,butbecausetheCoach’sfocusisyoursuccess,youcanalsooftenfindgoodoneswithinyourownorganization.Oneofthemostinnovativeusesofa Coach that we’ve seen recently was demonstrated by a Midwest salesrepresentativewhodramatically increasedpenetration inanaccountby turninghisownbossintoaCoach.Thebosshadcomeupfromtheranksandhadsoldinthat account himself, and since his sales had been solid, mutually satisfyingones, he had good credibility with the Buying Influences. The salesrepresentativewas a sales leader himself, so he had credibilitywith the boss.Andbecausethenewbusinesswouldobviouslybenefitthesellingorganization,the bosswanted the sales representative’s solution.Soon all three counts, thesalesrepresentativehaddevelopedanexcellentCoach.

ASKINGFORCOACHING

Youmaynotalwaysbe luckyenough to findpotentialCoacheswhoperfectlyfulfillallthreecriteria.ButwheneverthosecriteriasuggestthatsomeonemightbedevelopedintoaCoach,werecommendthatyoutestthatperson’spotentialusefulnessbyaskinghimorherforCoaching.SeldomwillarealCoachrefusetogiveyoutheassistanceyourequire.

MostpeoplewelcometheopportunitytodoCoaching.BeingaCoach,inourculture, has a very positive connotation, and fewprofessionalswill turn downthe chance to demonstrate to a fellow professional that they are expert, andexpertlyplaced,intheirmutualfield.EvenapotentialCoachwhodoesn’treallyhave the informationyouneedabout the sale canoftenguideyou to someone

who does. As you nurture and develop Coaches for different sales over time,you’lleventuallybuildupanetworkofreliablesourceswhocanguideyoutothekeyplayersinanyaccount,nomatterwhatyourspecificsalesobjective.

AskingforCoaching,however,isn’tthesamethingasaskingforareferralorforassistanceinmakingthesale.Youdon’twantyourCoachtodoyoursellingforyou,andyoushouldn’tgivethatimpression.Notonlyareyouthebestpersontosellyourproductorservice,butyourCoachalreadyhasenoughworktodowithouttakingonyouresponsibilities.Whenyousay,“CanyouhelpmetalktoJackson?” or “Will you recommend me?” it can easily decode “as “I’mincompetenttomanagethissale.Pleasedomyworkforme.”Youcan’tsustaincredibilitywithaCoachwhohearsthatmessage.

That’s why, instead of asking for a referral, you should ask the potentialCoach togiveyou informationanddirection.Youwant theCoach tohelpyouthink through your position with the other Buying Influences. By asking forCoaching rather than a referral, you make it clear that you will be the onerunning theplays,and thatyou justneedsomeadvice tohelpyoudo it.Whatyouwant theCoachtohear is“I’ll takeaccountabilityfor thesale,butIcoulduse your expertise. I’ll do the selling if you’ll explain how a couple of thingswork.”The irony of this approach is that,while a salespersonwho asks for areferralalmostnevergetsCoaching,theonewhoasksforCoachingusuallygetsit—andthereferralbesides.

SELLINGALLYOURBUYINGINFLUENCES

SoonafterMillerHeiman,Inc.,wasfounded,officersofoneofthelargestfood-products manufacturers in the country began looking us over. They wereconsidering sending hundreds of their salespeople to our programs, and theprospects lookedverygood.Wehad receivedextremely favorable reactions toourpresentationsfromthepresidentof thecompanyhimself,andwerealreadybeginningtotalkaboutpossibledatesandvenues.

The only hitch was a nervous sales-training manager who thought ourprogramwas a threat to his turf.Hewas used to running things hisway, andalthoughhe couchedhis objections inphrases like “incompatibility of design”and“basic structural impasses,”his real reason foropposinguswasobviouslyfear. Inhisestimation, ifwegot in,hewasout.Orat least (sohe thought)hislevelofauthoritywouldbediminished.

Wehandledhis resistance ina ratherperfunctorymanner,notonlybecause

we knew his fears were unfounded—in fact our entire implementation designwastolethimtakeoveroncewe’dintroducedtheprocess—butalsobecausewealreadyhadthecompanypresidentonourside.Thiscavalierattitudeprovedtobe a big mistake. When the president heard about the training manager’smisgivings,hewithdrewhissupport.Hestill likedourproposal,buthewasn’twillingtooverrideasubordinatehehadbeenrelyingonsuccessfullyformanyyears, andwhose value to the organization he didn’twant to jeopardize.As aresulthebackedoff,anda“surefire”orderwentdownthedrain.

Thisstoryillustratestheimportantprinciplethat,ineveryComplexSale,youhave to sell your proposal not just to one or two people but toall the peoplefillingthefourBuyingInfluenceroles.SellingtheEconomicBuyeralone,aswetried todohere,canbe justasdisastrousassellingonlysomeonewhodoesn’tgivethefinalyes—astheairplanemanufacturertriedtodointheMiddleEast.Whatwe should have done in this casewas to turn our EconomicBuyer, thepresident, into aCoach, andgethim tohelpus convince the trainingmanager(whowas fillingbothaUserBuyer andaTechnicalBuyer role) thathis fearsabout his job authoritywere unfounded. Insteadwemade the all-too-commonerrorofassuming thatas longasMr.Big issold,everythingelsewill fall intoplace.Wepaidaheavypriceforthatassumption.

Manysalesrepresentativesarestillpayingthisprice,whethertheyfocusonthe top (as we did) or on middle-range decision-makers (as the airplanemanufacturer did). It’s very hard to break with tradition, and traditionallysalespeople build their account sales around the people with whom they feelmostcomfortable.Salesrepresentativeswithelectronicsfirms,forexample,areoftenengineers,andinfactareoftenreferredtonotassalespeoplebutas“fieldengineers.”Since they’recomfortablewithotherengineers, theybecomeadeptatselling theirproducts toUserandTechnicalBuyingInfluenceswhoarealsoengineers. But because they’re much less comfortable with top management,they often ignore their Economic Buyers, and find themselves losing out tocompetitorswhocoverallfourBuyingInfluencebases.

Whenwemake this point in our programs, someone usually objects, “Butwhataboutthesaleswhereonepersondoesitall?Aren’ttheresituationswhereoneindividualplaysallfourroles?”

Theanswer is almost alwaysno.We realize that thereare still a fewsmallfirms aroundwhere The Founder seems to run everything, andwe know thatwhen you’re selling to such a firm itmay look as if every buying decision ismade by that single individual. But before you conclude that all four BuyingInfluencerolesareplayedbythatoneperson,lookfurther.Doeshereallyreadall the firm’s legal documents himself? Is she really going to be personally

involvedinusingeveryproductorserviceyouwanttosellhercompany?Doeshereallydispenseentirelywithadviceandconsent?Or,whenyoulookathowbuyingdecisionsaremadeforthisfirm,don’tyoufindthatherpeopleplayrolesthatarebothmorecomplicatedandmorefundamentalthantheonestheyappeartobeplaying?

Thetrueone-manorone-womancompanyisvirtuallyathingofthepast,andthesalethatcanbedecidedbyonevoteisnotnow,andneveragainwillbe,areality.Incorporatesalestoday,complexityofdecision-makingistheruleratherthantheexception.SoifyoufindasituationinwhichonlyoneBuyingInfluenceseemstobeinvolved,becareful.We’veacknowledgedthatkeyplayerscanplaydouble or multiple roles, but if you can find only one key player in a majoraccountsale,you’realmostcertainlymisreadingthesituation.

DEGREEOFINFLUENCE

Onefinalclarificationbeforeweclosethischapter.Whenwesaythatit’scriticaltocoverallyourBuyingInfluences,wedon’tmeantoimplythatallofthem,inall cases, should be considered equally important to the outcome of the sale.Theyseldomare.So,while it’shazardous to ignoreanyBuyingInfluence, it’salso important to recognize that, on many sales, certain key players may be“moreequal”or“lessequal”thanothers.

Thatis,someplayersmayexertsuchamajorinfluenceontheoutcomeofthesalethatwisdomsaysyoushouldpaythemspecialattention.Otherplayersmayexert less of a direct influence on the outcome than their exalted titles (vicepresident)orroles(EconomicBuyer)mightleadyoutobelieve.Insettinggoodstrategies, therefore,youneedtobeattentivenotonlytotherolesthatallyourBuyingInfluencesareplaying,butalsototheDegreeofInfluencethateachonemayexertonyourobjective.

Aswementionedintheintroduction,DegreeofInfluenceisoneofthenewconceptsthatwe’veaddedtothis“enhanced”editionofStrategicSelling.Afewexampleswillillustrateitsimportance.

THETERMINATINGTECHNICIAN

Suppose you’re trying to place a computer system into a company that wasfoundedby,andisrunby,engineers.Ifit’samultimillion-dollardealthatneeds

top-level approval, you might imagine that the “mere” technician who isinvolved in appraising the system would be less important than the vicepresidentwhowillsignthepapers.Butif thevicepresidentroutinelydeferstothe technician’s expertise, then this “lesser” player’s input may have a highDegreeofInfluenceonthesale,andyou’llhavetoadjustyourstrategytoreflectthat fact. If youdon’t, thenyour chancesmight easilybe “terminated”by thisTechnicalBuyer.

THELAME-DUCKANTISPONSOR

WhenisaDratingactuallyaplus?WhenitcomesfromaBuyingInfluencethatnobodyelsetrusts.Aclientofoursranintothisscenariorecentlywhenshetriedto provide a solution to a customer’s inventory logjam. The inventory-controlmanagerhatedherproposal,andshesaw thisasamajor impedimentuntil sheexaminedhisDegreeofInfluence.ShefoundthathewassodislikedbytheotherBuying Influences that his negativity actually helped her case. As the saleprogressed, hisDegree of Influence spiraled downward fromminimal to zero,andtheorganizationeventuallylethimgo.Untilthatmoment,ofcourse,hewasstill undeniably aBuying Influence—butonewith a lame-duck reputation andequivalentimpact.

THEECONOMICBUYERASRUBBERSTAMP

It is nomore valid to assume that theEconomicBuyer is always themostimportantfigure in thesale thanit is tosay thatheorshe is thesoledecision-maker. With the increasing sophistication of technology, it’s not uncommontodayforanEconomicBuyertodelegateresponsibility,allowingalower-levelemployee (like the “terminating technician”) to approve the purchase of asophisticated system or equipment, and in effect rubber-stamping whateverdecision is made. Since that rubber stamp is essential to the sale, the personusingitisstilltheEconomicBuyer,buthisorherDegreeofInfluenceisinthisinstanceobviouslyminimal.Asuccessfulstrategytakesthatintoaccount.

One caveat, however: While an Economic Buyer may choose to delegateresponsibility—andthusdiminishhisorherDegreeofInfluenceoveraspecificSingleSalesObjective—it’s important to remember that the responsibility canalways be reasserted, thus restoring this Buyer’s “naturally high” Degree ofInfluence.This typeofgive-and-takecanhappenveryquickly.That iswhy, in

coveringyourvariousBuying Influences,you shouldalwaysbeguidedby theneed for constant reassessment. Like everything else in sales, Degree ofInfluence is amobile, energetic phenomenon.Agood strategist takes frequentfixesonitsforceanddirection.

Inourworkshops,afterparticipantshaveidentifiedallthepeopleplayingthefour Buying Influence roles for their targeted sales objective,we ask them tospecify,foreachperson,whethertheDegreeofInfluenceonthesaleislikelytobeHigh,Medium,orLow—that is,whether this individual is likely toexert adominant, moderate, or minimal influence on the outcome. Obviously, ratingplayersinthiswayisnotanexactscience,andwe’renotsuggestingthatitcangive you rock-solid confidence about your players’ importance.What it doesprovide is a further dimension of strategic analysis, an extra perspective forassessinghowbuyingdecisionsareactuallymade,andhowcriticaleachBuyerwill be in getting them made. As one of our own sales professionals puts itacutely,“TheDegreeofInfluencepiecemakesyoulookharderatthesituation.It’sonemorecheckpointthatrefinesthequalityofyourinformation.”

FIVECRITICALFACTORS

In using that checkpoint,we urge you not to guess about a given individual’sDegreeof Influence,but toconsider the impactoforganizational andpersonalfactors that can serve to heighten or diminish influence.Here are someof thefactorsthatwehavefoundtobeimportant:

ORGANIZATIONALIMPACT

Where in the buying organization is your proposal likely to have the mostimmediateand/orlastingimpact?TheanswertothatquestionshouldpointyoutothoselevelsintheorganizationwheretheDegreeofInfluencewillprobablybestrongest.Thoselevels,moreover,willrelateroughlytothefocusareasoftheBuying Influences. If your proposal promises to create an instant spike inprofitability, for example, the Economic Buyer’s Degree of Influence willprobablybehigh.

LEVELOFEXPERTISE

Which of yourBuying Influences aremost knowledgeable in your company’sareaofexpertise?Whichonesare thebuyingorganization likely to turn to forinside advice? A head of shipping may have low overall influence in hiscompany’sdecision-making,butifyou’retryingtosellhisfactoryanewlineofforklifts,it’sreasonabletosuspectthathisDegreeofInfluencemayrise.

LOCATION

“The threemost important things in real estate,” according to the old saying,“arelocation,location,andlocation.”Wewon’tgoquitethatfarwithregardtoDegree of Influence, but the geographical location of Buying Influences isdefinitely a factor to consider. This is common sense. Say you’re selling to acompanythatisbasedinLosAngeles,andtherearethreeexecutiveswhohaveto approve the sale. If oneof them is currently stationed inBuenosAires, it’slikely thather influencewillbe less than thatof theothers.Ofcourse“likely”doesn’t equal “certain,” and you may discover, through Coaching, that herinfluenceishigh.InthatcaseyourstrategymightcallforaflighttoArgentina.

PERSONALPRIORITY

The higher priority your Single Sales Objective has for a Buying Influencepersonally,thegreaterlikelihoodthatheorshewillexert—oratleastattempttoexert—a significantDegree of Influence on the outcome. Perhaps this ismostobviouslytrueforUserBuyers,becausetheirjobsaremostdirectlyaffectedbythe sales proposal.But anyBuying Influence can take a personal interest in asale—especiallyifheorsheseesitasanopportunitytodefendorgrow“turf.”

“POLITICS”

Protection of turf is an example of internal politics, and those politics areprobablythesinglemostcommon—andoftenthesinglemostirritating—factorinvolved in the ebb and flow of Degree of Influence. We’ll see in the nextchapterhowtheidentificationofBuyingInfluencescanbecomplicatedbysuch

organizational changes as hirings, firings, and shifts in reporting structures.We’ll anticipate that discussion here bymentioning just one essential caution:Whenever you’re looking at a customer’s decision-making and the situationappearspoliticallycharged,it’ssafetoassumethatyouhadbetterreexaminetheBuyingInfluences,andtakeacloserlookateachone’spotentialimpactonthesale.

Beforeyou take that closer look,however,youneed to locateyourBuyingInfluences in the firstplace.You’lldo thatnow, in thesecondofourPersonalWorkshops.

PERSONALWORKSHOP2:BUYINGINFLUENCES

To give you some practice in understanding your ownComplex Sales, you’llnowdoaPersonalWorkshop inwhichyouapply theKeyElementofBuyingInfluencestoananalysisofyourchosenSingleSalesObjective.

STEP1:DRAWYOURBUYINGINFLUENCESCHART.We’vedefinedtheroleofeachofthefourBuyingInfluencesthatappearintheComplex Sale. As a way of reviewing them and of making them constantlyvisible, we suggest that you write them down in a format that you can usethroughoutthisbookwheneveryouredefineyourstrategicposition.It’scalledaBuyingInfluencesChart.

Turnyournotebookso that the longersideof thepage ishorizontal,andatthe topof thepagewrite“BuyingInfluencesChart.”Divide thepage intofourequalboxes.At the topofeachonewrite thenameofoneof the fourBuyingInfluencetypesand,nexttoit,therolethateachoneplaysintheComplexSale.You’llwanttowritesmallenoughsothatyoucanaddmaterialtothischartinfuturePersonalWorkshops.WhenyouhavetheBuyingInfluencesChartsetup,itshouldlooksomethingliketheexamplehere:

STEP2:IDENTIFYALLYOURBUYERS.Now,with your Single SalesObjective inmind,write down in the boxes thenames of the people who are currently filling the four roles for your sale.Remember,there’sgoingtobeonlyoneEconomicBuyer,butintheotherthreeboxesyoumayhaveanumberofnames.Rememberalsothatasingleindividualmay appear inmore than one of the boxes, if that person is playingmultipleroles.

TherearetwowaysofidentifyingyourBuyers,therightwayandthewrongway.Thewrongwayissimplytolistthepeopleyou’recurrentlycallingonandfit them into the four slots you’ve just drawn. This labeling, or pigeonholing,approach is a tempting but unproductive shortcut. If you start from your owncurrentprospects,orfromanorganizationchartofthebuyingfirm,andpasteanEconomicBuyer labelonBlackbecausehe’s thechairmanof theboardandaUserBuyerlabelonSnyderbecauseshe’sheadofproduction,you’llbecertainto confuse titles and roles.You’ll be force-fitting your data into preconceived(andprobablymisconceived)categories.

TherightwaytoidentifyyourBuyers—thewaythatwillclarifyforyouhowthe buying decisions are going to be made for your specific proposal—is tosearchforthepeoplewhoareplayingthefourrolesforyourcurrentobjective.Youcanzero inon these roles—and thuscorrectly identify thepeopleplayingthem—byaskingyourselfthesequestions:

•To locateyoursingleEconomicBuyer,ask,“Whohasfinalauthority toreleasethemoneyforthissalesobjective?”

•TofindyourUserBuyers,ask,“Whowillpersonallyuseorsupervisetheuseofmyproductorserviceonthejob?”

•TofindyourTechnicalBuyers,ask,“Whowillmakejudgmentsaboutthespecifications of my product or service as a way of screening outvendors?”

•To find thepeople you canmost effectivelydevelop intoCoaches, ask,“Whocanguidemeinthissale?”

WriteinthenamesofyourBuyingInfluencesintherelevantboxesofthechart,inasinglecolumnattheleft-handsideofthebox.

STEP3:DETERMINEDEGREESOFINFLUENCE.Your next step is to determine, for each of these Buying Influences, whethertheirlikelyimpactonyourcurrentsalesobjectivewillbedominant,moderate,orminimal.RememberthattheEconomicBuyermayormaynotexertadominantinfluenceonthesale,butthat,evenwhereheorshedelegatesresponsibility,it’sstillimportanttocoverthis“rubberstamp.”Remembertoothatit’shazardoustoignoreanyBuyingInfluence,evenonewhoseimpactonthesalewillprobablybeslight.

Referringtothefivecriticalfactorsthatwediscussedamomentago,assessyourkeyplayers’DegreeofInfluencenow.Nexttoeachoftheirnamesonthechart, write anH if you believe the influence is high, anM if you think it’smedium,andanLifyouthinkit’slow.Whenyou’redone,thechartshouldlookliketheexampleonpage114.

STEP4:TESTYOURCURRENTPOSITION.Finally, lookat eachname in turn andaskyourselfwhereyou standwith thatperson right now. Remember, you always have a position even if you don’tknowwhatitis.Inthisstepoftheworkshop,you’reobjectivelyassessingyourcurrent position with each key individual with regard to the role each one isplayinginyoursale.You’remakingyourpositionvisible.

IntestingyourpositionwithyourBuyingInfluences,youshouldaskyourselftwo questions, designed to locate areas of uncertainty that we’ve found to beextremelycommon:

1.HaveIidentifiedallthekeypeoplewhoarecurrentlyplayingeachofthefourBuyingInfluencerolesformysalesobjective?

2.HaveIcoveredthebaseswitheveryoneofthesekeyplayers?

Thefirstquestionisself-explanatory.Sincewe’vestressedthattheremaybemany players filling the four Buying Influence roles, you should look at theentiresituationanddigfor thekeyplayersrather thansay,“OK,I’vegotfour.I’mingoodshape.”

The secondquestion relates to a concept thatwe’ll explainmore fully in amoment. For now, just think of “covering the bases” as a synonym for“contacting”or“qualifying.”InlookingoveryourBuyingInfluencesChart,askyourselfwhetheryou’vepersonallycontactedeachpersonidentified,orwhether

you’vearrangedforsomeoneelsetodoso.ABuyerwhoseroleyouunderstand,butwhohasn’tyetbeencalledon,isanuncoveredbase.

Next to the names of those players whose roles or Degrees of Influenceyou’renotsureof,nexttoeachuncoveredbase,andinanyBuyerboxforwhichyou don’t have at least one name, stick one of your Red Flags—ormark thename with red pencil. This will call your attention to uncertainties in yourcurrentposition.Don’tworryifyourBuyingInfluencesCharthasoneormoreof theseRedFlags. If itdidn’t,you’dalreadyhave theorder.We’ll showyounowhowtousethemtoimproveyourposition.

CHAPTER6

KEYELEMENT2:REDFLAGS/LEVERAGEFROMSTRENGTH

InaStrategicSellingprogram,theparticipantswereinthemidstofidentifyingtheirvariousBuyingInfluenceswhenoneofthem,anenergeticyoungmanwhohadtwicebeenthetopsalesrepresentativeinhisdivisionfortheyear,threwhispencilon the tableandlookedupwithanexpressionofoddelation.WecouldseethathisworksheetwascoveredwithtinyRedFlags.“Youknow,”hesaid,“Ijustdiscovered something. I thought thiswasoneofmybest accounts.NowIrealize I don’t even have a prospect. I guess I’m going to have to do somerethinking.”

We were delighted with his discovery, and even more delighted at theconclusionhe’ddrawnfromit.Itwasn’thardtoseewhyhe’dbeenconsistentlysuccessful.HewasusingtheRedFlagelementofstrategyinexactlythewayitwasmeanttobeused:asawayofcallinghisattentiontoproblemswiththesalewhile he still had time to fix them. Consistently in our program the salescommissionleaders,thepeoplewhoregularlypulldown200or300percentoftheirquotas,arethosewhofindthemostRedFlagsintheiraccountswhentheybegin their strategic analysis. It’s those people whomost fully appreciate thevalueoftheRedFlaghighlightingsystem—andwhomostconsistentlyreacttothediscoveryofRedFlagsasthistopsalesmandid,bycommittingthemselvestoreassessingthesituation.

Aswementioned earlier,weuse the term“RedFlag”because in everydaylanguageit’sasignalfor“warning”or“danger.”That’sexactlyhowyoushouldview those incomplete or uncertain areas in your sales strategy. You shouldconsider them not merely “fuzzy” areas, but areas of immediate danger,threateningtoblockyourSingleSalesObjective.WeusetheRedFlagsymbolforthesamereasonthataroadcrewortheCoastGuardusesanactualredflag:tocallyourattentiontoahazardbeforeitcandoyouin.

“AUTOMATIC”REDFLAGS

The things that can threaten your sales are virtually numberless, andwe’ll bediscussingmanyoftheminthisbook.Wewanttobegin,however,bydiscussingfivethingsthataresoprevalentandsodangeroustosalesthatweconsiderthem“automatic”RedFlagareas.

MISSINGINFORMATION

In thePersonalWorkshopyou justdid to identifyyourBuying Influences,weaskedyoutoplacearedstickernexttothenameofanyBuyerwhoseroleyoudidn’tunderstand,andalsoinanyofthefourBuyingInfluenceboxesforwhichyoucouldn’t findakeyplayer. Inbothcases,wewereaskingyoutohighlightareasofmissinginformationthatyouneedinordertofullyunderstandthesale.Youshouldalwaysconsidersuchmissinginformationasignalthatyoursaleisindanger—whetherthelackofdatarelatestoyourBuyingInfluencesortoanyoftheotherKeyElementsthatwe’llintroducelaterinthisbook.Wheneveryouhaveanunansweredquestionaboutthesalesscenario,thenit’stimetoreassessyourposition.

UNCERTAINTYABOUTINFORMATION

It’sjustasimportanttoreassessthatpositionwhentheansweryouhaveishazyor uncertain. In our Strategic Selling programs, we see a clear distinctionbetweensituationswheresalespeoplesimplylacktherelevantdataandknowit,andthosewheretheyhavesomedatabutaren’tcertainwhatitmeanstothesale.

The latter situation is usuallyworse than the former.At leastwhenyouknowyou’remissingapieceofthepuzzle,youcantakestepstotrackitdown.Whenyou have a piece that “looks right” but doesn’t quite fit, you run the risk offorce-fitting what you already “know” into your analysis—and ignoring whatyoureallyneedtoknow.

Because uncertainty about “known” information is such a commonimpedimenttosuccessfulsales,we’llgiveyouthesameadviceherethatwegiveourprogramparticipants.Wheneveryou’re“prettysure”or“almostcertain”or“90percentconvinced”thatyouunderstandapieceofinformationthatyouneedtocloseasale,lookagain.Andreachforthoseredstickers.

ANYUNCONTACTEDBUYINGINFLUENCE

WealsomentionedthisRedFlagareainthelastPersonalWorkshop,whenweaskedyoutoplaceastickernexttothenameofanypersonplayinganyoftheBuyingInfluenceroleswhohadnotyetbeencontactedeitherbyyoupersonallyorbysomeonebettersuited todoso.AnyBuyer ignored isa threat.WeoftencallsuchaBuyeranuncoveredbase.Thebaseballmetaphoraccuratelysuggeststhe trouble you’ll encounter by failing to contact, or cover, every key player.Youcanfieldateamwithoutasecondbasemanorashortstop,andyoucancloseaComplexSalewithoutcontactingalloftherelevantplayers.Butyou’lldosounderconditionsofextremeuncertainty—sowhytry?

Youdon’thavetocontactandconvinceeachofthekeyplayersyourself.Infact, that’s not always the most effective strategy. But arranging for all thepeopleineachofthefourBuyingInfluencerolestobecontactedbysomeoneisaprincipalelementofyourresponsibilityasa“strategicorches-trator,”thatis,asthemanagerofyourComplexSale.Likethemanagerofaballteam,youhavetoseetoitthateachbaseisadequatelycoveredbythepersonbestqualifiedtodoso.

Insomecasesthatpersonwillbeyou.Inothersitwillbeanothermemberofyourorganization,aBuyingInfluencewhoisfavorabletoyourproposal,oroneof your Coaches. Many of our clients—Aramark, Coca-Cola, and Hewlett-Packard, tonamea few—employ the strategyof like-rank selling to cover thevariousbasesintheirsales.Sincetheyunderstandthatbusinessprofessionalsareusually most comfortable talking to people at their own organizational level,they have devised flexible protocols in which vice presidents call on vicepresidents,middle-management people talk to othermiddlemanagers, lawyers

talktolawyers,andsoon.Notwoarrangementsareidentical,sincenotwosalesareidentical.Thesuccessfularrangements,however,allshareoneelement:TheycoveralltheBuyersforeachobjective.

ANYBUYINGINFLUENCENEWTOTHEJOB

The appearance of new faces is a fourth reason for an automatic Red Flag,especiallyifyouhaven’tyetcontactedthosepeople.EvenifyouhavecontactednewpotentialBuyingInfluences,youshouldstillconsiderthempossiblethreatstothesaleuntilyou’vedeterminedpositivelywhatrolesthey’replayingandhowtheyfeelaboutyoursalesproposal.Thismaysoundoverlycautious,butsinceBuyerroles—andthereforeBuyerperceptions—changequicklyandsubtlyintheComplexSale,thepointisreallyonlycommonsense.

Afriendwhosellshospitalsuppliesdiscovered,afterhe’dactuallyclosedadealwithanEastCoastmedicalcenter,howhazardousitcanbetominimizethethreatofanewplayer.TheEconomicBuyingInfluencewasavicepresidentoffinancenamedJeffries.He’dalreadyplacedanorderwhenthevicepresidencywastakenoverbyawomannamedCole.Ourfriend,wronglyassumingthatthedeal was solid because the inkwas dry, told himself Colewas irrelevant andtookabriefvacation.Whenhereturned,theorderwasstillsittingontheloadingdock and he was out a fat commission. Cole, the new Economic Buyer, hadoverturnedJeffries’sdecisionandcanceledtheorderinfavorofalesscostlybid.

Ignoring a new Buying Influence like this is always the wrong way tomanage aComplex Sale. The rightwaywas demonstrated by a client of oursfrom a New England insurance firm. He was in the middle of negotiating acontract for group insurance with a company that employed three thousandpeoplewhenthecompanysuddenlybroughtinanoutsideconsultant.Ourclientknew that his chief competitor for the account, one of the country’s largestinsurers,wasn’taswellpositionedwiththebuyingcompanyashewas.Ifhehadrestedonhislaurelsandforgottenthatnewplayersarehazardous,hemighthaveignoredtheconsultant,andlivedtoregretit.

Fortunately, he was familiar with the Red Flag concept and immediatelyspottedtheconsultantasathreat.Insteadofignoringher,heapproachedherandwasabletoconvinceherthatitwasinthebestinterestsofeveryoneconcerned—includingtheconsultantherself—forhiscompanytogettheorder.Thelargercarrier,whichhadignoredtheconsultant,founditselfstrategicallyoutclassed.Itwas a classic example of a strategy-wise salesperson converting a potentially

dangerousTechnicalBuyingInfluenceintoanally.New Buying Influences don’t have to remain threats. Indeed, one of your

rolesasasalesprofessional is totransformasmanyofthosenewfacesasyoucan into sponsors. You can do that only if you consider every new playerrelevant—andifyourefusetotakeanyofthemforgranted.

REORGANIZATION

TheintroductionofanewBuyingInfluenceisarelativelyeasydangersignaltospot.Amoredifficultoneispresentedwhenthefacesinagivenaccountremainthesame,theirtitlesandsupposedfunctionsremainthesame,andyettheirrolesforyourparticularsaleshiftfromtheonestheyhaveplayedinthepast.

We’ve stressed that the identities of the people playing the four BuyingInfluence roles arealways ina stateof flux, even in themost stablecorporateenvironments—andthatyouthereforehavetoreidentifyyourBuyerseverytimeyouproposeanewSingleSalesObjective.Thisadmonitionistwiceasimportantwhen the buying company is undergoing, or has just undergone, any internalreorganization.

Thesedays,ofcourse,thiskindofchangeismoretherulethantheexception.As the century draws to a close,we are being bombardedmore andmore bydownsizing, reengineering, and “M&Aing”—one of our clients’ pet terms formergers and acquisitions. As a result, somebody is always reorganizing.Forewarned, therefore, is forearmed.Whenever you encounter hirings, firings,promotions, consolidations, or expansions—in fact, anything that alters yourdecision makers’ organizational structure—you should reach immediately foryourRedFlags.

When reorganization takes place on a corporate level, it’s generally prettyeasytospot.Iftwobillion-dollarfirmsmerge,orifthepresidencyofaFortune500companychangeshands,youdon’thavetobeawizardtosensethatitmightaffectyour sellingprospects. It’smuchharder to spot this fifth automaticRedFlag when the reorganization is subtle and internal. An especially difficultreorganization to spot is one in which the players retain their titles and theirostensible responsibilities in the buying organization, but no longer have thesameauthority.

Weknewavicepresidentforalargeconsumer-productsgroup,forexample,who had been in the same office and had been exercising the sameresponsibilitiesfortenyears.Thoseresponsibilitiesincludedapprovinganysale

tohisdivisionthatexceededtenthousanddollars:HewastheEconomicBuyerforthosedeals.Thenhewas“promoted”toseniorvicepresident.Hestayedinthesameofficewithamodestincreaseinsalary,andasfarasthecasualoutsiderwasconcerned,heseemedtoenjoythesameprivilegesandresponsibilities.Butthatwasn’tthecase.Asistrueinmanyinstancesofanexecutivebeingkickedupstairs,hehad losthisEconomicBuying Influence rolewhenhe tookon the“senior”title.Afterhispromotion,salesoftenthousanddollarsandabovehadtobeapprovedbya“junior”vicepresidentdownthehall.Anysalesrepresentativewho casually assumed that nothinghad changedmight easily havewastedhertime—andimperiledhersales—bypresentingproposalstoanEconomicBuyerwhonolongerexisted.

In thesedaysofmergeritis andadministrative razzle-dazzle, suchcorporatereorganizationishardlyinfrequent.Asoneofourprogramparticipantsrecentlycomplained about a notoriously unstable banking client, “Their ‘constant’ isninetydays.ReorganizationisthemostimportantRedFlagthereis.”Awordtothewise should suffice.Whenever thebuyingorganization shifts gears, take anewlookattheaccountandreidentifytheplayersinthefourBuyingInfluenceroles.

ThefiveautomaticRedFlagareasdiscussedhere,highlightedintheboxonpage 124, are the most obviously and consistently dangerous ones you’llencounterinyourComplexSales.Butthey’reonlythetipoftheiceberg.Everysales objective can be blocked in countless ways. Therefore, sales success isalwaysadirectresultofconstantvigilance.TheRedFlagtechniqueforlocatingthosehazardsworksonlywhenit’ssofullyincorporatedintoyourstrategythatyou use it again and again without hesitation—in other words, when it hasbecomesecondnature.

FEEDBACKANDOPPORTUNITY

Usedinthisway,theRedFlagtechniqueisa“continuousassessment”device,afeedback mechanism that enables the strategy-conscious sales professional tomaintainaneffectivepositioninthefaceofeverycontingency,becauseitshows,everytimeit’sused,whereyouareshakyandwhereanAlternatePositionmaybeneeded.

Becausetheyenableyoutotestandrepositionyourselfinthefaceofchange,youshouldalwaysconsiderRedFlagspositive,notnegative.Ideallytheyservenot only as “road hazard” signals, but as signposts to opportunities that youmight have overlooked without them. The best salespeople understand that astrategic analysis without Red Flags is one without opportunities. Like ourprogramparticipantwhodiscovered“Idon’tevenhaveaprospect,”toppeoplewelcome their Red Flags. They know that without the constant checking ofpositionthatthesedevicesoffer,it’sveryeasytofallintoafool’sparadise.

Saleshazards,likeroadhazards,aremostdangerouswhenthey’reunflaggedandhidden.That’swhypeoplewhoareafraidorembarrassedtoidentifywhat’swrongwiththeirpositionsalwaysgetrunofftheroad.Theyallowthemselvestofeel blindly confident right up to themomentwhen the sale falls through andthey’re thrown into blind panic. If you think back to the Euphoria-PanicContinuum thatwe introduced inChapter 3, you’ll recall that being euphoric,just likebeing inpanic,meansyou’reoutof touchwith reality.TheRedFlag

earlywarning system, by forcing you to uncoverwhat’s hidden, keeps realityvisible.

THE“BETTERHALF”OFSTRATEGY:LEVERAGEFROMSTRENGTHS

WhenyouknowaRedFlagisthere,youthencanworktoeliminatetheproblemthat it identifies. You do that by using a principle we call Leverage fromStrength.LeveragefromStrengthcanbeconsideredthe“betterhalf”oftheRedFlagtechnique.It’swhatenablesyoutoturntheweaknessesuncoveredbyyourRedFlagsintoopportunitiesforstrategicimprovement.

Beforeyoucanusethisprincipleeffectively,youhavetounderstandwhatwemean by Strengths. To many people in sales, a “strength” is any feature orbenefit that they can crowabout—anyaspect at all of their product or servicethatan“objective”observermightthinkofasaplus.That’samistake.AtMillerHeimanwedon’tbelievethatanyproductorservicehasinherentbenefits—onlybenefits as the customer perceives them, in a particular situation and at aparticulartime.Tous,itmakesnosensetosaythatagivenproduct,service,orsolution is objectively better than another.Whatever you’re proposing to yourcustomer, itdemonstratesa realadvantageonlywhen thecustomersees it thatway—whensheperceivesthevaluethatyou’rebringingtoherbusiness.

Given this subjective and customer-oriented perspective, it’s not surprisingthat we are very precise—some clients have even called us picky—in ourdefinitionof strategicStrengths. InStrategicSelling, and inallMillerHeimanprocesses,atruestrategicStrengthmeetsthefollowingcriteria:

1.ASTRENGTHISANAREAOFDIFFERENTIATION.Thatis,itenablesthecustomerorprospecttoidentifyadifferencebetweenthesolution you’re offering and all alternative options. It’s fine to say that thepersonalcomputeryou’resellinghasfourbillionmegabytesofRandomAccessMemory,butifeveryotherPConthemarketdoestoo,thenyourRAMcapacityisnotaStrengthaswedefineit.Inaddition,evenifyou’retheonlysupplierwhocanofferthatallegedadvantage,youhaveaStrengthonlyifthismatterstoyourcustomer.Ifthecustomerdoesn’tseewhyyour“difference”makesadifferencetohimorher,thenyoursnazzyfeatureorbenefitmaybeworthless.

2.ASTRENGTHIMPROVESYOURPOSITION.

TheuseofaStrengthincreasesyourchancesforsuccessintheimmediatesalesobjectiveforwhichyou’resettingastrategy.Ifitdoesn’tdothat,bydefinitionitisn’taStrength.Aswe’vesaid,“position”isjustanothertermforstrategy,andthepointof strategy is tohelpyouunderstandwhereyouare, soyoucan takestepstomoveyourselfandyourcompanytowardtheclose.Thusanythingthatincreases your understanding of the selling situation—provided it’s also arelevantareaofdifferentiation—mightbeseenasastrategicStrength.AnythingthatinhibitsyourunderstandingshouldbeseenasaRedFlag.

3.ASTRENGTHISRELEVANTTOYOURCURRENTSALESOBJECTIVE.That is, it matters to the customer with regard to the specific sales objectiveyou’repursuing rightnow—whatwe’vecalledyourSingleSalesObjective. InsettingoutstrategicActionPlans,wealwaysfocusononemanageablepieceofbusinessatatime.ThoseplanshavegottoincorporateStrengthsthatarejustasfocused. If you’re a clothing supplier and your down jackets are widelyacknowledged to be thewarmest in the industry, thatmaywell be a Strengthwhenyou’resellingtoretailchainsinMinnesota.Itprobablywon’tbeifyou’recrackinganewmarketintheCaribbean.

Bymeasuringyourareasofsupposedadvantageagainst thesethreecriteria,you’llbeabletodeterminewhichonesareinfactStrengths.Onceyou’vedonethat,you’llbeabletousethemasleverageagainstyourRedFlags.

ELIMINATINGREDFLAGS:DOSANDDON’TS

As effective as it is in improving position, it’s surprising how infrequentlyLeveragefromStrengthisemployed,evenbyverygoodsalespeople.Manysalesrepresentatives,facedwithanobviousroadblock,chooseeithertohammerawayuntilitmovesortorunarounditasifitweren’tthere.Boththesereactionsarewaysofskirtingtheunknown,andtheybothgenerallyhaveaboomerangeffect:Theysendthesalesrepresentativehurtlingintotheunknown,andoftengivetheordertothecompetition.

To see how these reactions fail, and how Leverage from Strength works,consideratypicalsalespicture.Supposeyou’reworkingwithanaccountwheretwooftheprincipalplayersareaproductionmanageractingasaUserBuyeranda financial vice president serving as the Economic Buyer. The User Buyer isclearlyonyourside;he’s ready toput inyourorder.But theEconomicBuyerwon’t sign.Moreover, you can’t even get close; likemanyEconomicBuyers,thisoneisinsulatedfromsalespeopleandwon’tevenreturnyourcalls.Considerthreeapproachesyoucouldtake.

SCENARIO1:HAMMERINGAWAYInthiscommonscenario,youassumethatthereasonyou’vebeenunabletoseethevicepresident is thatyouhaven’t triedhardenough.It’syour fault that theEconomicBuyerisinaccessible.Ifyouonlyadoptamorepositiveattitudeandkeep leaving phone messages, your persistence will eventually be rewarded.We’vealreadytoldyouhowworthlesswe’vefoundthiskindof“bettermentalattitude”approach.Evenifthefates(orasecretary)shouldsmileonyouandyouget fiveminuteswith the vice president, it’s extremely unlikely that you’ll beabletoturnittoyouradvantage:You’llstillbethesameunknownquantitythatyouwerebeforeyouweregiventheprivilegeofgettinginthedoor.Thusyou’llprobablyenduponlyadvertisingyourweakness.

SCENARIO2:IGNORINGTHEROADBLOCKIn thisscenarioyouforgetabout theEconomicBuyingInfluenceentirely.Youaccept the fact that you can’t get in and focus your presentation on the UserBuyer, who’s already favorable to your proposal. Of course there’s nothing

wrongwithtalkingtoaUserBuyerwhowantsyouin(infact,bynotdoingsoyou could easily create a new roadblock). But since no sale can go throughwithoutareleaseoffunds,you’restillgoingtobeweaklypositionedtoclosethesale if you settle for talkingonly to theUserBuyer.An uncoveredEconomicBuyerisamajorRedFlaginanysale.RelyingonyourgoodrelationshipwiththeUserBuyertooffsetthatseriousweaknessislikeplayingstudpokerwithadeuceinthehole.

SCENARIO3:LEVERAGEFROMSTRENGTHA strategy that would most likely succeed in this sales situation would useLeverage fromStrength.Using thisprinciple,youwouldgo to theUserBuyerforassistanceingettingtheEconomicBuyercovered.ByturningtheUserBuyerintoaCoachforthesale,youwouldberelyingonanestablishedStrength(hisdesire for you tomake the sale) to eliminate aRed Flag (the vice president’sreluctancetoseeyou).“Thissaleisobviouslygoodforthetwoofus,Jill,”youcould say. “But themoney is tied up in Finance.How canwe show them uptherethatbuyingwillincreaseproductivity?”

Jillwillhaveherownideasaboutthat.Shemaysimplyoffertointroduceyouto thevicepresident.Shemayoffer tomakeapresentation foryouor suggestthatthetwoofyougointogether.Inanyevent,asaproductionmanagerinthevice president’s own company, Jill already has better credibilitywith Financethanyoudo;sinceyoualsohavecredibilitywithher,andsinceshewantsyoutomakethesale,she’sanidealcandidateforaCoach.

The User Buyer may or may not become your Coach for this sale. Butinvolving her in your approach to the Economic Buyer at the very leastconsolidatesyourpositionwithher.Ideally,youcancapitalizeonthatStrengthto improve your overall position in the sale. The point is that the EconomicBuyer,asaRedFlag,hastobecoveredbysomebody;afriendlyUserBuyercanhelpyoufindoutwho’sbestqualifiedtodothat.

Referring to the mechanical advantage of a simple lever and fulcrum, theGreekmathematicianArchimedesissupposedtohavesaidthatwithaleverlongenoughandaplacetoputthefulcrum,hecouldmovetheworld.Hisextravagantconjecture illustrates an important principle. Leverage enables us to move byindirectforceobjectsthatwecouldneverbudgewithanequal,orevengreater,amountofdirectforce.

That principle is as applicable to sales as it is to mechanics. You gain adistinctstrategicadvantagewhenyouapply indirect rather thandirectpressure

on tough Buying Influences. Much of your repositioning in Strategic Sellinginvolves looking, as Archimedes might have said, for a place to put your“fulcrum.” Invariably you’ll find that that place is one where you’re alreadysolidlypositioned.

SummarizingoursecondKeyElement,wecansaythatthedualprincipleofRedFlags/LeveragefromStrengthinvolvesthreesequentialtechniques:

1.Locatingareasofweakness(RedFlags)

2.LocatingareasofStrength

3.UsingthoseStrengthstoremoveorreducetheimpactoftheRedFlags

You’llusethiscombinedprinciplenowinaPersonalWorkshoptoassessyourpositionwiththeBuyingInfluencesforyourstatedsalesobjective.

PERSONALWORKSHOP3:REDFLAGS/BUYERS

InthePersonalWorkshopthatyoudidinChapter3,youassessedyourfeelingsabout your current position with regard to the selling world’s only constant,rapidchange.Nowthatyou’vebeenintroducedtothefirst twoofourSixKeyElements,youcanreassessthatpositionusingobjectivecriteria.SogetouttheBuyingInfluencesChartthatyoudrewupinthelastchapter,andyourRedFlagsandStrengthshighlightersorstickers.

STEP1:IDENTIFYREDFLAGSANDSTRENGTHS.TakeoutyourRedFlagsandusethemtoidentifyuncertainties.PlaceoneinanyboxoftheBuyingInfluencesChartforwhichyouhavenotidentifiedatleastoneplayer. Then, remembering the automaticRed Flag situationswe discussed inthischapter,putaRedFlagnexttothenameofanyofthefollowingplayers:

•Anyoneaboutwhomyouhaveinsufficientdata—aboutwhomyouhaveaquestionyoucan’tanswer

•Anyoneaboutwhomtheinformationyouhaveisunclearoruncertain•Anyuncoveredbase—anyBuyingInfluencethatnobodyhasyetspokento•Anynewplayer•Anyplayerinvolvedinarecentorcurrentcorporatereorganization

Onceyou’veidentifiedyourroadblocks,startlookingforareasofStrengthfromwhichyoucanuseLeveragetoremovethem.WhichofyourBuyingInfluencesaremostenthusiasticaboutyourproposal?WhichofthemcouldbestbeutilizedasaCoach?Haveyouspokentothesepeopleyetabouthelpingyoumovetoastrongerposition?OnyourBuyingInfluencesChart,placeaStrengthmarkeratany place that you think your position is particularly solid. Then test each ofthosepositionsbyaskingthefollowingquestions:

•DoesthisStrengthclearlydifferentiateusfromthecompetitioninawaythatmatterstothecustomer?

•DoesthisStrengthrelatedirectlytomycurrentSingleSalesObjective?•Will leveraging from this Strength improve my position regarding thatobjective?

Unlessyoucanansweryestoeachofthesequestions,youmaynotreallyhaveidentifiedtheStrengththatyouneed.ReconsiderwhetheranyofyourStrengthmarkersshouldberemoved.

As you look for places to put your “fulcrum,”be alert to your positioningpatterns.Observewhetheryou’reconsistentlywellpositionedwithonecategoryof Buying Influence and out of touch with those in another category.We’vementioned the danger in adopting the traditional approach to Complex Sales,which is tobuild the sale around thepeoplewhomyou’veknown the longest,whomyoucancontactmosteasily,orwithwhomyoufeelmostcomfortable—and to ignoreother criticalBuying Influences. Identifying thepatterns in howyou cover yourBuyerswill help you determinewhether or not you’re fallingintothistrap.

Thebottomlinehereisthis:Tocloseaqualitysale,youhavetocoverallthekeyplayersfillingallfouroftheBuyingInfluenceroles.

TakeaboutfiveortenminutestoanalyzeyourBuyingInfluencesChartasawhole.ThinkabouteachRedFlaginturn,consideringwhatspecificopportunityit offers you to improve your position. And for each one, locate a possible

Strengthfromwhichyoucanworktowardtheimprovement.

STEP2:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.YounowhavemuchmoreinformationaboutyouraccountsituationthanyoudidwhenyoufirstdrewupyourAlternatePositions list inChapter3.Nowyou’regoing to begin a process that you’ll be carrying through all the remainingPersonalWorkshops in the book.You’re going to use the information you’vejustacquiredtoreviseandexpandonthatlist.ByPart6ofthebook,whereyoudraftanActionPlanforyourchosensalesobjective,youwillhaveworkedoverthe Alternate Positions list several times, and will have transformed it into aworkingpaperfortheActionPlan.

Sinceyou’ll be performing this revisionprocess continually throughout thebook,wewanttolayoutafewbasicguidelinesherethatwillenableyoutodoiteffectively.Asyougodownthelistpointbypoint,wewantyoutobeinclusive,tobespecific,andtotestyourAlternatePositions.

Bybeinginclusivewemeanyoushouldn’tworrytoomuchrightnowaboutwhethereveryoneofyourAlternatePositionsisidealforthesituation.TheKeyElementsofstrategythatwehaveyettointroducewillhelpyoutothinoutthelistsothatonlythebestoptionsremain.Butrightnowdon’tthrowouttoomuch.It’sstilltooearlytoputallyoureggsinonebasket.

Be specific because you’re not making out a list of theoretical salesprinciples; you’re developing the basic working paper for your chosen salesobjective. In listingalternatives,youcan’t justgiveyourself a cheerypep talkandresolveto“dobetter”withDanFarley.Ifhe’stheEconomicBuyerforyoursalebuthewon’tletyouinthedoor,then“gettingtoFarley”isnotaneffectiveAlternate Position. You need to write down something like this: “Get DorisGreen(myenthusiasticUserBuyer) toshowFarleyhowwecan increase theirproductivityby15percent.”

Ofcourse,usingfriendlyDoristogettothebosswon’tmakethesaleforyou.ItwilljustdealwithoneRedFlag.OnceyouseeFarley,youmayfindnewRedFlags(maybehe’shadbadexperienceswithyourcompanyinthepast,ormaybeproductivityisn’tahighpriorityatthemoment),andyou’llhavetoreassessyourpositionagain.Takeitonestepatatime.Andusetheleverageprincipleagainandagainasyouworkyourwaytowardyoursalesobjective.

Finally,testeachAlternatePosition.Don’tmakeanunwarrantedassumptionthat any change at all in a bad position will necessarily be a change for thebetter.EveryAlternatePositionyoulistshoulddooneoftwothings:

1.CapitalizeonanareaofStrength

2.EliminateaRedFlag—oratleastreduceitsimpact

Of course, the best Alternate Positions do both these things. In the examplegivenabove,forinstance,gettingDorisGreentoseeDanFarleybothcapitalizesonaStrength(afriendlyUserBuyer)andeliminatesaRedFlag(theEconomicBuyer’sreluctancetobeseen).Don’tbotherlistingAlternatePositionsthatdon’taccomplishatleastoneofthesetwoobjectives.

We introduce the Red Flags/Leverage from Strength principle early in ourprograms becausewewant our clients to use kin analyzing all the rest of ourKeyElements.Thecheckingmtchanismyou’veappliedtoyoursalesobjectivehere will be useful to you throughout your selling cycle. We’ll return to itperiodicallythroughoutthisbook.

SoputyourBuyingInfluencesChartandyourAlternatePositionslistaside,butkeepthemhandy.You’llbeaddingtothembothverysoon.

CHAPTER7

BUYERLEVELOFRECEPTIVITY

Uptonowyou’vebeenfocusinglargelyonyourownperceptionsofthesalessituation, as a way of making your position regarding your current objectivemore visible and of highlighting areas of uncertainty in your strategy. Nowyou’re going to shift your focus to the perceptions of the various BuyingInfluencesforthatobjective.We’vesaidthatafteryoudeterminewhoallthoseindividualsare, thenext thingyouhave todo is to findouthoweachof themfeelsaboutwhatyou’retryingtoaccomplishinhisorheraccount.ThethirdKeyElement of strategy—ResponseModes—is designed to help you do thatmoreeffectively,byzeroinginontheirlevelsofbuyingreceptivity.

You need to be able to gauge your Buyers receptivity to your proposalsbecause,withoutanunderstandingofthisfactor,youcaneasilyenduptryingtosell someone who isn’t really there—one whose perception of reality is sodifferentfromyourownthatheorsheisutterlyincapableofappreciatingwhyanytransactionoughttooccurinthefirstplace.Inaddition,ifyoudon’thaveareliablemethodofgaugingreceptivity,youcaneasilyfallintooneofthreefataltraps:

1.Youcantakeyourownperceptionsofrealityasthekeytothesale.2.YoucanassumethatyourperceptionsofrealityarethesameasthoseofyourBuyingInfluences.

3.YoucanrecognizethattheBuyingInfluences’perceptionsofrealityaredifferentfromyours,butnonethelessconcludethattheirperceptionsarewrongorirrelevant.

OurthirdKeyElementofstrategyisdesignedtohelpyouavoidthesecommonerrors of judgment by focusing on what really counts in the sale: how eachBuyerislikelytoreacttothechangethatyourproposalisoffering.

CHANGE:THEHIDDENFACTOR

InthePersonalWorkshopthatyoudidinChapter3,youlistedthechangesthatareinfluencingyourcurrentsalesenvironmentandthenanalyzedyourfeelingsabout themwithregardtoyourSingleSalesObjective.You’ll recall thatsomechanges seemed to be primarily positive, while others appeared mostly asthreats.You’llalsoremember that,nomatterwhat theexternal“facts”ofyoursalesenvironment,mostchangescouldbeseenaseitherthreatsoropportunities,dependingonyourresponsetothem.

The same thinggoes for thepeopleplayingBuying Influence roles inyoursale. The elements of change that you listed are impacting their businessenvironments too, and like you they can have a variety of responses to thoseelements. Inaddition,however, theyhave torespond toone significantchangethat you by definition see as an opportunity, but that they can easily see as athreat.Thatchangeisyoursalesproposalitself.

You probably don’t like to think of your sales proposals as threats, butBuyers can, and often do, see them in just this way. The strategic salesprofessional understands that any time you ask someone to buy something,you’reaskingthatpersontomakeachange.Neitherthesellernorthebuyermayconsciouslyidentifythesalesproposalasanoffertomakeachange,butchangeisnonethelessacriticalhiddenfactorineverysale.Sincepeoplereacttochangein different ways, and since virtually every change can be viewed as either athreatoranopportunity,there’salwaysthechancethataBuyingInfluencewillperceiveyoursalesproposalasthreateningevenwhenit’s“obvious”toyouthatit’snot.

The nonstrategic salesperson often ignores the hidden factor of change.Dazzledbytheeleganceofyourownpresentationorimpressedbythe“perfectfit” between your product and aBuying Influence’s objective needs, youmay

overlook the Buyer’s potential perception of the proposal as an unwanted orthreateningchange,andassumethatshewillrespondinthe“obviously”sensiblemanner—thatis,affirmatively.

Experience has proven to us and to our clients that this is a dangerouslymyopic approach. Nomatter how good the “facts” of a given sales situation,theymaystill look terrible tooneormoreofyourBuyingInfluences. If that’sthecase, it’s thefacts,not theBuyers’perceptionsof them, thatare irrelevant.Only by understanding each of your Buying Influence’s perception of realitywillyoubeabletopredictaccuratelyhisorherresponsetoyourproposal.

THEBUYER’SPERCEPTIONOFREALITY

By“perceptionof reality”wedon’tmean theBuyer’sgeneral outlookon life,philosophy,oroverallapproach tobusiness.Wemeanhisorherperceptionoftheimmediatebusinesssituationandofwhatwillhappentothatsituationifthechangethatyouareofferingisaccepted.

ABuyingInfluencecanbringfourdifferentreactions,orResponseModes,toasalessituation.Eachofthesefour-modesderivesfromadifferentperceptionofthe immediate business reality. And each one leads to a different level ofreceptivitytoincomingsalesproposals.

BecauseeachofthefourperceptionsofrealityleadstoadifferentResponseMode, and because each mode leads to a different level of receptivity, thestrategicsalesprofessionalhastodevelopadifferentsalesapproachforeachofthe four perceptions. We’re going to show you how to do that now, as weintroducethefourResponseModes.

Weneedtostress,however,thattheseResponseModesarenotdescriptionsof attitude or personality. They don’t refer to categories of people, but todifferent ways in which Buyers can perceive immediate, specific situations.They show you where the person is coming from in relation to the specificchangeyou’reoffering.That’sall.Youcanspeakofagivenindividualbeinginacertainmodewithregardtoagivenbusinesssituation.Itmakesnosensetosaythatsomeoneisalwaysinthatmode.

This is a critical point, because in many account situations you’ll findyourselfselling toapositive,growth-orientedpersonwho,at themomentyourcall is scheduled, happens to see your proposal as nothing but trouble. If youfocusonwhatyouseeasthisperson’sdifficultpersonality,youmayconclude,erroneously, that your cause is lost. If you use theKey Element of Response

Modes toassesshisorher reaction,however,youmayfind that it’sonlyyourtimingthat’soff.Youmayfindthat,ifyouadoptastrategythattakestimingintoaccount, thisBuyer couldbecomeyour strongest ally.Aswe’ll seenow,yourBuyingInfluences’perceptionsofreality,likemostthingsintheComplexSale,areoftennotoriouslyunstable.UnderstandingourthirdKeyElementofstrategywillhelpyouturnthisfacttoyouradvantage.

CHAPTER8

KEYELEMENT3:THEFOURRESPONSEMODES

Predicting the best time to call on a Buying Influence is one of the greatunknowns in the world of selling. Knowingwhen to approach a customer isoften just as important, but usually not as predictable, as knowing what thecustomer and her company needs. As a result, you can have a product that’stailor-made for someone’s apparent business needs, but if you approach thatpersonatthewrongtimeofthemonth,orweek,orsellingcycle,youcaneasilyfindyourself—throughnofaultofyourown—goingupagainstablankwall.

In this chapter, we take some of the uncertainty out of knowing when toapproach your Buying Influences. We start by giving you a simple rule ofthumb:

Peoplebuywhen,andonlywhen,theyperceiveadiscrepancybetweenrealityandtheirdesiredresults.

Inspiteofthemanynuancesthatcanaffectabuyingdecision,we’vefoundthisruletoholdtrueinallbuyingsituations.Understandingitcanbeofmorevaluetoyouthanreadinganynumberoftextsonbuyerpsychology,becauseperceiveddiscrepancy is thekey tobuyer receptivity.Aswe’vesaid, that receptivitycanappear in four differentmodes. The first, andmostwelcoming, of the four is

whatwecallGrowth.

THEFIRSTRESPONSEMODE:GROWTH

Theperceptionof theBuying Influence inGrowthMode is representedby thechartonpage144.

ThebottomlinehereillustratesthewaytheBuyerperceivestherealityofthecurrentbusiness situation.The top line showswhereheor shewould like thatsituationtobe—hisorherdesiredresults.Thespacebetweenthetwolinesisareality-results gap, or discrepancy. Because that discrepancy exists, theprobabilityoftheBuyertakingsomeaction—includingtheactionofagreeingtoyourproposal—ishigh.Weindicatethatatthetopofthechart,andtovisuallydrivehomethepointweaddthesmallbarbelliconthatweuseinMillerHeimanprocessestoindicateaStrength.

ABuyerinGrowthModeisalwaysreadytosayyestosomebody’sproposal—though not necessarily to yours. This person perceives the essentialdiscrepancyand,beinginthisResponseMode,believesthatitcanbeeliminatedonlybymoreor better results.Theremaybe a risingproductionquota to fill,moreorders to fill thanproducts,or a recentmemo to stepupquality control.Whatevertheindividual’sreasonforwantingtodomoreand/orbetter,youhavea good probability of getting a commitment—provided that your proposal isseenasthechangethatwillreduceoreliminatethediscrepancy.

Buyers in GrowthMode typically use trigger words like “more,” “better,”

“faster,”and“improved” that serveassignals that they’re receptive tochange.This mode is usually the easiest of the four to sell to. For that reason salesrepresentativesareoftenattunedtoGrowththemselves—andareinstantlyreadytocomplywhenaBuyerisinthismode.

But there’ a danger here in confusing corporate growth with the verypersonalGrowthModeof an individual.Whenwe speakofResponseModes,we mean the personal, individual reactions of the people acting as BuyingInfluencesforyoursalesproposal,notthe“growthprofiles”oftheirfirms.Sinceyou always have to adopt an individual selling approach for each of thesepeople,youcanrunintoseriousdifficultyifyouassumethatalltheBuyersinanobviously expanding company are in an expansive GrowthMode themselves.Thatwon’tnecessarilybethecase.

Remember the salesmanwe described in Chapter 5 who lost an importantcontract because he sold a textile company’s president a troubleshootingprogramwithoutalsocontactingthemillmanagerswhowouldbetheprogram’sUserBuyers.IgnoringthesekeyBuyingInfluenceswasn’hisonlyerror.Healsoassumedincorrectlythat,sincethecompanyasawholewasgrowthoriented,alltheBuyerswantedtodomoreand/orbettertoo.InfacttheUserBuyersinthissituation wanted nothing to do with the growth he was offering them; theywantedthingstoremainastheywere.Thesalesman’sfailuretoaddressthisfactwasamajorreasonthatthecontractfellthrough.

No matter what the current financial picture of a customer’ organization,sellingtoitwillalwaysinvolveaddressingtheperceptionsofindividualBuyingInfluences for your sale—not the “perception” of the company at large. InStrategicSellingthere’nosuchthingasacompany’sperceptionofreality.Onlyindividualscanhaveperceptions.Andallofthemmustbetakenintoaccountforaqualitysale.

THESECONDRESPONSEMODE:TROUBLE

TheprobabilityofactionbeingtakenisalsohighwhenaBuyingInfluenceisinTrouble.Don’tbeputoffbythename.Asthebarbelliconsuggests,whenyouconfrontaBuyerwhoisinTroubleMode,you’refacinganopportunitythatisapotentialStrength.It’snotyouwhoareinTrouble.Thechartonpage146showswhy.

Again, thebottom lineshows theBuyer’sperceptionofcurrent realityand thetoplineherperceptionoftheresultssheneedsinorderto“win.”Againthere’sthe necessary discrepancy between reality and results that indicates theBuyerwillbereceptivetochange.

Thediscrepancyhere,however, isdifferent from thediscrepancyperceivedby the Buyer in Growth. The Buyer in Growth Mode welcomes incrementalchangeasawayof improvinganalreadygoodsituation; theBuyer inTroubleMode is begging for immediate change as away of reversing or preventing adefeat.Thingshadbeengoingalongwell,butthencameacrisisthatcreatedthediscrepancy.All theBuyerwants is to fixwhatever it is that’swrong—to getthings back to normal. As the picture suggests, his basic plea—whether it’sspokenorunspoken—isthebusinessequivalentof“Getmeofftheserocksandbackoncourse.”

ThismeansthataBuyingInfluenceinTroubleModeisready,indeedeager,tobuy—butnotnecessarilyfromyou.Theproposalthatwillbeapprovedisnotgoingtobethemostbeaurifullypresentedone,orthecheapestbid,orthemosttechnically advanced solution. It’s going to be the one that willmost quicklyremovethecauseoftheBuyer’sperceivedproblem.

THEURGENCYOFTROUBLE

Many people forget this. We constantly run across salespeople who are soattuned to Growth and “improvements” themselves that they have difficulty

understanding, and selling to, the real needs of aBuying Influence inTroubleMode.Thisisespeciallycommoninhigh-techindustries,wherethelatest,state-of-the-art product developments are amajor component of the selling arsenal.You’llprobablyrecognizethisexaggerateddevotiontotechnicalimprovementsaspartofthe“bellsandwhistles”approachtosales.It’salsopartoftheproduct-orientedapproach,which,aswe’vealreadypointedout,isofonlylimitedvalueinStrategicSelling.

Thesalesrepresentativewhorelieson thisapproachiscontinuallystressingthelatestfeaturesoftheproductorservice,themostrecenttechnicalrefinements—thebellsandwhistlesthatmakethecompany’slinealwaysthreedaysaheadofthecompetition’s.ThisusuallyworksfinewithBuyersinGrowthMode,butsellingtechnical improvementstoBuyersinTroubleisalmostalwaysanerror,because Buyers in this mode are hurting. They’re on the panic end of theEuphoria-PanicContinuum.Andwhenpeopleareup to theirears inalligators,they don’t want to hear about the sophisticated pumping system that you’regoingtousetodraintheswamp.Theywantoutoftheswamp,fast.WhenpeopleareinTroubleMode,youdon’ttalkabouthowyourproductwillimprovetheirlifestyle.Yousellsurvival.Period.Themoralheremaybestatedasanaxiom:

TroublealwaystakesprecedenceoverGrowth.

Thisdoesn’tmean thatGrowth isunimportant,only that, toaBuyerwho’sfeeling pain (remember, it’s the perception that counts), doing more and/orbetter canwait until you’ve fixed the cause of the pain. Selling Growth to aBuyerwhofeelsinTroubleislikesellinganewrooftoafarmerwhosebarnhasjustcaughtfire.Evenifthebarnneedsaroof,itdoesn’tneedonenow.

WHENGROWTHFEELSLIKETROUBLE

Thetruthoftheaxiom“TroublealwaystakesprecedenceoverGrowth”becomesimmediatelyapparentwhenyouconfrontsomeonewho’sfranticallyaskingfor“more” with an urgency that suggests Trouble rather than Growth. AlthoughBuyersalwaysdisplayoneResponseModemoredominantlythantheothersatany given moment, their feelings about their business situations are alsoconstantlyinflux.Thereforeyoufrequentlyhavetoselltoindividualswhoarein the process of moving from one Response Mode to another. A commonexample is thecaseof thepersonwhohas just receivedadirective to increase

production or quality, but without an immediate increase in the necessaryresources.

Aproductionmanagerweknow in aWestCoast applianceplantwasoncefacedwiththisexasperatingsituation.Salesmanagementhadjustclosedadealwith a catalog house that would require him, within a matter of months, toincreasehisfactoryoutputby30percent.Thecompanywasobviouslygrowing—but our friend definitely wasn’t in a Growth Mode. “I need everythingyesterday,”hetoldus.“We’removingsofast,ifIdon’tgetthepartsIneedbynextweek,I’msunk.”

Therearetwowaystointerpretastatementlikethat.EitheryoucanseeitasapureGrowthstatement—“Ineedtodomorerightnow”—oryoucanseeitasadesperateTroubleModeplea:“Ineed todomorerightnow! ”hedifference inemphasisiscrucial.IfyoutrytosellsimpleGrowthtoapersoninthissituation—if you emphasize the state-of-the-art aspects of your product or servicewithout addressing the customer’ problem—you’re likely to lose out to acompetitorwhounderstandsthatthefirstorderofbusinessistogettheguyawayfromthealligators.

We’ve said that Trouble Mode perceptions arise because something hashappenedtotheBuyertochangehisorherrealityfromwhatitwastosomethingworse.Thecausedoesn’tnecessarilyhavetobesomethingbad.There’’nothingbad about a 30 percent increase in orders. But that development becomes asource of Trouble when it’s perceived by one of your Buyers as a personaldifficulty.Inthiscase,suchanincreasewasperceivedbyourmanagerfriendasaproblem—andhewastherefore,bydefinition,inTroubleMode.

Because nobodywill say outright to you, “I’m in TroubleMode here,” or“We’re doing terrific; all I need is better results,” you have to be attentive tonuancewheneveryou’reuncertainwhetheranindividualBuyingInfluencefeelshimselftobeinTroubleorGrowth.IfyourproductorserviceanswerstheneedsofbothTroubleandGrowth,ofcourse,you’rehomefree.Butyoustillhavetodesignyour approach to each individual basedonwhichof the fourResponseModesthatpersonisinwhenyoulayoutyourproposal.Asalways,thebottomlineisthatyoustressthoseaspectsofyourproductorservicethatspeaktothatindividualBuyer’sperceptionofimmediatereality.

THETHIRDRESPONSEMODE:EVENKEEL

The first two Response Modes provide relatively easy selling situations. The

next two do not.When a Buying Influence is in EvenKeel, your chances ofmaking a sale are low because the Buyer doesn’t perceive the essentialdiscrepancybetweencurrentrealityanddesiredresults.Infact,theprobabilityofa Buyer in Even Keel taking any action is low; that’s why we identify thisscenarioasaRedFlag.

TheperceptionofaBuyer inEvenKeelcanberepresentedby thechartonpage151.

Here the top line, representing results, and the bottom line, representingrealityastheBuyerperceivesit,coincide.(Forvisualclarity,we’vedrawntwoseparatelines.YoushouldthinkofthemastheBuyerdoes—assuperimposed,oridentical.)There’snogapforyourproposaltocloseandthereforenoreceptivitytochange.BuyersinEvenKeelconsistentlydemonstratethetruthofthemaxim“Nodiscrepancy,nosale.”

TosomeoneinEvenKeelMode,moreover,yourproposalwillverylikelybeseen as a threat. Since results and reality already coincide, this person canperceive the change you’re offering only as a potential undoing of thatcoincidence.TheBuyerinEvenKeelisbydefinitionwaryofanychange.Whatthispersonisusuallythinking—andwilloftensaytoyou—is“Goaway.Don’trocktheboat.”

WhenaBuyerisfirmlyentrenchedinEvenKeel,onlythreethingscanraise

the probability of yourmaking a sale. The Buyer can seeGrowth or Troublecoming, he can be pressured by another Buyer who is already in Growth orTrouble,oryoucandemonstrateadiscrepancythattheBuyerdoesn’tsee.

THEBUYERSEESGROWTHORTROUBLECOMING.

TheUserBuyers in the textileplant salewementionedearlierwere clearly inEvenKeelMode.Theysawthetroubleshootingprogramthatourfriendhadsoldwithouttheirapprovalasanunnecessaryandpotentiallyunsettlingchange—onethatwouldundoacomfortablestatusquo.Ourfriendmighthaveincreasedtheprobabilityoftheirapprovalifhe’dconvincedthemeitherthathisproposalhadgreatGrowthpossibilities,or that,withouthisprogram, theywouldsoonbe inTrouble.

Generallyspeaking,there’slessriskinvolvedinsellingGrowthpossibilitiesthaninselling“Troubleavoidance,”sothegeneralruleherewouldbetotrytomove theBuyer inEvenKeel towardGrowth.But sellingGrowth and sellingTroubleavoidancetosuchapersonaren’tmutuallyexclusivestrategies:Troubleavoidance can be seen as a kind ofGrowth.By selling aBuyer inEvenKeelsomething thatwill prevent future Trouble, you’re saying, “I know things aregoing greatwith you right now.And I have away for you to keep them thatway.”

You’llbebestpreparedtodothatifyoucanseetheTroublecoming.That’swhykeepingontopofyourprospects’objectiveneedsisjustasimportantwhenthere’snopossibilityofasaleaswhenthesigningisjustaroundthecorner.IfyouknowhowyourproductcanhelpaBuyer,youalsoknowhowbeingwithoutitwilleventuallycreateproblems.Knowing that,youcanplanyour“Icangetyou out of this mess” presentation while the person is still in Even Keel.Probablyshe’llbegyoutodeliveritwhenrealitybreaksin.

YOUUSEPRESSUREFROMANOTHERBUYINGINFLUENCE.

BuyersinEvenKeelgenerallylistenmuchmoreattentivelytotheviewsoftheirown Growth or Trouble superiors than they do to the most well-meaningsalesperson’s “warnings.” Therefore, one effectiveway of getting someone inEvenKeeltoreassessapositionistogetanotherBuyingInfluence—preferablysomeonesenior—toputpressureonhimorhertoreassessthesituation.

OftenthebestcandidatestoexertthiskindofpressurearepeopleplayingtheEconomicBuyerrole—preciselybecauseEconomicBuyersareusuallyquickerto spot Trouble coming than individuals in the other roles. Because of theirrelatively narrow focus, for example, Technical Buyers and User Buyers areoften notoriously slow to recognize storm signals. Sometimes they just don’t

want to know that, six weeks from now, their boat will be under water.EconomicBuyers,ontheotherhand,arepaidtoforecastthefuture;it’stheirjobto be well attuned to coming storms, and when they sense Trouble coming,they’regenerallymoreopenthanotherstomakingdrasticchanges.(Inadditiontothat,theyhavetheauthoritytodoso.)

Therefore,oneusefulstrategyistosellGrowthorTroubleavoidancetotheEconomic Buying Influence and then get that person to convert the Buyer inEvenKeelMode.This is awayof circumventing resistancebyemploying theprinciple of Leverage from Strength. Buyers in Even Keel often cycle out oftheir sit-tight condition as a result of such pressure even when a salesrepresentative isn’t involved.Anythingyoucando to intensify thatpressure—withoutalienating theBuyer inEvenKeel—isprobablygoing towork toyouradvantage.

If theEconomicBuyeris inEvenKeel,however, theprobabilityofmakingthesaleintheshorttermisremote.Don’tcountongettinganordersooninthissituation.

YOUDEMONSTRATEADISCREPANCY.

Since peoplewill buy onlywhen they perceive a discrepancy between realityanddesiredresults,athirdwaytoincreasetheprobabilityofsalestoBuyersinEvenKeel is to show them discrepancies that they haven’t already perceived.You cando this in oneof twoways:You can show them that reality actuallyisn’t as satisfactory as they currently believe, or you can show them that theresultsthey’vesettledforarefarshortofthosetheycanachieve.Ineithercase,if you can demonstrate that current reality and possible results do not in factcoincide,you’llhavecreatedthediscrepancythat’saprerequisitetoanysale.

Forexample,aproductionlinemanagerwhoisusedtoturningout500unitsa day and who’s now turning out 510 won’t readily see that there might beTroubleonthehorizon;mostlikely,suchapersonwillbeinEvenKeel.Butifyou demonstrate that one of this manager’s competitors, with equipment thatyou’ve sold it, is turning out 700 units a day ofan equivalent product, themanager will probably understand that the competitive results needed are inexcessofcurrentproduction.Andreceptivitytochangewillnaturallyrise.

These three strategies for selling a Buyer in Even Keel frequently proveeffective. But they also have their risks—risks that derive from the fact thatBuyersinEvenKeelModefindtheirsit-tightposturecomfortable.Veryfewof

them look forward to beingdisillusioned.Because it’s difficult to breakdownthecomfortzoneofpeopleinEvenKeel,thewiseststrategytoadoptwiththemis often the one that Woodrow Wilson adopted when Pancho Villa wasthreateningtheNewMexicoborder:Hegaveitthevoter-friendlytag“watchfulwaiting.”Rememberthatwhiletheremaybenomatchbetweenyourproductorservice and anEvenKeelBuyer’s perceived needs today, there couldwell beoneinthefuture,ifyouwatchandwait.

THEFOURTHRESPONSEMODE:OVERCONFIDENT

Thesameprincipleapplies toBuyers inOverconfidentMode.This is themostdifficultofthefourResponseModestosellto.Infact,theprobabilityofmakinga sale to someonewho’s inOverconfidentMode is, for all practical purposes,zero.ThefigurebelowindicateswhyakeyBuyer’sovercon-fidence isagiantRedFlag.

When aBuyer is in this fourthmode, there’s clearly akind of discrepancy

between reality and perceived results, but in this case the discrepancy worksagainst rather than for the selling organization. An Overconfident Buyerperceives reality as outstripping the desired results. Because this person isalready doing much better than anticipated, he or she feels no incentive tochange.LiketheBuyer inEvenKeelMode, thisonedoesn’twantyoutorockthe boat—and that boat, in the Overconfident Buyer’s view, is not onlywatertight, but winning the America’s Cup. When you suggest a change,

therefore,you’llbe treatedas ifyouwerecrazy. “Ineverhad it sogood,” theBuyer will boast. “Things are too good to be true. You want to sell mesomethingthatcouldchangethat?Getlost!”

WhatBuyersinOverconfidentModedon’trealizeisthatthingsaretoogoodtobetrue.Theirperceptionofrealityisdistorted,usuallyforoneoftworeasons:

• They are misunderstanding the situation, out of ignorance or wishfulthinking.

• Their goals are set so low that the poor performance they’re achievingactuallylooksgood.

These two reasons are the primary causes of Overconfident Mode, and notinfrequently you’ll find them working in combination. When that happens,you’llencountersuchastrongresistancetochange—anychange—thattryingtoopen their eyes is almost certainly a waste of time. People in OverconfidentModetypicallytendtobecomplacentandoutoftouch;tosalesrepresentativestheycanbedismissive,evenarrogant.

We’ve all seen the dangers of Overconfidence, in and out of the businessworld.Examplesofthisself-delusionarecommonenoughinourrecenthistory.Look at numerous celebrities’ falls from grace or the phenomenal losses that“unassailable”U.S.manufacturershavesufferedatthehandsofforeignupstarts.Such examples illustrate the hazards of counting on a “sure thing,” or whatmightbecalledtheimpotenceofpositivethinking.Theyremindusofhowcloseeuphoria is to panic on the Euphoria-Panic Continuum. And they show that,givenenoughtime,OverconfidencealwayscyclesintoTrouble.

KILLINGTHEMESSENGER

BeinginOverconfidentMode, inspiteof thefact that it feelsgreat, is reallyakindofperceptualdisability.It’sanillnesswhoseonlycureismassivedosesofreality.Butasweconstantlycautionourclients, toaBuyerinthismode,astooneinEvenKeel,youmaybetheworstpersonintheworldtoofferthatcure.Buyers inOverconfidentMode are evenmore difficult to budge than those inEvenKeel.Firmlyentrenched in theirdelusions, theydon’twelcomethenewsthatthey’rereadingthesituationallwrong.Therefore,whenyoutryto“convert”anOverconfidentBuyingInfluencetoreality,youalwaysruntheriskofbeing

seennotashelpfulbutasintrusive.InancientGreece,accordingtolegend,messengerswhobroughtakingbad

newsweresometimesputtodeathforcausingtherulerpain.IfyouannounceanunwelcomerealitytosomeoneinOverconfidentMode,you’retakingariskwithyour commissions, if not your head.We’re sure you can think ofmany salessituations in which an overeager, honesty-smitten salesperson ruined hiscompany’s chances for future business by badgering an uncooperative Buyerinto“facingfacts.”

WAITINGFORREALITY

Because it’s so difficult to dislodge people inOverconfidentMode from theirmisperceptions,ourgeneraladviceisnottotry.Ourmostsuccessfulclientstellusthat,whenthey’refacedwithaBuyingInfluenceinthisintransigentmode,awisestrategyissimplytomaintainalowprofileandtowait,aslongasittakes,for reality to intrude. As a sales professional, you should keep the lines ofcommunication open, keep the pressure off, and, when the Buyer inevitablycyclesintoTrouble,besurethatyou’reinapositiontofixtheproblem.

AclientfromaWestCoastcomputercompanyrecentlyusedthisstrategytogoodeffectinmanagingamajorsoftwaresale.Thebuyingorganization,whichproducedalineofmultiplexboardsfortelephoneconstruction,wasexperiencinganupsurge inorders. Itwasproducingonlyfiftyboardsaday,andbecauseofincreaseddemandwanted toup that figure to fiveliundred.Therewas concernaboutqualitycontrolatthisnewpace,however,andthatwashowourclientgotinvolved:ShewaswidelyrespectedasaspecialistinQCsystems.

The program thatwas already in use, she knew,wasn’t doing the jobwellenough.Itwasbarelycapableofdetectingerrorsefficientlywhenthelineranatfifty boards a day. At the new rate of five hundred a day, it would becomevirtually useless. She said as much to the quality control supervisor—acombinationTechnical andUserBuyer—andwasmetwith arrogant disbelief.“Surelyyoujest,Diane,”theBuyertoldhertestily.“Thesystem’snowherenearits breaking point. We could run it to a thousand a day and still not hear itcreak.”

The supervisor’s cocky attitude was a classic example of Overconfidence,and soDianemanaged the salewith thewaiting strategywe’d recommended.For three months she bided her time, quietly keeping in touch with thesupervisor and letting him know that, if he ever needed her help, it was

available.Thentheweaksystemstartednotonlytocreak,buttocrack.Firstinatrickle and then in a steady flow, defective boards started to slip through, andsoonthecompanywashitwithadelugeofserviceorders.Suddenlytheknow-it-all supervisorwas indeepTrouble.“I’vegota27percent return rateon theseboards,” he complained. “How soon can you getme a better system?” “Rightaway,” Diane replied. And she proceeded to put in the system she knew hadbeenneededallalong.

The moral of the story is simple: Don’t waste your precious selling timeworking on anOverconfidentBuyer. Thismode is highly unstable. It always,eventually,cyclesintoTrouble.Justplantobetheretofixthingswhenitdoes.

MATCHESANDMISMATCHESOFMODES

Thesalesperson’sidealsituationistohavealloftheBuyingInfluencesineitherGrowthorTroubleModeatthesametime.WhenallyourBuyingInfluencesaresaying, “Iwant todomorenow,”or “I needbetter results,” they’reobviouslyripe to be sold. Similarly, when all your Buyers are hurting, you also have agoldenopportunity—ifyoucanconvincethemthatyourproposalwilleliminatetheirproblems.Wheneverthere’samatchofperceptionsamongyourBuyersinGrowthorTrouble—orGrowthandTrouble—there’sahigherprobabilityofasalethanwhenthemodesaremixed.

However, given the volatility of sales situations and the personalidiosyncrasies that can influenceBuyer perceptions, you aren’t likely to comeupon these perfectly matched fields of Buying Influences very often. Morecommonly,you’llbeconfrontedwithamixedormismatchedfield,inwhich,forexample, four different Buyers have four distinct perceptions of the samebusiness“reality.”

Thesalespersonunskilledinstrategyoftenmishandlesthesemixedfields.Aswe’vementioned,anaturaltendencyamongthosesalespeoplewholiketoplaythingsbyearistofocusontheBuyerstheylike,orwholikethem,ratherthantosee to it that all the relevantbases are covered.You see this all the timewithregardtoResponseModes.

A sales representative who sees Growth possibilities, for example, mightapproachtheABCOcompanywithaproposaldesignedtoboostproduction.Hefinds that only a lone User Buyer sees the situation as he does; all the otherBuyersareinTrouble,focusingona“trivial”problem.ButbecauseheandtheUser Buyer agree, the sales representative concentrates on him—and quickly

loses the order to a competitor who addresses the Trouble seen by the otherBuyingInfluences.

OrthesamesalesrepresentativemightapproachABCOsixmonthslaterwitha surefire cure for absenteeism—a problem revealed by a Technical Buyer inpersonnel. It turnsout thatall theotherBuyersarenowinEvenKeel.They’rewillingtolivewiththetimelossbecauseproductivityhasneverbeenhigher,andtheydon’twanttojeopardizewhattheyhavebyfiddlingwiththesystem.CryingTroubleinthiskindofsituationmightbringthesalesrepresentativeclosertothepersonnelmanager,butitwouldalienateeveryoneelse.

To avoid falling into the “single Buyer” trap that these scenarios indicate,you’vegot to recall our advice about covering all the bases.The strategic prodoesn’tsimplyplayballwiththepersonwhoseperceptionheshares.Headoptsan approach that realizes that truth, like beauty, is often in the eye of thebeholder—a strategy that takes into account with equal seriousness theperceptionsofalltheBuyingInfluencesinvolvedinthesale.

COVERINGALLTHEBASES—AGAIN

OneofthemostseriouserrorsyoucanmakeinaComplexSaleistoignoreorabandon a key Buying Influence because that person’s perception of currentrealitydoesn’tmatchyours.Youdon’thavetoseeeyetoeyewithyourBuyersinordertosellthem.Youdohavetorespecteachone’sperception,sinceit’stothatperception,ultimately,thatyou’reselling.

We’veemphasizedtheimportanceofcoveringalltheBuyingInfluencebasesandofmanaging thecontactswith thekey individuals insuchawaythateachoneiscoveredbythepersonbestqualifiedtodoso.It’salsoimportantthatthepeople you arrange to have covering those bases understand that it’s theindividualBuyer’sperceptionsofreality,nottheirown,thatdeterminethebestapproachtotakewitheachone.Thestartingpointisalwaysthesame:It’showtheindividualBuyerfeelsaboutthecurrentsituation.

The various Buyers’feelings will almost always be at variance with eachother,nottomentionwithyourownfeelings,evenwhenthe“facts”areobvioustoyou.Frequently,asituationthatspellsTroubletooneBuyingInfluencewillsimply reinforce theOverconfident attitudeofanotherBuying Influence in thesame company. Therefore, you have to manage each sale on the admittedlyunconventionalassumptionthatthere’snosuchthingasreality—onlyindividualperceptionsofreality.Andyouhavetoseethateachbaseiscoveredbyaperson

who’s willing to take individual feelings about the situation as valid startingpointsfordiscussion.

You,asthemanager—orwhatwehavecalledthe“strategicorchestrator”—ofthesale,needtosurveytheentirefieldofplayers,andtoworktowardamatchofmodeswheneverthat’spossible.Generallythebestwaytodothat—thewaythat most effectively employs the principle of Leverage from Strength—is tofirstapproachthose.BuyerswhoareinTroubleandGrowth,andthengetthemtoworkwithyouontheirEvenKeelandOverconfidentcolleagues.

In summary, it’s possible to sell a proposal to a mixed field of BuyingInfluences,butonlyifyouemploythebasicprinciplesofResponseModes:

1.Thestartingpointforapproachingeachindividualistounderstandhisorhercurrentperceptionof thebusinesssituationandhisorherperceiveddiscrepancybetweenrealityandresults.

2.Eachbasemustbecoveredbyapersonwhoacceptsthisasthestartingpoint,andwhoisbestqualifiedtoapproachthatindividualBuyer.

3.When working with a mixed field of responses, always use LeveragefromStrengthtobringaboutamatchofmodes.

You’llpracticetheseprinciplesnow,inaPersonalWorkshop.

PERSONALWORKSHOP4:RESPONSEMODES

STEP1:IDENTIFYEACHINDIVIDUAL’SRESPONSEMODE.TakeouttheBuyingInfluencesChartyoustartedinChapter5andfocusnowonhoweachBuyerfeelsabouttheimmediatesituation,withregardtothespecificchange you are offering to introduce to that person’s business environment—that is, your sales proposal. Ask yourself how that proposal affects theenvironment, and whether or not it can close a perceived gap (discrepancy)between reality and results. Then, on your chart, write in the letters G forGrowth,TforTrouble,EKforEvenKeel,andOCforOverconfident,dependingonhoweachBuyerperceivesthesituation.YourBuyingInfluencesChartshouldnowlooksomethingliketheexampleshownabove.

Youmayfind—infactyoualmostcertainlywillfind—thatidentifyingyour

Buyers’modes isn’t anentirely straightforwardprocess. Inevitablyyou’ll comeacrosssomeoneyoucan’tfigureout,orsomeonewhoseemstobestraddlingthefence between Growth and Even Keel. That’s all right. Since Buyers can beerraticintheirperception,andthusintheirresponses,itwouldbeunreasonabletoexpectthemtofallintoslotslikepegsintoprearrangedholes.Itwouldalsobeunrealistictoexpectthemtostaytherethroughoutthesellingcycle.InrealitytheResponseModesoftenappearaspermutationsandcombinationsawayfromthe“norm.”Furthermore,theyaredynamic,notstatic.That’swhyweemphasizetheneedforconstantreassessmentofposition.

Butyoucanstill identifywhereyourBuyingInfluencesarerightnow,withregardtoyourcurrentproposal.Theemphasisisonthismoment.RememberthatthefourResponseModesaren’tcategoriesortypesofpeople;they’resituationperceptions.AllwewantyoutodoistoidentifyeachofyourBuyers’responsestodaytothechangeyou’reoffering.Askyourselfhoweachoneistalkingatthispointinthedevelopingsale:

• If Dan Farley is asking for faster delivery or bigger orders, he’s bydefinitioninGrowthMode.

•IfGarySteinberghasaninventoryproblem,he’sbydefinitioninTroubleMode—evenifhe’s“usually”orientedtowardGrowth.

• IfHarryBarnes is saying, “I like things just theway they are,” he’s inEvenKeel; ifhe’ssmuglyself-assuredabouthowgreat thingsare,he’sprobablyOverconfident.

If after about fiveminutes on this step you can’t determine aBuyer’s currentResponseMode,placeaRedFlagbythatname.Thenmoveontothenextstep.

STEP2:RATEYOURBUYERS.Nowthatyou’veidentifiedandlistedontheBuyingInfluencesChartallofthekeyindividualsandtheirResponseModes,assesswhereyoustandwitheachofthembyaskingyourselfthisquestion:

Howdoeseachpersonfeelrightnowwithregardtomycurrentsalesproposal?

Notice that you’re not trying to find out how the Buyers feel about you as aperson, or about your company, but how they feel about your current salesobjective.

InourprogramsweaskourclientstoratetheirBuyersonascaleof-5to+5.Youshoulddothesamethingnow.EachofyourBuyerswillbesomewhereonascalebetweenwildlyenthusiasticaboutyourproposalandvehementlyopposedto it.Next to thenamesof thosewhoareenthusiastic sponsors,placea+5onyourBuyingInfluencesChart.Next to thosewhoarestronglyopposedorwhowon’tevenseeyou,placea-5.Forthepeoplewhoaresomewhereinbetween,placeappropriatenumericalratings(+1,-2,+4)nexttotheirnames.

RatingyourBuyersinthisfashionisn’tanexactscience.It’snotmeanttobe.Whatyou’retryingtodoistodeterminehowwelleachbaseiscovered,basedonhowyouperceiveeachpersontofeelaboutthechangeyou’retryingtobringintohisorherorganization.Trustingyourgutreactionshereisjustasimportantas it was in the workshop on position, when you concentrated on your ownfeelingsaboutthesale.Werealizethatyourfeelingsarenotinfallible,buttheyremainanecessaryguideinassessingyourBuyers,andweurgeyou,again, toacceptthemasavalidbeginning.

STEP3:TESTTHESERATINGS.Inourprogramsweusetheinformalscaleonpage166totestourparticipants’assessmentsofhowtheirBuyingInfluencesfeel.

MeasureyourBuyerratingsnowagainstthisscale.Lookatthenumbersyou’veplacednexttotheirnamesandthenaskyourselfthefollowingquestions:

•IfI’veratedthisBuyeras+5,isthepersonreallyanenthusiasticadvocateofmyproposal?

• If I’ve rated someoneas+1,will thepersondefinitely at leastgoalongwiththeproposal?

•IfI’veratedsomeoneas-1,willthatBuyeratleaststayoutoftheway?Willanyresistancebeslight?

• If I’ve rated aBuyer as -5, is this amajor impediment to theproposal?Willthepersonworkactivelytoblockthesale?

Ask yourself similar questions about the people who fall elsewhere on theinformalscale.Andnotetwoimportantpoints:

One: It’sonly theoreticallypossible foraBuying Influence tobeneutral toyourproposal.Youseethatwehavenozeroonourratingscale.Thereasonisthat, in our experience,Buyers are always at least slightly positive or slightlynegativeaboutsalesproposals.IfyouhaveaBuyerwhoseemsfirmlyplantedonthefence,thechancesaregoodthatyou’remisreadingthatperson’sfeelings.

Two:Thesamething is trueof thoseBuyingInfluenceswhomyouhaven’tyet contacted at all.Remember, this is an exercise in testinghowwell you’vecovered the bases; an uncontacted Buyer is by definition an uncovered base.Don’tguessabouthowsuchpeoplefeel.Untilyouknowforsurehoweachone

feels,youshouldconsidereveryoneaRedFlag.Theymaynot turnout tobestrongantisponsors;butintermsofyourcurrentpositionwiththem,youhavetoconsiderthemso.

After you’ve rated your Buyers and tested those ratings against the scale,yourBuyingInfluencesChartshouldlooksomethingliketheexampleonpage168.

STEP4:ANALYZEYOURINFORMATION.YounowhaveeachBuyerassessedtwice,onceintermsofmodesandagaininterms of overall feelings about your proposal. Now compare these twoassessments. Looking at the modes and numerical ratings together, determineyourcurrentStrengthsandweaknesses(RedFlagareas)basedonthecompositepicture.Notethatratingsinthe+4and+5rangemaythemselvesbeconsideredStrengths,whileseverelynegativeratingsshouldbeseenasRedFlags.

Look especially for inconsistencies. For example, if you have a Buyer inOverconfident Mode whom you’ve rated as +3, there’s something logicallyinconsistentinyouranalysis.

That Buyer is either Overconfident or +3, not both. Label that kind ofinconsistency with a Red Flag: You need to learn more about this Buyer todevelopaneffectivestrategy.

Similarly,ifyouhaveaCoachwhoisn’tstronglyinfavorofyourproposal,lookatyourdataagain.ThebestCoachesaregenerallyinGrowthMode,butto

be really effective—to fulfill their role of helping you tomake the sale—theyhavetobeineitherGrowthorTrouble.Ifyou’velabeledyourCoachEKorOC,orgiventhatpersonaratingoflessthanabout+3,thenyoudon’treallyhaveaCoach.Youmightwanttothinkabout“firing”thisCoachandfindingsomebodyelse.

In comparing the two assessments, finally, remember that Buyers you’veratedwith a plusmust by definition be in eitherGrowth orTrouble.You canmarkany+4or+5personinGrowthorTroublemodeasaStrength.However,BuyersinGrowthandTroubleModecanalsorateasminuses—theymight,forexample, still like your competitor’s proposal better than yours. Individuals inEvenKeelandOverconfidentModearebydefinitionnegative:Thereisnosuchthingasa+3BuyingInfluenceinEvenKeel.

Lookalsoformatchesofmode—boththosethatalreadyexistandthoseyoumight be able to create. Think about not only how the various Buyers relateindividually to you, but how they’re integral parts of a composite response toyour proposal. Which Buyers share a current Growth or Trouble level ofreceptivity? These people constitute one of your most significant areas ofStrength. How can you use them to overcome the poor receptivity to changethat’sevidentfromtheBuyersinEvenKeelorOverconfidentMode?

STEP5:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.

Youshouldnowhaveaprettygoodideaofhowreceptiveeachofyourkeyindividuals is, right now, to your current sales proposal. Now take out yourAlternatePositionslistagainandusethedatayou’veuncoveredinthelasttwochapters to revise it. Go over each option on the list and ask yourself thisquestion:

HowdoesthelevelofreceptivityofeachofmyBuyingInfluencesaffecttheviabilityofthisoption?

Basedontheanswersyougettothatquestion,dropthoseoptionsthatnolongerseemworkable.Modify those that should be modified. Add any new optionssuggestedby the lessonsof these twochapters.We’llmake the sameprovisoshejethatwedidinthepreviousworkshop:

•Continue tobe inclusive, listing less than ideal options aswell as those

thatyouconsiderrightontarget.You’renotreadyyettoidentifyafirst-choiceAlternatePosition.

• Continue to be specific. Be sure that every Alternate Position you listrelatestoyourspecificsalesproposal,asitstandsrightnow.

•Continue to test yourAlternate Positions bymaking sure that each onecapitalizesonaStrength,eliminatesorreducestheimpactofaRedFlag,ordoesboth.

SinceourcurrentfocusisResponseModes,you’llwanttopayspecialattentiontothisKeyElementasyouassessyourlist.Forexample,considertheoptionwesuggestedyoumightemploytogettothehypotheticalDanFarley:gettingyourfriendly User Buyer, Doris Green, to show him that you could increase hisproductivity by 15 percent. Remembering that this option has to be inclusive,specific, and testable, you might judge its current value to your strategy byaskingyourselfquestionslikethese:

•Isproductivityincreaseahigh-priorityitemforFarleyrightnow?Ihavehimdownasmoderatelyinterested(+2)andinGrowthMode;doIneedtoreassessthosejudgments?

•IsFarley’sreluctancetoseemeevidencethathe’snotinGrowthModeatall?MighthebeinEvenKeel—andthereforeuninterestedintheGrowthpointsofmyproposal?

•DoesDorisGreenhavealltheinformationsheneedstosellFarleyonthe15percentincrease?

• If Farley is less enthusiastic aboutGrowth than he appears to be, can Ishow him that ignoring my proposal will eventually get him intoTrouble? Can I sell him my Growth proposal as a means of avoidingTrouble?

•WhatfeedbackdoIneedtogetfromDorisGreentobesureshe’therightpersontocoverFarleyforme?IssheasenthusiasticaboutmyproposalasIneedhertobe?

These questions, of course, are only samples. But they should give you thegeneral ideawe’re stressing.Everysellingstrategy isonlyasgoodas itsmostrecent reassessment. Our point in asking you to test all the items on yourAlternatePositions list in thisway is toensure that this list—whichwillbeso

vitaltoyourActionPlan—continuestobeuptodateandrealistic.Inasensethisentirebookcanbeseenasananalyticalmachinedesignedto

produceonemeticulouslytestedproduct—yourAlternatePositionslist.Bynowyoushouldhavealreadybeguntoworkoutsomeofthebugsinitsdesign.Butyou’llbetestingandrevisingitagainverysoon.

CHAPTER9

THEIMPORTANCEOFWINNING

WebeganthisbookbyanalyzingyourSingleSalesObjectiveintermsofyourneedsasaseller.InaPersonalWorkshopinChapter3,weaskedyoutoassessyour current feelings about that objective and to begin considering AlternatePositionsthatwouldmakeyoufeelmorecertainaboutitsoutcome.Forthepastfew chapters, we’ve been analyzing your objective in terms of your variousBuying Influences’ needs. We’ve given you a framework for analyzing theirfeelings and for predicting the likelihood of your proposal’s success based onthosefeelings.

Nowwe’regoingtobringthesetwoformsofanalysistogetherandconsiderhowthesalecanfulfillbothyourownandtheBuyingInfluences’needs.We’regoing to present a model of selling that takes mutual satisfaction as thefoundationoflong-termsuccess.

The emphasis here is on “long-term.” By using the Win-Win model wepresentinthischapter,you’llbeabletocountnotjustonmeetingyourcurrentSingleSalesObjective,butonbuildingincrementalbusinesswaydowntheline.Thisisimportantbecause,asanyprofessionalknows,gettinganindividualpieceofbusinesscanbearelativelysimpletask—ifallyouwantisthatonepieceofbusiness.We’re betting that you’re not content with closing individual ordersand pocketing immediate commissions. Like our most successful clients, youunderstandthatgettingtheorder,whileit’sessential,isneverenough.Likeour

clients,youalsowant:

•Satisfiedcustomers•Long-termrelationships•Repeatbusiness•Strongreferrals

As a Strategic Selling professional, youwant every sales objective, nomatterhowlargeorhowsmall,tomovepredictablytowardanoutcomethatdeliversonallofthesegoals.ThekeytogettingallyoursalesobjectivestodothatliesinunderstandingtheconceptofWinning.

WINNING:AKEYTOLONG-TERMSUCCESS

AlotoffluffhasbeenwrittenaboutWinning,andmuchofitcanbefataltothesales professional. If you think, for example, thatWinninghas anything to dowith intimidating or gaining “victory” over your Buying Influences, you’regoingtobeinforarudeshockwhenyoulookfornewbusinessandreferrals.IfyousupposethatyouWineverytimeyoucloseadeal(asinthemisnomer“Wewontheorder”),thenyou’rethevictimofanothercommonmisinterpretation.OrifyouthinkthataWincanbemeasuredinsimplemonetaryterms,you’regoingtobeshortchangingyourcustomers—andeventuallyyourselfaswell.

Our definition ofWinning is different from the others you’ve encountered.The heart of it is the notion of self-interest. We’ve said that you Win in abuy/sellencounterwhenyoucomeoutofitfeelingpositive.Thereasonyoufeelpositiveisthatyouperceivethatencounterashavingservedyourpersonalself-interest.

Self-interest ismisunderstoodandunfairlycriticizedbymanywell-meaningpeople.Manysalesprofessionals,eventhoughtheystriveenergeticallytoWin,arestillreluctanttoadmittheimportanceofWinningintheirlives,andsomeofthemactuallyfeelguiltyaboutwantingtoWin.Thecommonresultisaninternaltension that psychologists call cognitive dissonance, which comes fromconfusingself-interestwithselfccenterednessorsimplyselfishness.

Aside fromAynRand and a few die-hard socialDarwinists, few of us areabout togiveanyhearty toasts to selfishness.But to take selfishness and self-interestasequivalenttermsistodistorttheirtruemeanings.Selfishnessisakind

of social pathology: It’s what happens when someone thinks and cares onlyabouthimself—whateverthelong-termconsequencesforhimselforothers.Self-interest,ontheotherhand,isasocialnecessity:It’swhatyouhonorwhenyoujudiciously assess your own needs within the dynamic context of competingneeds.

Innature,self-interestisanabsolutelynecessaryandbeneficialinstinct.Thebiological truth isplain:All living thingseither serve their self-interestordie.Humanbeings inall socjal situationsserve their self-interestbyattainingwhatthey see as personal Wins. In selling, they do this by agreeing to businesstransactionsthattheyfeelwillbetotheirpersonaladvantage.

Ifyouthinkaboutyourpastexperienceinselling,you’llseethatthisistrue.YouknowthatthesaleswhereyouleavefeelingsatisfiedarethoseinwhichyouhaveWonbecausesomeaspectofyourself-interest—financial,personal,social—hasbeenservedbythetransaction.Andyouknowthatyouhavefeltcheated—havefelt thatyoulost—inscenarioswhereyourself-interestwasviolatedorignored.

The same thing is true of your Buying Influences. They enter the buy-sellencounterhopingtoWin,too.Andtheyleavetheencountersatisfiedwhen,andonlywhen,theyfeelthatithasservedtheirpersonalself-interest.

THEFOURQUADRANTSOFTHEWIN-WINMATRIX

EventhoughbothbuyersandsellersentersalesencountershopingthattheywillWin, that isn’t always the way things turn out. Every buy-sell encounter canhave one of four possible outcomes. They are represented in the quadrants ofwhatwecalltheWin-WinMatrix,shownonpage176.Attheconclusionofanyface-to-face buy-sell encounter, you’re always positioned in one of these fourquadrants.

Aswedescribethesequadrants,keeptwointerrelatedpointsinmind:First:Eachquadrantof thematrixdescribesarelationshipbetweenyouand

each of your Buying Influences—not between you and “the account” or “thecustomer” as a whole. Winning, like buyer receptivity, is a personal matter.Therefore,logicallyyoucannotmanageasalesothatacompanyWins.YoucanandmustmanageeachsalesobjectivesothateveryoneoftheBuyingInfluencesin that company sees a personalWin in adopting your solution.Your goal inutilizingtheWin-Windesignistoachievemutualsatisfactionbetweenyouandeach one of your Buying Influences. If you leave even one of themwith the

feelingof losing,you’ll be severelyhurtingyour chancesofmaintaininggoodrelationswiththatperson—andthereforehisorheraccount—overtime.

Second:Thematrixdescribesnotonlyhowyou’recurrentlypositionedwith

eachBuying Influence, but alsohowyou’re positionedafter the sale ismade.Theassumptionbehindeachquadrantofthematrixisthatyou’vealreadygotten,or soonwillget, thepieceofbusiness.Youmightbe tempted to interpret thatfactitselfasaWin,butthatwouldbeamistake.Evenafteryoucloseadeal,youcanstillLose,andsccananyorallofyourBuyingInfluences.Therefore,weusethe Win-Win Matrix to describe the probable long-term outcome of yourrelationships,afteryouhavesuccessfullyclosedatransaction.

For optimum sales results over time, you have to try to direct every salesobjective into the same quadrant of that matrix—the Win-Win, or “joint-venture,”quadrant.

IWIN-YOUWIN:THEJOINT-VENTUREQUADRANT

Our dictionary defines adventure as “an undertaking involving danger andunknown risks.” The Arctic explorer Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton put aninteresting spin on this definition when he called one of his adventures “theresultofpoorplanning.”

The naive salesperson—not to mention the salesperson who is allergic toplanning—often welcomes adventure. He sees the Buyer as an adversary, theorderasaprize,andthesellingcycleasafascinating,unpredictablecontestwith

the customer.This adventurous approach to selling frequently leads to troublebecauseitintensifiesuncertainty—preciselytheelementthatthegoodstrategist,likethegoodArcticexplorer,wantstoavoid.

Wetellourclients that, rather thanseekingadventure, theyshouldstrive todevelop jointventures inwhich theirBuyingInfluencesareseennotas threatsfrom the outside but as members of their own teams. Those of us who haveprospered by using Strategic Selling know that good selling is never anadversarialgameinwhichtheBuyers’LossesareourWins,butoneinwhichtheBuyers’LossesareourLossestoo,andwheretheirWinsalwaysserveourself-interest too. We understand that only by enlisting our Buying Influences aspartners inmutually supportive joint ventures canwe hope to achievemutualsatisfactionovertime.

MUTUALDEPENDENCE

This isn’t trueofallsocialsituations.Certain inherentlyadversarialencounterscannot be managed as joint ventures. In a baseball game or a lawsuit, forexample, you can’t reasonably expect the opposing sides to cooperate. But inany situation wheremutual dependence is important, you must learn to hangtogetheror,asBenFranklinonceobservedofthebickeringAmericancolonies,youwill hang separately.American labor andmanagement have recently (andbelatedly) begun to apply this lesson in their dealings with each other—thussofteningthetraditionallybitteratmosphereofcollectivebargaining.

Howdoesthisworkonthepersonallevel?Toanswerthat,think,aboutyourownbestsales:theonesfromwhichyou’vecomeawayfeelingbothemotionallyand financially satisfied. Think about a sale in which (a) you satisfactorilyserved your self-interest, (b) you also served the self-interest of your BuyingInfluences;and(c)thoseindividualsknewthatyouhaddonethis.Thatsalewasby definition one with aWin-Win outcome. There’s nothingmore satisfying.Everyrealprofessionalwantsallofhisorhersalestoendupthere.

Why? The answer isn’t altruism.We’re not advising you to adopt a joint-venture approach to your customers out of “niceness,” politeness, or ethics.Those reasons are gravy. The meat-and-potatoes reason is purely pragmatic.WhenyourBuyersWin,youWin,becauseyougettherepeatbusinessandnewleads thatyou’re looking for.ServingyourBuying Influences’ individual self-interestsisultimatelythebestwayforyoutoserveyourown.

IWIN-YOULOSE:BEATINGTHEBUYER

Thisisthequadrantintowhichthegeneralpublicseemstobelievethateveryonein sales wants to manipulate prospects. Examples of the I Win-You Losescenario abound in popular stories—from the used-car salesmanwho sets theodometer back to the appliance dealerwho reneges on hiswarranty, from themessenger service that delivers your package two days late to the mail-orderhousethatdoesn’tdeliveritatall.Whetheritfollowsfromoutrightdishonestyormere incompetence, the IWin-You Lose outcome has never been in shortsupply.

The Federal Trade Commission and the postal service are continuallytrackingdownandimprisoningthoseloversoftheWin-Loseapproachwhohaveactuallybroken the law—thecountlessscamandbunkoartistswhoagreewithCharles Dickens that the “true business precept” is “Do other men, for theywould do you.” But these outright thieves are only the scum of the crop.Unfortunately,it’seasytoplayIWin-YouLosewithouteverbreakingthelaw.Youcan,forexample,fallintothesecommontraps:

1.Youcansellsomeonesomethingataninflatedpriceatatimewhenthatperson’s urgent business needs make it impossible for him or her tonegotiateorrefuse.

2. You can describe the service capabilities of your firm unrealistically,leadingthecustomertobelievethatyou’llinstantlycorrectanyproblemthatmightarisewithyourproduct.

3. You can place a model in the Buyer’s firm that’s more (or less)sophisticatedthanwhat’sreallyneeded.

Ineachoftheseadversarial,andadventurist,scenarios,you’restickingittotheBuyerinexchangeforaquickcommission.

But inspiteofwhat thepublichasbeen led tobelieve, this“common”and“traditional” selling approach is actually neither common nor traditional—atleastnot among successful salespeople.Thebest companies and thebest salesrepresentatives have always understood that, wherever repeat business isimportant, playing I Win-You Lose is a disastrous policy. The only positivethingitcangetyouisaninitialorder.Oftenitalsogetsyouthelast thinganyprofessionalsalespersonwants:acustomerwhoishell-bentonrevenge.

BUYER’SREVENGE

TheprincipalreasonthatyoushouldavoidplayingIWin-YouLoseis that theWin-Lose quadrant is short-term and unstable. Given enough time, it alwaysdegenerates into Lose-Lose. Playing Win-Lose with anyone with whom youexpecttohavefuturebusinesscontactsisn’tinyourself-interestbecause,sooneror later, the people you’ve allowed to Lose are going to discover that you’vedone them wrong. To refer back to the examples we’ve just given, they’lldiscover:

1. That the competition’s price was 35 percent lower than yours for asimilarproduct

2.Thatservicerequestsaren’tbeingansweredasyoupromisedtheywouldbe

3. That your product, in spite of its technical capabilities, isn’t suited totheirparticularneeds.

Thesethingsmaynothappenrightaway,butifyou’vereallyignoredaBuyer’sself-interest,eventuallythatpersonisgoingtofindout.Thebestyoucanhopefor,whenthathappens,isthatshewillsimplywalkawayandforgetaboutyou,nursingacaseofBuyer’sRemorseinprivate.What’smuchmorelikelyis thatshewillcounterattack,byspreadingthewordaroundthatyoucan’tbe trusted.That’sBuyer’sRevenge.Itcanbedeadlytoyourbusinessyearsdowntheline.

Sometimes, of course, the payback is immediate. Consider the sale to thetextilecompanyofthetroubleshootingprogramthatnevermadeitpastthetrialperiod because the sales representative had ignored theUserBuyers. Ignoringthemwastantamounttosaying,“Idon’tcareaboutyourself-interest.IcanWinhere even if you Lose.” Their Buyer’s Revenge came very quickly, as theysimplysawtoitthattheprogramdidn’tperformaspromised.AndtheultimateoutcomejustasquicklybecameLose-Lose.

SometimesBuyer’sRevengecantakealittlelonger.Aboutfifteenyearsago,a writer friend of ours coauthored a book with an aspiring actor. The bookbombed,largelybecausetheeditor,whowasfryingmuchlargerfishatthetime,assigned it the lowest of priorities in her advertising budget.Our friend neverforgotwhat he considered hermismanagement of the project, and a year ago,whentheactor—nowarisingsoapoperastar—askedhimtodoasecondbook,hegothisrevenge.Theeditornaturallywantedtosignthetelevisionpersonality,

butourfriendtoldhiscollaborator,“Nothingdoing.I’dlovetodoanotherbookwith you, but I won’t work with her again.” So they brought the book, withconsiderablefanfare,toanotherpublisher.

Werealizethatourwriterfriendwasn’ta“buyer”inthetechnicalsense.Buthewas,veryclearly,aBuyingInfluence.ByplayingWin-LosewiththatBuyingInfluence—all of fifteen years ago—the editor had closed off a businessopportunity for herself that at the time she didn’t even imagine existed. Thelessonisclear.FailingtoconsidereveryindividualBuyer’sself-interestis,inthelong run, a self-defeating proposition. Or, to paraphrase a line from one ofEnglish literature’sgreatestpsychologists,WilliamShakespeare:“HellhathnofurylikeaBuyingInfluencescorned.”

ILOSE-YOUWIN:DOINGTHEBUYERA“FAVOR”

Every professional knows that playing I Win-You Lose is actually far lesscommonthanplayingILose-YouWin.Here thesellerplaysmartyr,doingthebuyera“favor”athisorherexpense.“IwilldeliberatelyLose,”thesalespersonsaysineffect,“sothatyou,Mr.Customer,canWin.”

You’ve probably seen thismany times in your work. One of our programparticipants complained that it was so common in his firm that it was“practicallyacompanypolicy.”Everytimeasalesrepresentativegetsaninitialorderbysellingataridiculouslylowprice,everytimeyourcompanyoffersanextraordinarydiscount for bulk sales, every time free service, free samples, orsomeotherloss-leaderfringebenefitisthrowninwiththeorder,thegamethatyourcompanyisplayingisILose-YouWin.

The rationale behind this approach is that the customer will be impressedwith the selling organization’s generosity and reciprocate in the future. “I’llscratchyourbacknow,” the sales representative implies, “andyoucanscratchminelater.”Unfortunately,itdoesn’talwaysworkoutthatneatly.

Theunderlyingproblemhereisoneofperception.WhenyouplayLose-Win,yougivethecustomerafalsesenseofreality,onethatisrepresentedfalselyasthenormandthatcanbemaintainedonlyonalimitedbasis.Whenyou“buythebusiness”bygivingawayyourproduct, services, time,orother resources,yousetyourBuyingInfluencesuptoLoseinthefuturebyunrealisticallyraisingtheirexpectations.

Nocompany is going tokeepgiving away its productsor services forever.Whenyourcompanydecides it’s timefor thedevil tobepaid,you’regoingto

have togiveyour “Win” customer adecidedlyunpleasantmessage: “Now it’syourturntoLose.”Typically,BuyingInfluenceswhohear thatmessageforgetallaboutthe“favors”youdidtheminthepast.TheyseeyouplayingWin-Losewiththemnow,andtheysetouttotakerevenge.Whenthathappens,youbothLose—justassurelyasifyou’dbeenplayingWin-Lose.

Ultimately the Lose-Win quadrant, just like the Win-Lose quadrant, isunstable. It too alwaysdegenerates intoLose-Lose.Therefore, it isn’t in yourself-interest.

WHEN—ANDHOW—TOPLAYLOSE-WIN

We’renot saying thatyoushouldneverplayLose-Win. Incertain situations itcan be a useful short-term strategy. There’s nothing like an introductorydiscount,forexample,tointerestacustomerorprospectinanewproduct.ButifyouplayLose-Win,doitright.Letthecustomerknowthat’swhatyou’redoing.Andmakesureit’sunderstoodtoothatthesupposedlyfreelunchyou’reofferingisalimitedoffer.

ThemostcommonusesoftheLose-Winstrategyinoursocietyoccurintheconsumer productsmarket.Theremanufacturers don’t have to explain to theircustomerswhatthey’redoing,becauseit’scommonknowledge.Whenthelocalsupermarket stops using Barko dog food as a loss leader and reverts to thenormalprice,nobodycries,“Whyareyoutryingtoscalpus?”WhentheSuperSudzeeSoapCompanyhangsafreesampleofanewproductonyourfrontdoorin January, you don’t call up a month later and say, “Where’s my Februaryfreebie?” In the consumer-products field, customers understand just aswell asretailersandsuppliersthat“invites”likesamplingandlossleadersareshort-termgambits

Butinyourfieldofbusiness,thatmaynotbecommonknowledge,andyoushould never assume that your Buying Influences understand it. The mostseriousmistakeyoucanmakeinplayingLose-WinisfailingtotellyourBuyersthat they’re getting a special deal. This leads to constant resentment amongthoseBuyingInfluenceswhomistakenlythinkthatthespecialdealisthenorm—andwhothereforereacttotherealnorm,whenit’sreintroduced,asifitwereinflatedorunfair.Youcanavoidthisunwelcomesituationonlybyspewingoutclearlywhatyou’redoing.

Anotherpieceofadvice:Putitinwriting.Don’trelyon“friendship”tokeepthingsonasoundfootingwhenyouknowthat,somewheredowntheline,you’re

goingtohavetoreintroducea“mostfavoredtradingpartner”toreality.Unlessthe specialness of the Lose-Win scenario is stipulated on paper—either in thecontract,ontheinvoice,orinaseparateletterofunderstanding—itwillbeeasyforaoncefavoredBuyertobalkatyourfutureterms.

Even ifyouplayLose-Win“properly,”however, it’s stillonlya short-termstrategy.YourultimategoalshouldremaintopositionyourselfintheWin-WinquadrantwithallyourBuyingInfluences,allthetime.

ILOSE-YOULOSE:THEDEFAULTQUADRANT

We’vesaidthateachquadrantofthematrixdescribesasituationbothduringtheselling cycle and at the sale’s end,after the order is taken. TheLose-Lose ordefaultquadrantmightalsobecalledthe“catchall”quadrantbecause,sometimeswell after the final papers are signed, it catches all the sales that you haven’tconsciouslyandactivelymanagedintoWin-Winoutcomes.

This is true forWin-Lose and Lose-Win scenarios, for the reasons we’veexplainedabove.It’salsotrueforthatverysmallnumberofsalesthat,atsomepoint in thesellingcycle,arealreadyoperating in theLose-Losequadrant.Forexample, a customer who desperately needs a product he sees as overpricedmightinsistonextraordinarydeliveryschedulesasawayofjustifyingtheextraexpense.Thehighpricewould translate as aLose for the customer,while thesellerwouldLosebecauseoftherush-rushscheduling.

Such scenarios, however, are rare, because only aminuscule proportion ofthesellingpopulationsetsouttoplayLose-Loseorcontinuestoplayitonceit’sobvious that this iswhat’shappening.Except for theoccasionalmasochistandassorted neurotics, people in sales generally understand that nobody hasanything to gain frommutual destruction.YourBuying Influences understandthis too,which iswhy, ifyou findyourself inanobviousLose-Losesituation,you should let them know that you’re not any happier about it than they are.Once Buying Influences in this situation understand that you’re not trying toWinattheirexpense,they’llusuallybewillingtoworkwithyousothatnooneLoses.

YOURCURRENTWIN-WINPOSITION

Thebest sales professionals understand intuitively the importance of theWin-Windynamic.Weallknowpeoplewhoseemtohaveagift formaking thingshappen:peoplewhoarealwaysintherightplaceattherighttime,whoalwaysknowtherightplayerstocontactforagivenobjective,whoalwaysknowwhatto say to each player—and whose revenue figures reflect their uncannilyconsistent“goodluck.”

Whenyouexaminehowtheyoperate,though,youfindthattheirsuccesshasnothing to do with luck. They’re successful because they understand thefundamental biological and psychological law that everyonemust serve his orherself-interest.Theyput that lawintopracticebystrivingconstantly toservetheirownandtheirBuyers’self-interest.Andtheymakesurethateveryoneofthemknowsit.

Each time you serve someone’s self-interest, you enlist that person as amemberofa joint-venture teamwhosebasicgoal ismutualsatisfaction.WhenyouandyourBuyingInfluencespracticeteamworkinthisway,youmakeitthatmucheasierforallofyoutoWintogether.Afterthathashappenedonce,you’veestablished the expectations andnecessary conditions for itto happen again, ineverynewsalesobjectiveyouundertake.

This is an ongoing process.Your position in theWin-WinMatrixmust beconstantly reassessed throughout the selling cycle to ensure that, as businessconditionsandkeyplayerschange,you’recontinuallymovingtowardWin-WinoutcomeswithallyourBuyingInfluences.

You may begin this process of assessment now, by making a preliminarysurveyoftheBuyingInfluencesforyourchosensalesobjective.We’vesaidthatyouserveyourself-interestbestwhenyouservetheself-interestofeachofyourBuyingInfluences.Testwhetherornotyou’redoingthatbyassessingeachoneinturn.Start,forexample,withtheEconomicBuyer(DanFarleyonoursampleBuyingInfluencesChart)andaskyourselfthesequestions:

•AmIsincerelyandearnestly trying toserveFarley’sself-interest in thissale?Thatis,doIreallywanthimtoWin?

•DoesFarleyunderstandthatI’mtryingtoservehisself-interest?Thatis,doesheknowIwanthimtoWin?

ThenaskthesamequestionsabouteachoftheotherBuyingInfluencesonyourchart.

If the answershere arenegative, or if you’renot sure of the answers, note

thatasanelementofrisk—aRedFlagarea—inthesale.Perhapsyouaren’tyetintheWin-WinquadrantofthematrixwiththisBuyingInfluenceandyouneedtomanageyourrelationshipwithhimorhertowardaWin-Winoutcome.

The places where your answers are clear and positive you can identify asareas of strategic Strength. But even where that is the case, you still need toremember thatyourcurrentWin-Winposition isonly that—acurrentposition.Youneedtomaintainthatposition,sothatyouandyourBuyingInfluencesarestill in theWin-Winquadrantat theendof thesellingcycle,andbeyond.Oneinvaluable tool in helping you do that is our fourth Key Element of strategy,Win-Results.

CHAPTER10

KEYELEMENT4:WIN-RESULTS

Many of our clients—including such Fortune 500 leaders as Coca-Cola,Hewlett-Packard, and PriceWaterhouse—find ourWin-Win concept so usefulthattheyhavemadeitanintegralpartoftheirowncorporatecultures.WorkingtowardWin-Winoutcomeshasbecomeforthem,asforusatMillerHeiman,notjustatechniqueorprocess,buttheoperationalcoreofthewaytheydobusiness.SomeofthesecompanieshaveevenadoptedtheWin-WinMatrixitselfintotheirsalespresentations.Asamarketingexecutive foroneof themtoldus recently,“Notonlyarewephilosophicallycommitted to the jointventureapproach,butwe’vemadeyourmatrixastandardvisualaidinourpresentations;it’sanidealtoolforshowingourcustomersthatwe’reontheirside.”

TousetheWin-Winconceptaseffectivelyasthesebusinessleadersdo,youneedthesamephilosophicalcommitmentasthismanager—andsomethingmore.Youneedapractical,testedmethodforimplementingtheWin-Winphilosophyintherealworld.We’regoingtopresentthatmethodnow.

ImplementingtheWin-WinphilosophymeansmakingtheWin-WinquadrantoftheMatrixoperationalforeachandeveryoneofyourBuyingInfluences—inotherwords,makingeachonerealizethatheorshehasWon.How,practically,doyouaccomplishthis?TheansweristogiveeachBuyingInfluencesomethingthatwilldemonstrateyou’veservedthatperson’sself-interest.ThatsomethingiswhatwecallWin-Results.

WHATAREWIN-RESULTS?

“Win-Results” is a term that we coined early in the development of ourprocesses. In the several years thatwe’ve been presenting them,we’ve foundthattheWin-Resultsconceptalwaysgeneratesmorediscussion,moreconfusion,andmoreultimateenlightenmentthananyotherconcept.We’vealsofoundthatour program participants grasp it most quickly if we begin with a fewdefinitions.TheWin-Resultsconceptrestsonthefollowingterms:

• Selling: Selling is a professional, interactive process directed towarddemonstratingtoallyourBuyingInfluenceshowyourproductorserviceservestheirindividualself-interest.

•Product: A product is designed to improve or fix one ormore of yourcustomer’sbusinessprocesses.InStrategicSelling,“product”istakentomeaneitheraproductoraservice—whateveryouareselling.

•Process:Aprocessisanactivityorseriesofactivitiesthatconvertswhatexists right now into something else.Examples of business processeswouldbeshipping,invoicing,production,researchanddevelopment,andqualitycontrol.

•Result:AResult is themeasurable impact that a product has on one ormore of your customer’s business processes.Results are objective andcorporate—that is, theygenerally affectmanypeople at the same time,although they don’t necessarily affect all of those people in the sameway.

•Win:AWin is thefulfillmentofasubjective,personalpromisemade tooneselftoserveone’sself-interestinsomespecialway.Winsarealwaysdifferentfordifferentpeople.

•Wrn-Result:AWin-Result isanobjectivebusinessResult thatgivesoneormoreofyourBuyingInfluencesasubjective,personalWin.

SinceyoucanpositionyourselfintheWin-WinquadrantofthematrixonlybydeliveringWin-Results, it’sessential tounderstandbothhalvesof theWin-Results concept. You can’t ignore Results because a Result must take placebeforeaBuyerwillperceiveaWin;it’sapreconditiontoanyWin.Ontheotherhand, ifyouconcentrateonlyonResults, sooneror lateryou’regoing tobringone of your Buying Influences a Result that you think is terrific, but that’s

irrelevant to his or her personal situation—or even worse, that he or sheinterpretsasaLose.

This happens constantly in the Complex Sale. We’ll give you just oneexampletodemonstratetheproblem.Aclienttoldusrecentlythathewashavinga difficult time understanding why he couldn’t push a certain sales objectivethrough.Itwasan“ideal”salespossibilitybut,forreasonshecouldn’tfathom,itwasbeingblockedby thepresident of thebuying firm. “It’s a perfect fitwiththeir needs,” we were told. “We’ve got a solid, approved payment schedule.We’reevengivingthelowestbid.IfIwerethatguy,Iwouldhavesignedthreemonthsago.Buthejustwon’tbudge.”

“Tellusaboutthepresident,”wesaid.“What’shelike?”“Youmeanpersonally?”ourclientasked.“Yes.Personally.”He proceeded to describe an incredibly hardworking individual who had

foundedhiscompanyonashoestringandbuiltitfromscratch,whohaddirectedit energetically for thirty years, andwho in another twomonthswas about tobegin a long-postponed retirement. As he talked, we got the picture of anexhausted, preoccupied executive who had to force himself to come to workeachmorning.Itgraduallybecameapparentthat,howevergoodtheResultsourclientwasofferinghim,theywereunlikelytohaveaneffectonthemanhimself,becauseinasensehe’dalreadysteppeddownfromthepresidency.

“Itsoundslikeallthisguywants,”wesuggested,“istobeleftalone.IsthereaWininthissaleforhim?”

No,ourprogramparticipantsuddenlyrealized.Andonceherealizedthat,headopted a strategy that, given the president’s intransigence, was the onlyreasonableoneforthesituation.Hedecidedtowaittheoldmanout.

Inthreemonths,ourclientknew,thecompanywouldhaveanewpresident—andthesalesobjectivehewaspursuingwouldhaveanewEconomicBuyer.Sohe bided his time, adopting the “watchful waiting” strategy that werecommended for dealingwith an EvenKeel individual, and kept up regular,low-profilecontactswiththebuyingfirm.

When the new president came in, our client’s patience paid off. The newpresident,eagertostartoffwithasuccess,wasdelightedtoapprovealow-bid,perfect-fitorder.ApprovingthatordernotonlygothercompanytheResultshewanted, but also served her personal self-interest in a way it couldn’t haveserved that of the retiring president: It made her-look immediately like a go-getterandproblemsolver.

SameResult, differentWins. The lesson is clear. Although a given Resultmayhaveasingle,clearlydefinedimpactonabusinessprocess, itwillalways

have different personal impacts on the Buying Influences involved inmakingdecisionsaboutthatprocess.AndthepersonalimpactcanbenegativeevenwiththebestofResults.Wefeelsostronglyabout this lesson thatwestate itasanaxiom:

CompaniesgetResults,butonlypeopleWin.

SinceyourbasicgoalasasalesprofessionalistoshoweachofyourBuyingInfluences how your product or service can serve his or her self-interest,deliveringResultsaloneobviouslyisn’tenough.You’vegottounderstandhoweachofthem,personally,Wins,becauseunderstandingthatiswhatwillputyouintheWin-Winquadrant.

Tomake thedistinctionbetweenResultsandWinsmorevisible toyou, thechartbelowpresentsthebasiccharacteristicsofeach.

RESULTS WINS1.Impactofaproductonabusinessprocess

1.Fulfillmentofpromisemadetooneself

2.Tangible,measurable,quantifiable 2.Intangible,notmeasurable,notquantifiable

3.Corporate 3.Personal

Usingthischartasanoverview,we’llexplainthetwohalvesoftheWin-Resultsconceptmore fully. Since Results must happen before any Buyer perceives aWin,westartwithResults.

CHARACTERISTICSOFRESULTS

1. A RESULT IS THE IMPACT OF YOURPRODUCTORSERVICEONONEORMOREOFYOURCUSTOMER’SBUSINESSPROCESSES.You need to affect your customer’s business processes because process is theultimate reason that anything happens, in or out of business; process is whatchanges one set of conditions into another. As the cooking process converts

uncooked meat and potatoes into a prime rib dinner, as the exercise processtransforms flab into muscle, so too your customers’ business processes aredesignedtoconvertonesetofconditionsintoanother.

We’ve mentioned that such activities as shipping, invoicing, and qualitycontrolcanallbeseenasprocesses.Infact,virtuallyanybusinessactivity,fromthesweepingoutofastockroomtothehighest-levelboardroomdebates,canbeviewedasaprocess,designedtoconvertsome“rawmaterial”intosomethingofuse.

Naturallyeveryoneinvolvedintheconversionwouldlikethatsomethingofusetobesomethingbetteraswell.That’swhereyoucomein.YouareimportanttoyourBuyingInfluenceswhen,andonlywhen,yourproductorservicemakesapositive andmeasurable impact on one ormore of their business processes.Youcandothisinoneoftwoways:

•Youcanimproveaprocessthatisalreadyfunctioningproperly.•Youcanfixsomethingthathasgone,ormightgo,wrong.

RecallourdiscussionofResponseModes inChapter8,wherewesaid thatpeoplearereceptivetochange,andthereforelikelytobuy,onlywhenthey’reineitherGrowth orTroubleMode. The “why” of this fact relates towhatwe’resaying here.When they’re in Growth, people want you to improve things. InTrouble,theywantyoutofixsomething.In-bothcases,youbecomevaluabletothembecause theyexpectyourproductorservice tohaveapositive impactontheirbusinessprocesses.

2.ARESULTISTANGIBLE,MEASURABLE,ANDQUANTIFIABLE.

IfyousellDorisGreenaninventorycontrolsystemtoreduceherovertimeby16percent,youdon’thavetoknowanythingabouther,oraboutherperceptionofreality,todeterminetheResultyou’vedelivered:BydefinitiontheResulthereis16percentovertimereduction.

Green, of course,may notwant this reduction, and if that’s the case, thenyou’d be foolish to offer her this particular Result. But for the purposes ofobjective definition, her impressions of the Result don’t matter. Results areimpersonalandvaluefree;theyexist“outthere,”objectively.That16percentis

afactyoucansee,feel,andcount.

3.RESULTSARECORPORATE.

By“corporate”herewedon’tmean that they’renecessarilyseenasResultsonthe corporation level (although that’s often the case), but simply that they’reshared by various people in the buying organization. Since processes areinterrelatedinthemoderncorporation—andthereforeintheComplexSale—anyResultyoudeliver is likely to impactmore thanoneprocessat thesame time.Butevenwhenitaltersonlyoneprocess(say,Green’sinventorycontrol),therewill stillbemanypeople involved in thatprocess (Green’swholedepartment),andallofthosepeoplemaysharetheResultyou’vecontributed.

CHARACTERISTICSOFWINS

1.AWIN ISTHEFULFILLMENTOFAPROMISEMADETOONESELF.We’ve said that when people feel they’veWon, it’s because they’ve fulfilledconsciousorunconsciouspromisestothemselvestoservetheirownself-interest.Butsuchpromisesaren’tfabricatedoutofthinair.Theyevolveforeachpersonfrom the general culture, and the many specific subcultures, in which theindividual grows up; the dreams and designs each of us has reflect our basicvaluesandattitudes towardlife—andthesevaluesandattitudesare,toagreatextent,culturallydetermined.Youwouldn’texpectaTibetanmountaindweller,livingclose to the subsistence level, to seeaWin in adishwasheror a librarycard.NorwouldaMormonseeaWininagiftcaseofscotch.WeallWinwithinthecontextofourculturalenvironments.

In addition, our promises to ourselves change as our values and attitudeschange, and sometimes they become outmoded even before they’re fulfilled.This is especially true in a culture such as ours,where rapid change is such aconstantpresence.Themiddle-agedmanwho inhisyouthpromisedhimself aFloridacondominiumandaRolls-Roycemayfind,oncehe’sinapositiontoget

them,thatthey’velosttheirimportancetohim:Gettingthemisnolongerseenasa Win. In assessing Wins, therefore, you always have to be attentive to thecurrentperceptionsofthepotentialWinnerinvolved.

2.WINSAREINTANGIBLE,NOTMEASURABLE,ANDNOTQUANTIFIABLE.

Formosthumanbeings,themostimportantthingsinlifearesubjectiverewardssuchas family feeling,a senseof security,and thesubtlepleasureofknowingyou’vedoneyourbest.Satisfyingandenriching thosefeelingsare theultimateWins.

Psychologists are always “discovering” this about people in sales. You’veprobably seen the attitude surveys that these social scientists periodically givemembersofourprofession. Ineveryonewe’veseen, theresearchers reach thesame“surprising”conclusion thatwhat really turnsgoodsalespeopleon isnottheir six-figure commissions but job satisfaction, recognition, and challenges.Thepopularbelief that the top salespeople are in it just for themoneyalwaysturnsouttobeamisconception.Ineveryassessmentof“salesmotivators”we’veseen, sales representativesputmoney far downon their lists, behind ahost oflesstangible,lessconcreterewards.

Thesamethingistrueofpeopleonthe“otherside”ofthebuy-sellencounter.Likeyou,yourBuyingInfluencesremainintheirprofessionsnotbecausethey’repulling down six-figure salaries (although that probably doesn’t hurt), butbecausetheirjobsallowthemtoreaptheintangiblesatisfactionsthattheyneedinordertoWin.Focusingonthese“priceless”rewardsisthusindispensableforanyoneinvolvedinthedeliveryofcustomersolutions.

The intangible rewards that may generate Wins for individual BuyingInfluences are enormously varied. The list below suggests their range andvariety.

SAMPLEWINS

•remaininpower•achievecontroloverothers•getmoreleisure

•remaininagivenlocation•increaseskilldevelopment•increasepersonalproductivity•beaninstrumentofchange•belookedonasaproblemsolver•contributetotheorganization•increasementalstimulation•gainrecognition•increasegrowthpotential•improvesocialstatus•havemoretimewithfamily•getmorepower•increaseself-esteem•bemoreflexible•feelmoresecureorsafe•putinaqualityperformance•beseenasaleader•offeruniqueness•payadebt•increaseresponsibilityandauthority•pursuealifestyle•getmorefreedom

Of course, this list is only a sampling.PeopleWin in countlessways.One ofyour responsibilities as the strategic orchestrator of your sales objectives is todeterminewhatthosewaysareforeachofyourBuyingInfluences.

3.WINSAREPERSONAL.

WesaidthatResultsarecorporate,orshared,andweusedtheexampleofDorisGreen’sinventorycontroltoshowhowasingleResultcanbenefitmanypeople.But,nomatterhowsolid thatResult, thesepeoplewillnotbenefit in thesameway. This is themost important single distinction betweenWins and Results.EventhoughanobjectiveResultcangenerateWinsformanypeople,notwoofthoseWinswillbeidentical.EachonewillbelinkedtothepersonalperceptionsofanindividualBuyingInfluence.

Take thehypotheticalResult thatwe’redelivering toGreen’sdepartment:a16 percent reduction in overtime.Green herselfmay see thisResult as aWinbecauseitwillhelpher-runatightershipandthussatisfyaneedforcontrol.Amember of Green’s staff may appreciate this Result for an entirely differentreason:Tohim,theovertimereductionmaybeaWinbecauseitenableshimtospendmoretimeathomewithhisfamily.SameResult,differentWins.

Furthermore, anothermember ofGreen’s staffmay not see theResult as aWinatall.AstaffmemberwhoneedstheOvertimetokeepherbudgetbalancedwon’tseeherself-interestbeingservedbya16percentreduction.Forher,thisobjectively“great”ResultwilltranslateasaLose.

This basic distinction between corporate Results and personal Winsunderscores a fundamental lesson of the Strategic Selling process: It’s neverenoughtosellResultsalone.TomanageeachComplexSaleintotheWin-WinquadrantwitheachofyourBuyingInfluences,youhavetodeterminehoweachindividualWins.

DETERMININGYOURBUYINGINFLUENCES’WINS

Tomake theWin-Winquadrant of thematrix operational youneed to do twothings.First,youneedtoidentifywhichResultorResultseachofyourBuyersneedstogetfromyoursalesproposal.ThenyouneedtoshoweachofthemhowthatResult can bring himor her a personalWin.When you accomplish thesetwotasks,you’redeliveringWin-Results.

Itisn’talwaysastraightforwardtasktounderstandandaddressyourBuyingInfluences’ subjective needs in this way. But determining their Win-Resultsneedn’t be all guesswork either. Years of workingwith sales professionals invariousfieldshavetaughtusthattherearethreereliablemethodsfordoingso:

1. You can infer your individual Buyers’ Wins, either from the Resultsthey’re likely towantor fromwhatyouknowabout their attitudes andlifestyles.

2.Youcanaskthemdirectlywhat’inthesaleforthem.3.YoucangetCoaching.

INFERRINGTHEWIN

Even though each of your Buying Influences Wins in an individual way,categories of Buyers tend to look for similar Results for their organizations.KnowingthiscanhelpyouassesswhetherornotaparticularBuyingInfluenceislikely toWinwithaparticularResult.True,determiningResultsaloneisneverenough. But if you start with the Results that Harry Barneswants in a givensituation,you’ll be in abetterposition to infer thedifferentWins that eachofthoseResultscangivehim.

ECONOMIC USERlowcostofownership reliabilitygoodbudgetfit increasedefficiencyROI upgradeskillsfinancialresponsibility fulfillperformanceincreasedproductivity bestproblemsolutionprofitability dojobbetter/faster/easiersmoothoutcashflow versatilityflexibility super-service

easytolearnanduseTECHNICAL COACH(WINS)

specsbestandproduct recognitionmeetsthem visibilitydeliverytimely getstrokesbesttechnicalsolution makecontributiondiscounts/lowbids/pricebe beseenasaproblemsolverreliability

ThechartabovelistsanumberofsampleResults.Ithasbeenusefultomanyof our clients in getting a handle on Results that typically produceWins forpeopleineachofthefourBuyingInfluencecategories.

Notice that theResults in each case relate directly to theBuyer’s businessconcerns as outlined in Chapter 5. Economic Buyers, for example, look forresultsaddressed to thebottom lineandorganizational stability, suchas returnon investment. User Buyers concentrate on workplace performance, and theResultstheyusuallywantforaWinenhanceit.TechnicalBuyingInfluencesareinterestedinhavingtheproductpasstheirscreeningtests;they’remostlikelytoWinwhenyoudeliverResults thatmeetor surpass those tests.Notice, finally,

thatCoachesdon’thavetheirownResults—onlyWins.ToursuccessinthesaleistheresultthatwillgiveyourCoachaWin.

There’s an element of speculation in inferringWins from Results, so youneedtodouble-checkyourinferencebylookingatotherdata.It’slikelythatyoualready have access to that data. If you’ve called on Green three times, youalreadyknowsomethingaboutherWins.Ifherofficeisfullofgolftrophiesandcommunity plaques, she’s probably got a strong need for achievement andrecognition. If pictures of her children dominate the walls, security or familyapprovalmightbeakey.Ifherappointmentscheduleisamodelofregularity—ifyourone-hourmeetingscheduledfor10A.M.beginspromptlyat10andendsprecisely at 11—then she probably values precision and efficiency. ThemoreyouknowaboutyourBuyingInfluences’lifestylesandattitudes,thebetteryou’llbeabletoinfertheirpersonalWins.

Youcanpickupotherdatafromthecompanycultureinwhichtheindividualworks. As numerous observers of corporate life have pointed out, each largecompanytodayhasitsowninternalculture,comprisingattitudesandvaluesthatbothreflectand influence thoseof itsemployees.Forexample, recognitionforpublicservice ismore likely tobeseenasaWinbypeople inacompany thatprojects a high community profile than by those in one that prefers isolation.BeingseenasaninnovatororamaverickismorelikelytobeappreciatedasaWininacompanythatseesitselfastheleadingedgeofanindustrythaninonethathasbeendoingbusinessthesameoldreliablewayforfiftyyears.

We’renotsayingthatindividualBuyers’valuesareevermerelyareflectionoftheircompanies’values.Butcompanyculturesarestillavalidstandardagainstwhichtocheckyourimpressionsofagivenperson’sWins.

One caution: Remember that inferring is only a sophisticated form ofguessing. Your inferences should always be checked by asking the BuyingInfluencedirectly,and/orbygettingCoaching.

ASKINGTHEBUYINGINFLUENCEDIRECTLY

ThesecondwaytouncoveryourBuyer’sWinsissimplytoask.“Wedon’tmeanyoushouldsittheinscrutableMr.Kratchitdownandblurtout,“WhatareyourWins in this sale? Instead,youshouldaskwhatwecallattitudinal, rather thanobjective,questions.

Anobjectivequestionseekstofindoutwhat theBuyingInfluencewantsorneeds.Mostsalesrepresentativesconcentrateonobjectivequestions—or,worse,

try toguess theBuyer’sWins—because theydon’t like to“pry,” theywant tosticktothefacts,ortheyjustdon’twanttoheartheanswerthattheyexpecttoget to a question about attitude.Whatever reason they may have for limitingthemselvestoobjectivequestions,theygetoutofthemjustwhattheyputin:thefacts.Andthefactsareneverenoughtomakeaqualitysale.Attitudinalquestions,ontheotherhand,seektofindouthowtheindividual

feels about the situation: “What’s your opinion of this system?” “Are youcomfortablewiththewaythissolutionwillworkforyourdepartment?”Or,evenmoredirectly,“Howdoyoufeelaboutthecurrentproposal?”

The given wisdom notwithstanding, questions about attitude are almostalwaysappropriate.Andnotonlyappropriate,butessential.Because theyhelpyou to probe beyond the product to each individual’s Wins, they can beinvaluable in helping you to check your own reactions to the changing salessituation,andalsointrackingyourBuyingInfluences’changingneeds.

Attitudinal questions can give you valuable feedback, for example, on thenumerical ratings that you assigned in Chapter 8. If you’ve identified DorisGreenasa+3UserBuyerandasubsequentattitudinalquestionrevealsthatshefeels“uneasy”aboutthependingsale,thenyou’veuncoveredthefactthatshe’snot really a +3. Such questions are extremely useful in providing continualassessment of the “inner sales” you need to make before any papers will besigned.

One reason that many salespeople feel wary about asking attitudinalquestionsisthattheyrealizegettinghonestanswerstothemcanbedifficult.Thesmart strategist isalert to thedifficultiesanddoesn’tbackawayfromthem.Amain thrustofStrategicSelling—andparticularlyofourRedFlaghighlightingsystem—istouncoverdifficultiesinachievingyoursalesobjectivesotheycanbedealtwithbeforetheyderailyou.Attitudinalquestionsareameansofhelpingyoudothat.

We don’t mean to minimize the difficulty here. True, when you ask yourBuyersquestionsabouthowtheyWin,you’llfindthattheroadisoftenblockedbybothignoranceanddeception.Somepeoplewhowouldliketotellyouhowthey Win just don’t know themselves. And others don’t want you to know:They’re happy to talk about Results, but they feel that their personal feelingsaboutthesalearereallynoneofyourbusiness.

In such cases you may be able to interpret the visible Results by readingbetween the lines to find the hiddenWin. For example, a friend of ours justboughtanewPorsche.Whenweaskedhimwhyheboughtthecar,hewentonand ojnpabout its being a great investment; hewas particularly impressed, hesaid, with customer satisfaction surveys and the high Porsche resale value.

You’llrecognizethesethingsasResults.Theymayhavebeenfactorsinthesale,buttheycertainlyweren’tasimportantasonelessmeasurable,lesstangiblefact—the fact that driving the carmade him feel like an Indy 500 superstar.YouonlyhadtoseehimbehindthewheeltorealizethatthatwashisWin.Itwasalsothebottom-line,decisivereasonforhispurchase.

Or take the exampleof theEconomicBuying Influencewhohas a need toplay itsafe,butwantsyou to interprether tim?dityasexecutiveprudence.Weknowofonesuchpersonwhoconsistentlybuyseverythingsheneedsfromtheindustryleader.Oftentheleaderisalittlehigherinpricethanthecompetition,butthisBuyerfeelsthatshecan’tgetintotroubleifshe“stickswithnumberone—and,forher,stayingoutoftroubleisamajorpriority.Ifyouaskherwhyshetakes the price beating, she doesn’t say, “I’m afraid to make a change. MybiggestWinissecurity.”Shetellsyouhowgreatnumberone’sservicerecordis,and claims she can’t get such reliable service anywhere else. Again, you caninferherWinsfromwhatshesaysaboutResults.

BecauseBuyingInfluencesoftendisguisetheirWinslikethis,weadviseourclientstobewareandcomparewhenevertheyaskforaperson’sfeelingsaboutasale.Bewareofanswers thatfocusonlyonResults.Comparewhatyou’re toldwith other information you have about this individual’s needs—both businessand personal needs. Finally, in reading between the lines to get at Wins, becarefulnottoguess.

GETTINGCOACHING

One way of avoiding guesswork—or at least of double-checking yourspeculations—istoutilizeanetworkofreliableCoaches.SinceagoodCoachisby definition credible to the other Buying Influences, they may entrustinformation to this person, both objective and subjective, that they wouldn’tentrusttoyou.Soifsomeoneisdifficulttoread,agoodCoach—orCoaches—mightbethekey.

Remember, your basic selling goal should be to serve each BuyingInfluence’s perceived self-interest. Zero in on that self-interest by asking yourCoach,“WhatResultsshouldIbestressingwithDanFarleytoshowhimwhat’sinthissaleforhim?”

InChapter12we’lldiscussyourCoachinmoredetailandexplainanumberofwaysinwhichthiscriticalanduniqueBuyingInfluencecanhelpmakeyourmanagementoftheComplexSalemorepredictable.Oneofthemostimportant

ofthosewaysisinhelpingyoutofindouthoweachofyourindividualBuyingInfluenceswillWin.

TWOWAYSNOTTODETERMINEWINS

ThethreemethodsofdeterminingWinsthatwe’vejustdescribed—inferringtheWin, asking the Buying Influence, and getting Coaching—have been usedreliably by thousands of salespeople and theirmanagers, in countless businesssituations.Twoothercommon“methods”arenotreliable.Theyare:

•TointerprettheResultsastheWin•ToassumethatyourownWinisthesameasyourBuyingInfluence’s

INTERPRETINGRESULTSASWINS

ExamineResultsfirst,byallmeans.Youcan’tdeliveraWinwithoutaResult.But it doesn’t follow that a good Result equals a Win. A Result is aprecondition,notanequivalent.

Remember the case of the sales representative who had such troubleconvincinganagingpresidenttoapprovehissale?ThesalespersonhadawholestringofgoodResults.Hisproductwouldsavethebuyingfirmmoney,itwouldraiseproductivity—itwas,asthesalesmancomplainedplaintively,“aperfectfitwiththeirneeds.”Butthepresidentstillwouldn’tbuybecausethesalesmanhadfailedtodemonstrateto.himthatthesalewasinhisself-interest.

The lesson is clear.Always start, but never stop,withResults.Unless youunderstand each individual’s personal reason for buying, you can easily findyourself,evenafteryou’vesoldapersonmanytimes,presentingagreatResultinasituationwhereheorsheseesonlyapersonalLose.

CONFUSINGYOURWINSWITHTHEBUYINGINFLUENCE’SWINS

When the salesman who had such trouble with the retiring president told usabouthisplight,onephrasestuckinourminds.“IfIwerethatguy,”hesaid,“I

wouldhavesignedmonthsago.”Maybethatwastrue.But,trueornot,itwasirrelevant.Infact,itwasworse

than irrelevant. Realizing that he himself would have signed caused the salesrepresentative here to make what is probably the single most common erroramongpeoplejustbeginningtousetheconceptofWin-Results.ThaterrorisinprojectingtheirownWinsontotheircustomers—inassumingthatthewaytheBuyingInfluencewillWinisidenticaltothewaythesalesrepresentativewouldWinin thesamesituation.Making thisassumptionalmostalways leadsyou tomisidentifyWins.

Salespeoplewhomakethismiscalculationdosoforalogicalenoughreason.Theyconfusetheirownself-interestwiththatoftheBuyingInfluencebyaskingthemselves, with all the empathy in the world, “How would IWin if I wereDorisGreen?”Generousquestion.Thetroubleis,empathywillnotgiveyoutheansweryouneed.Allitwillgiveyouisarefriedversionofyourowndesires—apictureofhowDoriswouldfeelifshewereyou.Sinceshe’snotyou,andneverwillbe,that’snotmuchhelp.

Whatyoualwayshavetodo,therefore,istofocusfirstonResultsandthenask,“GiventheResultsIcanoffer,howcanthisBuyerWin?”

PERSONALWORKSHOP5:WIN-RESULTS

InapplyingtheKeyElementofWin-Resultstoyourchosensalesobjective,wesuggestthatyoufirstdevelopalistofcorporateResultsthatyoucanusetogiveeach of yourBuying Influences aWin, and then use thoseResults to identifyWinsforeachperson.

STEP1:IDENTIFYRESULTSFORYOURTYPEOFBUSINESS.ThepurposeofthisstepistogiveyouafixontheResultsconceptasitoperatesgenerallyinyourbusiness.YoucangetthatfixbyfirstgoingbacktothesampleResultsthatwelistedarlierinthechapter,andthenmakingupyourownchart,usingthatoneasaguide.

Openyournotebookflat,sothatyouhavetwoblankfacingpagesinfrontofyou.Workingfirstontheleft-handpage,writetheheading“Results”atthetop.Thendividethepageintothreecolumns,underthesubheads“EconomicBuyingInfluence,”“TechnicalBuyingInfluence,”and“UserBuyingInfluence.”Ineach

columnwrite down asmanyResults as you can that thoseBuying Influencestypicallylookforinyourbusiness.

InidentifyingthesecorporateResults,rememberthatEconomicBuyersfocusonthebottomlineandorganizationalstability, thatUserBuyerswant toknowhowyoucan improve theiron-the-jobperformance,and thatTechnicalBuyersaremostinterestedintheproductperse.Youdon’tneedaCoachcolumnsince,aswe’vementioned,Coachesdon’thavetheirownResults.

Ifyou’relikeourprogramparticipants,manyoftheResultsyouwritedownwillbeidenticaltothoseinoursampleResultschart.Fine,butdon’tstopthere.Add to the list whatever Results you can think of that are specific to yourindustryorproductline.YourgoalhereistogeneratealistofResultsthattendto be typical for the different categories of Buying Influences in your sellingarena.Ifyouspendaboutfiveortenminutesonthisstep,youshouldbeabletocomeupwithatleastsixoreighttypicalResultsforeachofthethreecategories.

STEP2:TESTTHESERESULTS.The next step is to test this list objectively. Do that by asking yourself thefollowingquestionsabouteachitemonthelist:

•IsthisResultmeasurable,tangible,andquantifiable?• Is it corporate—that is, can it be shared by more than one BuyingInfluence?

•Isitbusinessrelated—thatis,doesitpositivelyaffectoneormoreofthiscustomer’sbusinessprocesses?

Ifyoucan’tansweryestoallthesequestions,whatyou’relookingatmaybea“feature” or “benefit” rather than a trueResult. If that’s the case, reassess thesituation,diggingfortheimpactthatyoucanmakeonyourcustomer’sbusiness.Ifyoucannotfindsuchanimpact,youmaynothaveasale.

STEP3:IDENTIFYRESULTSFORYOURCURRENTSALESOBJECTIVE.YounowknowwhatResultsthethreecategoriesofBuyersgenerallylookforinyour business. Now get more specific and generate a list of Results that theindividualBuying Influenceswant or needwith regard to the particular sales

objectiveyou’vebeenworkingoninthisbook.Usetheright-handpageoftheopennotebooktomakeoutthislist.Atthetop

of the page write “Win-Results Chart,” and then divide the page into threecolumns,under the subheads“Buying Influences,”“Results,”and“Win-ResultStatements.”TakeoutyourBuyingInfluencesChartandcopydownthenamesofallyourBuyersintheleft-handcolumn.Asyouknow,youmayhavefourofthese,orfourteen.Then,inthemiddlecolumn,nexttothenameofeachBuyerwritedowntheoneortwokeyResultsyoubelievethatheorshewantsfromthisparticulartransaction.

Indoingthis,youcanstartwiththeResultslistthatyoujustdrewup,usingitasabankfromwhichtodrawoutthisnewlist.

You’reperformingaprocessofdistillation—startingwiththeResultsthatareuniversal in your business by Buying Influence category, and narrowing thefocus to identify theResults relevant to this sale,and theseBuyingInfluences,rightnow.

STEP4:TESTTHESEINDIVIDUALRESULTS.Onceyou’ve listed theoneor twomost importantResults for each individual,testthemobjectively.Yourgoalhereistoseethatyou’veidentifiedResultsthatarespecific andrelevant toeachperson’s situation. It’snotenough to say thatoneResultyoucangivetoDanFarleyisto“makehisjobeasier.”LookattheResultyou’veidentifiedforFarleyandaskyourselfthefollowingtestquestions:

•WhatbusinessprocessofFarley’sdoesthisResultaddress?•HowdoestheResultimproveorfixthatprocess?•Howdoes theResult relate to thespecificbusinessconcernsofFarley’scategoryofBuyingInfluence?SinceFarleyisyourEconomicBuyer,thismeansaskinghowyourResultwillimpacthisorganizationalgrowthandstability.

Then ask the same questions for each of the other Results, and all the otherBuyingInfluences,onyourchart.RememberthatthespecificbusinessconcernsofyourUserBuyerswillbelinkedtoon-the-jobperformanceandthatthoseofyourTechnicalBuyerswillbelinkedtotheirscreeningtestsofyourproductorservice.

ItshouldtakeyouaminuteortwoforeachBuyingInfluencetocompletethis

stepof theworkshop.Ifyou’reuncertainaboutagivenperson’sResults,putaRedFlaginthemiddlecolumnnearthatperson’sname.

STEP5:DRAFTAWIN-RESULTSSTATEMENTFOREACHINDIVIDUAL.NowturnbacktothesampleWinschartthatwepresentedearlierinthechapter.Usingthatchartasaguide—butonlyasaguide,notasadefinitivecatalog—godown the list of yourBuying Influences again, this time trying to identify theWinsthateachonewillgetfromtheResultorResultsthatyou’verecognizedasimportanttohimorher.ForeachResult,askyourselfthefollowingquestion:

HowwillthisBuyingInfluenceWinifmyproductorservicedeliversthisResult?

Inuncoveringanswers to thisquestion foreachperson,you’reseekingnot theperson’s “general” Wins or Wins in the abstract, but a cause-and-effectconnection,or linkage,betweeneachperson’sdesiredbusinessResultson thissaleandthepersonalsatisfactionsthatthoseResultswillensure.InourStrategicSelling programs, clientsmake that linkage visible by draftingwhatwe call aWin-ResultStatement foreach individual.Youshoulddo thesame thingnow.TakingeachBuyingInfluenceinturn,identifyhowthatpersonwillWinifyousuccessfullydelivertherelevantResult.NotetheWinincolumnthree.Then,foreachperson,write abrief statement spellingout the connectionbetweenWinsandResults.

For example, consider the Result that you expect to deliver to ourhypotheticalUserBuyingInfluence,DorisGreen—that16percentreductionindepartmental overtime. Suppose you know that she wants this reduction tocounterchargesthatherdepartmentalbudgetisoverextended.Forher,asampleWin-ResultsStatementmightreadasfollows:“TheResultofovertimereductionwillgiveDorisGreentheWinofappearingmoreefficienttohersuperiors.”Orsay thatyouhaveaproduct thatwillensure thecontinued reliabilityofoneofHarryBarnes’smanufacturingprocesses—andyoualsoknowthatBarnesputsahighpremiumonreliabilityandstability.AstatementofhisWin-Resultsmightbe “Increasing the reliability of hismanufacturing system (aResult)will giveHarryBarnestheWinofheightenedsecurity.”

Indoingthisexercise,you’llprobablycomeupagainstoneormoreBuyingInfluenceswhoseWinsyoucan’treadilydetermine.Youmayalsodiscoverthat,

while you know something about their subjective attitudes, you’re not certainhowthosecanbemosteffectivelyaddressedwiththeavailableResults.Ineitherofthesecases,you’llwanttoputaRedFlaginthethirdcolumnofyourWin-ResultsChart.That’storemindyouthatyouneedmoreinformationonthispointbeforeyoucandraftaneffectiveWin-ResultsStatement.Onthe.otherhand,ifyou find that for one of your Buying Influences you have a perfectunderstandingofthelinkagebetweenWinsandResults,itwouldbeappropriatetomarkthatonyourchartwitha“barbell,”forStrength.

Whenyou’refinishedwiththisstepoftheworkshop,yourWin-ResultsChartshouldlooksomethingliketheexampleonpage213.

STEP6:ANALYZEYOURCURRENTPOSITION.NowinvestigatebothyourWin-ResultsChartandyourBuyingInfluencesChartwithaneye todiscoveringwhat further informationyouneed to improveyourposition.LookateachBuyerinturn,assessingyourareasofStrengthandyourRedFlags.Testwhetherornot there’s informationyouhaven’tyetuncovered,butcan,byaskingyourselfquestionslikethese:

•WhatelsedoIknowaboutGreen—asidefromherResults—thatcanhelpmeunderstandhowthoseResultsmighthelpherWin?

•WhatdoSteinberg’slifestyle,values,andattitudestellmeabouthowhemightWin?

•HaveIaskedFarleybothobjectiveandattitudinalquestionstodeterminehisWins?

•If Ihaven’tseenBarnesmyself,haveIarrangedforsomeoneelse todoso?

• Can my Coaches help? Have I asked them to explain to me how theoverconfidentWillJohnsonmightseeaWin?

Use the answers to these questions to consider revisions of your AlternatePositionslist.Rememberespeciallythat,whereveryouhavealackofdataabouta givenBuying Influence, you have a significantRed Flag.Alwaysmake theuncoveringofsuchdataanewoptiononthatlist.Askyourself,too,ifyoucanleveragefromanareaofStrengthtohelpyouuncoverit.

STEP7:DETERMINEYOURPRESENTWIN-WINSTATUS.Knowing something about your various Buying Influences’Win-Results, youcannowstartmanagingyourSingleSalesObjectiveintotheWin-Winquadrantof the matrix. First, test whether or not you’re currently positioned in thatquadrantwitheachindividual,askingyourself:

• Have I delivered or can I deliver the Results that each Buyer needs toWin?

•DoeseveryBuyingInfluencehaveconfidencethatIcandothis?Inotherwords,dotheyallknowI’mplayingWin-Winwiththem?

If theanswer toeitherof thesequestions isno, thenyoucan’t reallycountonstabilityinyourposition.YoumayormaynotbeintheWin-Winquadrant.

Forexample,ifyoudeliverBarnesaResultbutdon’treallyknowhowitwillhelphimWin,youmaybesettingyourselfupforaLose,ifnotinthissale,theninfutureones.Or ifFarleydoesn’tbelieve there’saWininyoursaleforhim,then as far as he’s concerned you’re playingWin-Losewith him—and you’rethereforeriskingthelossnotjustofthissale,butoffuturebusinessaswell.

LookattheRedFlagsyou’veplacedbothontheWin-ResultsChartthatyouprepared in this PersonalWorkshop and at those you placed on your BuyingInfluencesChart.Whereareyousolidlypositionedandwheredoyoustill lack

informationthatyouneedtoserveeachperson’sself-interest?AnsweringsuchquestionsrealisticallywillgiveyouafirmergrasponhowcloseyouactuallyaretotheWin-Winstrategyyouwant.

STEP8:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.ThenextstepinmanagingyoursaleintotheWin-Winquadrant is tousewhatyou’velearnedaboutWin-Resultstoreviseyourcurrentposition.Asinpreviousworkshops,youdothatbysharpening,cutting,andaddingtotheoptionsonyourAlternatePositionslist.

In Step 6 of this workshop we advised you to consider revisions of theAlternate Positions list based on your current position with regard to Win-Results. Incorporate any relevant revisions now and test each one against theconceptofWin-Results.Ideally,youwanteveryitemonthisdevelopinglisttohelpyouunderstandtheWin-ResultsofyourBuyersbetter,tohelpyoudeliverthoseWin-Resultsmoreeffectively,ortohelpyoudoboth.Reviseyourlistwiththisinmind.

Forexample,ingettingridofthatRedFlagnexttoGarySteinberg’sname,the“position”of“TakeGarytolunch”mayormaynotgetyouanyclosertotheinformationyouwant.AgoodAlternatePositioninthissituationmightbe“GetDoris Green to explain to me why Gary is so personally concerned aboutinventory.” That leverages from a Strength—Green’s enthusiasm about yourproposal—anditfocusesinonthespecificlackofdatayouneedtocorrect.

Inpreviousworkshops,weadvisedyoutobeinclusiveaboutyourAlternatePositions, tobespecific,andto test themagainst theStrategicSellingrule thateverygoodAlternatePositioneliminatesaRedFlag,leveragesfromaStrength,ordoesboth.Youshouldcontinuetobespecificandtotestyouroptions.Butit’stimetogeta little less inclusiveandmorediscriminating.SincetheconceptofWin-Resultsissocentraltoaneffectivesalesstrategy,weurgeyoutolookoveralltheitemsonyourAlternatePositionslistwithitinmind.Considerdroppinganyoptionthatdoesnot,directlyorindirectly,helpyoudelivertoatleastoneofyourBuyingInfluencesaResultthatpersonwillpersonallytranslateasaWin:

Most important of all, remember self-interest. Because it determines allbuying decisions, it will remain a benchmark for you in assessing all futureAlternatePositions.

SUMMARYOFWIN-RESULTS

Since our fourthKey Element of strategy so often proves difficult for our

programparticipants,weclosethischapterwithasummaryofitsmajorpoints.Youshoulduseitasareferenceasyoucontinuetorefineyoursalesstrategy.

• Any product (or service) provides the tools and knowledge needed toimprove a process. The process, in turn, produces theResults throughwhichapersonWins.

•YourBuyingInfluenceWinswhenhisorherself-interestisserved.That’swhyWinning is important and why you need to understand how yourBuyersWininordertosellthem.

• People buy because they perceive a relationship between your salesproposalandtheirindividualself-interest.Theartandcraftofsellingisindemonstrating the connection between your proposal and their self-interest.

•It’softendifficulttoasksomeonehowheorsheWins.Therefore,focusfirstontheperson’sResultsandthenaskhowthepersonwillWinwiththoseResults.CoachingcanhelpyoutounderstandtheWin.

•Servingyourcustomers’self-interestisultimatelythebestwayofservingyour own. Therefore, the only acceptable conclusion to a buy-sellencounterisaWin-Winoutcome.

PART3

COMMONPROBLEMS,UNCOMMONSOLUTIONS

CHAPTER11

GETTINGTOTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE:STRATEGIESANDTACTICS

You’venowbeen introduced to the fourcornerstones,as itwere,ofStrategicSelling:theKeyElementsofBuyingInfluences,RedFlags/Strengths,ResponseModes,andWin-Results.Bythetimewereachthispointinourprograms,ourclients are usually flooding us with questions, and we’d be surprised if youdidn’thavequestionsatthispointtoo.Inthisthirdpartofthebook,we’lltrytoanticipate some of those questions, by going into more detail in those areaswhereourclientsoftentellustheyexperienceproblems.

Among the questions they present to us, these three probably stand out asmostcommon:

•“HowdoIgettotheEconomicBuyingInfluence?”•“HowcanIeffectivelyutilizeastrategicCoach?’”•“Whataboutthecompetition?”

Theseareallreasonablequestions,andwedevotethissectionofthebooktoproviding some answers.Webegin, in this chapter,withwhat is probably thesinglemost frequently identifiedproblemarea:what todowith that singularlyimportant, yet often inaccessible, individual called the Economic BuyingInfluence.

TheheartofStrategicSellingismanagingeveryoneofyoursalesobjectivessothat you end up in theWin-Win quadrant of thematrixwith all yourBuyingInfluences. Frequently this proves to be most problematic with regard toEconomic Buying Influences, because this role differs from the other BuyingInfluencesintwosignificantways:

•’EconomicBuyingInfluencesaremoredifficulttoidentifythantheotherBuyingInfluences.

•EconomicBuying Influencesaremoredifficult toreachbothphysicallyand psychologically, than those who play User and Technical Buyingroles.

Forthesereasons,establishingaWin-WinoutcomewiththeEconomicBuyingInfluence is a common area of concern, even among salespeople who areextremely competent in establishing such outcomes with other BuyingInfluences.

YetfailuretocovertheEconomicBuyingInfluenceadequately,ortoseetoitthatheor sheperceivesapersonalWin ineverysale,canundermineeven themost “straightforward” sales scenario. Since the Economic Buyer can bydefinitionvetothesaleatanypointinthesellingcycle,it’sonlycommonsensetocoverthatkeyplayerasthoroughlyaspossible,andasearlyaspossibleinthesellingcycle.

WHYISGETTINGTOTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCESOTOUGH?

When we cover the Economic Buying Influence in our Strategic Sellingprograms,webeginbyaskingourparticipantsthispointedquestion.Hereareafewoftheirmostcommonresponses:

“Idon’tknowwhoheis.”“I don’t knowwhere in the buying organization to look for that kind ofauthority.”

“ApurchasingagentsaysIshoulddealjustwithher.”“It’slikebeingcalledintotheprincipal’sofficewhenImeethim.”“Sherefusestoseeme.”

“Idon’thaveanycredibilitywithpeopleatthatlevel.”“Noonewantstoassumetheauthoritytosignfortheorder.”“Allhercallsarescreened.”“Hemakesmenervous—Idon’tknowwhattosaytohim.”“Idon’tknowwhathisneedsare.”“Shejustdoesn’ttalktosalespeople.”

You’llprobablyrecognizesomeoftheresponsesonthislistasbeingrelevanttoyour own selling situations. We’d be very surprised if you didn’t—these aretypicalresponses.

Just as typical is the fact that, like all the responses we get, they can bebroken down into three basic categories. In the thousands of programswe’vepresented,andinourownbusinessaswell,wealwaysseethissamepattern.Nomatterwhat industryourclientsare in,andnomatterwhat theaveragesizeoftheir Complex Sales, their complaints about getting to the Economic BuyingInfluencearealwaysvariationsofthreerootproblems:

Problem1:Theycan’tidentifytheEconomicBuyingInfluence.Problem2:They’reblockedfromgettingtothepersonplayingthisrole.Problem3:They’reuncomfortableabouttalkingtohimorher.

Ifyoulookat theresponsesgivenonthelistabove,you’llseethatthispatternholdstrue:

•Responsessuchas“Idon’tknowwhoheis”and“Idon’tknowwheretolook”and“Noonewillassumetheauthority”decodeas“Ican’tidentifytheEconomicBuyingInfluence.”

•Responsessuchas“Apurchasingagentsaystalktoher”and“Sherefusestoseeme”and“Allhercallsarescreened”decodeas“I’mbeingblockedfromseeingher.”

• Responses such as “He makes me nervous” and “I don’t have anycredibility”and“It’slikebeingintheprincipal’soffice”decodeas“I’muncomfortabletalkingtotheEconomicBuyer.”

Ifyoureviewyourpastsalesandthinkabout theproblemsyouexperiencedingetting to your EconomicBuying Influences,we’re certain that you’ll see theverysamepattern.

Throughouttherestofthischapter,we’llbegivingyoustrategiesandtactics

for overcoming each of these three basic problems. We’ll begin by brieflyreviewingwhotheEconomicBuyingInfluenceis,andwhatthispersondoesinyoursalesscenarios.

PROFILEOFTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE

Inhelpingourclientsbecomemoreskillful in identifying theEconomicBuyerfor each of their sales objectives, we’ve found it useful to emphasize threeconcepts:

•TheEconomicBuyer,likealltheotherBuyingInfluences,issale-specific.•The personplaying theEconomicBuying Influence role is oftenhighlyplacedinthebuyingorganization.

•PeopleactingasEconomicBuyingInfluencesaregenerallypaidverywellfortheirabilitytoseeintothefuture.

THE“SALE-SPECIFIC”ECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE

We call the Economic Buyer “sale-specific” because that person plays theEconomicBuyerroleforaspecificsalesobjective,not foranaccount.There’sno such thing as “the Giant Soap Company’s Economic Buyer,” but only anumber of key individuals in that companywho have the appropriate level ofauthority toplay that role.There’snoguarantee that thepersonwhoplays theEconomicBuyingInfluenceroleforonesalewillalsoplayitforasecondsaletothesamecompany—evenif thesecondsale involves thesameproductandthesamedollar amount.That’swhy it is critical foryou to identify theEconomicBuyingInfluenceanewasyou’restartingtoplaneachnewsalesobjective.

THEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE’SORGANIZATIONALPOSITION

Becausetheyhavedirectaccess toanddiscretionaryuseof therequiredfunds,people playing the role of Economic Buyer are often highly placed in theirorganizations. In smaller, entrepreneurial companies, the president will often

serveasEconomicBuyeronmanysales.Inlargemultinationals,finalauthoritymayseldomhavetogothathigh,yetevenheremostEconomicBuyerdecisions—thatis,decisionstoreleaserestrictedfunds—willstillbemadebyupper-levelmanagers. Especially in these days of downsizing and cost-consciousreengineering, very few companies will allow junior managers to act asEconomic Buying Influences for major purchases or critical policy decisions.And themoremoney involved in thesale, thehigheryouhave to look for therelease-of-fundsdecision.

READINGTHEFUTURE

Since Economic Buying Influences are often senior-level managers, they’retypicallyhighlypaid;mostoftheEconomicBuyersweandourclientsdealwithtakehomehighsix-figuresalaries.Buttheyaren’tpaidsolelyfortheday-to-daymanagementofthebusiness.Thatmaybeapartoftheirresponsibility,butthereal reason for their high salaries is their proven ability to forecast futurebusinessconditionsandtoseetoitthattheircompaniesprofitfromthem.Theyearntheirkeepbecauseoftheclarityoftheircrystalballs.

The Economic Buying Influence can therefore be considered roughlyanalogoustothecaptainofaship.Wesayroughlybecause,unlikeshipcaptains,EconomicBuyersaren’talwaysatthetopoftheorganizationalladder—swe’vejustmentioned,they’renotnecessarilytheircompany’sCEOs.Butlikecaptains,theydo have ultimate responsibility for their “ships” on a given voyage.Alsolike ship captains,mostof themaren’t reallypaid todo anything.This isn’t acute snap at the brass. What we mean is that they don’necessarily navigate,manage the engine room, or personally hold thewheel. Their responsibility ismuchbroader.Theyareexpectedtoknowexactlywheretheshipisheaded,andtomakedecisionsthatwillensureitgetsthereontime.

KeepingthisprofileoftheEconomicBuyingInfluenceinmind,youcannowaddressmoreeffectively theproblemsof identifying theEconomicBuyerforaSingle Sales Objective, of being blocked from seeing that person, and ofovercomingyournaturaldiscomfortinhisorherpresence.

SOLVINGPROBLEM1:IDENTIFICATION

In identifying theEconomicBuyeraccuratelyforeachspecificsalesobjective,

youhavetobeattentivetotheComplexSale floatfactor.By“floatfactor”wemeanthefactthattheEconomicBuyingInfluencerolecanshift,orfloat,upordownthecorporateladder,betweenonesaleandthenext,andsometimesevenduringagivensalescycle.Evenexperiencedsalespeopleoftenignorethisfactorand assume that Farley, who gave final approval for their last Single SalesObjective, must also be the Economic Buyer for the one they’re working onnow.Thismakesmisidentificationaconstantthreat.

THEFLOATFACTORANDPERCEIVEDRISK

InChapter5,wedescribed fivevariables that can cause the roleofEconomicBuying Influence to shift up or down the corporate ladder. If you’re havingdifficulty identifying the final authority for a given sale, you might start byaskingyourselfhowthatsaleislikelytobeperceivedbythebuyingorganizationintermsofthesefivevariables

1. The Dollar Amount of the Sale. Generally speaking, the higher thedollaramountofthesale,thehighertheEconomicBuyerrolewillfloat.Remember,though,thatwemeandollaramountrelativetothesizeofthebuying organization. A five-thousand-dollar sale to a small firmmightbringinthepresidentasEconomicBuyingInfluence;thesamesizesaletoGeneralMotorswouldnot.

2.BusinessConditions.HardtimescausetheEconomicBuyerroletofloatupward. When a firm is suffering setbacks or slow activity, buyingdecisions that are normally made by middle management pass to themanagersatthetop.Thereversehappenswhentheeconomyisgood.

3.ExperiencewithYouandYourFirm.Forfirstsales toanewaccount,you should look high up in the organization for final approval. Onceyou’ve established a history ofWinswith at least some of theBuyingInfluencesforagivenaccount,youmaybeabletogetfinalapprovalforthesametypeofsalefurtherdownthecorporateladder.

4.ExperiencewithYourProduct orService.This variable illustrates thesame principle. The less a potential customer knows about the specificproductorserviceyou’reselling,themorelikelyit isthatapprovalwillhavetocomefromhighup.Withexperience,thefinalapprovalrolewillfloatdown.

5.PotentialOrganizationalImpactSinceEconomicBuyingInfluencesare

generally concernedwith long-range effects, the rolemay float upwardwheneverthebuyingorganizationfeelsthatyoursalesproposalwillhaveasignificantlong-termimpactonitsorganizationalgrowthandstability.

Allfiveofthesevariableshaveonethingincommon.Thereasonthateachofthem has the capability of generating float is that behind all five is the samefundamentalbusinessfactor:perceivedriskonthebuyingorganization’spart.

More than any other category of Buying Influence, Economic Buyers arepaid to take calculated risks that they hope will lead to financial anddevelopmentalrewards.Theentirefocusoftheirdecision-makingistomaintaina balance between risk and reward. And the greater the perceived risk, thehighertheroleofEconomicBuyingInfluencefloats.

InidentifyingwhoisplayingtheroleofEconomicBuyingInfluenceforyoursalesobjective, therefore,wesuggest thatyouaskyourself twoquestions.ThefirstisonethatwementionedinChapter5:

Atwhatlevelinmyownorganizationwouldfinalapprovalforasaleofthistypehavetobemade?

Theanswer to thisquestionwillsuggest toyou thegeneral levelatwhichyoushould look in the buying organization for the person acting as theEconomicBuyingInfluence.Thatis,itwillsuggesttoyouwhetheryoushouldbelookingat the departmental or middle-management or vice-presidential level.Remember, though, that the likely level for final buying approval is alwaysrelative to the size of the buying organization. So, if your company and thebuying company are the same size, approvalwill probably come at about thesame level. If your company is significantly smaller than the buyingorganization, youmayhave to look lower thanyouwould if youwere sellingsomethingsimilartoyourownfirm.Ifyourcompanyislarger,youmayhavetolookhigher.

Thesecondquestionrelatestotheunderlyingelementinourdiscussionofthefloatfactor—theelementofperceivedrisk.Onceyouknowatwhichlevelinthebuyingorganizationyou’relikelytofindyourEconomicBuyer,askyourself:

Consideringthelevelofperceivedriskinvolvedinmysalesproposal,shouldIbelookinghigherupthecorporateladderorlower?

Ifthelevelofperceivedriskishigh,adjustyoursightsupward.Ifit’slow,adjustthemdown.

Asyouperformthissearchingprocess,rememberthatwespecifyperceivedrisk.Justas it’syourBuyingInfluence’sperceptionofreality,notyours, that’scriticalindeterminingResponseModes,it’sthebuyingfirm’sperceptionofrisk,not yours, that will help you identify the probable organizational level of theEconomicBuyer.Supposeyou’re trying to sell theMammothCompanya firepreventionsystemthatyouknowhasneverfailed.Inotherwords,youknowtherisk is practically nil. Tha’s nice for you—but totally irrelevant, unless theMammoth Company’s people also see it that way. If they have never donebusinesswithyoubefore, if they’venever installedsuchasystembefore,or ifthesystemwouldmeanamajorcommitmentoftheirbudget,thenyour“norisk”productmightbeseenasveryriskyindeed.Andfinalapprovalforthepurchasemayhavetocomefromthetop.

Onecaution:InsearchingforEconomicBuyingInfluences,it’sverycommonforsalespeopletolookattoolowalevel.Theyarecontenttoseekapprovalfromaplantmangerwhen they really should be positioned at the division level, ortheysettleforspeakingwithadirectorwhentheyshouldseethepresident.Such“settling”—whichkillscountlessopportunities—isaresultofthediscomfortthatmany sales people feel when they find themselves in the presence of seniormanagement.Thisisaproblemthatwe’lladdressmorefullyinamoment.

Because identifying theEconomicBuyer too lowon thecorporate ladder issuchacommoncauseofmismanaged sales, andbecausenobodywearsa signaroundhisorhernecksaying“IamtheEconomicBuyingInfluence,”weoffertwoquicktipstohelpyouavoidtheblunderoflookingtoolow.

•First,beattentivetowhatyoursuspectedEconomicBuyersaysaboutbig-picture organizational issues such as profitability and return oninvestment. Ifshenever raisessuch issues,you’reprobably looking toolow.

•Second,makeitaruleof thumbtocover thebaseswithyourcustomersonelevelabovewhereyoubelievetheEconomicBuyertobesituated.

Thisisparticularlyimportantonaninitialsaletoanewaccount,orwhenyou’retryingtosellasignificantlyhigherdollaramount thanusual toanoldaccount.IdentifyingtheEconomicBuyeraccuratelyaseachnewsalesobjectivebeginsisbasictogoodstrategy,andit’slesshazardoustostartofftoohighthantoolow.

ZEROINGINONTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE

Onceyou’ve located the level in thebuyingorganization fromwhichapprovalmustcomeforyoursale,youneedtoconfirmthatthepersonyouthinkhasfinalapprovalwillactuallywieldthatauthorityonthissale.Therearethreewaysyoucandothis.Youcan:

•AskthesuspectedEconomicBuyerdirectly•GetCoaching•Guess

Onlythefirsttwowaysareacceptable.Representativeswho“think”theyknowwhotheEconomicBuyerisfortheirsale,orwhohavea“prettygoodidea”whocontrolsthefunds,veryoftenguesswrong.Ifyoudon’tknowwhotheEconomicBuyingInfluenceisforthesalesobjectiveyou’reworkingon,putaRedFlagintheEconomicBuyerboxonyourBuyingInfluencesChart.ThenzeroinontheactualEconomicBuyerbyaskingand/orgettingCoaching.Ifyoudoknowwhothe Economic Buying Influence is and have covered that base well, you canregardthatcrucialpieceofinformationasaStrength.

1.AskingtheBuyerDirectly.AnabruptcolleagueofourszeroesinontheEconomic Buying Influence by addressing the “suspect” in the moststraightforwardmanner possible. “Once I’ve covered the baseswith allmy other Buying Influences,” he says, “I go to the guy I think is theEconomicBuyer andput a close onhim. If he signs the order, I knowhe’stheEconomicBuyer.Ifnot,eitherI’vegotmoreworktodo,orI’vegottolooksomeplaceelse.”

Itwouldbehardtogetmoredirectthanthat,andifyou’recomfortablewithsuch blunt methods, fine: “Put a close” on your suspected Economic BuyingInfluenceandseeifheorshecomesupwiththemoney.If,likeus,youpreferalittlemorefinesse,youcanasklessdirectquestions.Inframingthem,rememberwhat the EconomicBuyer actually does. By definition this is the personwhoreleases the dollars to pay for your particular sales objective or proposal. Ifyou’refairlycertainthatDanFarleyhastheauthoritytodothat,butyouwanttotestyourperceptions,youmightaskquestionslikethese:

•Whenthedecision ismade,Dan,whosebudgetwill thefundscomeout

of?•Isthereanybodywhocanvetothisproposal?•AfteryougiveyourOK,Dan,howdoesthefinaldecisionprocesswork?•Isthereanybodyataseniorlevelwhoseapprovalweneed?

Such questions are designed to cut through the baloney of “referrals” and“recommendations,”“tentativeapprovals”and“provisionalorders,”byfocusingonthiskeyindividual’sactualroleinthesale.IfFarleyactuallyistheEconomicBuyingInfluence,hisresponses—wordsoractions—willletyouknowthat.

But only, of course, if he tells you the truth.Because that isn’t always thecase,werecommendasecondmethodofidentification.

2. Getting Coaching. Asking your suspected Economic Buyers if theyreallyhavetheauthoritytoreleasetheneededfundsmayormaynotgetyou a straight answer.Not only are ultimate authorities adept at hidingwithin corporate structures, but, as we mentioned earlier, TechnicalBuyers are occupationally addicted to passing themselves off asEconomicBuyers,andsomeof themareverygoodat thegame. IfyouaskedaTechnicalBuyingInfluencetheabovequestions,forexample,thepersoncouldeasilytellyou,withastraightface,“It’smybudget,andIalonemakethedecision.There’snobodyelseyoushouldseeorneedtosee.”

Becausepeoplewhoarethatdefensiveabouttheirauthorityarealmostnevertrue EconomicBuyers, such an .answermightwellmake you suspicious. Butyou’d still need a second opinion to help you sort things out. That’s thesignificant advantage of having good Coaching. By asking a reliable Coachquestions like these, youwill oftenget clearer information thanyouwill fromthesuspectedEconomicBuyer(orthoseEconomicBuyerwannabes)aboutwhoactuallyreleasesthemoneyforyoursale.

SOLVINGPROBLEM2:WHENYOU’REBLOCKED

It’snotuncommontoidentifyanEconomicBuyingInfluencecorrectlyandthenbefrustrated inyourobjectivebecauseshe’soutofreach.Theindividualmay,forexample,beinaremotegeographicallocation:therealapprovalforyoursalemay have to come from a home office located hundreds of miles from yourterritory. Or the Economic Buyer may be isolated from outside calls by a

professionalscreen—thesecretarywhotellsyou,everytimeyoutrytogettotheboss,“Ms.O’Reillyisstilloutoftown.”OryoumaybeblockedbyoneofthoseTechnical Buying Influences who specialize in masquerading as EconomicBuyers.

Dealing with geographical remoteness and protective secretaries oftenrequiresmerelytheuseofgoodproxies.Youcanoftengettoan“inaccessible”finalauthoritybylettingsomeoneelseinyourorganizationcoverthatparticularbaseforyou.Thebestchoiceforthatsomeoneelseisoftenapersonatthesameorganizational level as the Economic Buying Influence. We’ll return to thispointinaminute,whenwediscusslike-rankselling.

Dealing with a Buying Influence who’s actively trying to block you fromseeing the Economic Buyer can be a more difficult scenario. And it’s anextremelycommonone.

If you get to the Economic Buying Influence early enough in the sellingcycle,youcanoftenavoidthisproblem.NoTechnicalBuyerisgoingtobeabletothrowaneffectiveblockatyouifyou’veseentheEconomicBuyerfirst.Butlet’sassumeyouhaven’talreadycoveredtheEconomicBuyerbase.Inthatcase,howdoyouhandletheblock?

HANDLINGTHEBLOCK:THREEMETHODS

In handling a person who’s actively blocking you from seeing the EconomicBuying Influence, you should begin by understanding why another BuyingInfluencewouldwant todothis.Whenweaskourclients toexplainhowtheyhave been blocked from getting to Economic Buyers, they give answers likethese:

•“TheTechnicalBuyerwantstohandleeverythingpersonally.”•“He’sstrongformycompetition.”•“Theytoldmethatwasalower-leveldecision.”•“ShesaystheEconomicBuyerwantshertomakethefinalcall”•“Hejustdoesn’twantustomakethesale.”

When you examine these answers closely, you find that there’s an underlyingtheme. No matter what the given reason is—no matter what the apparentmotivation of the blocking Buying Influence—there’s always the same root

cause.ItrelatestowhatwesaidinthepreviouschapteraboutgivingallofyourBuyingInfluencesindividualWins.WhenanotherplayerattemptstoblockyouraccesstotheEconomicBuyingInfluence,itisalwaysbecausetheblockerseestheproposalyou’reofferingasapersonalLose.

Because leavingaBuying Influencewith the impression that heor shehaslostissodangerous—it’spracticallyasurefiresetupforBuyer’sRevenge—yourfirst step indealingwithablockingBuyershouldalwaysbe todeterminewhythis person feels so negatively, that is, why he or she is convinced that yourproposalisaLose.Youneedtodothisnotonlyasaprerequisiteforovercomingthe negative perception, but also because the strategy you adopt toward thisperson’saccountmayhavetochangedramaticallydependingonthereasonsyoudiscover.

Forexample,ifHarryBarnesisdownonyourproposalbecausehissisterisaSalesperson of the Year for your competition, you’ll have to adopt a totallydifferent strategy from theoneyou’d adopt if youdiscoveredhe’s afraidyoursolutionwillputhimoutofajob.Unlessyoudeterminethenatureofhis“Lose”perception,youcaneasilysayallthewrongthingseverytimeyoumeethim.

Onceyou’vedeterminedwhyablockerfeelsthatheorsheislosing,therearethreewaysyoucandealwiththestrategicimpediment.Youcan:

• Show the blockingBuyer how toWin in the sale by getting you to theEconomicBuyingInfluence

•Goaroundtheblockertogettothefinalauthority•Goalongwiththeblock

Eachofthesethreechoicescouldbevalid,dependingonthesituation.

1.Showing theBlockerhow toWin.Of the threestrategies, showing theblockerhowtoWinisbyfarthebest.Werecommendthatyoualwaystryit first, resorting to the other two strategies only if it fails. Since theblockingBuyer’s “Lose” perception is the cause of the block, you cansometimesturnthesituationaroundbydemonstratingthatthisperceptionismistaken. Inorder tobecomeasponsor rather thananantisponsorofyourproposal,theblockerhastoseethatit’sinhisorherself-interestforyoutogettotheEconomicBuyingInfluence.Ideally,youwanttogoonestepbeyondthis.YouwanttoshowtheblockerhowtoWinnotjustbyletting you get to the Economic Buyer, but by taking you there

personally.ThebestwayofhandlingablockingBuying Influence is toshowthatyouhavesomethingtheEconomicBuyerneeds—andthattheblocker can get the credit and recognition for delivering it. If you canshowablockingBuyerthatyouhavesomethingofvaluetobringtotheEconomic Buying Influence, you’ll very likely be able to convert a“Lose” perception into a “Win” perception, because there will be arealization thatcooperatingwithyouwillenhance theblockingBuyer’sownperceivedvalue.Yourgoalhereistohelphimseethathecanmakean impression by being seen as the person who was smart enough tobringyouonboard.

The something of value that a blocker can help you .^give the EconomicBuying Influence is always the same thing. The single most valuablecontributionyoucanbring to anyEconomicBuyer isknowledge.Specifically,it’s knowledge thatwill help this key player dowhat he or she is paid to do:predict the future and set appropriate agendas. If you and the blockingBuyertogether can increase the Economic Buyer’s predictive capability, everybodywillWin,We’llspeakmoreinaminuteaboutthiscriticaltypeofknowledge.

2.Goingaround theBlockNomatterhowearnestlyyouwork toshowablockingBuyingInfluencehowtoWinbyhelpingyouinyoursale,youmaystillcomeupagainstsomeonewhojustwon’tbemoved.Whenyouconfront a User or Technical Buying Influencewhose Lose perceptioncannotbeturnedaround,you’llbeforcedtoconsiderthesecondoption—goingaroundtheblock.

We’vementionedtheadvantageofusingproxies ingettingtoanEconomicBuyer whom you can’t reach personally. This technique can often effectivelycircumventablockingBuyingInfluence.Butthere’sadangerhere.Inspiteofitsapparentelegance,thisend-runapproachtoablockedsaleisactuallyahigh-riskstrategy.

The risk is that, in your eagerness to reach the Economic Buyer, you’llsimply ignore the blockingBuyer’s resistance as irrelevant or unimportant. Inour story of themismanaged textile-plant sale,we showedwhat serious long-term repercussions this approach can have. The danger is simply stated:Whenever youmake a sale in spite of a key player’s disapproval, that personperceives you as playing Win-Lose. Inevitably, you turn that player into anenemybecauseyou’reseenasservingyourinterestathisorherexpense.

Circumventedblockershave thememoryof elephants.Tenor twentyyearslaterthey’llrememberyourgoingovertheirheads,andgeteven.Therefore,weadviseourclientsthattheyshouldemploythisdamn-the-torpedoesstrategyonlywhentheyhavelittleornothingtolose.IfyourpositionwiththeSmithaccount

isn’t very solid anyway, or if the potentialWin for you is huge, youmay bejustifiedingoingaroundablocker.But,sinceanyBuyingInfluenceignoredisathreat,watchoutforrevengedowntheline.Evenwhenyoufeelsuchastrategyis theonlychoice left,westilladviseyou todiscuss thematter firstwithyourdistrict or regional sales manager, and with your Coaches, to determine whatactionsyoumighttakethatwouldneutralizetherevenge.

3.GoingalongwiththeBlockGoingalongwithsomeonewho’skeepingyoufromgettingtotheEconomicBuyercanoftencauseyoutolosetheimmediate business. Therefore, it may look like a very bad strategy.Admittedly, it’s not an attractive proposition. But there are specialsituationsthatwarrantit.

Afriendofoursinadvertisingsales,amanwe’llcallGary,hadtomakethisdifficultchoicelastyear.Hewastheaccountexecutiveforafirmthatbroughtinfivemilliondollarsayear,a firm thataccounted forabouthalfofGary’sownincome.Foraholidayseasonpromotion,Garysuggestedanadvertisingpackagethat one of the firm’s middle managers found offensive. Gary had excellentrelations with that manager’s superior, and the manager’s approval wasn’tessential to the closingof thedeal.ButGaryknew that if hewent around theblocked to his boss, the Economic Buying Influence, the end run wouldjeopardizefuturesales.

Sohewithdrew theproposal. It costhima ten-thousand-dollar commissionbut, as he told us somemonths later, he never regretted the decision. “I hadlearnedinyourprograms,”heexplained,“nevertoleaveaBuyerfeelingbeaten.Ijustcouldn’taffordtogamblehalfmyincomeonthatonecampaign.Andyouknowsomething?Thatguy reallyappreciatedmy respectinghis feelings.He’sbecomemybestallyinthataccount.I’mdoingapromotionforthemthisyearthatwillletmedoublethetenthousandIlost.”

The lesson is, if you already have a good relationship with the buyingorganizationandifyourcurrentsalesobjectivedoesn’twarrantalienatingoneofyourBuyingInfluences,youmaywanttolettheimmediateordergoinfavorofprotecting the business that you already have—and of keeping open thepossibilityoflargerfuturesales.BehindsuchadecisionwouldbeabasicgoalofStrategicSelling:ensuringnotjustimmediatebutlong-termsuccess.

Ofcourse, this is still atbestonlya temporary solution— likewaitingat aroadblockuntiltheroadaheadisfixed.Youcan’tmanageanaccountovertimebygoingalongwithresistantBuyers’blocks.Therefore,your firstplanshouldalwaysbetoshowallyourBuyingInfluenceshowtheycanWin.

SOLVINGPROBLEM3:THEDISCOMFORTZONE

An eager but green sales representative decided tomake a cold call—withouteventhecourtesyofapriorphonecall—onavicepresidentinanaccounthehadrecentlyacquired.Hehadn’tsoldanythingtotheaccountyet,buthe’dheardthatthe vice president’s approval was essential to virtually all sales. So, to “savetime,” he went straight to the top, determined to feel out the terrain. Hewasextremely nervous about meeting the high-level executive, but he decided toadoptapositivementalattitudeandjustdohisgung-hobestinthelion’sden.

Thevicepresident,whowaspartofacompanythatvaluedreadyaccesstoitsexecutives,wasathisdeskwhentheyoungmanarrived.

“Hello, there,” he said. “I’m George Grant. From the Webster Group? IhappenedtobeintheneighborhoodandthoughtI’dseehowthingsweregoinghere.AslongasI’mhere,I’dbehappytotakeanyordersyoumighthave.”

The vice president looked up from his papers, gave George a quick,astonishedonce-over,andreplieddryly,“Good.Ihavetwoordersforyou.Getoutandstayout.”

You’llrecognizethisasalmostatextbookcaseofamateurselling.Notonlydidn’tGeorgehaveanappointment,hedidn’tevencallbeforedroppingin.And,whenhediddropin,hehadnoparticularreasontobethere:nosalesproposaltofollowup,no referral,noquestions thatneededanswering.Nowonderhewasnervous.Hehadgoodreasontobe.Andthevicepresident’s“orders”werejustwhathedeserved.

Thestoryillustratesnotonlythefactthatpreparationbeforeeverysalescalliscriticaltostrategicsuccess,butalsotherelatedfactthat,inpreparingyourselftomeetanEconomicBuyingInfluence,yourpsychologicalreadiness isjustasimportantasyourknowledgeofyourproductoryourobservanceofthecommonamenitiessuchasmakinganappointment.

ThereweretworelatedreasonsthatGeorgefeltuncomfortableaboutmeetingthevicepresident.TheyarethesamereasonsthatyoumightfeeluncomfortableinthepresenceofyourEeonomicBuyingInfluences:

• You might feel intimidated by someone who appears too busy or toosuccessfultocareaboutwhatyouhavetosay.

•Youmightfeeluncertainaboutwhatthispersonwantsorneedstohear—uncertain,inotherworks,aboutwhatyou’redoingthere.

WHENYOU’REINTIMIDATED

There’s only one sure waywe’ve found to overcome feelings of intimidationwhenyouconfrontahigh-levelexecutive.That’storememberthat,althoughtheEconomic Buyer for your sale might have a three-inch carpet and a four-cargarage, he’s still a human being—and it’s to that human being that you’reselling.

We don’t mean that he’s “just an ordinary Joe.” He’s not. In corporateAmerica, people who play the role of Economic Buyer are different, if onlybecausetheymakemoremoneythantherestofthepopulation.Butifyoufocuson the differences, social or economic, between yourself and your EconomicBuyingInfluences,you’llonlyintensifyyourfeelingsofdiscomfort.Youwantto minimize those feelings. One way to do that is to remember the man orwomanbehindtheglamorousrole.

YoumaythinkofDanFarleyinsimplefunctionalterms,asthepersonwhoputs you in fear and trembling for your career because he has the power torelease the funds for your sale. But maybe he’s also a doting father, a lousytennis player, a guy who danced in his socks at his high school reunion, ahomeownerwhowatershislawnonSaturdaysandwatchesfootballandordersinKungPaoChicken,justlikeyou.Justlikeyou,too,he’sgotregretsaboutthepastandhopesforthefutureandneeds,bothbusinessandpersonal,thathavetobeattendedtorightnow.

Here’s themost important thing of all to remember: Since you’re offeringhimaproposal,youareinapositiontofulfillsomeofthoseneeds.Inordertodothat,though,youhavetolearnwhateveryoucanabouthimasanindividual.

Again, as is so often the case when you’re clearing away difficulties thatstand in theway of your sales objectives, a reliable Coach can be a valuableassethere.AgoodCoachcanhelpyouturnthosedifficultiesintoopportunitiesbyprovidinganswerstoquestionsabouttheEconomicBuyer’sbusinessneeds,andabouthisorherpersonalinterestsaswell.

Answerstothefirst typeofquestionwillhelpyouidentifywhichcorporateResultsyourproductorservicecanprovidetothebuyingcompany.Answerstothe second type of question will help you determine the Economic BuyingInfluence’spersonalWins.HavingyourCoachbriefyou,beforeyoumakethatfirstcall,onwhatyourEconomicBuyerislikeasapersonisanexcellentwayofzeroinginonlikelyWin-Results—andthusofreducingyouruneasinessinthiskeyindividual’spresence.

WHENYOU’REUNCERTAIN

TheultimatereasonyouwanttotalktoanEconomicBuyer,naturally,istogetapprovalforyoursalesproposal.Butthat’snotnecessarilythereasonthispersonwillwanttoseeyou.It’suptoyoutomakesurethatthisindividualhasasgoodareasonasyoudoforwanting the twoofyou toget together. It’s theBuyingInfluence’sperception,notyours,thatwe’retalkingaboutnow.EverytimeyoucallonanEconomicBuyerhisorherunspokenquestionisalwaysgoingtobe“Whatreasondoyouhavefortakingupmyvaluabletime?”Ifyoucan’tanswerthatquestiontohisorhersatisfactionbeforeyougoin,don’tcountonremainingcomfortableafteryougetthere.

Therefore, ifyouwant to reduceyourdiscomfortwithanEconomicBuyer,youhavetomakesure,everytimeyoucallonsuchaBuyingInfluence,thatyouhaveavalidbusinessreasondoingso.

WHATTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCEWANTS

What does the EconomicBuyer consider a valid business reason?We’ve justsaidthattheonethingtheEconomicBuyeralwayswantsisknowledgethatwillincrease his or her predictive capability—the ability to plan ahead for theorganization.ThisfactleadstothefollowingStrategicSellingaxiom:

YouhaveavalidbusinessreasonforcontactinganEconomicBuyingInfluencewhenyoucanpresentknowledgethatwillmakeacontributionto

thewayheorsheisdoingbusiness.

This observation surprises many people who are new to selling. Salesrepresentativeswho have had limited experiencewith EconomicBuyers oftentendtoplacethesetopexecutivesonapedestal,assumingthat,whenitcomestobusiness, they know everything. This is a misconception. In fact, EconomicBuyersalmostalwaysknowlessthanyoudoaboutmanyareasofyourindustry.Bynaturesuchpeoplearegeneralists.Theydon’thavetimetokeepupwithallthe day-to-day developments in their business, and they often lack relevantdetailspreciselybecausethey’vegottheireyesonthebigpicture.Thatinfactisexactlywhytheyneedyou.Youcanprovidethedetails theyneedtomakethatpictureclearer.

Top-management Economic Buyers are paid for the clarity of their crystalballs. Knowledge that increases their ability to predict the future, and thusdecreasestheirperceivedriskanduncertainty,isheldinthehighestregard:Thatkindofknowledge ismore important to theEconomicBuyer thananythingofmaterialvalue.Theidealsituationforyou,therefore,istobringyourEconomicBuyingInfluencesinformationthatcanserveasWindexfortheircloudedcrystalballs.

This information may or may not be related to your immediate salesobjective.Naturally, if the informationyoupresent demonstrates how to be inthe forefront of an industry trend by buying your product now, so much thebetter. But you can still get the EconomicBuyer on your side—and thereforeincrease the probability of approval for your sales objective— if you bringgeneral, industry-wide information, whether or not it’s part of your ownpresentation.

The importance of bringing Economic Buying Influences this kind ofinformationwas demonstrated by one of our clients, amajormanufacturer ofsnackfoods,afewyearsago,whenthecompany’snationalsalesmanagergaveajointpresentationtotheheadsofseveralsupermarketchains.

The occasion wasn’t a product presentation. That is, the manager wasn’tpushinghisbrand,orhiscompany’slinesingeneral,butsimplypresentingsomeoverall information that could be broadly useful to the assembled EconomicBuyers.Amongthepiecesofinformationhegavethesesupermarketexecutives,though,wasthefact that theaverageprofitmarginforsnackfoods—nomatterwhose label they carried—was extremely high as compared to grocery itemsoverall. The results of this information session were dramatic. Although ourclientmadenoclaim thathisproducts’ specificprofitmarginswereanybetterthan those of his competitors, within a matter of months the company hadsignificantly increaseditsshelfspaceinallof theaffectedstores.ThiswastheEconomic Buyers’ way of saying, “Thanks for the information,” and ofincreasingtheirowncompanyprofitsinthebargain.

KNOWLEDGETHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCEDOESN’TWANT

The snack food manufacturer was successful in increasing penetration in thesupermarket accounts because their sales force understood the EconomicBuyers’realbusinessneeds.Theyunderstoodthattheknowledgetheysuppliedhad to relate to long-term increased profitability. Peoplewho forget this point

oftenattempttobringEconomicBuyersthewrongkindofinformation,cloudingrather than clarifying their crystal balls.The personwho brings theEconomicBuyingInfluencethiskindofknowledgeundermineshisorherownposition.

We’vementionedthe“featuresandbenefits”or“bellsandwhistles”biasthatmanysalesrepresentativesstillbring to theirwork.Thisbiashasaprovisionalusefulnesswhenyou’resellingtoUserandcertainTechnicalBuyingInfluences,but it’salmostalwaysadrawbackwhenyou’re talking toanEconomicBuyer.Knowledge about bits and bytes in computers, about torque and compressionratios in machinery, or about trace ingredients in food products isn’t ofimmediatevaluetoapersonwhoseeyeisonlong-rangeplanning, institutionalstability, and return on investment.Don’twaste your time, or your EconomicBuyers’time,sellingthemthesenuts-and-boltsfeatures.

Thinkback to theparallelbetween theEconomicBuying Influenceand thecaptainofa ship.Asa salesperson,you’re likeamarine instruments specialisttrying to sell a new navigational system. Considering the captain’s needs andinterests, it would be a mistake to emphasize the size of the computerizedsystem’smemory,or toboast abouthowyourproductwilldo for thiscenturywhatthesextantdidfortheseventeenth.Thenavigator(acombinationUserandTechnicalBuyer)mayverywellwanttohearthosedetails.Thecaptaindoesn’t.Heorshejustwantsyoutoansweronequestion:“Willthisproducthelpmeplanmyship’scoursebetter?”

UNDERSTANDINGTHECONCEPT

The distinction between the knowledge that the Economic Buyer wants anddoesn’t want can be stated in another way. In the second program that wedevelopedatMillerHeiman,ConceptualSelling,weemphasizetheimportanceofthecustomer’sConceptasacriticalfactorineverydecisiontobuy.Asweusetheterm,theConceptisthecustomer’smentalimageofwhatshewantstohavehappenasaresultofasale.It’swhatthecustomerexpectstheproductorservicetoachieve.ThefirstandmostimportantlessonofConceptualSellingisthatyouhavetounderstandthecustomer’sConceptfirst,beforeyoucansellanyproductinaWin-Winfashion.Aproductsale issuccessful,wesay,onlytothedegreethatitmeetstherequirementsofthecustomer’sConcept.

Whenyou’redealingwithEconomicBuyingInfluences,thispointiscritical.Salespeoplewhodobestwith thesekeydecisi’on-makersalways findout firstwhattheywanttoachieve.Thosewhowonderwhy“Farleyjustisn’tpayingany

attentiontome”areusuallytryingtopushintheproducttooearly,beforetheyunderstandFarley’sproblemanddesiredsolution.

ThedifferencebetweenunderstandingtheConceptandmakingaproductsalecan be understood readily if you consider two types of decisions that go intoautomating a plant or a series of plants. The decision to automate in the firstplaceisaConceptdecision.TheEconomicBuyerwillbecriticaltomakingthatdecision, and if youwantyour company tobe involved in its implementation,thenyou’vegot tobeginbyzeroing inonhisConcept.You’vegot to findoutwhathethinksautomationwillaccomplish.

But once the decision to automate has beenmade, you have to convince awhole range of other individuals that your particular product line is bestequipped for the job.That’swhatwe call “making the product sale,” and thistask isusually takenupchieflywithUser andTechnicalBuying Influences. ItalwayshastocomeafteryouunderstandtheConcept.Ifyoutrytodoitbefore,youriskpromotingasolutionthatisirrelevantorevencontradictorytowhatthevariousBuyingInfluenceswanttoachieve.

Understanding the Concept and making the product sale are interrelatedtasks, of course, but in most cases your discussion with Economic BuyingInfluences should focus on the former. When dealing with these long-rangeforecasters, you’re better off presenting the end results and filling them in onhowyou’ll provide those results—that is, yourproduct specifics—only if theyask. Topmanagers seldomwant to know “What is this feature called?” Theywanttoknow“Whatwillthisdoformycompany(ordivisionordepartment)?”

Understanding the Economic Buyer’s Concept is so important that weconsider it oneof the salesperson’s chief responsibilities in dealingwith thesekeyBuyingInfluences.Butthere’sanother,related,responsibilitythat’s justasimportant.Youalsohavetoestablishyourowncredibility.

ESTABLISHINGCREDIBILITY

This means not only your personal credibility, but your company’s too.Credibility is thebedrockofsalessuccess. Inestablishing it,we’vefoundfourtechniques to be especially effective. These are like-rank selling, theadvertisementofpastsuccesses,executivebriefings,andbringingintheservicesofanexpertor“guru.”

LIKE-RANKSELLING

Although it’syour responsibilityas theorchestratorofyoursalesobjectives toseethateveryBuyingInfluencebaseisadequatelycovered,youmaynotalwaysbethebestpersontosell toeachofthesekeyindividualsyourself.That’swhywe encourage our clients to practice team selling, and to set up meetingsbetweenbuyersandsellerslikerank.Sinceexecutivesandotherbusinesspeopleareoftenmostcomfortabletalkingtotheirpeers,yourownboss(tousejustoneexample)might find it a lot easier to establish credibilitywithyourEconomicBuyingInfluencethanyouwould.

Your job is to be sure that each Buying Influence base is covered by theperson best qualified to do so. Economic Buyers are seldom reluctant toexchange ideaswithmanagementpeers. IfyoucanarrangeforyourEconomicBuyer to visit one of your company facilitieswhere that’s possible—or, evenbetter, if you can bring one of your company executives to this key player—you’llbeusinglike-ranksellingeffectively.

PuttingexecutivestogetherlikethishastheaddedadvantageofshowingtheEconomicBuyerthatyourcompanyiscommitted,fromseniormanagementondown,toyourproposal.Thisinturnhasasignificantspin-offeffect:Itprovidesapublicdemonstrationofyourpersonalvalue,thusestablishingyourcredibilityforfuturesales.

ADVERTISINGPASTSUCCESSES

YoucanalsoarrangeforyourEconomicBuyingInfluencestovisitacustomerinstallationwhereyouhave a successful track record, andwherebydefinitionyou’llbeimmediatelydistinguishedfromthecompetition.Byshowinghowyourproduct or service has worked well for another client, you demonstrate bothConceptandcredibility,andalsobringtheEconomicBuyerstheonethingtheymostwant:directinformationabouthowtoimprovetheirownbusinesses.

THEEXECUTIVEBRIEFING

The executive briefing is used frequently in the fields of packaged goods andconsumer products.Many of our Fortune 500 clients in these fields give suchbriefingsonceortwiceayeartoexecutivesintheirnationalaccounts.Atthese

periodicpresentations,theyreviewwiththeirEconomicBuyerstheResultsandWinsthey’veprovidedintherecentpast,andsuggestfuturejointventuresthatwill ensure that the customers will continue to Win. Even when there is nospecificproposalon the table, thesellingfirmis thusstillable toreinforce thesatisfactions that its customers have enjoyed as a result of their previousassociations.

BRINGINGINA“GURU”

Aguru, inStrategicSelling terminology, is someonewith expertise in anareathat exerts influence on business trends. This expertmay ormay not be fromyourcompany,andmayormaynotbewellversedinyourparticularbusiness.

EconomicBuyersachievetheirpositionsofauthorityinpartbecausethey’rereceptivetonewideas.TheadvantagetoyouofarrangingameetingbetweenaguruandyourEconomicBuyeristhatitwillintroducethatpersontonewideas.Notsoincidentally,thecreditwillgotoyou,aswellastotheguru,becauseofyourpartinmakingtheexpertiseavailable.

Inaddition,employingagurucanallowyoutobringtheEconomicBuyingInfluenceknowledgethatyouhave,but thatyouknowwillbemorebelievablecoming from an impartial expert. For example, having anR&D expert tell anEconomicBuyerthatyourcompanyisatthecuttingedgeofacertaintechnologymaybeamuchmoreeffectivewayofgettingyourmessagethroughthanyoursaying,asasalesrepresentative,“We’vegotthebeststuffonthemarket.”

The guru technique is used with some frequency—nd with extraordinaryeffectiveness—n dealings between major firms. It’s a way not so much offacilitating specific sales as of establishing a history of healthy interaction, inwhich key players at both the firm that supplies the guru and the firm thatreceivesnewknowledgeseethemselvesashavingWon.

Wewerecalledinasgurusourselvessometimeago,whenoneofourclientsbooked one of our Strategic Selling programs not for itself, but for one of itsclients. Our new participants were very pleased with the program, and theirappreciationextendednotjusttous,thegurus,forhavingpresentedit,butalsotothecompanythathadmadeitpossible.SoeverybodyWon.

These four techniques are only samples. You may come up with othertechniques that are also effective in improving your position with EconomicBuyers.Useanything thatworks,ofcourse,as longasyou’re sure thatyou’redeliveringwhat theEconomicBuyeralwaysneeds—knowledgeto improvehis

orherforecastingability—andthatyou’redeliveringitinaWin-Winmanner.It’struethatyou’llhavetoassumetheimmediateburdenhere,sincetypically

the company delivering the knowledge picks up the tab. But you’ll almostcertainly be repaid in future business. Delivering knowledge to an EconomicBuying Influence is not a gift. If the knowledge is relevant and useful, thetechniqueisaninvestment.

KEEPINGINTOUCH

It’sespeciallycrucial tocover theEconomicBuyingInfluenceonan initialsale toanewaccount—and todo thisearly in thesellingcycle.But that’snotenough.Maintainingregularcontactwithall thepotentialEconomicBuyersineveryaccountiscriticallyimportanttolong-termsellingstrategy.

Howregularisregular?Evenamongexperiencedsalesprofessionals,there’sahighdegreeofuncertaintyabouthowfrequentlyEconomicBuyersshouldbecontactedtomaintainhealthybusinessrelationships.Thusoneof thequestionswe are askedmost often is “Howoften do I have to see theEconomicBuyerafterImakethatfirstsale?”Thequestionhasatwo-partanswer,anditlinksupeverythingwe’vesaidaboutbringingtheEconomicBuyerwhatheorsheneeds,aboutreducingyourowndiscomfort,andaboutpreparation:

• Contact with the Economic Buying Influence must be periodic, notsporadic.

• Whenever you contact this person, you should have a valid businessreasonfordoingso.

You don’t have to contact the Economic Buyer on every repeat sale, butcontactafterthefirstordershouldstillbeperiodicratherthanhaphazard.Ifyoudon’tschedulemeetingswithyourEconomicBuyersonaregularbasis,it’seasytofallbackintotheolddiscomforttrapandtoletcontactwiththesekeyplayersslideuntilyourpositionintheiraccountshaseroded.Asageneralrule,you’rerisking such erosion unless you meet with your Economic Buying Influenceseverysixmonths.

Since they know that they’ll be seeing their Economic Buyers in anothermonth,or threemonths, thebestsalesstrategistsarealwaysonthe lookoutforvalidbusinessreasonstodoso—thatis,forcontributionstheycanmaketotheway the customer is doing business. These contributions can be as major as

showing the Economic Buyer that your company’s new refining process cansavehercompany18percentinmaterialscost—oras“minor”asbringingheranarticleonoutsourcing,anewSECregulation,oraproductivityseminar.Aslongastheyhighlightfuturetrendsthatmight,directlyorindirectly,haveanimpactonthecompany’sbusiness,suchcontributionswillalwaysbeappreciated—evenif the Economic Buyer has already seen them. The point is for you to.demonstrate that you want this individual to Win. An Economic Buyer whounderstandsthatcanbeaninvaluableallyinanysale.

PERSONALWORKSHOP6:YOURPOSITIONWITHTHEECONOMICBUYING

INFLUENCE

TakeoutyourBuyingInfluencesChart,yourWin-ResultsCha’rt,yourAlternatePositions list, your notebook, andyourRedFlag andStrength stickers.You’llneed about twentyminutes to test your positionwith theEconomicBuyer foryourchosenSingleSalesObjective.

STEP1:WHOISTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCEFORTHISSALESOBJECTIVE?In defining exactly who the Economic Buyer is for your sales objective,remember that this single individual has final authority to release the neededfunds. Look at the name you’ve placed in the Economic Buyer box of yourBuyingInfluencesChart,andaskyourselfwhetherornotyouknow forcertainthat thispersoncontrols thefundsfor thissale.Ifyou’renotcertain, lookoveryour Buying Influences Chart again and see if you can uncover a “hidden”EconomicBuyerinoneoftheotherkeyplayers.Thinkalsoabouttherestoftheaccount, to see if you’ve overlooked a “mere rubber stamp” high up in thebuyingorganizationwhowillactuallygivefinalapprovaltoreleasethemoney.

Onceyou’vecomeupwiththenameofthepersonwhoyoubelievecontrolsthefundsyouneed,evenifyou’recertainthatyou’vegottherightperson,testyourselfbyaskingthesefurtherquestionsaboutyourequivalentofDanFarley:

• Is Farley at the right level in the buying organization to make such abuying decision? If such a decision were beingmade inmy company,would the Economic Buyer approval come from the same level?

(Remembertotakeintoaccounttherelativesizeofthetwocompanies.)• Have I considered the five risk factors that might cause the EconomicBuyerroletofloatupwardordownwardfromthislevel?

•Am I focusing on theEconomicBuying Influence for this Single SalesObjective,ratherthanlastmonth’sornextyear’s?

• Is Farley’s approval final? Can I honestly take his yes as a release offunds,orisitonlyarecommendation?

• Is there anybody else in the buying organizationwho can veto Farley’sapproval?

In asking these critical questions, remember that you have several sources ofinformation to tap. Don’t rely only on your own impressions of the salessituation.Ifpossible,asktheEconomicBuyerhimselforherself,usingdirectorindirectquestions.Anddouble-checktheanswersbyaskingyourCoach.

STEP2:HOWWELLISTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCECOVERED?Keeping in mind that any uncovered Buyer is a threat, determine how wellyou’vecoveredtheEconomicBuyerbyaskingyourselfquestionslikethese:

• Have I personally seen Dan Farley, or have I arranged for him to becontactedbysomeonebetterqualifiedtodoso?(Untilyou’veseentoitthat the best qualified member of your selling team has contacted theEconomicBuyer,youhavetoconsiderthatBuyingInfluencebaseaRedFlag.IfFarleyhasbeencontactedbysomeoneinyourorganization,thatisaStrength.)

• If Farley hasn’t yet been contacted, why not? If he’s geographicallydistantorbeingscreenedbyasecretary,canIusegoodproxiesor like-ranksellingtogetthrough?

•If I’mbeingblocked fromgetting toFarley,what’smybeststrategyfordealing with the blocker? In this specific sales situation, is the beststrategytogoalong,goaround,orshowtheblockingBuyerhowtoWin?

STEP3:HOWRECEPTIVEISTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCETOMYPROPOSAL?We’vesaidthateachResponseModedictatesadifferentsellingstrategy.Inthis

step of the workshop, test the assessment you made in Chapter 8 of yourEconomicBuyer’sResponseMode, toassureyourself that, at thispoint in theselling cycle, you’re approaching this individualwith the appropriate strategy.Dothatbyaskingyourselfthesequestions:

• If Farley is inGrowthMode, does he understand thatmyproposalwillhelp him improve the business process or processes that he wantsimproved?

• If he’s in TroubleMode, does he understand that my proposal will fixwhatever’swrong?IsheconvincedthatIunderstandtheurgencyofhisproblem?

• If he’s in Even Keel Mode, can I demonstrate to him that there’s adiscrepancyhehasn’tperceivedbetweenhis.currentrealityanddesiredresults?CanIhaveanotherBuyingInfluencealerthimtoTroubleonthehorizon?

•Ifhe’sinOverconfidentMode,isitwiseformetotrytosellhimatthistime—orshouldIlielowuntilhecyclesintoTrouble?HaveImadethenecessarypreparationstosolvehisproblemwheniteventuallyarises?

STEP4:AMIPLAYINGWIN-WINWITHTHEECONOMICBUYINGINFLUENCE?Youknowyou’replayingWin-WinwithyourEconomicBuyingInfluencewhenyoucangivepositiveanswerstothefollowingquestions:

•HaveIdelivered,orcanIdeliver,toDanFarley’scompanyaResultthatwillcreateapositiveimpactononeormoreofitsbusinessprocesses?

•DoesthisResulttranslateforFarleyasapersonalWinthatwillsatisfyhisself-interest? (Remember here thatWins are individual and intangible,andthatyoucanoftenuseCoachingtogiveyoureliableinformationonhowagivenBuyingInfluenceWins.)

•Does heunderstand that I’ve been responsible, andwill continue to beresponsible,fordeliveringWin-Results tohim?Inotherwords,doesheknowthatIwanttoservehisself-interestaswellasmyown?

Ifyoucan’tgiveyourselfconcrete,positiveanswerstothesequestions,youneedto reconsideryourposition.LookoveryourBuying InfluencesChartandyour

Win-Results Chart again, concentrating on the Economic Buying Influence.Review theWin-Results Statement that you wrote for this person. Place RedFlagsanyplaceonyourchartswheretheanswerstotheabovequestionsweren’tsatisfactory.WhatquestionsdoyouneedtoaskyourCoachorCoachestohelpyoueliminatetheseRedFlags?

Look also at the Strengths you have identified on the Buying InfluencesChart. Are you able to use any of them as leverage against the Red Flags tofurtherimproveyourposition-withthisEconomicBuyer?

STEP 5: DO I HAVE A VALID BUSINESS REASON FOR SEEING THE ECONOMICBUYER?NomatterhowsolidyourpositionwithyourEconomicBuyermaylooktoyou,it’salwaysinjeopardyunless,everytimeyouseethisperson,youhaveavalidbusiness reason for doing so. Testwhether or not you have such a reason byaskingyourselfthesequestions:

•WhatknowledgedoIhavethatFarleycanusetoforecastfuturetrendsinhisbusiness?Howwillthisknowledgehelphimcleanhiscrystalball?

•HowisthisknowledgeConceptrelatedratherthanproductrelated?HowwillthecontributionthatIcanmaketohisbusinessimpactorganizationalstabilityandgrowth,andnotjustthenutsandboltsofdailyoperations?

•Howdoesmycontributionnotonlyhelpthecustomer’sbusiness,butalsoestablish the credibility ofmy company?Whether or not it leads to anacceptanceofmy immediatesalesproposal,howdoes itdistinguishmefromthecompetition?

STEP6:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.Throughout thisworkshop, you’ve been asking yourself questions designed toclarify your current position with your Economic Buying Influence. Use theanswers to those questions now to improve that position. Take out yourAlternatePositionslistandaddtoitanystrategyoptionsthatthisworkshophassuggested.

Asyou revise the list,workonlyon thoseAlternatePositions that relate to

the Economic Buying Influence. Continue to be specific, and continue to testeach entry against the rule of thumb that every good Alternate PositioneliminatesaRedFlag,leveragesfromaStrength,ordoesboth.

Forexample, if inStep2of thisworkshopyounoticed thatGarySteinbergwas blocking you from getting to Farley, it’s not sufficient to list “Get pastSteinberg” as anAlternate Position.Amore specificAlternate Positionwouldreadsomething like this:“ShowSteinberghowhecanmakean impressiononFarleybyhelpingmebringhimmyproductivity-increasingproposal.”

Or, if in Step 4 you noticed that you still don’t understand how Farley isgoing to Win in the sale, you can’t just list “Get Farley to Win.” A soundAlternatePosition—onethatemploysaStrengthtoeliminateaRedFlag—wouldbe“AskDorisGreen toexplainhowa15percentproductivity-increasewouldtranslateintoaWinforFarley.”

AFINALPOSITIONCHECK

Your continual revision of yourAlternatePositions list is away of remainingprepared,andthusofreducingdiscomfort,each-timeyoumeetyourEconomicBuyingInfluence.Butyou^won’tbeabletocarrythislistaroundwithyou,andto review it in detail, every time you knock on this person’s door. To reduceyourdiscomfortbeforeeachindividualmeeting,youneeda“shortform”test,togauge themost important featuresofyourupcoming interaction.We’ve foundthat you can efficiently and quickly reduce your discomfort in the face ofmeetinganEconomicBuyerif,justbeforeyougoin,youaskyourselffourkeyquestions:

1.WhatdoIneedtoFINDOUT?Thatis,whatinformationdoIneedtogetfrom this Economic Buyer, or from Someone else, to help me betteraddresstherequiredResultsandpersonalWins?

2. What do I want the Economic Buyer to KNOW? That is, whatcontributioncanImaketothisperson’slong-rangebusinessplanning?

3.What do I want the Economic Buyer to DO? That is, how will thatcontributionprovideResultsthatwillhaveapositiveimpactonboththebuyingorganizationandmyown?

4.Whatdo Iwant theEconomicBuyer toFEEL?That is,howwill thoseResults translate into a personal Win that the Economic Buyer willattributetome?

Whenyoucananswer thesequestionsclearly,andwhenyouknowhowyou’llget the Economic Buyer to know, do, and feel what you want, you’llautomaticallyfeelmorerelaxedaboutfacingthiskeyBuyingInfluence,andwillbeabletogointoyourmeetingswithmuchgreaterconfidence.

CHAPTER12

THECOACH:DEVELOPINGYOURPRIMEINFORMATIONRESOURCE

Throughoutourongoinganalysisofyourcurrentsalesobjective,we’vestressedthe importance of developingCoaches to improve your strategic positionwiththeotherBuyingInfluences.BeginninginChapter1withthestoryofGreg,thecomputersalesmanwhoutilizedanoutsideconsultanttorepositionhimselfwithanEconomicBuying Influence,we’ve said that the use of effectiveCoachingcanbethedifferencebetweenasale thatalmostmakesit to theclose,andonethatnotonlyclosesinyourfavorbutalsogeneratesWin-Winsalesforyoufarinto the future. We’ve also made the point that, unlike the other BuyingInfluences,aCoachwon’tbesittingoutthereinthebuyingorganization,waitingto be identified.Coaches have to be “nominated” into their position, and thendevelopedasresourcesforyourparticularsalesobjectives.

BecauseagoodCoachissoessentialtogoodstrategy,andbecausetheCoachissignificantlydifferentinsomerespectsfromtheotherBuyingInfluences,weconsolidate here, in a single chapter, all the information you need to know inorderto’nominate,”develop,anduseyourCoacheswisely.Wedothispartlyindeferencetoallthoseclientswho,whenweaskedthemwhatthey’dliketohearmoreabout,said“First,theEconomicBuyer.Then,theCoach.”AgoodCoachisoftenakey to locking inyourpositionwithall theotherBuyingInfluences.Hereweshowyouhowtousethatkey.

AgoodCoachfunctionsessentiallyasaninformationresource.Heorshecannotonlyenableyoutochecktheaccuracyoftheinformationthatyou’regettingbutalsoprovideinformationthatyouhaven’tbeenabletogetelsewhere.Justasimportant,Coachescanhelpyou tie togethereverything thatyouknow,orarestill trying to find out, about the Buying Influences for your Single SalesObjectives.Morespecifically:

1.Asyoubeginyourstrategy,yourCoachcanhelpyoufindtherealkeyplayers for your sales objective and help you determine each one’sDegreeofInfluence.

2.YourCoachcanhelpyouidentifyareasofStrengthinyourpositionthatyoucanusetoeliminateRedFlags.

3.YourCoachcanhelpyouunderstandeachBuyingInfluence’sperceptionof reality—and thus gauge how each one is likely to react to yourproposal in termsof the fourResponseModes (Growth,Trouble,EvenKeel,andOverconfident).

4.YourCoach can help you understand theResults eachBuyer needs toWin—and how to deliver those Results so that your Buyers perceivethemselvestobeinaWin-Winrelationshipwithyou.

YourCoachwillbeabletohelpyouintheseareas,though,onlyifheorshefitsa very particular “job description.”Wearing a cowboy hat doesn’t necessarilymeanyouknowoneendofahorsefromtheother.Similarly,noteveryonewholooks like a Coach can necessarily meet the special qualifications of theCoachingrole.Therefore,youneedexactcriteriatodeterminewhocan,andwhoprobablycannot,functionasthiscriticalinformationresource.

THETHREECOACHINGCRITERIA

We’ve explained that a good Coach can be found anywhere —in yourorganization, in the buying organization, or somewhere outside both. It’s notgeographyororganizationalplacementthatdetermineswhetherornotapersoncanfilltheCoachingroleforyou,butratherhowwellthecandidatefulfillsthreespecificCoachingcriteria:

•Criterion 1:Your credibility.ACoach is someonewithwhomyou, the

person orchestrating the sale, have personal credibility. That is, yourCoachhasgottobelieveinyou,tobeconvincedthatyoucanbetrusted.And we mean trusted in a professional, selling capacity. Your mothermight trust you not to filch cookies when she isn’t looking, but thatdoesn’tmakeherasuitablecandidateforaCoach.Generally,whenyouhavecredibilitywithapotentialCoach,it’sbecausethispersonhasWonwith you professionally in the past. So the first thing to ask yourself,whenyou’reconsideringcandidatesfortheCoachingrole,isthis:“DoIhaveatrackrecordofperformancewiththisperson?”

•Criterion2:TheCoach’scredibility.AgoodCoachmusthavecredibilitywiththeBuyingInfluencesforyourparticularsalesobjective.They—orat leastsomeof them—haveto trust thepersonyou’reconsideringwellenough to share with him or her the information you need. This trust“can’tbediffuse,anditcan’tbebasedmerelyonimaginedprestige.Thatis, it’s not enough to say that “theManetti people trust Toni” becauseshe’sahigh-levelexecutivewho“nodoubt”commandsrespect.IfToniis really a potential Coach for your objective, she knows the relevantBuyingInfluencesatManettipersonally,theyhaveWonwithherinthepast, and shehasnotonly their respectbut their confidence.SinceyouneedyourCoachtoclarifyforyouhowthebuyingdecisionwillbemade,this criterion is fundamental. So the second question to ask is “Do theBuyingInfluencesformySingleSalesObjectivetrustthisperson?”

•Criterion3:Desiringyoursuccess.ThecrucialdistinctionbetweenyourCoach and theotherBuying Influences is that by .definition theCoachwants you tomake this sale. Forwhatever reason, this person believesthat,whenyourproposalisadopted,heorshewillWin.AsweexplainedinthediscussionofWin-Results,itwouldbeusefulforyoutoknowwhatthat reason is, but that’s not essential. What is essential is that yourpotentialCoachseeadirectcorrelationbetweenyourgettingthispieceofbusinessandhisorherself-interest.Therefore,thethirdquestiontoaskis“DoesthisindividualseeapersonalWininmymakingthissale?”

Twelveyearsago, inthefirsteditionof thisbook,wesuggestedthat,whileanidealCoachfulfillsallthreeofthesecriteria,it’spossibletoworkwithpeople“whodon’tmeasureuponall threecounts.”“Justbewareofpeople,”wesaid,“whodon’tmeetanyofthecriteria;they’redefinitelynotCoaches.Concentrateonthepeoplewhocomeclosesttopassingthisthree-parttest.”

This isoneof theveryfewareas inStrategicSellingwherewe’vechanged

our advice. Further experience has shown us that, unless your Coachingcandidate fulfills all three of the criteria we’ve outlined, you should beextremelycautiousaboutconsideringthispersonaCoach.Attheveryleast,youshould identify each criterion that is unfulfilled as a Red Flag. Our clientscontinually tellushorror stories that reinforce the importanceof thismodifiedadvice.

Suppose, for example, that you were considering Toni’s suitability as aCoachinthefollowingsituationswiththeManettiaccount:

•EverybodyatManettitrustsher,she’sallfiredupaboutyourproposal,butshedoesn’tknowyoufromaholeinthewall.ThatwouldbeCriteria2and3fulfilled,butnot1.

• She’s worked with you well in the past, she loves your proposal, butnobodyatManettiknowsherfromaholeinthewall.OKon1and3,butzeroon2.

• She trusts you and they trust her, but she’s so preoccupied with anoperationalglitchinanotherdepartmentthatsheseestalkingtoyouaboutManettitobeagiantdistraction.That’sCriteria1and2,butnothingon3.

In all of these cases, it would be reckless to go along with the popularexpressionandsay“Twooutofthreeain’tbad.”Twooutofthreeherecouldbeterrible,becauseattemptingtoutilizeToniwhenshe’snotfullyqualifiedcouldactuallybringmoredamagethangoodtothesituation.

That’s not a death sentence, though.We’re not suggesting that, when youfindyourselfinatwo-out-of-threesituation,yousimplydiscardthatpersonasapotential Coach.BecauseComplex Sales are dynamic, not static, and becauseyourstrategic involvementcan itselfbringaboutchanges,youshouldconsidereveryToni that you encounter to be an undeveloped but still potentially goodresource.

Think of potential Coaches as diamonds in the rough. When a diamondcomes out of the ground, it’s a lump ofmilky stone.Whatmakes it worth amillion is the faceting and polishing—in other words, the process of gemdevelopment.ThesameprincipleappliesinturningCoachesinto“gems.”LookforCoacheswhopassallthreeofthequalifyingtests.Forthosethatpassoneortwo,starttheprocessofdevelopment:ThismeanstreatingyourpotentialCoachlikeanyotherBuyingInfluence—assomeonewhoneedspersonalWinsthatyoumightbeabletodeliver.

AVOIDING“FALSECOACHES”

Innarrowingdownthefieldofcandidatessoyoucanfocusonthebestpossiblepotential Coaches, we’ve found it useful to identify at the outset certaincategoriesofindividualswhoareoftenmistakenforCoaches—peoplewhomaylook likeCoaches,butwhocannot really fulfill thiscritical role.Among these“falseCoaches”arethefollowing:

THE“FRIEND”

ProbablythesinglemostcommonerrormadeinidentifyingpotentialCoachesistoconfuse theCoach’s liking the salespersonpersonallywithhisorher likingthe sales objective. In the search for reliableCoaching, “He likesme” shouldneverbetakenasanequivalentof“Helikesmyproposalandwantsmetomakethissale.”

YouwantyourCoachtolikeyou,ofcourse.You’renotgoingtogetreliabledataeasilyfromsomeonewithwhomyouhavenorapport.Butpersonalrapportisn’tenough.YouwantyourCoachtolikeyouforaparticularreason—becausethisindividualhasWonwithyouinthepast.ApersonwhohasWonwithyoualready is likely to believe that he or she canWinwith you again.Therefore,you’ll have the necessary credibility with that person that constitutes our firstCoachingcriterion.

Butthat’sstillonlyonecriterion.Don’tforgettheothertwo.NomatterhowcloseyouaretoDorisGreen,andnomatterhowgreatapersonshethinksyouare,she’snotaCoachunlessshe’strustedbytheotherBuyingInfluences,andunlesssheperceivesaWininthissalesobjectiveforherself.ACoachmustlikeyourcurrentproposal.

THEINFORMATIONGIVER

It’struethatyourCoach’sprimarydutyistoprovideyouwithinformation.Butnot just any information. To be a reliable Coach, the person has to get youinformationthat’suniqueandusefultoyouinthisparticularsale.

•By“unique”wemeaninformationthatyoucan’treadilygetelsewhere.

• By “useful” we mean information that will help you improve yourpositionwiththeotherBuyingInfluencesforthissale.

These two characteristics are interactive and equally essential. The personwho gives you capital expenditure figures from the buying company’s laststockholders’ report may be giving you useful information—but it’s hardlyunique,sinceyoueasilycouldhave(andshouldhave)gottenityourself.Ontheotherhand,thepersonwhotellsyouthatyourEconomicBuyingInfluencehasastar-shapedmole on his left shoulder is giving you unique information that’suseless. The unique and useful information that you want your Coaches toprovidewill tellyouhowthebuyingorganizationreallymakesdecisions,howeachoftheBuyingInfluencesreallyWins—andhowtheResultsyourproposaldeliverscanhelpeachofthemdoso.

Ideally, your Coaches provide a map that guides you to the other BuyingInfluences.BewareofCoacheswhoofferyou“fare”or“interesting”mapsthatdon’tshowyouwhereyouwanttogo.There’snopointinhavingthedefinitivemapofNewJerseyinyourpocketifthepeopleyou’retryingtoworkwithliveinKansas.

THEINSIDESALESPERSON

Aninsidesalesperson,asweusetheterm,issomeoneinthebuyingorganizationwhodoessomeofyoursellingforyou,andwhousuallyrecommendsyouoverthe competition. In other words, he takes on some of your responsibilities—almostalwaysbecauseheseessomethinginthesaleforhim.ThismeansthathefulfillsthethirdCoachingcriterion:HeseesyourpendingsuccessasapersonalWin.

But, again, that’s only one criterion. By itself, it’s not enough to make aperson a goodCoach.As important as inside salesmen are tomanyComplexSales, not all of themmakegoodCoaches.To tellwhichones are, andwhichones are not, going to be reliable information resources, we urge you to testinsidesalesmenagainstthefirsttwoCoachingcriteriaaswell:(1)Theyhavetotrustyouand(2) theBuyingInfluencesfor thissalehaveto trust them. If theydon’ttrustyou,theirdesireforyoutomakethesalemayproveunstable.Andiftheyaren’ttrustedbytheotherBuyingInfluences,theymaynotgetyouaccurateinformation.

There’s an additional danger in seeking Coaching from inside salespeople.

Bydefinitionaninsidesalespersonsells.That’snotwhataCoachdoes.Coachesbelongonthesidelines,givingyoudirection.Astheorchestratorofasale,youshoulddoyourownselling.Afterall,howfarwouldanNFLquarterbackgetifheaskedhisCoachtotakethesnapfromcenter?HowmanygoldmedalswouldKristi Yamaguchi get if she asked her Coach to perform her triple axels? Indeveloping inside salespeople as Coaches, remember one cardinal rule: Themoreyouletsomebodyelseruntheplaysforyou,thelesscontrolyouhaveoftheball.

THEMENTOR

Asyouknow,manyexecutivestodaygettheirprofessionalstartunderthewingof old-timers in their organizations (sometimes outside of their organizations)who takeonanunofficial responsibility forshowing thenewcomers the ropes.The older person introduces the younger one to the “right” people, explainscompanyprotocolandprocedure,andingeneralgroomsthenoviceexecutivetocarryonhisorherpersonalbrandofleadership.

It’s true thatyoumayfindCoaches inyourownorganization.Andit’s truethat a mentor such as the senior executive we’re describing here can be avaluableasset.Butyoushouldn’tconfuseamentorwithaCoach.

Bydefinitionamentorwantsyoutosucceedinyourcareer.Hegroomsyoutofollowinhisfootstepssothatyoursuccessinbusinessasawholewillreflectwellonhim.ACoachesdesireforyoursuccess,whilejustassolid,isfarmorefocused than that:YourCoachbydefinitionwantsyou tosucceed in thissale.As fervently committed as a mentor may be to your success, she may havenothing tocontribute toyourcurrentSingleSalesObjective—togatheringandrefiningtheinformationyouneedforthissale.YourCoach,ontheotherhand,maycarerelatively littleaboutyour long-rangeplans.ButaCoachwhoseesapersonalWininyourclosing thispieceofbusinesscanstillbeareliable,sale-specificasset.

THEBESTPOSSIBLECOACHINGSITUATION

Although good Coaches can be found almost anywhere, there is one idealsource. The best of all possible Coaching situations is to turn the EconomicBuyerforyoursalesobjectiveintoaCoachinhisorherownorganization.The

benefitsofdoingthisshouldbeobvious:

•TheEconomicBuyerislikelytounderstandbetterthantheotherBuyingInfluenceshowthebuyingorganizationasawholeactuallyworks—thatis,howcriticalpurchasingdecisionsaremade.Sothispersoncanguideandintroduceyoutotheotherkeyplayers.

•IftheEconomicBuyingInfluenceisconvincedoftheConceptadvantagesofyourproposal,you’llhave less troubleselling itsproductadvantagestotheotherBuyingInfluences.

•ThesimplefactthattheEconomicBuyerisusuallyatopmanagermeansthat this person’s counsel will carry weight with the other BuyingInfluences.

• Turning your Economic Buying Influence into a Coach significantlyreducestheriskofthesalebeingvetoedlateinthegame.

For different but related reasons, it’s always good to get to the EconomicBuyer early and todevelop a goodCoach early.Turning theEconomicBuyerintoaCoachaccomplishesboththesetaskssimultaneously.

IftheEconomicBuyerfavorsyourproposalearlyinthegame,onegoodwayofturningthispersonintoaCoachistoaskforCoachingaboutanotherperson.“Dan,”youcansay,“I’dappreciatesomeCoachingonthebestapproachtotakewithWillJohnson.”SuchaquestionreinforcesyourpositionwiththeEconomicBuyingInfluenceandimprovestheCoachingpossibilities.

ASKINGFORCOACHING

When you’vewinnowed out the false Coaches and have found someonewhoyoubelieve fulfills the threeCoaching criteria, you should ask that person forCoaching.Wemean this literally. The term “Coaching,” because of its use insports, has a very positive connotation in our culture. It decodes as “I’mcompetentandI’lldomyownwork; justgivemesomedirection.”Becauseofthispositiveconnotation,mostpeopleareflatteredtobeasked,andwelcometheopportunity,toprovideCoaching.Sousetheword:“Coaching.”Don’tsay,“Ineedyourhelp,”or“Canyourefermeto therightpeoplefor

thissale?”Thewords“refer”and“help”and“recommendation”decodebadly:They’re heard as “I’m incompetent; I need you to carry the ball forme.” By

asking for Coaching rather than for a referral, moreover, you’re likely todiscover a happyparadox.The salespersonwho asks for a referral or for helpmaynot get either one.On the other hand, the personwho asks forCoachingusuallygetsnotonlytheinformationsheneeds,butthereferralbesides.

What’sfundamentalisthepointwementionedpreviously,whenwedefinedthedifferencebetweenaninsidesalespersonandaCoach.YourCoach’sroleisto provide information, direction, guidance—and in many cases access to theotherBuyingInfluences.ButtheCoachdoesn’tdoyoursellingforyou.BewaryofgivinganypotentialCoachtheideathatthatiswhatyou’relookingfor.

YOURCOACHINGNETWORK

YoushouldtrytodevelopatleastoneCoachpermajorsalesobjective.Butoftenoneisnotenough.Often,too,evenaCoachwhohasproveninvaluableononesalesobjectivewillproveuselessonafutureone.Soyourlong-termaimshouldbe to develop anetwork ofCoacheswithin each accountwhose expertise youcandrawonwhenandasneeded.Thelargerandmorecomplextheaccount,thegreatertheneedforanetworkofCoaches.

There are two basic reasons that you need to develop such a Coachingnetwork. One is that every sale is unique: You need a different Coach orCoachesforeachSingleSalesObjective,andthemorepeopleyouhavetodrawfrom,thebetteroffyouwillbe.Theotherreasonisthattherearesomanywaystobemisinformedthatsuccessisusuallytheresultnotofrelyingononeperson’sinformation,butofcomparingavarietyofdatafrommanysources.

COACHESFORTHISSALE

A friend of ours in computer sales discovered the importance of having aCoaching network recently, when he nearly blew a major software deal byrelyinginitiallyonasingleCoach,abuyingorganizationmiddlemanagerwhomhe described as “my old buddyMel.” Mel had Coached him very well on acoupleofformerdeals,andnaturallyourfriendwenttohimfordirectionwhenhewasabouttoproposeathird.

Onthisthirdsale,though,Melwaslukewarm.Hegaveourfriendadvicethatboileddownto“Hanginthere—you’redoingfine.”Encouraging,sure—butnotexactly the kind of information the salesman needed to develop incrementally

greater certainty about his position. For about amonth he kept going back toMel, with negligible results, until he suddenly realized his problem. On theprevioussales,MelhadbeenoneoftheUserBuyersaswellastheCoach;he’dseen that it was in his immediate self-interest to have our friend make thosedeals.Onthissalesproposal,however,ourfriendwas trying tosellasoftwarepackagethathadnothingtodowithMel’sdepartment.BecauseMelfeltthathehadnothingtogainfromthetransaction,his“assistance”wasmorecordialthanilluminating.

“WhenIrealizedthat,”thesalesmantoldus,“thelightreallywenton.Isawthathewasstillmyfriend,butthathehadnointerestinthisparticularsale.I’dhavetolookelsewhereforarealCoach.”

Thewayhedid that illustrates the importanceofnetworking.Oncehe sawthatMelwasthewrongresourceforthisuniquesalesobjective,ourfriendwenttohimandadmittedhisdilemma.“Look,Mel,”hesaid,“I’minabindhere.Isthereanyonewhocangivemethekindofinformationonthissalethatyougavemeonthelasttwo?”OurfriendwasstillusingMelasaCoach,butinatotallydifferent,andmuchmoreeffective,manner.Bygettinghis“oldfriend”toguidehimtowardanothersale-specificCoach,heaccomplishedthreevaluablethings:

1.HereinforcedhisformerWin-WinrelationshipwithMelbylettingMelknowthathevaluedandappreciatedhisadvice.

2.HepositionedhimselfwiththerightCoachforthissale—awomanwhosawaWininthesaleforherself.

3.HewidenedthenetworkofpossibleCoachesonwhomhecoulddrawinthefuture.

NETWORKINGASACHECKINGMECHANISM

ThesecondreasonyouneedtodevelopavarietyofCoachesisthat,evenwithineach individual sale, there are still plenty of chances to bemisinformed. Themorepeopleyouhavegivingyou information, therefore, themoreopportunityyou’llhavetocheckeachindividualperson’sassessmentagainstotherpeople’sviews.Inaddition,themoreRedFlagsyou’llbelikelytoturnintoopportunities.

ANorthwestareadirectorinfoodservicesales,amanwe’llcallRod,usesa“totalcoverage”techniqueinsettingupandnurturinghisCoachingnetwork.“IalwaystrytouseeverybodyIcanasaCoach,”heexplains.“Idealmostlywith

peopleatthevice-presidentiallevel,andalmosteverybodyatthatlevelhassomeinformationyoucanuse.IgetJackSmithtogivemeahandleonMaryJones’sWins,andthenIgetMarytotellmeaboutJack’s.ThatwayIcandouble-checkwhateachpersonistellingme,soIneverendupworkingwithmisinformation.”

Rod’stechniquehasseveraltimeshelpedhimbecomesalesmanoftheyear.ItworksbecauseitincorporatesseveraloftheStrategicSellingprincipleswe’vedescribed:

•Inasophisticatedway,itcovers—andre-covers—thebasestobesurethatasmanyRedFlagsaspossibleareturnedintoopportunities,andthatasmanyStrengthsaspossibleareleveragedagainstthoseRedFlags.

• It effectively focuses attention on the individual Buying Influences’probableWins.

• Finally, it highlights the basic rule that every sales strategy has to beconstantlytestedandreassessedtoremaineffective.

The obvious problem you’ll encounter in using networking as a testingmechanism,ofcourse, is thatyou’lluncovernotjustverifying information,butconflictinginformation.SincenotwoCoachesareevergoingtoperceiveagivensellingsituationinexactlythesameway,you’llinevitablybeinvolvedinsaleswhereoneCoachtellsyouonethingaboutakeyBuyingInfluence,andasecondCoach tells you the opposite. Sorting your way through this difficulty meansbeingabletoassesseachCoach’sinformationindependentlyagainsttherealityyouperceive.

We used this strategy recently to resolve the fundamental question ofwhowasreallytheEconomicBuyingInfluenceforapendingsale.OurinitialCoachforthedeal,aTechnicalBuyingInfluence,saidthatavicepresidentofsales,aman we’ll call Fox, would give final approval for the sale. “He’s been hereforever,”theTechnicalBuyersaid.“Andhe’llbeherewhenwe’reallgone.”

A User Buying Influence, however, gave us conflicting information.Accordingtoher,therewasacorporateshake-upintheworksandFoxwasonhiswayout.Shehadgivenusgood information in thepast,but theTechnicalBuyerwasorganizationallyclosertoFox.WhichCoachwerewetobelieve?

Todecidetheissue,wearrangedameetingwithFoxinwhichwecouldlookunobtrusively for signs of the uncertainty that the User Buyer hadwarned usabout.“Theguyiswalkingoneggshells,”shehadsaid.“Youseeifhelookslikesomebodywho’sgoing tobehere inanothermonth.”Themeetingprovedhercorrect.Foxwasuneasy,hesitanttoseeus,andveryreluctanttocommithimself

toanything,muchles\givehisapprovalforoneofourprocesses.Oncewesawthat,wedecidedthat,eventhoughhehadbeentheEconomic

BuyingInfluenceforotherpurchasesofourprograms,hewasn’tactinglikeanEconomicBuyer now. Sowe began to look elsewhere for final approval, andnonetoosoon,asitturnedout:Amonthlater,Foxtookearlyretirement.Bythattime,wehadeffectively repositionedourselveswith the realEconomicBuyer.ThankstooursecondCoach,andtoourreality-testingsession,wehadavoidedinvesting any more valuable time in trying to make our case to “yesterday’sdecision-maker.”

OnefinalnoteonyourCoachingnetwork.Unlessyousellonlyoneproduct,atafixedrate,toasinglecustomer,developingmorethanoneCoachpersaleisonlythebeginningintheeffectiveuseofanetwork.Sinceyouverylikelyworkwith different products or services, different dollar amounts, and a variety ofcustomers, you need to develop a network that permeates your entire industryandthustoucheseverypossiblesalessituation.

Tosomedegree,anindustry-wideCoachingnetworkis thelogicaloutcomeofdevelopingmultipleaccountnetworks.Ifyou’relikemostofourclients,thebulkofyourbusinessisprobablyconcentratedinahandfulofindustries.Whenthat’s the case, the utility of a good Coach—like that of a guru—can often“spread,”sothatasinglewell-positionedindividualcangiveyoureliablehelpinseveralaccounts.Inaddition,suchnetworksinevitablyoverlap,whichmakesitpossibleforyoutodevelopcross-account,orterritorial,Coachingopportunities.

Thebottomlinehereisclearenough.ThemorereliableCoachesyounurtureanddevelopover time, themorequicklyyou’llbeabletofindtherightCoachforeachaspectofeachnewsalesobjective.

THEFINALTEST:YOURFEELINGS

Evenafteryou’veverified thateachpersonyou’reutilizingasaCoach fulfillsthethreeCoachingcriteria,evenafteryou’vesortedthroughthe“falseCoaches”we’ve described, and even after you have checked your Coaches’ conflictinginformationagainstyourownperceptionsofthesellingsituation,youmaystillbeuncertainaboutapotentialCoach’sabilitytoguideyouinagivensale.Whenthishappens,youcanfallbackonwhatwe’vefoundtobeareliablecourtoflastappeal.Whenallothermeanshavebeenexhausted,youshouldaskyourselfhowyoufeelaboutusingagivenpersonasaCoach.

This relates back to our discussion of the Euphoria-Panic Continuum in

Chapter3.Wesaid there that,althoughyoucanoftenbemisledbyyourhead,your gut reactions to a given sales situation are generally reliable. If you feel“uneasy” or “a little funny” about a sale, there’s a good chance that there’ssomethingwrongwithyourposition—evenifyoudon’tknowwhatitis.

ThepointappliestoyourassessmentofCoachesaswell,andtoyourneedtotest each one against those with conflicting information. Trust those uneasyfeelings.IfeverythingacertainCoachistellingyouaboutaBuyingInfluence’sWinsoraboutanaccountsituationsoundsright,butsomethingstillfeelswrong,lookatthatCoachagain.Ifyou’reuneasywiththeguidancethatyou’regetting,thechancesareyou’renottalkingtoarealCoach.

PERSONALWORKSHOP7:TESTINGYOURCOACH

By this point in your strategic analysis, you should already have identified atleastoneCoach.ThepurposeofthisPersonalWorkshopistohaveyoutestthatindividualtoseewhetherornotheorshecaninfactprovidegoodCoaching.Sopull out yourBuying InfluencesChart, yourAlternate Positions list, theWin-ResultsChart,andyourStrengthsandRedFlags.SinceyourCoachisaprincipalkeytoyourotherBuyers, thechancesare thatmuchof theinformationyou’vewritten inon thesevariouscharts camedirectlyor indirectly from thisperson.You’regoingtotestitnowforreliability.

STEP1:DOYOUHAVECREDIBILITYWITHYOURCOACH?BeginbymeasuringyourCoachagainstthefirstofthethreeCoachingcriteria.IfyouhavetwoormoreCoachesidentified—asinoursampleBuyingInfluencesChart—assess them separately, one by one. There’s nothing subtle or esotericaboutthisstep.TotestwhetherornotyouhavecredibilitywithSandyKelly,forexample,askyourselfthesequestions:

•HowhasSandyWonwithmeinthepast?• If she hasn’t Won with me personally, has she at least Won with mycompany?

•AmIcertainthatIhaveSandy’strust?

As always, be specific in your answers. If you can say, “I sold Sandy thatpromotional deal when she was with Smith Industries, and it got her a vicepresidency,” thenyoucanbe fairlycertain thatyou’veearnedher trust.But ifyou can’t say something like this—if you can’t identify a concrete, andpreferablyrecent,Win thatyou’vebroughther—lookather again.Unless shebelievesthatyoucanbetrustedtodeliverWinsforher,youmaynotbeabletotrusther.

STEP2:DOESTHISCOACHHAVECREDIBILITYWITHTHEBUYINGINFLUENCES?NowlookforevidencethatSandycanprovideyouwithreliableinformationonthevariousBuying Influences for this sale.Toget that information, theyhavegottotrusther.Iftheydon’t,hereffortsonyourbehalfwillatbestbeuseless,andatworstcouldleadyoutoundermineyourownposition.

Pasthistoryisyourbestyardstickhere.IfSandytoldyouaboutamarketingdecision at Contour Industries twomonths before it became public, she lookslikeagoodbetforaCoach:SomebodyatContourobviouslytrustsherenoughtogive her an inside track. But if your last experience with her was that shemisidentifiedanEconomicBuyingInfluencethere,youmightthinktwiceaboutusinghernow.

Testing the credibility of your Coach with the Buying Influences isparticularlyimportantifhedoesn’tcomefromthebuyingorganizationhimself.Coaches you draw from your own firm, or from the club and conventionnetwork, may or may not be able to guide you effectively. Theymay makeexcellentCoaches—butyoucan’tassumethattobethecaseuntilyoutestthem.

EveniftheCoachyou’vetentativelychosentohelpyougetintoContourispartofthatorganization,though,youstillhavetotesthisorhercredibility.Asyouknow,noteveryonesittingatanine-footdeskactuallyknowswhat’sgoingon.Don’trelyontitlesandofficestotestyourCoachonthissecondcriterion.Itdoesn’tmatterwhathercorporatepositionisifyoucan’tbecertainthatwhatshetellsyouisaccurate.

UseyourCoachingnetwork too to testoneCoachagainst another.What isDorisGreensayingaboutSandy?Whatdoes-SandysayaboutDoris?Whichoneof them, judging from,yourownperceptions, isgivingyouabetter fixon theContourreality?Is therea thirdpersonyoumightgo to inorder toclarifyanyconflictinginformation?

STEP3:DOESYOURCOACHWANTYOUTOMAKETHISSALE?

SinceyourCoach’sroleis toguideyouinthesale, thispersonmustbenotonlyablebuteagertogiveyouproperdirection.Theonlywaytoguaranteethiseagerness is to demonstrate to your Coach that there’s something in the sale,personally,forhimorher.YourCoachalwayshastoperceivethesaleasaWin.SoputSandytothetestagainbyaskingyourselfthisquestion:

Howwillthisperson’sself-interestbeservedbymymakingthissale?

Youneedaclear, concreteanswer to thatquestion—something like this: “Thesale will enhance her reputation in the company by making her look like aproblem solver.” If you know how SandywillWinwhen youWin, then youknowshefulfillsthethirdCoachingcriterion.Ifyoudon’thavesuchananswer,youcan’tbecertainthatyouhaveareliableCoach.

If that’s the case—if you can’t identify a supposed Coach’s reason forwanting you in there—then you need to reconsider your positionwith him orher.CoachescanbethekeysyouwantonlyiftheyperceivethattheywillWinwithyouinthissale.

One way of determining whether or not a possible Coach sees himself orherself as playingWin-Win with you is to examine critically the informationyou’vealreadygotten.Dothatbyaskingyourselfthesequestions:

1. Has this Coach helped me to find the real key players for my salesobjective—andtounderstandtheexactroleeachofthemisplaying?

2.HasthisCoachhelpedmetoidentifyareasofuncertainty(RedFlags)inmy position—and given me sound, workable advice for eliminatingthem?

3.HasthisCoachgivenmereliableinformationregardingthereceptivityofeachofmyBuyerstomyspecificsalesproposal?

4. Has this Coach suppliedmewith unique and useful data on theWin-ResultsIneedtodelivertoeachoftheBuyingInfluencestomanagethesaleintoaWin-Winoutcome?

You should get positive answers tomost, if not all, of these questions. If youdon’t,your“Coach”isn’tservingastheresourceyouneed.

STEP4:ASSESSYOURCURRENTPOSITIONWITHYOURCOACH.IfyourCoachisn’tprovidingyouwithappropriatedataforthissale,youshouldinvestigatewhynot.Ifyou’vediscoveredthroughthisexercisethatSandyKellyisn’t working out to your satisfaction, take this discovery as a Red Flag foropportunityandgoon.Findoutwhy.

•Ifit’sbecauseyoulackcredibilitywithher,istheresomethingyoucandotocreateorrestoreit?CanyouremindherofapastWinshemayhaveforgotten?

•Ifit’sbecauseshelackscredibilitywiththeBuyingInfluences,cansheatleast guide you to someone in that organization who does havecredibility?OrwouldyourbestoptionheresimplybetogetridofSandyandlookelsewhereforaCoach?

• If it’sbecause she seesnoWin in this sale forher,what canyoudo tochange that? What information can you give her that shows her self-interestwillbeservedbythesale?Or,ifsheseesnoWininthesaleforher,isshecorrect?Wouldabetteroptionbetoacknowledgethatshehasnothing togain from the sale—andgoon tochooseordevelopanotherCoach?

Remember that there’smore than oneCoach in the corporate sea. Sometimesyourmostsuitableoptionisthedifficultoneof“firing”oneCoachandgettingsomeoneelse—someonewhocanbetterguideyouinthesale.

STEP5:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.Now use the information you’ve uncovered in this workshop to revise yourAlternatePositionslist.LookattheRedFlagsthatstillremainonyourBuyingInfluences and Win-Results Charts. Concentrate first on options that caneliminate or reduce the impact of those Red Flags. Are there any newlydiscovered Strengths that you can use as leverage against them? Pay specialattention to the information your Coach can still provide you. Frame thequestionsyouneed to askyourCoach, andwrite themdownasnew itemsonyourAlternatePositionslist.

For example, if you still don’t know exactly what’s in this sale for Dan

Farley,oneAlternatePositioncouldbe“GetDorisGreentoexplainhowFarleycanWin.” If Steinberg’s inventory problem is still unclear to you, youmightwrite down, “Ask Sandy Kelly why Steinberg is so worried about hisdepartment.”

After you’ve listed options in which your Coach can be of assistance, listoptions thatmight improveyourpositionwith thiscriticalplayer.Consider thequestions thatyouaskedaboutyourCoach inStep4of thisworkshop.DotheanswerstothosequestionssuggestfurtherAlternatePositions?

ContinuetoassesseachpossibleAlternatePositionagainstthetwo-partruleofthumbthathasbeenthehallmarkofallyourrevisions.Makesurethateverystrategy option you consider eliminates or reduces the impact or a Red Flag,leveragesfromaStrength,ordoesboth.

AFINALWORD:REASSESSMENT

We’llclosethischapteronCoachingbyemphasizingapointthat’sparticularlysuggestedbythePersonalWorkshopyou’vejustcompleted,butisimplicitinallaspectsofStrategicSelling.Thepointisthat,tobeeffectiveasasalesstrategistovertime,youmustcontinuallyreassessyourposition.

OnereasonthatyourCoachisindispensabletoyourstrategyisthatheorshecan help you, on a regular basis, to perform this necessary reassessment. Theway you use yourCoach reflects to a great degree theway youmanage yoursale.IfyoutreatthisuniqueBuyingInfluenceasmerelyaninsidesalespersonora“buddy,”you’llalmostcertainlydeveloppoorCoachesandusethepotentiallygood ones in inefficientways. But if you test your Coaches’ information andthenuseit toapplytheKeyElementsofstrategytoyoursale,you’ll-findyourpositioninthatsalecontinuallyandpredictablyimproving.

Youmustdothisoverandover.Asoundstrategicanalysisisonlyasgoodasits last reassessment. InusingyourCoacheswisely toguideyou througheachreassessment,you’llfindthatthiscriticalBuyingInfluencecanbeakeynotonlytotheotherBuyers,buttoapredictableWin-Winrecordovertime.

CHAPTER13

WHATABOUTTHECOMPETITION?

Twothousandyearsago, inatreatiseonbusinesspractices, theRomanoratorCicerodescribed twomerchantswhoare trying tobeat eachother to anearbytowntodeterminewhichonecansetupshoptherefirst.Competition,itwouldseem, is as old as selling, and this fact hasn’t changed verymuch in the pasttwenty centuries. Throughout history, every salesperson who has ever eyed amarketopportunityhasbeenpainfullyawarethatotherswerelookingatittoo.

Thecompetitive situations thatpeopleare facing today,however, aremuchmoreintenseandtrickierthanthey’veeverbeenbefore.Thishasmadeaconcernabout what the other guy is doing a major item on most sales professionals’worry lists. Our clients make this clear to us all the time. Even the mostsuccessful of them often wonder aloud why we don’t spend more timeaddressingthiscriticalissue.Nearlyallofthemseemtobelookingforamethodthat will get them to the finish line first in the race for revenues. In everyStrategic Selling program that we deliver, someone asks the question “Whataboutthecompetition?”

It’sagoodquestion.Thereasonwehaven’tansweredituptonowisthat,inourview,competitionisgrosslyoverratedasa“makeorbreak”factor,andwedidn’twanttobeseenasendorsingthenotionthatthesecrettosalessuccessis“beatingtheotherguy.”(Thatisactuallyaresult,notacause,ofsuccess.)Butsomanypeoplecontinuedtoraisetheissuethateventuallywerealizedwehadtoaddresstheirconcerns.

Thischapter,withitsaccompanyingworkshop,isourresponse.Itbeginsbyexplaining why competition is so fierce today, shows why strategies that“obsess” about the competition are doomed to failure, and defines a uniquelycustomer-driven approach to the problem that successfully builds on yourStrengths to eliminate Red Flags. Let’s begin with the current competitivefrenzy.

WHYISCOMPETITIONSOTOUGHTODAY?

Therearefourbasicreasonsthatmaintainingacompetitiveedgehasbecomesodifficult. Inbrief, these relate to lackofdifferentiation, increasingsavviness inthemarketplace,theriseindifferenttypesofcompetition,andlastbutcertainlynotleast,awidespreadobsessionaboutwhatthe“otherguy”isdoing.

THEBOLDLINEFADES

Intalkingwithourclients,onethingwehearfrequentlyisthattheboldanddarklinethateverygoodsalespersonwouldliketohavebetweenherproductsandthecompetition’s products is getting fuzzier. Lack of differentiation betweencompetingproducts or services is becoming an endemic rather than accidentalcondition.Whetheryou thinkof this as a copycatphenomenonor as evidencethatgoodideashaveawayofcatchingon,theoutcomeisthesame:Thereareveryfewproductsorservicesout there todaythatareperceivedasprovidingauniqueadvantageinthemselves.

Eveninthosecaseswhereabolddarklinedoesexist,beforeyoucanblinkaneye it hasbeenhere andgone.The rate of technological change, enhancedbycompetitivepressurestoinnovate,hasmadeeventhebestfeaturesandbenefitstemporary as well as tenuous. The competition is so savvy and nimble aboutresponding that, even when you develop a slight product edge, you certainlycan’t count onmaintaining it for very long. Therefore, if you rely on productdifferentiationtokeepyouahead,you’llbelockedinaquarter-to-quartergameofmarketplaceleapfrog.

THESAVVINESSFACTOR

Yourcompetitorsaren’ttheonlyoneswhoaregettingfasterandsmarter.Yourcustomers are smarter, too—better informed about available products andservices,lesscompliantwhenconfrontingproduct“experts,”andmoreinsistentabout demanding customized solutions. There was a time when as thesalesperson you were the expert, and in many cases you could walk into acustomer’soffice and expect that hewouldbe suitablydazzledbyyour “bellsandwhistles”spiel.Thosedaysaregone.Today,mostofyourcustomershavedonetheirhomework.Theyalreadyknowwhatbellsandwhistlesyoucanoffer.Andtheyknowthatyourcompetitorsareofferingmuchthesamethings.

Asaresult,theycanoftenusepriceasalever.Sinceit’ssohardtosecureormaintainrealproductdifferentiation,thecustomercanconfidentlyandhonestlysaytoallvendors,“Wedon’tseeanickel’sworthofdifferenceamongthelotofyou,sowe’regivingthebusinesstotheonewiththelowestpricetag.”Soyouandyour competitors are forced into a dogfight over bones, grumbling as youstruggletoembraceaLose-Winposition.

NEWTYPESOFCOMPETITION

The traditional image of the competitor, since Cicero’s day, is ano’trfersalesperson(orasalesperson’s firm)who is trying tosecure thesamepieceofbusinessthatyouare.Actually,thatisonlyonetypeofcompetition.InStrategicSelling, we take a broader view. We define competition as any alternativesolution to the one you and your company are proposing. Buying from“somebodyelseisonealternativesolution—theonethatmost-ofusmeanwhenwesay“competition.”Butconsiderthefollowingscenarios:

•Usinginternalsources.Thecompanyyou’reapproachingdecidesthatit’s

more efficient to provide its own solution to the problem you’re addressing.Today,mostlargecompanieshavetheresourcestoaccomplishnearlyanythingtheywant towithoutoutside assistance.Often, theydon’t, becausepurchasingand outsourcing are considered more cost-effective. But the possibility ofinternalsolutionsisalwaysthere.Ifyou’resellingtoafirmthathastheoptiontoput its own ship in order, then that capacity is a serious, though hidden,“competitor.”

• Using the budget for something else. Similarly, a company that isthinkingaboutyourproposalmaydecidethatthenecessaryfundsshouldgoelsewhere.Acolleagueofoursoncetriedtosellanewlightingsystemtoahotelchain.Shelostoutnottoanotherlightingsupplier,buttoafire-prevention supplier.Thechain’s executiveshaddecided that, nomatterhow attractive new lighting might be, fixing their antiquated sprinklersystem was a higher priority. Our friend hadn’t even considered fire-prevention to be part of her competition, but it was that, not a rivallightingfirm,thatlosthertheaccount.

•Doingnothing.Althoughfewpeopleinbusinesswouldidentifyinertiaasacompetitivepressure,sometimesit’sthemostseriousoneofall.Whena customer decides that it’s not worth it to spend the time, money,resources, or personnel to accomplish something new, that’s a directattackonany solutionyoumaybeproposing—aswell as to equivalentchangesofferedbyothercompanies.

Inallthreeofthesecases,thelessonisthesame.Goingheadtoheadwitharival company can be tough, but that is only part of the competitive picture.Whatyou’recompetingfortodayisn’tyourcustomer’ssignatureonyourorderformratherthanonsomeoneelse’s.You’rereallycompetingforthecustomer’sdecision to allocate resources to your solution rather than to any number ofalternatives.

OBSESSINGABOUTTHECOMPETITION

Fewpeopleinsalesrecognizethisfact,andthatpointstoafourthmajorfactorinwhycompetitionissotough.It’s toughbecausewemake it tough.Ratherthanrememberingtherealitythatnooneisinvincible,weconstructanimageofthecompetitionasacombinationofAlbertEinsteinandTheTerminator—infinitelysmarterandreadytoeatusforlunch.ThefieldofpossiblealternativesbecomesTheCompetition,larger“thanlifeandvirtuallyindestructible.

Afriendofourswasafair-to-middlingwrestlerinhighschool.Oneyearhehad towrestle a student froma neighboring schoolwho, for the previous twoyears,hadbeenstatechampion.“Whateveryoudo,”ourfriend’scoachtoldhimbeforethemeet,“don’tlethimgetyouinaheadlock.He’spinnedsixteenguyswith thatmove,sowatchout for it.”Verybadadvice.Ourfriendwassobusyworrying about the state champ’s patented clincher that, as if it werepreordained,hefellforit.

“Iwasdoinggreatwithhimfortwoperiods,”heremembered,“untilhegotmeinthattrickmove,andsuddenlyeverythingIknewaboutwrestlingwentoutthe window. I thought ’He’s got me now,’ and sure enough, he did. In twosecondsIwentfromaninexperiencedbutcapablewrestlertojustanothervictimofTommyTerrific.”That’saclassicexampleoftyingyourselfupinyourownknots—ofallowingyourselftofocussomuchonthe“invulnerable”competitionthatwhateveryoudotoprotectyourselfstillfallsshort.

WHYFOCUSINGONTHECOMPETITIONDOESN’TWORK

We’renotsayingyoushouldforgeaheadasifthecompetition’sstrengthsdidn’texist. Of course you have to consider the advantages to your customer ofalternate solutions—including the solution of buying from a competing firm.The issue isoneofbalanceandof relative focus.Our friend’sproblemwasn’t

justthathepaidattentiontotheotherguy’sstrengths.Itwasthatheconcentratedso exclusively on them that he had no room left over to develop his own.Probablythestatechampwasabetterwrestler.Butit’salsotruethatourfriendmadeiteasyforhimtowin.

Salespeoplemakeananalogousmistakeallthetime.DonKeough,theformerpresidentofourclientCoca-Cola,oncemadethepointwellwhenheobserved,“Wehavelongheldthatoneofthecommandmentsfor losinginbusinessis toconcentrate on the competitor rather than the customer.” The reason is that acompetitivestrategy focusingon thecompetition is,naturallyand inevitably,areactive one. The best it can say to your customers is “We are better.”Commonly,areactivestrategygivesanevenworsemessage.Itshiddenmessageisnot“betterthan”but“metoo.”

Therecanbemajorrepercussionsinsendingthatmessage.Amongthemostnegativearethefollowing:

• It allows the competition to write the rules of the game. When youcompareyourself to thehighandmighty“them,”you tacitly say to thecustomer,“Theyarethestandard.It’stheirpace,theirachievements,theiragenda,thatwe’vegottomatch.”Whetheryouphrasethisadmissionasa“betterthan”or“metoo”argument,thesubtextis“We’retryingharder—becausewehaveto.”

• It advertises your weaknesses, not your Strengths. Every solid strategyleverages from your Strengths. If you spend all your energy trying tooffsetanotherperson’sStrengths,youruntheriskofbeatingyourselftothepunch.Ineffectiveselling,youshowtheBuyingInfluenceswhatyoucando.Areactivestrategyshowsthemonlywhatyoucanundo.Unlesswhattheywantisabodyguard,thatdecodesasaweakness.

•Itinvitespriceslashing.Whenyouaskacustomertoline”youupagainstthe competition, one of the things she will certainly compare is yourprices.That’sOKonlyifyourmajorsellingpointislowpriceandifyoudon’tminddroppingitevenlowerinapricewar.Apricewar,indeed,isnothingbutmutualreactivity.It’sanultimatelyprofitlessme-toospittingcontest in which the onlywinner is a customer who is willing to takeadvantageofyou.

•Itmakesyoulookstupid.Maybe“unimaginative”or“uncreative”wouldbealessoffensiveterm,buttheideaisthesame.Inareactivestrategy,it’s like you’re sitting around a table with your competition and acustomer, andyou speakonly to respond towhat the competition says.When your strategy is a reflex response to somebody else’s thinking,

you’retellingthecustomer“Ihavenoideasofmyown.”• Itdeflectsattention from thecustomer’sconcerns.Acompetition-drivenstrategy cannot be responsive to real customer concerns, for a simplereason.Suchastrategyisaresponsetoyourneeds—youranxieties,yourprojections,yourfearsaboutlosingbusinessyoudon’tevenhaveyet.Ifthat’swhat’sdrivingyou,youcannotdeviserealsolutions.Evenworse,yourcustomerwillknowthatyoucan’t.

Anyoneof theseoutcomescouldseriously threatenyour strategicposition.Takentogether, theycomprisearecipefordisaster—forlettingyourcustomersknowthatyourthoughtsareelsewhere,andforhandingyourcompetitorsaclubandtellingthem“Beatme.”

THEPROACTIVEALTERNATIVE:RESTORINGDIFFERENTIATION

Thealternativeistothinkfarlessaboutwhatthecompetitionisdoing,hasdone,or might do, and more about what selling is about in the first place—theprovidingofcustomizedsolutionstoindividuals’problems.What’swrongwithall competition-driven strategies is that they sidetrack you from yourprofessionalmission.Astrategythatputsyoubackontrackmustbeproactive,notreactive;mustfocuson thecustomer,not theproduct;andmustenable thecustomertorecognizeasignificantcontribution.

WHY“PROACTIVE”ISMOREEFFICIENT

When you use a proactive competitive strategy, you set the agenda and thestandards. Rather than looking over your shoulder or sideways at thecompetition,youspendyourtimeanalyzingthesituationtobesurethatyouareaseffectivelypositionedasyoucanbe.Thismeansdoingallthethingsthatyouhave been practicing in this book: identifying and covering the BuyingInfluences, determining their Response Modes, making sure that you aredelivering Win-Results, leveraging from Strength and eliminating Red Flags,gettinggoodCoaching,andsoon.

Thesethingsmaynotsoundlikepartsofa“competitive”strategy,andifbythatyoumeanastrategythatrevolvesaroundthecompetition,you’reright.It’s

not a strategy that is determined by the competition. But it is an effectivestrategy for making Complex Sales, and for that very reason it is highlycompetitive. It allows you to stand out dramatically from other so-called“strategists” because while they are squandering resources fighting with eachother,youareable todevoteallyourenergies to the jobathand.Adefensiveapproach inevitably leads to diffuseness. A proactive approach keeps youfocusedonthetarget,soitisamoreefficientuseofyourskillsandresources.

FOCUSONTHECUSTOMER

You can capitalize on this efficiency, however, only if you focus on thecustomer. The worst competitive strategy is to focus on the competition, butprobablythesecondworstistobecomesoenchantedwithyourownproductorservice that you imagine you can beat the other guy just by trumpeting itsvirtues.WeexplainedinChapter11whythatdoesn’thappen.It’sthatyouhavetounderstandacustomer’sConceptfirst—thatis,hisorherideaofwhatdoingbusinesswithyouwillaccomplish—beforeyoucanhopetomakeheadwaywithbenefitsorspecs.

If you try to beat out the competition by stressing how much better yourproduct is than theirs,youarefalling into theoldcomparisontrapandshiftingthefocus,again,backtothem.Inadditionyou’rerunningtheriskofpraisingaproductinwhichagivenBuyingInfluencemayhavenointerest.Competingbypushingproduct—nomatterhowhonestlyyoudoit—islikewalkingintoaroomandsingingyourfavoritesong,withoutaskinganyonethereabouttheirmusicaltastes.Maybethey’lllovethesongasmuchasyoudo.

Maybenot.Whyputyourselfinapositionthat’ssofraughtwithuncertainty?Ifyou’recompetingforanaudience’sattention,itmakessensetoaskfirstwhatsongsthey’dliketohear.Ifyoudon’tdothat,you’llloseouttosomebodywhodoesask.

MAKINGACONTRIBUTION

Tocompeteeffectively,you’vegottobedifferentfromyourcompetitors.Moreimportant,you’vegottobeperceivedasbeingdifferent—anddifferentinawaythatmakes a difference to the customer. This goes back to what we said inChapter 8 about discrepancy. To sell effectively, you must be perceived as

eliminatingyourcustomer’sdiscrepancy,asprovidingsomethingthatbringshimachangeforthebetter.

That “something” might relate directly to your product or service, or to aspecificsale,butitmightnot.Itmighthavetodowithbroaderaspectsofyourbusiness relationship as a whole. When that’s the case, you have a uniquecompetitive opportunity, if you can demonstrate to the customer that the“something”youbringtothetable(a)hasvalueforhisorhercompanyand(b)cannot be obtained anywhere else. In our company’s Large AccountManagement Process, we call this broader something a contribution, and weshowthatitisamongyourgreatestcompetitiveweapons.

As the bold dark line of differentiation becomes increasingly fuzzy,differentiatingyourselfonthebasisofproductalonebecomesharderandharder.That is why the concept of contribution is so important, and why the mostsuccessfulpeopleinbusinesstodayspendsomuchtimeandmoneyresearchingtheirclients’businessneeds,sotheycancontributesomethingofvaluetotheirresults.

Think back towhatwe said inChapter 11 about the value of bringing theEconomicBuying Influence knowledge—knowledge thatwill help him or herrunhisbusinessbetter.That’s thekindof contribution thatwemean, and thateverysalesprofessionalshouldbeseeking.Whenyouconsistentlyprovidesuchcontributions, you inevitably solidify your relationship with key BuyingInfluences.Thisinturnreducestheimportanceofprice—andturnsyouintothestandardthatthecompetitionhastomatch.

AGOODOFFENSE

“Thebestdefenseisagoodoffense.”Thatoldfootballsayingprovidesafairlygoodsummaryofthischapter’sargument.Defendingyourselfagainsttheotherteammightbeanessentialpartoffieldstrategy,butinitselfitwillnotwinyouthegame.Towin,youhavetoscore,andthatmeansoffense.

Another sports analogy might make the point clearer. In analyzingcompetitive sports, you can readily distinguish between “face” sports likefootball and boxing, where the opponents battle it out face-to-face with eachother,and“side”sportslikeswimmingandtrack,wheretheymovesidebyside,trying tobe the first to reacha commongoal.Wecan summarizewhatwe’vebeen saying by referring to that distinction. Traditional competitive behaviormay be seen as a “face” strategy, where your efforts and your resources are

focusedonthecompetition.Theproactivebehaviorweareurgingismoreofa“side” strategy,where you and your competitors are both “racing” toward thesamegoal.

Theanalogyworksbecausewaitingat thatgoal isaclusterof thosecriticalBuying Influences that every “race” must reach. If you think of yourself asfocusingonthegoal,traininghard(throughstrategicanalysis),andrunningthebest race you know how to, you’ll have a good idea of what we believecompetitionisabout.Thepointistolookstraightaheadandofferthecustomeryourbestperformance,nottobedistractedbywhat’sgoingoninthenextlane.Asanycompetitive runnerwill tellyou,onesureway tostumble is to look toyourside.

In the realworld, unfortunately, potentially good salespeople do somethingthat’sevenworsethanthat.Insteadoftreatingtheircompetitivesalesas“side”processes, theyinsistonmentally transformingthemintohead-buttingcontests—frenzied and often bloody “in your face” games in which the customer isrelegated to the role of a spectator in the bleachers. Sometimes this is atemporaryplusforhimorher,becauseafteryouandyourmajorcompetitorhavefinished duking it out, the customer can simply waltz down and pick up thepieces,thatis,awardthewinner’sribbontothelowest-pricedbattler.

Howdoyouwakeupfromthisnightmare?Beproactive.We’renotsayingtoignorethecompetition.Butput themintoperspective,as the“side”effect theyare.Sellingdoesn’ttakeplaceonathree-waystreet.IttakesplacebetweenyouandyourBuyingInfluences,andnobodyelse.Theonlycompetitivestrategythatcanbringyousuccessisastrategyinwhichyoukeepyoureyeonthecustomer.

THEEXPERTSSPEAK:FOUR“NON-METHODS”

Now that we’ve outlined our uniquely customer-oriented approach tocompetition,let’slookatsomeoftheothermethodsyoumayhaveencounteredtoincreaseyourrevenuesbyoutfoxingthecompetition.Astheterm“outfoxing”suggests,mostsuchmethodsviolateourbasicpremisethatyoushouldbeawareof,butnotobsessedby,whatyourcompetitorsaredoing.Inaddition,asyou’llsee,even though the“salesexperts”whorecommend themcall themmethods,theybearverylittleresemblancetotruemethodologies.Let’slookatfourofthemostpopularones.

SCHMOOZINGFORALOSING

Oneexpertadvisesthat,inpittingyourselfagainstatoughcompetitor,it’ssmarttogettoknowthatcompetitorpersonallyYoushouldgooutofyourwaytomeetthe rival company’s salespeople at exhibitions and trade shows, to play golfwith-them,togetintotheirheadsonaone-to-onebasis.Knowingyouroppositenumberspersonally,hesuggests,willhelpyoudealmoreeffectivelywiththeminthefield.Itwilldefusethemysteryofwhythey’reathreattoyourbusiness,anditwillenableyoutouse“insideinformation”incounteringthatthreat.

There’s nothing wrongwith knowing your competitors personally. In fact,anyinformationyoucangatheraboutthesalessituation,fromwhateversource,can be a benefit to you in solidifying your position. The problem with thisapproach is that it’s misdirected. It can easily turn the Strength of personalknowledgeintotheRedFlagofunidirectionalthinking.Whenyouspendallthatenergygettingtoknowyourcompetitorspersonally,you’reverylikelytoendupwithasellingapproachthatisinordinatelyfocusedontheinformationthattheygive you.Not onlywill that information be suspect (consider the source), butfocusingonitmayleadyoutoneglectotherinformationthatwouldbefarmorevaluableindraftinganeffectiveposition.

Forexample,recallwhatwesaidabout“theotherguy”beingonlythemostobvious source of competitive pressure. You could spend weekend afterweekend schmoozingyouroppositenumberGeorge theGadgetSeller,only todiscover,somemonthsdowntheline,thatthemajorcustomerthatbothofyourcompaniesaretargetinghasdecidedtoreplaceitsgadgetsystemwithwidgets—leavingthetwoofyouequallyoutinthecold.Themoral:Pickingthebrainsofthepeoplewhosell againstyou is even lessvaluable, eventually, thanpickingyourown.Theheadthatyouneedtogetintoisyourcustomer’s.

“I’MWORTHIT”

This same expert says that you can overcome the single most commoncompetitive issue, price, by talking instead about “added value” and “priceperformance.”Admitthatyou’rehigherpricedthanasimilarsupplier,butstressthefact thatyour“totalpackage”makesyouworth it. Inotherwords,youcanovercome the hurdle of price by redefining it as a plus—as an perfectlylegitimateindexofsuperiorquality.

Thisapproachsoundssophisticated,butit’sreallyjustarehashedversionof

theoldfeatures-and-benefitsroutine:“Payus15percentmorebecausewehavethebelloffasterdelivery,thewhistleofastate-of-the-artdesign.”Thatmaybefinewhenyou’retalkingtoacustomerwhowantsthatparticularbellorwhistle,butwhatifyou’renot?Evenworse,whatifyoudon’tknowwhetheryouareornot?

Forallitspotentialutility,theproblemwiththis“priceperformance”gambitis that it generally comes too late in the sellingcycle.Salespeopledrag it out,likearustybutreliableoldcannon,whenthesaleisalmostcompleted,orwhenit’sinjeopardy,andtheyexpectittoserveasthefinal,decisiveargument.Butifyouneedanargument like that,youaren’twellpositionedin thefirstplace.Ifyouhavetojigglewithsemanticstoprovetoyourcustomersthatyou’re“worthit,” thechancesaregood that theydon’tperceiveyou thatway,and thatmeretalkingabout“addedvalue”willnotmakeadifference.

Don’t misunderstand us. It’s a great idea to talk about, and to emphasize,youraddedvalue.Butdoitfirst,notlast.Whenyoudoitfirst—whenyoustrivefromyourfirstmeetingwithaBuyingInfluencetoshowhowyourcompanycanmakeacontributiontohercompany’sprofitability—thenpriceseldomemergesas a decisive factor. The only real way to “overcome” the price issue is todemonstrate to your customers how your solution will impact their businessconcerns—how itwill help those inGrowthmode to improve something, andthose inTrouble toputout their firesandmoveon.Whenyoudo that,you’retrulybeingproactive.

“YOUREALLYOUGHTAWANNA”

Another solution to the competitivepricing issue is to lookobjectively for theareasinwhichyouleadthecompetition,andtoattempttoshowhowthoseareasought tomatter to thecustomer. In thewordsofoneexpert,youshould try to“change the criteria” by which your customers assess products and makedecisions. If you’re strong in support programs, for example, you shouldconcentrateonconvincing thecustomer that support iswhatmatters.Workonchanginghiswishlistsoitreflectswhatyousell.

Thispotentiallyterrificideahasthreedrawbacks.First, it triestoslipintheproduct salebeforeyouhave fullyunderstood thecustomer’sbuyingConcept;wehavealreadyseenhowthatcanbackfire.Second,itimposesyourneedsandexpectationsontheBuyingInfluences;inthewordsofarecentself-helpbook,itconveys the unwelcome message “You really oughta wanna do it my way.”

Third, by the time you get into a criteria changing discussion, it’s usually toolate.The time tobeworkingwith thecustomeronhisorherbuyingcriteria isvery early in the game, before those criteria are clear in his or hermind, andwhileyourcapabilitiesandexpertisecanstillmakeadifference.

In fact, one of the most important contributions you can make to anycustomer’s business is to help himor her develop solid buying criteria.Whenyou do that, you not only provide valuable guidance. You also differentiateyourself from every competitor who doesn’t provide such assistance—givingyouanadvantageovereventhecheapestalternative.

But the intention is important here. “Getting the customer to change” ismanipulative and self-serving. “Helping him to design solutions” is a verydifferentthing.Doingthataccomplishesmorethandistinguishingyoufromthecompetition. It establishes you and the customer as joint-venture partners. Aswe’ve been stressing throughout the book, that is a far more valuableachievementthanclosinganyorder.

FIRSTCHOICEFORSECONDPLACE

In using this method, you begin not by avoiding the competition but byacknowledgingithead-on.Youadmittoyourcustomersthattheyhaveasolid,evenenviable,businessrelationshipwithoneofyourcompetitors,andyoumakeitclearthatyourespectthatrelationship—thatyourintentionisnottounderminesomething that is bringing themvalue.Then you explainwhy youwant to betheir“firstchoiceforsecondplace”asthepreferredsupplier.Ifyou’resecondinlineforenoughbusiness,theexpertwhoproposesthismethodbelieves,thenit’sonlyamatteroftimebeforeyou’llbecomefirstinoneormoreofthem.

Again, there’ssomevalue to thisapproach. Ifyoucut through theapparentgimmickryof“goingforthesilver,”whatthismethodreallysaysis thatyou’dlike the opportunity to demonstrate that you have capabilities that can be ofvalue to thecustomer.You respect the relationships that theyhavewith,othersuppliers,andyoudon’twanttothreatenthem,butyou’dliketodoyourbesttohelp them when and if they need-help. If there is a problem with anothersupplier,you’dliketobeinapositiontomakethatcontribution.

This is essentially a technique to establish a beachhead. If there actually isroom on the beach, then that’s fine: it may be a fairly effective long-termstrategy. If you adopt this approach, however, bewilling towait. Respond towhatever questions or request’s the customer may have for you, but don’t

succumb to the temptation to throw a wrench in the works by creating, orimagining, a nonexistent problem. That would violate the very principle thatyou’resettingouthere,whichisthatyouwouldliketoprovideassistancewhenit’sneeded.

Ifacustomerorprospect isperfectlycontentwithanothervendor, repeated“offersofassistance”willbeatbestwastedeffort.Atworsttheywillsignalthecustomer that, your soft soapnotwithstanding,what you’re really interested indoingisdestroyinghisrelationship.Theonlyplacethatstrategywillensureyouislast.

THE“FAKESINCERITY”PLOY

Finally, consider theexpertwho suggests thatyoumightgetyourcustomer topreferyouover thecompetitionbyinsinuatingthat theyhaveproblemsthey’renotadmitting.Youshouldcombinethisless-than-straightforwardtactic,hesays,withaseeminglyhumbleadmissionthatyou’renotperfect—thatyourcompanyhashadproblems,butyou’renowontopofthem.Accordingtothisadvice,thecustomerwill draw the conclusion that if youhaveproblems, your competitorprobablydoestoo,andheshouldgivehisbusinesstothepeoplewhoarehonestenoughtoacknowledgethem.

Wedon’thavemuchgoodtosayaboutthisone.It’sgameplaying,pureandsimple,anditmakesthedoubleerrorofdisrespectingboththecompetitionandthecustomer.Itplaysdirtypoolwiththecompetitionbystartingaself-servingrumor,andittreatsthecustomerlikeapawninthegame,adupewhosefunctionistohelpyoudeflectbusinessfromtheotherguy.AllofitremindsusoftheoldHollywoodagent’sadvicetohisactorclient:“We’reinTinseltown.Ifyoucanfakesincerity,you’vegotitmade.”

MaybeinTinseltown,butnotintheworldofselling.Notifyouwanttobuildareputationforcredibility—which,aswe’vesaid,istheonethingyoucannotdowithout.Thetroublewiththisapproachisnotjustitsblatantinsincerity.It’sthat,in practical terms, it generallybackfires. Insteadof reassuring the customer, itputsheronherguard. Itgetsherwonderingwhy, ifyou’reall thatcompetent,youwouldgooutofyourwaytoadvertiseyourownshortcomings.Ifthatisn’tplayingfromweakness,wedon’tknowwhatis.

FOURTRICKYCASES

Our clients continually challenge us by presenting tricky cases, whereovercomingcompetitivethreatsseemsthekeytothesale.We’llendthischapterbydiscussingfourofthem.

1.THECOMPETITIONISENTRENCHED.What do you do when the competition has been the sole supplier for ages?There’snosinglesolutiontothisproblem,butwhateversolutionyouadopt,itislikelytorequireinnovativethinkingandagreatdealofpatience.Ifitwereeasytounseatanentrenchedsupplier,you’dseeitdoneeveryday,andtherewouldn’tbe a lot of point in stressing long-term relationships. The keys, therefore, areresearchandhardwork.

As a first step, it’s likely that you will need to meet more people in thecustomer’sorganization thanyouknownow.ThemoreBuyingInfluencesyoupositionyourselfwith,themoreyou’llfindoutaboutareasintheirbusinessthatmay not be adequately addressed by the competition, no matter how firmlyentrenched they are. The point again isn’t to “steal” business, but to exploreopportunitieswhere you, better than anybody else, canmake a contribution toyour customers’ business performance. If they’re happy with their currentsupplier,thoseopportunitiesmaytakeawhiletodevelop.Byestablishinglow-pressure relationshipswith numerousBuying Influences, you’ll be positioningyourselftocapitalizeonthemwhentheydo.

2.YOU’REFIRMLYENTRENCHEDYOURSELF.Here’s the reverse scenario. How do you defend yourself against a newcompetitorwho is targeting youwhen you’re the sole supplier? The first stephere is to understand what your current strategy is. It’s not enough to patyourselfonthebackaridsayyou’vebeenreliablefor tenyears.You’vegot toaskyourselfwhyyou’vebeenintheresolong.Whatisitaboutyourrelationshipwith the customer that has made them uninterested or unwilling to lookelsewhere?Who in the buying organization feels so good about you that thecompetitionhasn’tbeenabletogetinthedoor?

Most important, perhaps, is there anything that has changed recently in thecustomer’s organization tomake them open to a possible change of vendors?

RecalltheautomaticRedFlagsthatwementionedinChapter6.Whenyoufeelthat you are being threatened by a new competitor, you should examine yourpositionparticularly for theseRedFlags.Askespeciallywhether thereareanyBuying Influences new to the job, any uncontactedBuying Influences, or anyreorganization in theworks. If the answers are yes—or if youdon’t know theanswers—it’stimetobeespeciallyalerttothreats.

You’re never totally safe in a sole supplier situation.When trouble looms,your strategy should be to go back and review the contributions that you’vemade in the past, and then either reemphasize themor showhow they can bemodifiedtomeetyourcustomer’schangingbusinessneeds.WhatyouneedtodoistoreassuretheBuyingInfluencesthat theirdecisiontostaywithyoufor tenyearshasbeenagoodone,andthatit’sstillagoodonetoday.Thisisanever-endingprocess.Theminuteitstops,you’reofferingthecompetitionafoothold.

3.YOU’RETHEHIGHER-PRICEDSUPPLIER.Inthissituationthetrickistorememberthatexpensiveandhigher-priceddon’tnecessarily mean the same thing to the person who is buying. If I say thatsomethingisexpensive,whatImeanisthatitmaynotbeworthwhatI’mpayingfor it. That may or may not be the case with a high-priced product. Yourchallenge, when your product or service is priced higher than that of thecompetition,istohelpthecustomerseethatit’snotreallymoreexpensive.

Thisisn’tasemanticgameoracontradiction.It’snotthestickerpricebutthecustomer’s perception of value that determines whether something is pricedcorrectlyornot.Ifthecustomerseeshighervalueinyourhigher-pricedproduct,thenit’snotexpensive—it’spricedcorrectly.Ontheotherhand, ifshedoesn’tseethatvalue,youcannotmakeherseeitsimplybyslashingtheprice.Allthatdoesistoacknowledgethattheproductisworthlessthanshehasbeenpayingforit—notexactlyamovetoinspireconfidence.

Inaddition,cuttingyourpricesendsthecustomerthemessage“IknowthatbuyingthisisaLoseforyou,soletmemakeitaLoseformetoo,soyou’llfeelbetter.”We’vealreadyseen,wherethat“generous”logicleads.Thebottomline?Your, job as a seller isn’t to offer your customers “cheaper” products. It’s todemonstrate, whenever and wherever possible, that the contribution you arebringingmakesthepurchasecost-effective.

4.THECUSTOMERJUSTWANTSYOUTOBID.

Sometimes, customers seem totally uninterested in developing relationships.Theyputout forbids,anddemand thatyouplay itby thenumbers.Whenourclientsaskuswhattodointhissituation,wequoteanoldsaying:“Ifyoudon’thave it wired, don’t bid.” Often, the response to that comment is nervousglances. Then somebody usually says, “Not bidding tells the customer thatyou’renot interested inhisbusiness.Doingthatwillcloseusoffnot justfromthisbusiness,butfromallfutureopportunitieswiththiscustomer.”

Itsoundsright,butit’sdeadwrong.Whathashappenedwhenyou’reaskedjust to bid is that somebody else—maybe a consultant, maybe one of yourcompetitors—has already been in the door, helping the customer to set bidspecifications.

When you merely answer the bid request, you’re tacitly accepting thatperson’sagenda,playingbyhisorherrules.Inthissituation,whenyou’vehadnopriorcontactwithanyoftheBuyingInfluencesandyoudon’thaveaninsideviewofthecustomer’sproblems,you’resettingyourselfupforaLosenomatterwhatyoubid.

Inadditiontothat,biddingisnotselling.Biddingcanbedonebyacomputer,while selling requires a human being interacting with other human beings.Because of that, our general recommendation is that you avoid the blind-bidgame altogether. In cases where it seems unavoidable, you should at least behavingdiscussionswithyourmanagementbeforeyoubid,todeterminewhetherthere isanyvalue inenteringanarena like thisbeforeyoureallyknowwhat’sgoingon.

One positive alternative to submitting a bid is to send a polite letterexplaining why you don’t answer blind bids and explaining why it isn’tappropriate foryou to respond thatway.The letter shouldmake itclear to thecustomer that you would very much like not only their business, but anopportunity to talk to themabout their needs, to see if youhaveproducts andservicesthatwouldbeofvaluetothem.Eventually,ifyou’resellingeffectively,you’vegot toendup inaperson-to-person relationship tomakeanyWin-Winsale.Ouradviceistostartthatprocessearly.

PERSONALWORKSHOP8:COMPETITION

Now you’ll have the chance to apply the lessons of this chapter to your own

competitivesituation, inaPersonalWorkshopthatfurtherclarifiesyourSingleSales Objective. You can do this on a new notebook page, labeled“Competition.”

STEP1:IDENTIFYYOURCOMPETITION.

Beginbyidentifyingallthelikelyalternativestotheproposalyou’reofferingthecustomerforthisSingleSalesObjective.Rememberthatarivalfirmthatistargeting this business is only one of those alternatives. Your customer couldalso choose to provide an internal solution, use the money or resourceselsewhere,ordonothing.Tohelpyouclarifytheseoptions,ask:

•Whatcouldmakethemoneyforthisproposalgoaway?•Doesthecustomerhaveinternaloptionsavailablethatmightprovemorecost-effective, less difficult, or in some otherwaymore attractive thanourproposal?

•Isthecustomerfacingotherproblemstowhichtheneededfundsmightbediverted?

•Howhavetheyhandledsimilarprojectsinthepast?

Remember that for any one of these questions, you might have one or moreanswers. There could be three companies, for example, that are targeting thissamepieceofbusiness.Thecustomercouldhaveadozenalternativeusesforthemoney.Yourgoalhereistoidentifyallofthem.

STEP2:ASSESSYOURMAJORCOMPETINGFIRMORFIRMS.

Ifyou’renotabsolutelycertainthatyou’veidentifiedallofyourcustomer’savailable alternatives,mark that down as a Red Flag, and look for Coaching.ThentesttheinformationyouhaveforfurtherRedFlags,andforStrengths,byaskingyourselfthesequestionsaboutyourmajorcompetingfirms:

•How does our Single SalesObjective differ from the competing firm’sobjective?Arethetwoofusreallytargetingthesamepieceofbusiness,oristheresomeoverlapbetweentheobjectiveswe’retryingtoachieve?

•Who is Coaching this competing firm?Who is their Economic Buyer?Whoaretheirchiefsponsorsandanti-sponsors?

•What has this firm sold this customer in the past? Did they deliver aspromised?

• What product or service advantages does the competitor have for thisSingleSalesObjective?Whataretheirweaknesses?

• Is there a significantpricedifferencebetweenwhatweareofferingandtheiralternative?Whataboutserviceorsupportdifferences?

Asktooaboutthecustomer’sattitudestowardcompetingfirms.Dotheyhaveahistoryofpreferringsolesuppliers,orwouldtheyratherhavemultiplesources?Place aRedFlag next to any question forwhich the answer is unclear, and aStrength sticker next to those that indicate you are better positioned than thecompetingfirm.

STEP3:ASSESSTHECUSTOMER’SOTHERALTERNATIVES.Now assess the other alternatives for which this customer might use thenecessarymoneyandresources.Ask:

•Ifthecustomerdecidestofixorimprovethesituationinternally,willthatreally be a more cost-effective or trouble-free solution? If so, can webecomeinvolvedinthisinternalsolution?

•Ifthecustomerdecidestodivertfundstoanotherproject,aretheresalesopportunitiesforusinthatproject?

•Ifthecustomerdecidestodonothing,whatdoweneedtodotomaintainourpresencethereuntiltheyhaveamoreimmediateneedforourhelp?

Again, identifyareasofRedFlagsandStrengths inyouranswers.Notice, too,thatinthisstepandinthepreviousone,yourRedFlagscanbeconsideredyourcompetition’sStrengths,andyourStrengthscanbeconsideredtheirRedFlags.

STEP4:DEFINEYOURCONTRIBUTIONTOTHEIRBUSINESS.Lookingnotjustatyourproductorservicestrengths,butattheentirecontextofyour relationshipwith this customer, define thecontribution that youmake to

theirbusiness that allows them todifferentiateyou from thecompetition.Thiscontribution should be something that makes you stand out from the otheralternatives,thatputsyouinaspecial,“jointventure”category.

Writethiscontribution—orthesecontributions—down.Ifyoucan’tcomeupwith at least one significant difference thatmatters to the customer,mark thisdownasa significantRedFlag inyour strategy—andgetCoaching. Ifyoudohavesuchacontribution,it’saStrength.

STEP5:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.Finally, add toyourAlternatePositions list anynewactions suggestedby thisworkshop. As always, be specific, and test each possible action against thestrategist’sruleofthumb:BesureitleveragesaStrength,eliminatestheimpactof a Red Flag, or does both.We recommend that you focus here not just onproductorserviceStrengths,butonlong-termcontributions.Andtryaswellnottoconcentrateontheotherguy.Rememberthat thebestwaytooutraceafast-trackcompetitorisnottostepintohislane,buttorunsmarter.

PART4

STRATEGYANDTERRITORY:FOCUSINGONYOURWIN-WINCUSTOMERS

CHAPTER14

KEYELEMENT5:IDEALCUSTOMER

All of us who make our living in sales are under constant pressure to sell:pressurefrommanagers,fromcolleagues,fromfamilyandfriends—maybemostofallfromourselves.Becauseofthispressure,weareoftentemptedtotakeonmarginalorpotentially troublesomebusiness thatwereallyought tostayawayfrom.Fewofuscanresistthattemptationallthetime.So,atonetimeoranother,mostofushavesoldbusinessthatwelaterendedupregretting.

Throughoutthisbookwe’vestressedthatgettinganindividualorderisneverenough.We’ve said that the real craft of selling becomes evident only wheneveryorderleadstoaWin-Winoutcome—anoutcomethatbringsyousatisfiedcustomers,long-termrelationships,repeatbusiness,andsolidreferrals.Sofar,sogood.Prettymucheverybodyinbusinesswouldagreethatthisishowyouwouldlikeallyoursalestoconclude.

But we go one step further. We say that, if you’re involved in a sellingsituationwhere it’s obvious that you’re not going to-get aWin-Win outcome,you shouldbite thebullet and consider turning that businessaway.Nomatterhow good theymay look in terms of immediate commissions, the fact is thatsomesalesobjectivesarenotworthpursuing.

Accordingtoalotofpeopleinsales—especiallythosewhocameupthroughtheranksundertraditionalsales“trainers”—thiskindof thinkingisa littleoffthe wall. “Any sale is a good sale,” they tell themselves. Or “All dollars arealike.”Or“Abadcustomer’smoneyisjustasgreenasagoodone’s.”

Wemight give these old sawsmore credence if we ever heard them fromeitherourownorourclients’ sales leaders.We .don’t. In fact thepeoplewhospout them are invariably sales amateurs—either newcomerswho don’t knowtheropesorpeopledesperateforcommissions.Therealsalesleaders—and-thisis true whether you’re talking about individual salespeople or companies—understandaplainfactofeconomiclife:Nosingleproduct isforeverybodyatanygivenpointintime.

Theyunderstandtoothatalldollarsarenotalike,andthatifyou’regoingtobe successful in theComplexSaleover time,youarevirtuallyobliged to turnsomebusinessdown. Ifyoudon’t,youwill inevitablyclogyourcalendarwithdead-endbusiness—withsalesobjectivesthat,evenifyoubringthemtoaclose,willlaterhaveyoumuttering“IwishIhadn’tdonethat.”

In our experience, these poor-quality sales objectives can account for asmuch as 35 percent of the potential business in most sales representatives’territories. If you think that figure is inflated, consider that it’s based on ourconversationswithhundredsof regionalandnationalaccountmanagers.Theseprofessional overseers of their representatives’ sales objectives tell us thatthey’re regularly forced to throw out a sizable proportion of their people’ssuggestedprospectsbecausetheyhaveaslim-to-nothingchanceofendingupatWin-Win.

In this and the following chapter, we carry the lessons of the Win-Winprinciple to a logical conclusion, by showing you amethod for separating thewheat from the chaffbefore youwear yourself out. In using thismethod, youwilldefine,foryourownbusinesssituation,ahypotheticalIdealCustomer.Thenyou will use that Ideal Customer as a practical standard against which tomeasure your actual customers. This will enable you to cut down on that 35percentoflousyprospectsthatyoudon’twantclutteringupyourterritoryinthefirstplaceandtoconcentrateonthecustomerswhocangetyoutoWin-Win.

DiggingforaMatch

The reason that up to 35 percent of the prospective business in mostsalespeople’sterritoriesispooristhattheylackadynamic,field-testedprocessfor analyzing their customers’ real needs. In all too many companies, theresponsibility for doing this is handled by the marketing department, and thebizarre assumption is made that the sales representative actually knows lessaboutwhatcustomerswantorneedthanthatdepartmentdoes.

Thesituationiscomplicatedfurtherbythefact thatmanymarketingpeoplehavenoclear ideaofhowtomeet theircustomers’needs,oncetheydeterminethem,andtheypassthataddedconfusionontothesalesforce.Evenworse,theypassonatraditionalambivalenceabouttherealfunctionofsellingthatcanleavethesalespeopleuncertainaboutwhattheiractualjobis.

You’ve probably encountered this ambivalence.Most people in sales have.Ontheonehand,we’retoldthatourmissionistosellasmuchofourproductaswe can to anybody who will buy it, at any time. This “cram the product”approachis,ofcourse,thetraditionalphilosophyoftheslick-talkinghuckster—thepersonwhoisabletosellsnowtoSiberians.Ontheotherhand,we’retoldthat we should be selling to need—that we should always be “digging for amatch” between our product or service and the customer’s real requirements.Thisisthemoremodern,marketing-basedapproachtosales.

Youcannothave it bothways.Crammingproduct anddigging for amatcharemutuallyexclusiveapproachestothesellingprocess.Wetrustthatwe’veleftnodoubtastowhichonewerecommend.Ifyou’retobesuccessfulinStrategicSelling,you’llhavetoleavetheold-timehucksterphilosophywhereitbelongs—in thepast—and learnhow todig for a real fit betweenwhatyouhave andwhat your customers need. Finding that fit is the heart of every honest—andsuccessful-marketingapproachtotheComplexSale.

You need to do this on an account-by-account basis, so that you cansupplement thedata provided toyoubyyourmarketingpeople.What theydomightbecalledmacromarketing.Byfocusingonlargeeconomictrends,itseekstouncover thepreferencesofbroadaudiences.We’resuggesting thatyoudoakindofmicromarketingonyouraccounts.Useyourcompany’smarketingdataas abase andgoon from there.Onlyby assessingyour individual customers’needs, and weighing them against broader market designs, can you adopteffective“matching”strategiesforallyouraccounts.

YourOwnNeedsMatterToo

Thesestrategiesmustsatisfyyourneedsaswellasthoseofyourcustomers.Theterm “match” implies reciprocity, and indeed the whole point of a Win-WinapproachistogenerateoutcomesinwhichbothyouandyourcustomersWin.AsignificantelementinthedevelopmentofanIdealCustomerProfile,therefore,isto concentrate on customerswho not onlywantwhat you have, but also havewhatyouwant.

And we don’t mean just money. As we’ve said, getting the order isn’tenough.Nor is pocketing a commission, nomatter how hefty it is, enough tomakeasaleaWin-Winsale.Wecanillustratethispointwithastorytoldtousrecentlybythesalesvicepresidentofalargemoving-and-storagecompany.

The company, which handled a large number of corporate accounts,advertised“specialtreatment”forexecutiveswhosehouseholdgoodshadtobetransferredfromoneendofthecountrytotheother.Aboutayearago,thevicepresident told us, the company went after a potentially huge new account: anationwide chainof discount storeswhosemanagerswere transferred sooftenthey thought theywere nomads. In terms of volume, landing this one accountwouldhaveboostedthemovingcompany’srevenuesbyabout12percentayear.But,asgoodasthatsounded,thediscountchainturnedouttobefarfromidealinotherways.

“Because of the seasonal nature of our business,” the vice presidentexplained,“weprefertohandleaccountsthatwillletusmovetheirpeopleoff-seasonratherthaninthesummer,whenwe’reshortofvans.Also,welikelong-distancemovesratherthanshorthops,largehouseholdsratherthanapartments,andideallyaboutamonth’sleadtime.”

These“requirements”ofanIdealCustomermadesensetous.Obviously,themoving company understoodwhat types of accounts brought it the best profitmargins,andpreferredtofocusonthemratherthantogoindiscriminatelyaftereverybody.

“Thediscountchaindidn’tfitthatbill?”weaskedhim.“Couldn’t have beenworse,” he said disgustedly. “They gave us plenty of

volume,sure,butitwasnothingbutgrief.Theirstandardpatternwastogiveusthreedays’noticeandthenexpectustomoveamanagementtraineeacrossstate—andusually inJuly.After that firstsummer, I realized thatourpeopleweredoingtwiceasmuchworkforhalftherevenue.Soweletthebusinessgo.”

The lesson shouldbeclear. It’snot enough to sell to a customerwho likesyour product or service—as the discount chain liked themoving service.Youalsohavetomakesurethatasmanyofyourcustomersaspossiblecomeascloseas possible to meeting your needs as a seller. You don’t develop Win-Winscenariosonaone-waystreet.

NarrowingtheTerritoryEarly

Ineverysalesperson’senvironment,unlessyou’reinaverymatureterritoryand

industry, there are almost limitless possibilities for contacting prospects andmaking sales. Ifyoudon’tbegin to focuson the realWin-Winpossibilities asearlyaspossibleinyoursellingcycle,you’llalmostcertainlyfindyourselfinthecommon,butunhappy,positionof jugglingmorebadbusiness thanyouknowwhattodowith.

InPart5,whenwediscusstheSalesFunnel,we’llshowyouhowtomanageyourtimemoreefficiently,sothatyouspendtheoptimumamountoftimeeveryweekworkingoneachofyourpotentialandestablishedaccounts.Butthatwon’tdoyouanygoodifyou’verecklesslytakenonsomanyoftheseaccountsthatthemostyoucanspareanyoneofthemisanextratenminutes.

Therefore,togetthemostoutofyourlimitedsellingtime,yourfirststepsaretosort throughthe“Universe”ofpotentialcustomers, toassesswhichonesaremostlikelytopayoffingoodbusiness,andtomakeadeterminationastowhichoneshave togo.Unlessyou startby judiciously restrictingyourUniverse, thebesttime-managementintheworldwillgetyounowhere.

This“judiciousrestriction”isthefocusofthefollowingchapter.

CHAPTER15

YOURIDEALCUSTOMERPROFILE:DEMOGRAPHICSANDPSYCHOGRAPHICS

Whenweuse the termIdealCustomer,we’renot referring toanactual, real-life customer. You’ll never find the mythical “perfect” customer. The IdealCustomerisastandardagainstwhichtomeasureyouractualcustomers,sothatyou can focus on the good ones, get rid of the truly bad ones, and anticipateproblemswith thosewhofall in themiddle. In thischapteryou’lldevelop thatstandard for yourself by analyzing your current best customers to see exactlywhat criteria make them best. Then you’ll use those criteria to define acompositepictureof thehypotheticalperfectcustomer.ThiswillbeyourIdealCustomerProfile.

In drawingup this profile, youneed to consider two categories of possiblecustomer characteristics. The first is called demographics, the secondpsychographics.

DemographicsandPsychographics

Sincemostmarketingdepartmentsworkexclusivelywithdemographicdata,youmay already be familiar with the term demographics. To the sociologist and

statistician, “demographics” refers to the size and composition of selectedhuman populations. In marketing—and in our selling processes—the term ismodified slightly, so that it refers to the size and composition of individualcustomer populations. Examples of demographics as we use the term wouldincludethefollowing:

•Sizeofthetargetaudience•Numberofendusersofyourproductorservice•Ageandconditionofthecustomer’spresentequipment•Distanceofthecustomer’slocationorlocationsfromyourfirm’sshippingpoints

•Proximitytoyourserviceandsupportcenters• Compatibility of your product or service to the customer’s existingfacilities

Notice that all of these examples share one feature: The characteristics theydescribearemeasurableandobjective.

Unlike“demographics,”psychographicsisnotyetawidelyusedterm.Someadvertising agencies and marketing departments are familiar with it, but it’shardly a household name, and your marketing people, unless they’re cutting-edge, may not have heard of it before. Yet understanding psychographics iscriticaltosalessuccess.

PsychographicsarethevaluesandattitudessharedbytheindividualBuyingInfluences within an organization and held collectively, as it were, by theorganization itself. In today’s business world, the sharing of such values is acommon phenomenon. Especially at the managerial level, most successfulpeoplelockoninsomedegreetotheofficialorunofficial“attitudes”ofthefirmsthatemploythem.Examplesofpsychographicswouldinclude:

•Importanceplacedbythecompanyonreputationinthemarketplace•Ethicalstandards—whetherornottheyappearinacompany“code”•Attitudes towardpeople, includingcustomers, suppliers, employees, andother“stakeholders”

•Opennesstoinnovation•Relativeimportanceplacedonqualityratherthanquantity

Psychographics aren’t as accessible to measurement as are demographicsbecausethey’renotusuallyobjective.Butthey’reequallyimportanttoyouasasalesprofessionalbecause theydefine thecompanycultures intowhichyou’retryingtosell.

CompanyCultures

Asobserversofthecorporatescenehavebeenpointingoutfordecades,today’smost successful corporations owe their success at least in part to the fact thattheiremployees,fromtheCEOondown,areconsciousandeagerparticipantsinorganizationalcultures.Theirpeople,nomatterhowindividualanddiversetheymay be in their private lives, also share certain assumptions and values thatallowthemtoconformtoaninternalpatternintheworkenvironment.

We don’t mean that people in today’s top companies behave like the“organization man” of the 1950s, adhering mindlessly to a gray-flannel,pinstriped model. On the contrary. The most successful companies usuallygenerate company cultures that emphasize innovation rather than tradition,qualityofservicerather than theold-fashioned“bottomline”mentality.Afewexamplesfromourclients:

• Sterling Healthcare, which manages hospitals and counseling centersacrossthecountry,placesapremiumontheindividualityofitsservices.Itssalespeopletakeprideinprovidingnotboilerplatefacilities,buthighlypersonalized,customer-drivensolutions.

•TheCoca-ColacultureismarkedbyadedicationtomakingCokeafirst-class, global leader in every respect. Whether they’re choosing anadvertising campaign or buying art for corporate headquarters,supervising quality control or handling customer inquiries, Cokemanagerstrytomake“numberone”thewatchwordofeverydecision.

• Finally, at Hewlett-Packard, there’s a company-wide recognizedinsistence on building the most technically advanced products in theelectronicinstrumentsandcomputerfield.Peoplewhoworkatthisfirmare committed, across the board, tomaking the nameHewlett-Packardsynonymous with quality, value, and state of the art. Innovation inresearchhasthereforebecomeacentralaspectoftheH-Pinternalculture.

These few examples point to the fact that, in today’s corporate environment,mostofthepeopleyouselltoarelikelytosharemanyofthesocialandbusinessattitudesofothersintheirrespectivecompanies.

Socialscientistswouldsaythatbusinesspeoplewithinafirmshareasetof“normativevalues,”thatis,valuesthatdefinethebasicacceptablerangeofthesocial group’s behaviors and beliefs. Since corporations are certainly socialgroups, itmakes sense that theywill generate suchnormativevalues, and thatthepeoplewhobecomemostsuccessfulinagivencompanywillbethosewhomostreadilyaccept,oradaptto,thesecommonvalues.

To revert to Strategic Selling terminology, we can say that a company’snormative values are one of itsmost significantpsychographic characteristics.Andthesevaluesapplynotonlytothecorporateentityasawhole,buttoalloftheindividualpeople—theBuyingInfluences—whomakebuyingdecisionsforthatentity.

Thisobservationhasenormousimplicationsforanyonewhosells.Whattheexistence of corporate psychographics means to you is that, in positioningyourself with your various customers, you can gain an immense competitiveadvantage by analyzing not just the “hard facts”—the demographics—of each“account, but its key players’ values and attitudes—the psyehographics—aswell.

TheImportanceofYourPsychographics

Because psychographics define companies aswell as individuals, and becauseboth sellers and buyers display psychographic characteristics, you can take amajor first step in “judiciously restricting” the Universe of your potentialcustomers by determining which of them most closely approximates thepsychographicprofileofyourfirm.Builtintoyourproductandservicesareyourcompany’s values and attitudes, and the customers who come closest tomatchingyour IdealCustomer standardswill be thosewho alreadyhold thosevaluesandattitudes—orwhocanbeeducatedintodoingso.

Forexample,let’ssayyousellaproductwhoseprincipaladvantageoverthecompetitionisitsqualityandvalueovertime.Ifyou’resellingtoafirmthatseespricealoneas thecritical factor inselectingvendors,you’llprobablybe in fortrouble.Butifyou’resellingtoonethatconcentrateson“priceperformance”—afirmthat’swillingtopayabitextratogetamoreexactmatchtoitsneeds—thenyourcompetitor’slowbidprobablywon’tbeenoughtocarrytheday.

A friend of ours at a national food services company understands thisprincipleverywell.“Wesellquality,”hetoldusrecently,“andIrefusetotryforaccounts where the appreciation of quality is not a fundamental perception.They’vegot toshare thatattitudeor there justwon’tbeamatchwithwhatweoffer them.”This three-timesalesmanof theyearboastsasuccess rateofwellover50percentwithhismajorpresentationsand,asheadmittedtous,“Ihaven’tbeenlowbidinthelasttenyears.”

What’s implicithere issomething thatwe’vestressed throughout thisbook.The real reason people buy isn’t simply that your product or servicematchestheir objective business needs. People buy not only to get Results, but to getpersonalWinsaswell.Theybuybecausetheyperceivethatyoursalewillsatisfypersonalvaluesandattitudes—andthussatisfytheirownself-interest.

ItallcomesbacktoWinning.InChapters9and10,whereweurgedyoutosetupWin-WinscenarioswithallofyourBuyingInfluences,wesaid that thebestwaytodothatwastodeliverthemWin-Results.Thesamethingistrueontheaccount-wide,orcorporate,level.ThebestwaytoWinwithagivenaccountover time is to understand that company’s psychographic profile, because thatprofileisanimportantkeytohoweachofitsindividualBuyingInfluencesWins.

If you’re like most people in sales, up to now you’ve probably beenconcentratingonlyondemographics.HerewepresentaPersonalWorkshopthatgives you the opportunity to utilize both demographicsand psychographics indefining,sorting,andstrategizingyourpotentialopportunities.

PersonalWorkshop9:IdealCustomer

In this workshop you will create your own personal Ideal Customer Profile,basedonyourcurrentandpastaccounts,andthenusethatprofiletotesttherealprospectsofaWin-Winsalewithallofyourcurrentsalesobjectives.

STEP1:DRAWYOURIDEALCUSTOMERCHART.Turnyournotebooklengthwiseandbeginbydrawingupaworksheet thatwillgenerateyour IdealCustomerProfile.At the topof thepagewrite theheading“IdealCustomer.”Dividethepageintofiveequalcolumnsandlabelthemwiththefollowingsubheadings,fromlefttoright:“BestCustomers,”“Characteristicsof Best,” “Ideal Customer Profile,” “Characteristics of Worst,” and “Worst

Customers.”Whenit’sfinished,thechartshouldlookliketheexampleshownonpage329.

STEP2:IDENTIFYYOURBESTCUSTOMERS.List, in the left-hand column, your best current and past customers. Justcustomers,notprospects.Limityourselftoaccountswhereyou’vealreadydonesomebusiness.

By “best” here we mean whatever you mean. You set the criteria. Theaccounts we want you to concentrate on are those that have given you themaximum number of Wins and minimal trouble. You’re the best person todecide what criteria to use in identifying those accounts. Keep your own gutfeelings in mind. Usually, you find that you feel great about your “BestCustomers”—regardlessoftheamountofrevenuetheyhavegenerated.

ListasmanyasyouwantoftheseBestCustomers,butfollowthisguideline

for establishing a cutoff point: First, write down your single Best Customer;then,writedownnumbertwo;andsoondowntheline,untilyoucometoanamethat’ssignificantlydifferentinyoureyesfromthelastoneyouwrotedown.Stopthere. If there’s a quantum difference in quality between number three andnumberfour,forexample,makenumberthreethelastentryonthislist.

STEP3:IDENTIFYYOURWORSTCUSTOMERS.

Now go to the right-hand column of your Ideal Customer chart and list yourworst past and current customers. Again, you set the criteria. Concentrate onthoseaccountswhereeitheryouorthecustomer,orbothofyou,havelost,eventhoughyou’veclosedtheorder.Again,trustyourgutfeelings.Again,stopwhenyoureachaquantumdifferencebetweenthelastnameyouwrotedownandthenext one that comes to mind. And again, identify these “Worst Customers”regardless,ofthedollarsthey’vespent.

STEP4:LISTBESTCUSTOMERCHARACTERISTICS.Inthesecondcolumnfromtheleft,listthosecharacteristicsthatarecommonto,orunique to, theBestCustomersyou’ve just identified.Youmay includebothdemographicandpsychographiccharacteristicshere,butyoushouldpayspecialattention to the latter. To give you some examples, our program participantsoftenlistpsychographicslikethese:

•Trustsmycompany’sperformance•Innovative,progressivemanagement•Isloyaltothevendorsselected•Committedtoqualitycontrol•Willingtopayfor“value-added”aspectsofmyproduct•Highestbusinessethicsandintegrity•WantsaWin-Winrelationshiponeverysale

Use these examples as a guide, but list the characteristics you personally findmostattractiveamongyourownBestCustomers.

Onecaution.Don’tlistthingslike“Hasmoneytobuy,”“Needsmyproduct,”or“Iscreditworthy.”Weassumethatallyourcustomers,notjustyourbestones,meet these minimum business requirements. Focus on characteristics—eitherobjectiveorpsychographic—thatdistinguishyourBestCustomersfromtherest.

STEP5:LISTWORSTCUSTOMERCHARACTERISTICS.Now, in the second column from the right, do the same thing for yourWorst

Customers.Listasmanycharacteristicsasyoucanthatdistinguishthecustomersin the right-hand columnof your chart from the rest of the accounts you dealwith.Examplesfromourcorporateclients:

•Inflexibleonprice•Slowinmakingbuyingdecisions•Noloyaltytomycompanyortome•Authoritarianmanagementsystem•Secretiveandunwillingtocooperate•WantmetoLosesotheycanWin

Again,yourgoalistocomeupwithausefullistofnegativecharacteristicsthatarecommontoall,oratleastmost,ofyourWorstCustomers.Andagain,yousetthecriteria.

STEP6:CREATEYOURIDEALCUSTOMERPROFILE.Now, in the central column of your Ideal Customer chart, you can define thestandardagainstwhichyourcustomersshouldbemeasured.

Thisstepof theworkshopisaprocessofdistillation.Studythelistsyou’vejustmadeofBestCustomercharacteristicsandWorstCustomercharacteristics,anddistilloutof the items thereanew listofcharacteristics thatyouconsidermostsignificant.Thisprocessmaytakealittletime.Don’trushit.

Inassessingtheitemsonyour“CharacteristicsofBest”list,transferonlythemost significant ones into the center column. In assessing the items on the“CharacteristicsofWorst”list,transferoppositesofthesignificantitemslisted.Forexample, ifyou’veidentified“leadingedgeinits industry”asasignificantBest Customer characteristic, you simply list that characteristic in the centercolumn. If a characteristic common to your Worst Customers is that they’re“unabletomakedecisions,”writeinthecentercolumnsomethinglikethis:“Hasaprocessformakingbuyingdecisionsquickly.”

Onceyou’vetransferredalltherelevantcharacteristicstothecentercolumn,studytheitemstherecarefullyandzeroinonthefivemostsignificantones.Thenturntoacleanpageofyournotebookandwrite“IdealCustomerProfile”atthetop.Writedownonlythefivemostsignificantcharacteristicsunderthatheading.ThisfinaldistillationisyourIdealCustomerProfile.

STEP7:TESTYOURCURRENTACCOUNTS.You now have a toolwithwhich tomeasure two things: the compatibility ofeachofyouraccountswiththecharacteristicsyoupersonallyfindmostdesirableinacustomer,andtheproblemsthataremostlikelytoariseinaccountsthatdonotmeet thosecharacteristics.Inotherwords,youhaveatoolforsortingyourprospects and anticipating problems. You can do these two things now,beginning by evaluating the account towhich you’re trying to sell the SingleSalesObjectivethatyou’vebeenworkingwithsinceChapter3.

To do this,measure that account against each of your five IdealCustomerProfilecharacteristicsinturn.Godownthelistand,foreachcharacteristic,askyourselfthisquestion:

Howwelldoesthisparticularcustomermatchwiththisidealcharacteristic?

Thenratethecustomeroneachitem,usingthesame-5to+5ratingscalethatweintroducedinthechapteronBuyingResponseModes.Ifthere’saverystrongornear-perfectmatchtothefirstcharacteristicyoulisted,giveyourcustomera+5rating for that characteristic. If there’s no match at all for the secondcharacteristic,givethecustomera-5ratingonthatone.Andsoon.Whenyou’redonegoingdownthelist,you’llhavefivenumbers,positiveandnegative.Takentogether, theyareameasurementof thiscustomeragainstyourIdealCustomerstandard.

Onceyou’veperformedthisexerciseforyourtestcaseaccount,youcanuseit to rate your other accounts and prospects as well. For each of these actualcustomersorpotentialcustomers,generateanewsetoffivenumbersbasedonthatcustomer’smatches,ormismatches,toyourlistofidealcharacteristics.

Each set of numberswill, of course, bedifferent.But each set, like the setyoujustgeneratedforyourtestcaseaccount,willgiveyouareliablepictureofhowclose that customer is toyour standard.Thehigher thepositivenumbers,and the more of them there are, the greater the likelihood that you canconsistentlyreachWin-Winoutcomeswiththisaccount.Ontheotherhand,themore negative numbers you have, the greater the chances that you’ll haveproblems,atleastinthoseareaswheretheprofilematchispoor.

These figures, though, are only rough guides. Each sale is unique, andwewouldn’tpresumetoadviseyoueither todropamathematically“bad”account

ortobecomeoverlyconfidentaboutsellingamathematically“good”one.Whatwedoknowisthat,otherthingsbeingequal,theabovefiguresreliablyindicatetheprobabilityofagivenaccount’sleadingconsistentlytoWin-Winoutcomes.

STEP8:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.Once you knowhow close a given account is to your IdealCustomerProfile,you’reinapositiontomakeadecisionabouthowtoimproveyourstrategyforthat account. Assuming there’s a less than perfect match between a givenaccountandyour IdealCustomerProfile (thiswillalmostalwaysbe thecase),youcannowdooneofthefollowingthings:

• Decide to sort a given sales objective from that account out of yourterritorial workload because you realize it has a low probability ofgeneratingagoodorder.

•Anticipate the problems thatwill arisewith that objective, based on itsimperfectmatch,anddevisestrategiestodealwithandovercomethem.

Youcanmakethischoicenowbyconsideringeachofyourcurrentcustomersinturn,startingwiththecustomerorprospecttowhichyou’retryingtoselltheSingleSalesObjectivethatyou’reanalyzinginthisbook.Assesstheratingsthatyou just gave each customer, and then decide what Alternate Positions youmightadopttoincreasethelikelihoodofaWin-Winoutcome.

Aswesaidinthepreviousworkshop,you’llbeabletodoafulleranalysisonthe customer for your chosen sales objective than on your other customersbecauseyouhavemoreinformationaboutit.ButyouranalysisofthatcustomercanstillserveasamodelforallfutureIdealCustomeranalyses.

Subjectivejudgment isobviouslyinvolvedhere,andinusingit,youshouldconsidereverythingyou’velearnedaboutyouraccounts,andaboutyourSingleSalesObjective, thusfar.Theratingsyou’ve justdevelopedarearoughguide.We don’t advise anyone to use the Ideal Customer Profile as a cop-out foravoidingdifficultbusiness.Instead,itshouldservetoestablishthebasiccriteriathatyouneedforWin-Winoutcomes.

You should use those criteria as a baseline judgment, not a final one. Forexample, if your IdealCustomerProfile indicates that theGoliath account hasseveral -4or -5matches, itwould seem reasonable to thinkaboutdropping it.But if thepotential revenues from thataccountareenormous, if themarketing

people at your company are pushing you toward products that Goliathparticularlyneeds,orifthe“futureinvestment”possibilitiestherearehuge,thenitmightstillbeworthyourtimetocontinueworkingtheaccount.

Ontheotherhand,ifyouhaveaverystrongprofileforagivencompany,butthatcompanyhasdealtexclusivelywithyourmajorcompetitorfortenyearsandshowsnosignsofshiftingloyalties,youmayjustbewastingyourtimeintryingtomakeitspeopleseethe“perfectmatch”betweenwhatyouhaveandwhattheyneed.

Remember that the IdealCustomerProfile is used to prediet and dealwithproblems as well as to sort out potential bad business. This means that youshouldlookat the individualcharacteristicsonthelist,not just theprofileasawhole.Forexample,ifyou’vedecidedtokeepGoliathinyourterritorychieflybecauseofitshugecommissionpotential,youmightimproveyourpositionthereby analyzing each profile characteristic in turn, to help you work moreeffectivelyonthoseareaswherethematchisimperfect.IfGoliathscoredlowonyourIdealCustomerratinglargelybecauseit’sslowinrespondingtoproposals,youmight add“Adjustmyselling schedule toaccommodateGoliathcycle” toyourAlternatePositions list. IfGoliathhasno apparent interest inquality andalwaystakeslowbid,youmaywanttoadd“Trytoshowthemthatourproductwillbetheleastexpensivesolutionfortheminthelongrun.”

The key point here is that the closer an individual account comes to yourIdealCustomerProfile,theeasierthesale;thefurtherawayfromtheprofile,themoretroublesyou’llprobablyencounter.Themainvirtueoftheprofile,asbotha sorting and a predictive device, is in enabling you to identify potentialproblemsandweighthemrealisticallyagainstpotentialgains.

ABalanced“AdmissionsPolicy”

You’reaimingforbalance.Italmostnevermakesgoodstrategicsensetotargetaccounts whose Ideal Customer Profiles indicate they share none of yourcompany’svaluesandattitudes.Ontheotherhand,nosalespersonhastheluxuryof sellingonly those accounts that perfectlymatch an Ideal Customer Profile.The best way to reduce uncertainties in your sales and ensure Win-Winoutcomesistofollowapolicythatliesjudiciouslybetweentakinganybodywhoknocksonyourdoorandacceptingonlythe“best.”

Youmightwanttothinkofthesortingandpredictingwe’vebeendescribingas a kind of screening process, similar to that which is employed by college

admissionscommittees.Thosecommittees,althoughtheyoftenhaveveryexactand exacting requirements for their potential students to meet, also employ agreat deal of give-and-take inmaking final decisions.Most admissions boardstoday tend to look not only for a “balanced” student body, but also forreasonablybalancedpersonalitiesintheindividualstudentstheyselect.

Thatmeans thatastudentwhodidn’tscorehighon theScholasticAptitudeTestmaystillget in toher first-choicecollege if there’sevidence that shecanofferthecollegecommunitysomethingspecialintermsof,say,sportsability,auniquebackground,industriousness,orsocialadaptability.Ontheotherhand,astudent with great scores on this standardized test may not be admitted if heseemstobefocusedexclusivelyonFrenchorchemistry,orifhe’semotionallyorsociallylimitedinotherways—thatis,ifthecommitteefeelstheschoolwillbelikelytoLosebyhavingthispersonasamemberofitscommunity.

Your goal, as always, is to Win—and to ensure that all your BuyingInfluences, in all your accounts,Win aswell. The bestway to do that,we’vefound,istouseyourIdealCustomerProfileasabaselinetestandthenweightheinformationitgivesyouagainsteverythingelseyouknowabouttheaccount.

ReviewingYourPosition

That “everything else” has a great deal to dowith the four basic elements ofstrategy that we outlined, and that you practiced, in Part 2 of the book. Werecommendthatyoureviewthoseelementsnow,inthenewlightthathasbeenprovided by. the Ideal Customer concept. We suggest you take out all thematerialyou’vedevelopedsofar.Layitout infrontofyou.Thenaskyourselfthefollowingquestions:

•Buying Influences. Looking at yourBuying InfluencesChart, ask if thedifficultiesyou’vehadingettingtoyourBuyingInfluencesarerelatedtotheir company’s imperfectmatch to your IdealCustomer Profile.Whatspecificdemographicandpsychographicmismatcheshavemade sellingthemuncertain?

•RedFlags/LeveragefromStrength.LookattheRedFlagsonyourBuyingInfluencesChart and on yourWin-Results Chart. Is there a correlationbetween them and the Ideal Customer Profile items that show a poormatchto thecustomerforyoursalesobjective?The“bestmatch”itemsonthe’profileshouldbeconsideredareasofStrength.Canyouuseany

ofthemtoleverageagainsttheRedFlags?• Response Modes. Which of the items on your Ideal Customer Profileexplain a willingness on the part of your Buying Influences to acceptchange?Whichitemsexplainareluctance?

•Win-Results. Compare the Win-Results Chart with the Ideal CustomerProfile.DothedemographicitemsontheprofiletranslateintoobjectivebusinessResults?DothepsychographicitemstranslateintoWinsfortheindividualBuyingInfluencesintheaccount?DothoseindividualsknowthatyouvaluetheiraccountandaretryingtoplayWin-Winwiththem?

As we’ve stressed repeatedly, the Key Elements of strategy become fullyeffective only when they’re used interactively, as a system. Asking yourselfthesequestionsisawayofhelpingyouseehowthefirstfiveoftheseelementsfittogether.

With the addition of onemore element, the picturewill be complete. Thatelement follows logically fromwhat you’ve just learned. The Ideal CustomerProfileenablesyoutosortthroughthevirtuallylimitlessfieldofpotentialsalesopportunities, to create a personal territory that is actually manageable. Tomanageitefficiently,though,youneedaterritorymanagementtoolthatwecalltheSalesFunnel.We’llintroducethatfinalKeyElementnow.

PART5

STRATEGYANDTERRITORY:MANAGINGYOURSELLINGTIME

CHAPTER16

OFTIME,TERRITORY,ANDMONEY

Whenyouhandleseveralaccountsorprospectsat thesame time, it’seasy tobecomestrategicallyconfusedunlessyoubreakthebusinessyou’retargetingineach account into smaller chunks—what we have been calling Single SalesObjectives.This is especially important in theComplexSales arena,wherenotwoobjectives in thesameaccountmayhaveexactly thesamecombinationofBuying Influences. That’s why we have recommended, throughout this book,that you practice each new principle of strategy by applying it in a PersonalWorkshoptothesameobjective—the“testcase”thatyouselectedinChapter3.

Weofferthesamerecommendationforwhenyou’reoutinthefield:Alwayssetstrategiesforonesalesobjectiveatatime.Werealize,however,thatthisiseasiertosaythantodo.Outinthefield,it’softendifficulttobesingle-minded.You have a territory to manage, and that territory is probably pulling you intwentydifferentdirectionsatoncebecausethetest-caseobjectiveyou’vechosentoworkwithinthisbookisonlyoneofmanydifferentbusinessopportunities.

Intheprevioussection,wediscussedtheIdealCustomerProfile,whichcanhelpyougetahandleonthismultiplicitybylimitingyourterritorytoaccountsthatarereallyworthyourtime.Inthissection,wetakethenextlogicalstep,byintroducingasixthKeyElement,theSalesFunnel.It’sintegraltoourStrategicSellingapproachbecauseitenablesyoutogetthemostoutofeveryaccountinyour territory by managing your most precious resource, selling time, moreeffectively.

YourMostPreciousResource

Everyoneweknowinsaleshasatonetimeoranothercomplained,“WhatIneedisaforty-eight-hourday.”Thisisacomplaintofpeopleinmanywalksoflife,but it’s especially aggravating tous salesprofessionals because, in addition totheactualsellingtimewehavetoputin(whichmostofusenjoy),wealsohavetoputintimeonmanynonsellingtasks,andthesetaskstakeupthebulkofeverysalesprofessional’stime.

Ifyoudoubtforaminutethatmostofwhatyoudoisnonselling,justthinkofhowmanyhoursaweekyouspendonthefollowingtasks:

•Sellinginternallytoyourowncompany•Makingoutexpensereports•Doingotherpaperwork•Attendingmeetings•Handlingcustomercomplaints•Expeditingorders•Trainingcustomerstouseyourproductorservice•Traveling

Don’t misunderstand us.We don’t mean that these tasks are unimportant.You know that they’re essential to your long-term success. But they aren’tselling.Whenwetalkaboutsellingtime,wemeansomethingveryspecific.Wemean the time you actually spend face-to-face (or phone to phone)with yourcustomers.InourStrategicSellingprograms,weusethefollowingdefinition:

SellingtimeisanytimespenttalkingtoaBuyingInfluenceaboutGrowthorTrouble,oraskingquestionsofaBuyingInfluencetouncoveraGrowth

orTroublediscrepancy.

Whenourparticipantsunderstandthisdefinitionofsellingtime,theyusuallytell us that they’re lucky to get five or ten hours aweek to devote to this all-important activity. Most top salespeople, in fact, spend only about 5 to 15percent of their total work weeks actively engaged in face time with theircustomers.Among the thousands of sales representatives andmanagerswe’vecounseled,wehaveyettomeetevenonepersonwhospendsmorethanaquarter

ofhisorhertimetalkingtoBuyingInfluencesaboutGrowthorTrouble.Nobodylikesthisstateofaffairs,butit’safactofeverysalesperson’slife.As

muchaswewouldliketospendmoretimewithourcustomersandlessbehindadeskor a steeringwheel, selling time is still always in short supply. If it isn’tmanaged well, the salesperson typically falls victim to a deadly pattern offluctuatingincome—thepatternwecalltheRollerCoasterEffect.

TheRollerCoasterEffect

If you’ve been in sales formore than a fewmonths, you’re probably alreadyfamiliar with the Roller Coaster Effect. This metaphor for the profession’stypicallyunevenincomepatternisrepresentedinthechartbelow.

As you can see, the chart plots the relationship between each monthlyaccountingperiodand theamountof revenuesold—that is,between timeandmoney.Assuming that you spend roughly the same amount of time selling ineach period, the implication here is disturbingly obvious: Steady work won’tnecessarily give you a steady income. Or, to be blunt about it, time doesn’talwaysequalmoney.

Ifyourecognizethischartasbeinganapproximationofyourowntimeandmoney pattern, you’ve got a lot of company. Unevenness of income is socommoninsalesthatmanylifetimemanagersandsalesrepresentativesconsideritakindofnaturallaw.Asaregionalmanageronceconfessedtous,shrugging

hisshoulders inresignation,“That’s thewaythesellinghighwayrolls.You’vejustgottohanginthereandwaititthrough.”

Wrong. No matter how natural and inescapable it may seem, the RollerCoasterEffectisnot inevitable.Andyoudohaveanalternativeto“hanginginthere”untilthingsimprove.

Granted,underamarketsystemsomecyclicalfluctuationsinyourincomeareinevitable. There are seasonal variations, annual budgets, interest rates, and awholerangeofbroadeconomictrendsthatimpingeoneverysalesprofessional’swork.Evengovernmentshaveonlylimitedsuccessinadjustingthem,andtheyseem pretty much beyond the ordinary citizen’s control. However, ourexperience shows that the worst fluctuations of the Roller Coaster Effect arecaused not by these economic forces, but by the salesperson’s own poormanagementofsellingtime.That’ssomethingthatyoucancontrol.

WhattheSalesFunnelDoes

The Sales Funnel helps you to manage your precious selling time moreeffectively, so that you can avoid the deepest valleys of your personal sellingcycles and translate that time into steady, predictable, income. In this sectionyou’ll learnhow touse this time-management tool to focusyourwork so thatyoucanaccomplishthefollowingessentialtasks:

•Defineexactlywhereyouareinthesellingprocessbysortingyoursalesobjectivesintofourdifferentcategories,or“levels,”oftheFunnel

•Trackeachsalesobjective’sprogressasitmoves“downthefunnel”fromfirstcontacttosignedorder

•SetprioritiesforworkingontheobjectivesineachleveloftheFunneltoensurethatyoudon’tneglectanyoneofthefour

•Allocate time to the objectives in each level of the Funnel so that youconsistentlyperformfouressentialkindsofsellingwork

• Forecast future income based on how rapidly and smoothly yourobjectivesaremovingtowardtheclose

When you use the Sales Funnel to accomplish these related tasks, you notonly utilize time more efficiently. You also achieve the broader perspectiveneededforsuccess inallyoursalesobjectivesover time.So let’sseehowthis

finalKeyElementworks.

CHAPTER17

KEYELEMENT6:THESALESFUNNEL

The funnel metaphor that we use in our sixth Key Element of strategymayalreadybefamiliartoyou.Manysalespeopletalkaboutputtingprospects“intothepipeline,”“intothehopper,”or“intothetopofthefunnel”andthenwaitingforcompletedorderstocomeoutattheotherend.

Wedepartfromthisconventionalusageinstressingthatyoucannotwaitfororders.You’vegottoworktheFunnel,routinelyandaggressively,sothatorders(andthusyourincome)arepredictable.We’realsodifferentinthatwesegmenttheSalesFunnelconceptually intofourdistinct levelsofaccountactivity,eachonecorrespondingtoadifferenttypeofsellingwork.Thefirstthingyouneedtoknow to use our final Key Element effectively is how to sort your salesobjectivesintothesefourlevels.

TheFourPartsofthe“Refined”Funnel

TheSalesFunnelconceptisrepresentedbythechartonpage351.Youcanseethatyouarealreadyfamiliarwithsomeofitsfeatures.“Prospect,”“qualify,”and“close”arestandardsalesterminology,while“coverthebases”and“Universe”areStrategicSellingtermsthathavebeenintroducedearlierinthebook.What’snew are our names for the three levels of the Funnel “proper”: Above the

Funnel,IntheFunnel,andBestFew.BeforewerevisedandexpandedStrategicSelling,wespokeabouttheFunnelasbeingcomposedofonlythesethreelevels.Inthecurrent,refinedversion,werecognizethat“narrowingtheUniverse”isanecessarypreliminarystep toworkinganyobjectivedowntheFunnel.For thisreason,wehaveaddedittotheFunneldiagram,asanintegralpartoftheFunnelsystem.ThisgivestherefinedFunnelfourlevels.

You’llnoticethateachoftheselevelsisassociatedwithaparticularkindofsellingwork.ThisisacentralfeatureoftheFunnel:EachpartoftheFunnelisby definition associated with one, and only one, kind of work. As a salesprofessional,youmustbeabletodoallfour.Youhavetobeableto:

•Prospect•Qualify•Coverthebases•Closetheorder

But,sinceyouhavemanypossibleordersworkingat thesametime,andsincethey’re all at different stages of completion, you’re not going to be doing thesame kind ofwork on all of them at the same time.You’ll be prospecting orqualifyingonsomepiecesofbusinesswhileyou’reclosingothersandcoveringthe bases in yet others. You’ll achieve the predictable and sound income youwantonlyifyouconsistentlydotherightkindofworkoneachpossibleorderattherighttime.

That’sthereasonyouneedtosortyourworktasks.TheSalesFunnelis,firstandforemost,atooltohelpyoudothat.

PreliminaryTips

Before describing the four parts of the Funnel in detail, wewant to give yousomepreliminarytipsaboutthistoolasawhole.

First, the Sales Funnel helps you sort and track the progress of individualpossibleordersorSingleSalesObjectives,notaccounts.Someofourclientsuseit at a slightly higher level of abstraction, to track the progress of individualproduct linesorcategoriesofbusiness inanaccount.That’s fine, too: it’s stillfocusedonindividualpiecesofbusiness.ButtheFunnelisnotdesignedtotrackoverall revenue from large customers. You can say that “getting Apex toapproveapilotinstallationbyMay15”belongsinBestFew.Itmakesnosensetosay“Apex”belongsinBestFew.

Second, two things decrease as a Single Sales Objective moves down theFunnel: the expected time to the order and the level of uncertainty involved.EachsalesobjectivebeginsatthetopoftheFunnel,oftenwithalongtimespanto the order and many uncertainties, and ends up at the bottom, with theuncertaintiesundercontrolandtheorderclosed.

Finally, thereareprerequisites thatmustbemetbeforeyoucan reasonablymove an objective fromone level of theFunnel to the next.These conditionsrelatetothekindsofworkthatyouhavetodoateachlevel.Oneprerequisiteforrepaintinganoldtableisthatyouscrapetheoldpaintoffandsanditfirst.”Youcan paint it without doing that, but you probably won’t be pleased with theresults.Norwillyoubepleasedwithasalesorderthatyourushtothefinish.

The prerequisites for moving your sales objectives down the Funnel areindicatedat the righthand sideof thediagram.We’ll explain themmore fullynow.

UNIVERSE

Sincewe’vejustdevotedtwochapterstotheIdealCustomerconcept,wewon’tgo over all that information again. Here’s the main point. There are nearlylimitlesssellingopportunitiesoutthere.Maybenotasmanyastherearestarsinthephysicaluniverse,butcertainlymore thanyoucanhandleatanyone time.

Tobringrealism,andthereforegreatersuccess,intoyourselling,youmustbeginby“judiciouslyrestricting”thoseopportunities,focusingonlyonthosethatcangetyouWin-Winoutcomes.

Therefore, the prerequisite for placing a business opportunity in yourparticularUniverse—theworldofyourpotentialsalesobjectives—isthatthere’sasuggestionofareasonablefittoyourIdealCustomerProfile.Forexample:

•Youreadanewsreportaboutafirm’sexpansionthatcouldbefacilitatedbyyourproductorservice.

• A prospect attends a trade conference and takes home your marketingmaterial.

•Afirm’sexistingcontractwithacompetitorisabouttoexpire.

Thekindofworkyoumustdoatthisleveliswhatisusuallycalledprospecting.Too often that means following up every lead, no matter how unlikely, orcrankingupblitzcampaignsfortheentireEastCoast.Whenwesay“prospect,”we use it to mean “search for a fit.” At the top of the Funnel, you assessprospects against your Ideal Customer Profile, and narrow the field down tothoseopportunitiesthatmeasureup.Inotherwords,yousearchforevidencethatsuggestsabroadmatchbetweenyourcompanyandeachpotentialcustomer.

ABOVETHEFUNNEL

At thenext level,youperformasimilar task,butonanarrower,morefocusedbasis.Theprerequisite for identifyingapossibleobjectiveasbeingAbove theFunnel is that you have data that suggests a fit not just between your twocompanies but also between your product or service line and the prospect’simmediateneeds.Examplesofthissuggestivedata.

• When you follow up on the news report, a possible Buying Influenceconfirmsapotentialneedforyourproductorservice.

• Your company receives a “bingo card,” or some other request forinformation,fromthepotentialcustomerwhovisitedthetradeshow.

• The firm whose contract is expiring expresses an interest in yoursolutions.

Theseareonlya fewsamples,butyouget the idea.Youdon’tneed tobe tooexclusionaryatthispoint.Aslongasthere’sevenanoutsidechanceofanorder,placetheprospect’snameAbovetheFunnel.

Thekindofworkthatneedstobedoneonaprospectthat’sAbovetheFunnelis to qualify, or verify your suggestive data. You do that by contacting theBuyingInfluences,includingyourCoachorCoaches.Verificationofyourdatamaytakemanyforms.ItmaymeansimplythatagivenBuyingInfluenceshowsinterest in an initial phone call or presentation. It may mean that this personstartsCoachingyouontheotherBuyingInfluences.Oritmaymeanthatyougetadirectrequestforademonstration.

Butoneelementoftheverificationprocessisessential.Youmustcontactatleast oneBuying Influence and identify aGrowthorTrouble discrepancy thatyour product or service can address. This is yourminimum selling task on apieceofbusinessAbovetheFunnel.

INTHEFUNNEL

The prerequisite for placing a sales objective In the Funnel is that you haveverified the possibility of an order:You’ve contacted at least that oneBuyingInfluenceandspokentohimorheraboutGrowthorTrouble.

The kind ofwork that you need to perform in this part of the Funnel is tocover thebases.Thisentailsusingall theKeyElementsofstrategythatwe’vealreadydiscussed.Incoveringthebases,youperformthefollowingtasks:

• Identify all the Buying Influences for your sales objective, understandtheirDegreesofInfluence,andensurethateachoneiscontactedbythepersonbestqualifiedtodoso.

•UnderstandtheResponseModeofeveryBuyingInfluence,addresstheirsenses of urgency, and concentrate on eliminating the perceiveddiscrepanciesofeveryBuyingInfluenceinGrowthorTrouble.

•IdentifytheResultseachBuyingInfluenceneedstoWin,andmakesurethat each one understands that your proposalwill serve his or her self-interest.

•Continuallyreassessthesalespicture—includinganycompetitivethreats—so that you reduce the impact of Red Flags and leverage from yourStrengths.

WesaidthattimeanduncertaintydecreaseasyoumoveasalesobjectivedowntheFunnel.Yourpurposeincoveringthebasesistoensurethatthishappens.

BESTFEW

TheprerequisiteforplacingasalesobjectiveintotheBestFewcategoryisthatyou’ve all but eliminated luck and uncertainty as factors in the final buyingdecision.

We realize that this is a subjective judgment, and for that reason weacknowledge that the dividing line between In the Funnel andBest Few isn’tquiteassharpasthelinebetweenAbovetheFunnelandIntheFunnel.Butit’snotsimplyamatterofguesswork.YoucantestwhetherornotapossibleorderisreallyreadytogointoBestFewbyrememberingthefollowingspecifics:

• InBest Few, thereare few discrete tasks left to be performed and youknowexactlywhattheyare.Inotherwords,thekindofworktobedoneinvolves“end tasks”suchasovercoming last-minuteobjections,gettingfinalconfirmation,ordersigning,andsoon.

•OnaBestFewobjective, you’vecovered thebases sowell thatyou’vemoved entirely beyond trial and error or guessing. You know all yourBuying Influences and their Response Modes, you’ve addressed theirWin-Results, you’ve dealt with the risk of a last-minute competitivethreat,andyou’velaidoutaplantoeliminateanyremainingRedFlags.

•Finally, inBestFew, there’sat leasta90percentprobability thatyou’llclosetheorderinonehalforlessthetimeofyournormalsellingcycle.

This last point needs clarification, since it introduces an unfamiliar term—“normalsellingcycle”—thatiscrucialtotheeffectiveuseoftheSalesFunnel.

YourNormalSellingCycle

Whenwetalkaboutyournormalsellingcycle,wemeantheamountoftimethatittypicallytakesyoutomoveanorderfromthetoptothebottomofyourSalesFunnel—inotherwords,theamountoftimebetweeninitialprospectingandthe

signedagreementtobuy.We’reawarethatsellingcyclesvarydramaticallyfromindustrytoindustry,

and from product to product within the same industry or even the samecompany. Selling cycles are influenced bymany factors, including the cost ofthe product, the identities of the Buying Influences, and the complexity ofbuyingdecisions.Weknowpeopleinsaleswhohavesoldspecialpromotionstoretailchainsinamatterofoneortwoweeks,andotherpeoplewhohavespentsevenoreightyearshandlinganaircraftsale toa foreigngovernment.There’snosuchthingasauniversally“normal”sellingcycle.

What we’re concerned with here is your normal selling cycle, for yourbusinessandyourserviceorproductline.Althoughyourorderswon’tallmoveat the same rate, most of them will probably follow an average cycle. Thataverageiswhatwemeanby“normal.”

Takeamomentnowtodetermineyourownnormalsellingcycle.Thinkoverthesalesyou’vemadeinthelastyearor two,andconsiderhowlongeachonetookfromfirstcontacttofinalsignature.Indeterminingyourpersonalaverage,throwouttherenewalsyoudidinyoursleep,andthoseoddballordersthatyoumovedtothesigningtwodaysaftermeetingthefirstBuyingInfluence.Throwoutalsothedrawn-outordersthatreflectedextraordinarybusinessconditionsorpeculiarlydifficultBuyingInfluencesorbuyingprocesses.Taketheaverageofwhat’sleft.

Forexample, ifmostofyour sales takesomewherebetween threeandninemonths to close, then your normal selling cycle is about six months. If itgenerally takes you somewhere between ten and twenty weeks tomove fromfirstcontacttotheclose,thenyournormalsellingcycleisfifteenweeks.

Thereasonthatthisisimportanthastodowithtracking.That’sourtermformentallymovingapieceofbusinessfromoneleveloftheFunneldownintothenextone—forexample,fromIntheFunneltoBestFew.Youhavetodothisattheappropriatetimeforeachindividualpieceofbusiness.Ifyoumentallymovea sales objective down too early or too late, you can easily end up doing thewrongkindofworkonthatsalesobjective—andthereforeputtingeven“solid”ordersinjeopardy.Here’sanexample:

Barry, a friend of ours who sells word-processing equipment to smallbusinesses, tried to sell a system twoyearsago toacompany thatat that timecouldn’t afford it. The company’s officers obviously wanted the system andBarryhaddoneagreatjobofcoveringthebaseswithalltheBuyingInfluences.Theonlyhitchwasthebudget.“We’llputitinforthenextfiscalyear,”theytoldhim.“Butwe’vedefinitelygotadeal.”

Whentheytoldhimthat,inJanuary,theydidhaveadeal.Thatis,theyreally

did intend to buy fromBarry, as soon as the resources became available.Thetroublewasthatthenewbudgetwasn’tduetobeapproveduntilJuly.AsBarryfoundout,alotcanhappeninsixmonths.

Normally,hewouldhaveclosedadeallikethisinaboutfiveorsixmonths.ButsincethingshadgonesowelluptoJanuary,heconsideredtheorderinhand.Inotherwords,hementallymoved theorderoutof the In theFunnelpositionand into Best Few. And he figured that the only work he had to do betweenJanuaryandJulywastowaitforthenewbudgettogothrough.

Thatwasabigmistake.WhenhewentbacktothecustomerinJuly,hefoundthathehadalreadylostthesaletoacompetitor—onewhohadstayedontopofthesituationrightuptothelastminute.

If Barry had kept the “one half of normal selling cycle” rule in mind, hewouldn’thavemadethiserror.Realizingthatsixmonthswasmorethanhalfhisnormal selling cycle, he would have kept the order In the Funnel, and keptcovering thebaseswithhisBuyingInfluences, righton into thesummer. Ifhehaddonethat,hemightnothavebeenblindsidedbythecompetition.

Awordtothewise:Intrackingyoursalesobjectives,alwaysremembertheprerequisitesandthekindsofworkthatarerelevanttoeachleveloftheFunnel.The Sales Funnel becomes operationally effective only when you satisfy theprerequisitesbeforemovinganypieceofbusinessdown,andwhenyoudo therightkindofworkattherighttimeforeverysalesobjectivethatyou’retracking.You’llpracticetheseprinciplesnow,inaPersonalWorkshop.

PersonalWorkshop10:TheSalesFunnel

In this Personal Workshop you’re going to sort your own current salesobjectives,toseehowneareachofthemistobeingcompletedandtodeterminewhat specific tasksyou still have toperform tomove them furtherdownyourFunnel. You’ll need your notebook, pencils, and Alternate Positions list. Theexerciseshouldtakeaboutthirtyminutes.

STEP1:LISTYOURSINGLESALESOBJECTIVES.Openyournotebooksothatyouhavetwocleanpagesfacingyou.Rememberingthat the Sales Funnel sorts and tracks sales objectives or possible orders, notaccounts,listtheindividualsalesobjectivesonwhichyou’recurrentlyworking.

Bespecific.InChapter3wesaidthataSingleSalesObjective:

•Ismeasurable.Itgivesnumericalanswerstothequestionswho,what,andwhen.

• Focuses on a single outcome that you’re trying to bring about in anaccount.

•Canbedefinedinasimpleratherthanacompoundsentence.

You may have only a few objectives to list, or dozens. Just be sure to listworking orders or potential working orders, not accounts. You can’t track“HandletheTintaxaccount”intheSalesFunnel.Whatyouneedtolistis“SellTintaxonegrossofour#39packagebyJune15.”

Technically speaking, totally untested prospects shouldn’t figure in here,because at that preliminary stage, it’s still too early for you to have identifiedspecific pieces of business that might come from an account—much less atimetableforsecuringthem.Inotherwords,fornewprospectsyouhaven’tyetidentifiedSingleSalesObjectives.That’sallright.Forthesakeofcompleteness,we’d like you to list here all the pieces of business and potential pieces ofbusinessthatyouconsiderpartofyoursalesagenda.

STEP2:SORTTHESEOBJECTIVES.Atthetopofanewnotebookpagewritetheheading“SalesFunnel.”Dividethepageintofourcolumns,andatthetopofeachoneplaceasubheadingdescribingoneofthefourpartsoftheFunnel.

Youshoulddo this ina special sequence.Make the subheadingof the left-handcolumn“BestFew,”thatofthesecondcolumn“Universe,”thatofthethirdcolumn“AbovetheFunnel,”andthatoftheright-handcolumn“IntheFunnel.”We’re aware that this probably isn’t the sequence youwould have chosen onyour own.We’ll explain in the next chapterwhy it’s crucial to your success.Whenyou’redone,theworksheetshouldlookliketheexampleonpagebelow.

Nowsortyoursalesobjectivesintothefourcolumns,dependingonthekind

of work still to be done to move each one closer to completion. Be sure toinclude the objective that you’ve been using as a test case in this book. Youshouldendupwithsalesobjectivesineachcolumn.

STEP3:TESTYOURSORTING.ToensurethattheSalesFunnelscenarioyou’vejustconstructedisrealistic,testeachentrybyaskingyourselfspecificquestions:

• For each entry in the “Best Few” column, ask: “Have I covered all thebaseshere?AmI90percentcertainthatIcanclosethispieceofbusinessinlessthanhalfmynormalsellingcycle?DoIknowwhatspecifictasksIneedtoperformtoensureIcanclosethedeal?”

•Foreachentryinthe“Universe”column,ask:“FromwhatIknowaboutthisprospect’sbusinessfocus,isthereatleastapossibilitythatthere’samatch between their way of doing business and our Ideal CustomerProfile?”

• For each entry in the “Above the Funnel” column, ask: “Do I haveconcretedatasuggestingthatthere’sapossiblefitbetweenthisprospect’scurrentbusinessneedsandmyproductorservice?”

•Foreachentryinthe“IntheFunnel”column,ask:“HaveIconfirmedthedata that suggests a possible fit?Have I contacted at least oneBuyingInfluence and spoken to that person about a Growth or Trouble

discrepancy?”

Ifyougeta resoundingyes toallof thesequestions,goon to thenextstep. Ifnot,makethenecessarysortingrevisionsandthengoon.

STEP4:ANALYZEYOURINFORMATION.Now look at your entire sales picture as you’ve sorted it.What you have is asnapshotofyourcurrentoverallsalessituation.Usingthatsnapshot,andusingeverythingelseyouknowaboutyouraccounts, look forpatternsofmovementandpositionacrossthefourlevelsoftheFunnel.Youwanttolookespeciallyforindications thatyourFunnel iseitherdryinguporgetting jammedup—that is,indicationsthatyoudon’thaveenoughbusinessmovingdown,orthatyouhavetoomanySingleSalesObjectivesstuckatonelevel.

Ideally,eachofthepartsoftheFunnelshouldhavesomeobjectivesinitatalltimes.Theyoughttobemovingtowardthecloseatapredictable,steadyrate.Ifyou find that this is not the case—and especially if you find that a givenobjectivehasbeenstuckintheFunnelformorethanyournormalsellingcycle—thenyouhavetoconsidermodifyingyourstrategybytakingAlternatePositions.

STEP5:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.ThefinalstepinanySalesFunnelanalysisistosearchforwaysyoucanmoveyour various sales objectives more steadily and more predictably toward theclose.AssesshowyourobjectivesaremovingdowntheFunnelnow.StartwiththeSingleSalesObjectiveyou’vebeenworkingonallalong,andaskyourselfthisquestion:

WhatspecifictaskscanIperformrightnowtomovethisparticularsalesobjectivefurtherdowntheSalesFunnel?

Theanswerstothisquestionshouldalwaysrelatetothespecifickindofworkthat’srequiredattheleveloftheFunnelwhereyoursalesobjectiveiscurrentlylocated. For example, if that objective is now Above the Funnel, appropriateAlternatePositionswillinvolvequalifyingworkthatseekstoverifyasuggested

fit. If the objective is In the Funnel, reliable Alternate Positions will involvecovering the bases. If it’s in Best Few, good Alternate Positions will involveperformingtheclosingtasksthatsecuretheorder.

Write down the answers to this question on your Alternate Positions list.Remember that, in addition to relating to the appropriate kind ofwork, everyAlternate Position you list must also eliminate a Red Flag, leverage from aStrength,ordoboth.

Since the Sales Funnel is designed to help you plan strategies for all yoursalesobjectives,eventuallyyou’llsubmitallofthemtothesamekindofanalysisyou’re doing here. You can’t do that yet, because you don’t have enoughinformation about those-other objectives—you haven’t yet put them through astrategic analysis. Once you finish this book, you can begin to gather thatinformation, to set strategies for all your objectives and to perform furtherFunnelanalyses,basedonthismodel.AsyouusetheSalesFunnelconceptagainand again over time, it will become an invaluable tool in helping you setstrategies for your entire territory, including all your sluggish or stuckobjectives.

Whateveryourcurrentaccountsituationis,we’renowgoingtointroducetwoconcepts that, when used interactively over time, are guaranteed to bring itfurtherimprovements.

CHAPTER18

PRIORITIESANDALLOCATION:WORKINGTHEFUNNEL

YourultimategoalinusingtheSalesFunnelconceptistobeabletomoveyourvarioussalesobjectivesdowntheFunnelatasteadyandpredictablerate,sothatyour income is also steady and predictable. You do that by working on twointerrelatedtasks:

•Settingappropriateprioritiesforthefourkindsofsellingworkthatneedtogetdone

• Allocating your limited selling time so that these four kinds of workalwaysdogetdone,onaconsistentbasis

Setting work priorities and allocating time are not synonymous. Althoughthey’refrequentlylumpedtogether,thepeoplewhousetheSalesFunnelconceptmosteffectivelyunderstandthatthey’redistinctoperations.Foronething,theyhavetohappeninacertainorder.Youneedtodeterminewhatyourprioritiesarebeforeyoucanallocatetimetothem.Sowe’lldiscussprioritiesfirst.

SettingYourWorkPriorities

By“settingyourworkpriorities”wemeandeterminingwhichofthefourkindsofFunnelworkyoushoulddofirst,whichyoushoulddosecondandthird,andwhichyoushoulddolast.

Obviously we’re speaking here not about the work sequence in which anindividual sales objective is processed; all orders start with prospecting andqualifying,goon tocovering thebases, and finishbyclosing.We’re speakingabout the sequence you should follow in addressing your total sales picture..Determiningworkprioritiesmeansdeciding—foranygivendayorgivenweek—which types of sales objectivesyou shouldworkon first,whichyou shouldaddressnext,andwhichyoushouldleaveuntilalltheothersaredone.

Ifyou’relikemostofthepeopleweworkwith,yournaturalinclinationistoworktheFunnelfromthebottomup.Thatis,youperformthefourkindsofworkinthissequence:

1.WorkonclosingtasksforobjectivesinBestFew.2.CoverthebasesforbusinessIntheFunnel.3.QualifyprospectsthatareAbovetheFunnel.4.LookforentirelynewbusinessbyprospectingintheUniverse.

Psychologically,itseemssensibletofollowthissequence.SinceuncertaintygetssmallerasyoumovedowntheFunnel,workingtheFunnel“inreverse”isa“comfortzone”pattern.There’slessimmediateanxietyinstartingwiththemostcertainobjectives(BestFew),thenhandlingthosewithmediumcertainty(IntheFunnel),andputtingoffuntilthelastminutethosewithlowcertainty(AbovetheFunnelandUniverse).

Virtuallyallpeopleinsalesdothis.Infact,inallouryearsinbusiness,we’vemetonlytwokindsofsalesprofessionals—thosewhohatetoprospectandthosewho lie and say they like it. The payoff for narrowing the Universe and forworking Above the Funnel objectives is so far down the road that almosteverybody treats these tasks like the kid’s proverbial spinach—something yougettoonlywhenyou’vegotnomoreoptions.

Thetroubleis,thissequenceoftenclosesoffYouroptions.Itmaynotbetrueinnutrition,butit’sclearlytrueinsales:Ifyouleaveyourspinachuntillast,youare going to go hungry.Why? Because the traditional, timeworn sequence ofapproachingselling tasks isafundamentalcauseof thedreadedRollerCoasterEffect.

ROLLERCOASTEREFFECT:THECAUSE

In order to ensure a steady and predictable income profile, you have to havesalesobjectivesmovingsteadilyandpredictablyfromUniversetoBestFew.Thepriority sequence we’ve just described ensures that this will not happen. Thereason is simple logic. When you consistently put off your prospecting andqualifyingwork, it becomes the kind ofwork that never gets done. So by thetimeyoufinishclosingallyourBestFewandIntheFunnelsalesobjectives,thetop of the Funnel has, not so mysteriously, run dry. Unless you “feed” itconsistently,thisisautomatic.

The“dryFunnelsyndrome”andtheRollerCoasterEffectarereallyonlytwometaphors for describing the same unwelcome reality. There are twoways ofdealingwiththisreality:therightwayandthewrongway.

Thewrongway is towait until the lastminute and then panic.We’re notbeing facetious. This is the “method” for dealing with uneven income that’sadoptedbynineoutoftenpeople insales.They ignore theirAbove theFunnelobjectivesweekafterweekuntileverythingelsehasclosed.Then,seeingtroubleon the way, they rush around prospecting and qualifying madly, throwinganythingandeverythingintotheFunnelinthevainhopethattheycanforestalltheinevitable.

Thismethodfails for tworeasons.First, ifyouwaituntil the lastminute toprospect, you simply don’t leave enough lead time for a new prospect to“mature”beforeitcangeneratetheincomeyouwant.Mostofthetimeyoucan’trushyournormalsellingcycle:Ifyou’veputanewprospectAbovetheFunnelthreemonthslaterthanyoushouldhave,that’showlongyou’regoingtohavetowaittohaveitbringresults.

Second, prospecting for new business when you’re in a panic slate ispsychologically ineffective.Rememberwhatwe said aboutbeingon thepanicend of the Euphoria-Panic Continuum. When you’re worried about yourposition,youtendtodoeverythingatonce—andnothingproducesresults.Youcan’tprospectorqualifyintelligentlywhenyou’redesperatefornewleads.Youcertainlycan’tprojectconfidence tooneof those leadswhenyou’re feeling“Ineedthisbusinessnow!”

ROLLERCOASTEREFFECT:THESOLUTION

TherightwayofdealingwiththeRollerCoasterEffectistoarrangeyourwork

prioritiesinsuchawaythatyouneverexperienceadryquarteroradryFunnelinthefirstplace.Heres’stheprioritysequencethatwillensurethat:

1.DoclosingworkonyourBestFewobjectives.2.ProspectbynarrowingtheUniverse.3.QualifyyourAbovetheFunnelobjectives.4.WorktheobjectivesIntheFunnel.

Asuntraditionalasthissequenceis,itistheonlyonethatcanensurepredictableincomeovertime.

You’llnoticethatwefollowtraditionhereinadvisingyoutoworkonyourBest Few sales objectives first. That’s common sense. Not only do theseobjectivesprovidethebestchanceofaquickreturnoninvestment,butalsoyouhavemoretimeinvestedinthem,theypaythebills,andthey’remostvulnerabletocaptureby thecompetition,preciselybecause they’resonear tocompletion.Neglecting a Best Few order means risking the worst of all possible worlds:havingsomebodyelsepocketthecommissionforyourwork.

Wherewedepartfromtraditionisininsistingthatthenextpriorityshouldgotoobjectives“atthetop.”TheonlywayofbeingcertainthatyourFunnelwon’teventuallydryupistodevotesometimeconsistentlytoUniverseandAbovetheFunnelwork.It’sbecauseputtingthiskindofworkoffissoeasythatweadviseyoutodoitsecondandthirdinthesequence,notlastandnext-to-last.

Thisdoesn’tmeanyoushouldletyourIntheFunnelobjectivestakecareofthemselves. They won’t. You’ve got to keep covering the bases on all yourworking sales objectives. But salespeople often spend more time than theyshould doing this kind of work, simply because it’s more comfortable thanprospectingandqualifying.It’salotmorefuntotakeyouroldpalHarryBarnestolunchonemoretimethantostrikeoutforvirginterritoryandriskrejection.Butyou’vegottodisciplineyourselftodothat—oryou’llriskmuchmorethanrejection.

To help our clients remember the sequence thatwe’ve found effective,wegivethemasimpleruleofthumb:

Everytimeyouclosesomething,prospectorqualifysomethingelse.Acolleagueofourswithaneditorialconsultingservicetoldusrecentlythat,

when we first mentioned this rule to him a couple of years ago, he finallyunderstoodwhathe’dbeen“doingwrongfortenyears.”Whenweaskedhimtoexplain,hesaidthis:“EversinceIstartedinthisbusiness,I’veassumedthatthe

feast or famine cycle was inevitable. Since you explained about keeping theFunnel filled, I’ve been following a new system. I take onemorning aweek,everyweek,toscoutaroundfornewclients—evenifI’vegotmoreworkthanIcan handle. It’s savedmy financial life. I’m now in the incredible position ofhavingtoturndownbusiness—andIhaven’jhadadrymonthintwoyears.”

Thelessonisobvious.SinceeverythingstartsatthetopoftheFunnel,theoneway toavoidadryFunnel is tomakeyourprospectingandqualifyingregularpriorities.

AllocatingTime:ADynamicProcess

Once you’ve established the priorities for the four kinds of work your salesobjectivesneed,youshould thendeterminehowmuch timeeachkindofworkneedsandallocateitaccordingly.

Timeallocationisn’tastaticprocess.Itdiffersinthissensefromtheprioritysystem we’ve just explained. That priority system is static. To get optimumresults, you have to follow the same sequence of work all the time. Timeallocation, on theotherhand, isdynamic.Theamountof time that you shouldgive to each level of the Funnel must be continually adjusted, depending onseveralfactors.Amongthemostimportantarethefollowing:

1.NUMBERANDTYPEOFTASKSTOBEPERFORMED.Thefirstandmostimportantfactoristhenumberandtypeofsellingtasksthatmustbedone inorder tomoveyourobjectives steadilydown theFunnel.TheSalesFunnelisasnapshotofyourtotalterritoryatasinglemomentintime.Asobjectives move down, that picture changes—and you have to adjust yourallocation of time in response to this change. Knowing how much time toallocatetoeachpartof theFunnelrightnow,therefore,meansattendingtothedistributionrightnowofallthediscretesellingtasksyoumustperform.

SayyourFunneltodaycontainsfortyseparateSingleSalesObjectives.IfthatFunnel is perfectly “balanced,”with ten pieces of business at each of its fourlevels, then the task of allocation is fairly straightforward: You should spendroughlyonequarterofyourweekworkingateachlevel.Butifnextweekornextmonth,50percentofthattotalhasmovedintoBestFew,thenyouwillneedtoadjust your time allocation, spending more like half of your week tackling

closingtasks.

2.DIFFICULTYANDAMOUNTOFWORKREQUIRED.Since everyComplexSale is different, no two sales objectives require exactlythe same amount of work. You have to adjust your time allocation toaccommodate those sales objectives that demand more (or less) than yourcustomaryamountofsellingwork.

SayyouhaveatotaloftenpossibleordersinyourSalesFunnel,andonlyoneofthemisinBestFew.Bystrictmathematics,youshoulddevotenotmorethan10 percent of your time to closing that one order. But if it’s an extremelycomplicatedorder—iftheclosingworkinvolvesnumerousindividualtaskstobeperformedandyouknowthatfailingtoperformanyoneofthemcanimperilthesale—then you’re justified in spending more time on this one objective.Similarly,if80percentofyourordersareAbovetheFunnelbutallyouneedtodotomovemostofthemtoIntheFunnelismakeaquickphonecall,there’snopoint in spending 80 percent of your time in qualifying. The Sales Funnel isdesigned to help you allocate your timemost efficiently. Youmust make theadjustmentsthatwillensurethat,basedontheneedsofyouraccounts.

3.AMOUNTOFREVENUEINVOLVED.Nomatterwhere an objective is in the Sales Funnel, you’ll probablywant togive it special attention if it’s going to mean major income down the line.Remember theeditorialconsultantwe justmentioned.Throughoutmostof lastyear, although he had numerous objectives in his Funnel all the time, andalthough the distribution of hisworkwas constantly changing, he consistentlyspentwelloverhalfhis totalworkingtimetrackingasingleorderfromAbovetheFunneltoBestFew.Hedidthisforanexcellentreason:Thatsinglepieceofbusiness,whenitclosed,accountedformorethanhalfhisincomethatyear.

Thebottomlinehere is…thebottomline. Italwaysmakessense toadjustyour allocation of time to favor those orders with big payoffs. Assuming, ofcourse,thatyoudon’tneglecttherestoftheFunnel.

4.ACCOUNTPOTENTIAL.

Someyearsback,wegota feeler fromoneof theFortune500companies thatsaid it was interested in our processes. We happily put its name Above theFunnelandwentabout trying tomove itdown.We’vegottennowherewith it,andmaybeweneverwill.Butwestillgobackto that firmonaregularbasis,taking timeaway frommore immediately lucrativeprojects,becauseweknowthat,ifiteverpansout,itwillbewortheveryminutewe’veinvested.

We don’t recommend this as a standard course of action. Normally, if apotentialorderhasbeenAbovetheFunnelfortwoorthreeyearsandwe’renotabletobudgeit,weletitgo.Weseethisaccount,however,asaninvestmentinthefuture.We’rewillingtoallotsometimetoitonaregularbasisbecausethepotentialpayoffissohigh.

5.ACCOMMODATIONOFBUYINGCYCLES.Youknowthatindividualcompanies,andindividualindustries,workonbuyingcyclesthatmayhavenothingatalltodowiththewayyouliketosell,orwiththeschedulingthatyouwouldprefertoadopt.Butsinceit’svirtuallyimpossibletoselloutsideofacustomer’sbuyingcycles,youcannotignorethem.

This is especially true in government contracts. One excellent salesrepresentativeweknow,whosemajorcustomersarestateuniversitysystems,haslearned to adjust her own personal workweek allotments to the governmentschedules dictatewhen her clientswill buy.HerBuying Influences have theirown fiscal cycles; their own systems of bidding, examnation, and rebidding;their own scheduling procedures. O friend is successful partly because sheunderstands the inflexibility of their decision-making process and is willingadjustherownpreferredscheduletotheirs.

Considering what we said in Chapter 7 about your tomers’ perception ofreality,thisisonlycommonsense,matterhoweccentricyoumayconsideryourBuyInfluences’purchasingcycles, they’reanunavoidable inhowyouarrangeyourtime.

6.PRODUCT-MIXQUOTAS.Ontheothersideofthecoin,youmayalsohavetoyourtimeallocationtomeetthequotarequirementsofcompany.Youmayhavetospendmoretimethanyoulikeinpushingalow-commissionproductbecauseyourketingpeopleseeitasapriority.Product-mixquotasareofacontinualpush-pullbetweenthefactoryand

the field, although fewofus in the field really like them,wecan’t igno them.Especially not if we’re going after the bonuses meeting these special quotasoftengenerates.

Oneofourclientsmanufacturesscientific instruments rangingfromcircuit-board test equipment that can cost several hundred thousand dollars to simpleoscilloscopes that start at twenty-five hundred. We know hundreds of salesrepresentativesinthatcompany,andwehaveyettomeetonewhowouldprefertospendsellingtimepushingtheoscilloscopes.ButallofthemdoitanywayIt’sanunavoidablepartoftheirsalesresponsibility.

You’llprobablybeabletoidentifyfurtherfactorsinfluencingyourallocationoftime.Butthesefiveareenoughtomakeourpoint.Theallocationofyourtime—likeeverythingelseinyourstrategy—mustbeconstantlyreassessedifitistoremaineffective.Thegoalofthisconstantreassessmentistokeepyourpotentialbusiness moving steadily and predictably down the Sales Funnel. The timeallocationthatdoesthatistherightoneforyou.

PersonalWorkshop11:Priorities/TimeAllocation

Now look at the Sales Funnel chart you constructed in the last chapter, andincorporatetheinformationwe’vepresentedinhischapter.

STEP1:IDENTIFYYOURWORKPRIORITIES.IfyoulooknowatyourSalesFunnelchart,you’llunderstandwhyweaskedyouto place theBest Few column to the left, theUniverse andAbove the Funnelcolumnsinthemiddle,andItheIntheFunnelcolumntotheright.Thisleft-to-right order is the single optimum sequence inwhich you should approach thefourkindsofFunnelwork.

STEP2:ANALYZETHEDISTRIBUTIONOFTHETASKSYOUNEEDTODO.NoticehowthevarioussalesobjectivesyoulistedinthelastPersonalWorkshoparearranged in thischart.Count thenumberofobjectives listed ineachof thecolumnsand,atthebottomofeachcolumn,writethatnumberdown.Comparethenumberofobjectivesineachcolumnwiththetotalnumberofobjectivesto

determinewhat percentage of your totalwork load is now in each of the fourpartsoftheFunnel.Writetherelevantpercentagesdownat thebottomofeachcolumn. Thiswill give you an approximation of the time you should now beallocatingtoeachpartoftheFunnel,basedonthenumberandtypeoftaskstobedone.

STEP3:WEIGHOTHERTIMEALLOCATIONFACTORS.Nowyoushouldadjust thepercentagesyouhavejust identifiedbyconsideringthe five other factors that frequently affect the appropriate allocation of time.Askyourselfthesequestions:

• Do I need to give more time to sales objectives that are particularlycomplicatedordifficult?

•ShouldIshiftsomeoftheindicatedtimeallotmentstogivemoretimetoobjectiveswithahighdollarvalue?

•DoIneedtodiverttimetoanorderwithlowdollarvaluethatcanbeanopeningtoanaccountwithhugepotential?

• Do I have to accommodate my own time allocation to my variouscustomers’buyingcycles?

•DoIneedtorevisethisbasicallocationtoaccountforcurrentproduct-mixquotas?

Theanswers to thesequestionsshouldhelpyou to reassess the timeallocationthat’ssuggestedbythedistributionofyourobjectives.

STEP4:COMPAREREALANDIDEALTIMEALLOCATIONS.Younowhavea reliablepictureofhowyoushouldbeallocating time toyourvarious sales objectives: a picture, in other words, of the ideal. But it’s notalwayspossibletobeperfectlysystematicinworkingtheFunnel,andweknowthatsomeofthethingsyou’reactuallydoingwithyouraccountsrightnowwon’tfit into this ideal picture. So we urge you to compare your current reality—including thework priorities you presently follow and how you allocate yourtime—to the ideal you’ve just constructed.Do this on an individual basis, forevery sales objective now in your Funnel. One by one, ask yourself the

followingquestions:

•HaveIbeendoingtheappropriatekindofworkonthisobjective,basedonitspositionintheFunnel?

•HaveIbeenworkingonitinthepropersequence—thatis,firstifit’sinBestFew,secondif it’s inUniverse, thirdif it’sAbovetheFunnel,andlastifit’sIntheFunnel?

•Have Ibeenallocating theappropriateamountof time to it, consideringthequantityandqualityoftheworkneededtogetthebusiness?

STEP5:REVISEYOURALTERNATEPOSITIONSLIST.

Finally,youcanusetheanswerstotheabovequestionstoreviseyourAlternatePositions list.Eventuallyyou’llbeusing the lessonsof theSalesFunnel tosetappropriate strategies for all of your account objectives. You can begin thatprocessnowbylookingatwhereyourtest-caseobjectiveisinyourcurrentSalesFunnel,andwhatyoucandotomoveitfurthertowardtheclose.

• If it’s inUniverse, ask yourselfwhether the account you’re targeting isreallyamatchtoyourIdealCustomerProfile.

• If it’sAbove theFunnel, ask yourself howyou can verify the data youhave suggesting a possible fit between your product or service and thebuyingorganization’scurrentneeds.

• If it’s In the Funnel, ask yourself whether or not you’ve adequatelycoveredallthebasesrequiredforthesuccessfulcompletionofyourdeal.

• If it’s inBestFew,askyourselfwhat individual end tasksareyet tobedonebeforeyouhaveasignedagreement.

Remembering that every sound Alternate Position eliminates a Red” Flag,leveragesaStrength,ordoesboth,usetheinformationyouuncoverheretomakethenecessaryadjustmentsonyourAlternatePositionslist.

Savethis list,andsavetheSalesFunnelchartyou’vebeendeveloping.TheinitialSalesFunnelanalysisyou’vejustcompletedwillbecomefullyoperationalonlywhenyoureturntoitinthefuture,anduseitagain,dynamically,tocreatea

newpicture.

UsingtheSalesFunneloverTime

ThisisanessentialfeatureoftheSalesFunnelconcept—onethatyou’llbegintoappreciate only after you’ve done several Funnel analyses. Used on a regularbasis, the Sales Funnel gives you a broad-spectrum picture of your accountsituation over time. The more often you use it, and the more frequently youcomparethesnapshotatdifferentpointsintime,themoreeffectivelyitwillhelpyoutoclarifyyourconstantlychangingaccountsituation.

Forexample,let’ssaythattheFunnelyoujustputtogethershowedaheavyclusterofpossiblebusinessAbovetheFunnel.SupposeyoudoanotherFunnelanalysis inamonthanddiscoverthatonlyoneortwoofthesesalesobjectiveshave moved down to In the Funnel. By comparing the two Funnel analyses,you’ll be able to highlight a problem: your difficulty in verifying initial,suggestivedata.

Or say that the Funnel you just did shows an even spacing of prospectivebusinessupanddowntheFunnel,butthatoneyoudoamonthfromnowshowsabunchinginBestFew,andanAbovetheFunnelandUniversethatarealmostdry.Thatwilltellyoutwothings:Youhavetopaymoreattentiontoprospectingand qualifying, and you have to find outwhat’s holding back thoseBest Fewobjectivesfrombeingclosed.

LackofmovementdowntheFunnelmightalsoindicatethatyoucategorizeda certain piece of business incorrectly in a previous Funnel analysis. Forexample,asalesobjective thatyoucategorizeda fewmonthsagoasBestFewmightreallyhavebelongedIntheFunnel,becauseitstillhaduncoveredbases.As a general rule,whenever you find a given sales objective in theBest Fewcategory for twoor threeFunnelchecks ina row, thechancesaregood that itwasn’tBestFewinthefirstplace.ThroughregularcomparisonofyourFunnels,you’llgraduallylearntoanticipateandavoidsuchmistakes.

Because such comparisons are so useful,weurge you to save not only theSales Funnel chart you’ve just done, but every one you do in the future. Bycomparingthesesnapshotsofyouraccountsituation,you’lleventuallybeabletoconstruct akindofmotionpicturedescribing thedevelopment, fromone salesperiodtoanotherandfromoneyeartoanother,ofyourevolvingsalessituation.

FunnelAnalysis:HowOften?

How often should you do a Funnel analysis? This question, which is askedconstantlyinourprograms,hasnosingleanswer.Thefrequencywithwhichyoushould do a new Sales Funnel analysis depends on the amount and rate ofchangeinyourparticularsalessituation.Somepeoplewillprofitfromdoingsanewanalysisoftheiraccountseveryweek,andotherscanprofitablyholdoffforamonth.

Generallyspeaking,thelongeryournormalsellingcycle,thelongeryoucanreasonably wait between Sales Funnel analyses. Just don’t wait too long.Weadviseourclientstodoanewanalysisaminimumofonceamonth.Sinceyou’rejustbeginningtousetheconcept,werecommendthatyoudosuchananalysis,fornow,onceeverytwoweeks.

Thepeoplewhouse theSalesFunnel conceptmost effectively start out bydoingsuchananalysissoregularlythatitsoonbecomessecondnaturetothem.That’s an ideal to aim for. Once you internalize the use of the Sales Funnelconcept,you’llknowinstinctivelywhenit’stimetotakeanothersnapshot.Andyou’llbeabletodosuchanalysesmoreandmorequickly.

The point to remember is that use of the Sales Funnel concept must beperiodicratherthansporadic.Youcanusetheconceptprofitablyevenifyoudoonlyoneanalysisamonth—providedyou’rerigorousinadheringtothatonce-a-monthdesign.

ReadingtheFuture

Used periodically, the Sales Funnel concept provides the salesperson with anaccuratepicturenotonlyofcurrentreality,butoffutureprospectsaswell.WebeganourdiscussionoftheSalesFunnelbypromisingthatitwouldgiveyouameans ofpredicting your future income—and thus of avoiding the unpleasantuncertaintiesoftheRollerCoasterEffect.Manyofourclientstellusthatthisisthesinglemostattractivefeatureoftheconcept.“Idon’tuseitjusttotrackmybusiness,”oneregionalmanagertoldus.“Iuseittoforecastthefuture.”

The Funnel allows you to do that because, by definition, uncertaintydecreases as you move toward the close. Or, to put it positively, probabilityincreases.We’vesaidthatyouputanorderintheBestFewcategoryonlywhen

there is a 90 percent likelihood—or probability—that it will close in half thetimeofyournormalsellingcycle.WecanalsoassignroughprobabilitiestotheotherlevelsoftheFunnel.

WhenanobjectiveisinUniverse,thatis,whenit’sstillonthevergeofbeingqualified, theprobability of its closing inhalf your selling cycle isminimal—perhaps nomore than 4 or 5 percent.When it’s inAbove the Funnel, you’vebegun toqualify it, and theprobability rises to10or15percent.Anobjectivethat has progressed to In theFunnelmayhave a 20 to 80 percent probability.Takingthesefiguresasroughguidelines, it’seasytoseehowtheSalesFunnelgivesyouafixonthefuture.

SeveralofourclientsseethisabilitytoreadthefutureastheSalesFunnel’sgreatest advantageoverother forecasting tools.Hewlett-Packard, thecomputerand electronics instrument firm to which we’ve delivered hundreds of ourprograms,incorporatestheSalesFunnelmodelintoitsownforecastingsystem.So does Sentient Systems, Inc., which has fused the Funnel with its owncustomer databasemanagement process.Andmanyof our clients successfullytransform the individual Sales Funnel concept into one with regional andnational implications: They use their sales representatives’ individual Funnelanalyses to feed into “branch Funnel analyses,” and then into regional andnationalFunnelprojections.

When it’s used consistently, the Sales Funnel enables you to look bothforward and backward, freeing you to use your limited selling time moreefficiently to ensure a steady flow of profitable business. It lets you look atwhat’shappenedinthepast,toseewhat’scominginthefuture,andtoallocateyourtimetodayinthemoststrategicallyeffectivemanner.

PART6

FROMANALYSISTOACTION

CHAPTER19

YOURACTIONPLAN

Younowhavealltheprinciplesyou’lleverneedtosetsolidstrategiesnotonlyfor the sales objective you’ve beenworking on in this book, but for all yourfuture objectives as well. Taken together, those principles constitute amethodologythatcangiveyouanedgeoveryourcompetitionineverysaleyoutackle.Forthattohappenmosteffectively,though,youshouldusethemaspartsofadynamicplanningvehiclecalledanActionPlan.

AnActionPlan is a list of concrete, practical actions thatyoucanperformbefore each sales call to improve your position regarding your immediateobjective.Itprovidesabridgethatleadsfrompre-callanalysis,orstrategy,tothetactical selling that you dowhile you’re in the call. As the final step in yourstrategy,itenablesyoutoknowbeforeyou’reface-to-facethatyou’llbemeetingtherightpersonintherightplaceattherighttime.

Don’t bemisled by theword “final.”AnAction Plan is the last thing youshoulddobeforeeachcall,butit’snotanendinitself,andit’snotstatic.It’sadynamicvehiclethatmustchangefromcalltocallaspartofanongoingprocessof assessment, feedback, and reassessment—a process that makes youcontinuallyresponsivetochange.

Inthischapter,you’llmakethebridgebetweentheoryandpracticeforyourown chosen sales objective, in terms of (a) your current position with yourBuyingInfluences,and(b)whatyouexpecttoaccomplishthenexttimeyou’re

face-to-facewiththem.Atthesametime,theActionPlanyoucreateherewillbeamodelforallyourfutureplans.

AnEssentialGroundRule

Indraftingalistofpracticalactionstoimproveyourposition,theemphasisisonpractical.Youwanttobesurethateachactionyouadoptcaninfactmoveyouclosertoattainingyourobjective.InourStrategicSellingprograms,onesimpleGroundRulehelpsourparticipantskeeppracticalityinmind:

EachactionthatyoulistaspartofyourActionPlanshouldcapitalizeonaStrength,eliminateorreducetheimpactofaRedFlag,ordoboth.

We’vebeenstressingtheRedFlags/Strengthsprinciplethroughoutthebook.Werephrase it here as a rule to provide a baseline check onwishful thinking—ameansoftestingtherealpotentialforactionstomoveyouclosertoyourchosensalesobjective.

It’s worthwhile repeating, too, that, even though Red Flags are dangersignals, they should never be seen as problems or as negative. In sales,anticipatingdangeristhemostpositivethingyoucando.FindingRedFlagsisthereforethebestassuranceyouhavethatyourActionPlansareworkingagainstrealweaknessesandbuildinguponrealStrengths.Notfindingthemwouldbearealproblem.

PuttingtheTheoryintoAction

Increatingyour listofpracticalactions—yourownmodelActionPlan—beginwith the Alternate Positions list that you’ve been developing throughout thebook.Withthatlistinfrontofyou,lookatyourcurrentpositionwithregardtoeachofourStrategicSellingconcepts.Asyoudoso,listinyournotebookanyactionsyoumighttake,beforethenextsalescall,toimprovethatposition.Focusontheseareas:

•YourSingleSalesObjective

•TheBuyingInfluencesinvolvedinthatobjective•TheResponseModeofeachBuyingInfluence•TheWin-ResultsofeachBuyingInfluence•Thelevelandnatureofyourcompetition

Test each area briefly, asking yourself questions to uncover remaining RedFlags,andthenconsiderwhichactionscanturnthemintoopportunities.Herearesomeguidelinesfordoingso.

YOURSALESOBJECTIVE

Tosucceed inanysalesendeavor,youhave tounderstandclearlywhatyou’retryingtoaccomplishintheaccountthatisn’thappeningrightnow.Asoundsalesobjectiveisalwaysspecific,measurable,andrealistic,inaddition,italwayshasaclearlydefinedtimeframe—thatis,youknowwhenyouexpecttoaccomplishit. If you don’t define the objective precisely, and if you don’t have a goodreasonforbelievingyoucanaccomplishitbyacertaindate,you’llendupliketoday’scomputernoviceswhospendhoursandhoursrunningincirclesontheInternetbecausetheydon’tknowwherethey’regoingorhowtogetthere.

SolookatthesalesobjectiveyoudefinedforyourselfinChapter3.Doesitmeet the conditions we’re setting out here? If not, you should considerredefiningit.

Forexample,supposeyou’veidentifiedyourcurrentsalesobjectiveas“SellGoliath Industries a pilot program by May 1.” It’s now late March, andnegotiations have stalled. Everybody at Goliath seems interested in yourproposal but, according to JoeGarcia, themanufacturingmanager, “It’s just abad”timeofyearforustocommit.”Facedwiththatsituation,youmayhavetoredefineorreschedulewhatyou’retryingtoaccomplish.AredefiningactionforyourActionPlanmightbesomethinglikethis:“ArrangemeetingatGoliathnextweektohaveGarciaexplaintheirbuyingprocess.”

Notice that the phrasing of this hypothetical action is precise, is geared toimproving your current position now, and answers very specific questions. Ittellsyou:

•Who will be involved in the sales call or other meeting. In the casedescribed here, only you and one Buying Influence are involved.

Remember,though,thatasinglecallmayinvolvemorethanoneBuyingInfluence—and that it may ormay not involve you, personally, as thepersonbestqualifiedtoperformeveryaction.

•Whereandwhenthemeetingwilltakeplace.Rememberthatactionsmaybeimplementedinyourownorganizationoronneutralgroundaswellasatthecustomer’splaceofbusiness.Andrememberthattheidealtimetoimplement an action is as soon as it’s convenient for you and yourBuyingInfluences.

•What specific informationyou expect the call to give you.Until you’reactuallypositionedtomaketheclose—andofteneveninaclosingcall—each action should help you to either confirm or invalidate suspectedinformation,ortosecureinformationthatyoudon’thave.

Ofcourse, inaddition tospecifying thewho,when,where,andwhatof thesales call, each action you include in your Action Plan must also follow theGroundRule.Inthisexamplethatbasicconditionismetbecausethesuggestedaction isdesigned to reduce the impactofoneof theautomaticRedFlags thatwedescribedinChapter6—lackofinformation.

BUYINGINFLUENCES

We’ve emphasized that understanding the identities of all the key players foryoursalesobjective is the foundationofeverygoodstrategy,andwe’vegivenyouamethodfor locating thoseplayersbydefining the fourBuyingInfluenceroles that are alwayspresent in everyComplexSale. It’s essential, before anygivensalescall,thatyouassessyourpositionwitheachofthesekeyfigures.

UsingasstartingpointsyourBuyingInfluencesChartandAlternatePositionslist,youshouldnowlistactionsthatwillcapitalizeonStrengthsandaddressRedFlags in this critical area. These actions should ensure that all of the peopleplaying each of the four Buying Influence roles for your sale are Coveredadequately—bythepersonbestqualifiedtodoso.

You’llbegin,ofcourse,bymakingsurethatyouknowtheidentityofeachofthesepeople.You shouldhave at least onename in eachof the four boxesofyourBuyingInfluencesChart. Ifyoudon’t,youshouldaddressactions todealwith that automatic Red Flag.What Coaching data do you need to fill in theempty space?Who can get you that data?When andwhere can youmeet thatperson?Theanswerstothesequestionsshouldsuggestspecificactionsdesigned

tocapitalizeonStrengthsandremoveRedFlags.Suppose the boxes are all filled in but the key players are not all covered.

Maybe you can’t get in to see your Economic Buying Influence becauseaccordingtohersecretary“Sheneverseessalespeople.”Hereyoumightwanttoarrangeforanexecutiveoflikeranktoseeher.Oneactionfurtheringthatplanwould be to make an appointment with someone in your own-organization—ideally,someonewhohasalreadygivenyougoodCoaching—todeterminewhoisbestqualifiedtogetpast thesecretarialscreen.Noticethat,while thisactionprepares you for a future sales call, it’s implemented not on your customer’sterritory but on your own. Thewhere in this case might be your own boss’soffice.

OrsupposethattheEconomicBuyingInfluenceisstronglyinfavorofyourproposal,butyoucan’tovercometheresistanceofaTechnicalBuyerwhohasanunidentified “problem” with it. Here you might consider using Coachingdownward, from the Economic Buyer to middle management. One possibleaction: “Meet Thursday with Farley to determine why Steinberg feels he’sLosing.”

Alternatively,youcoulduseonepersonyou’vealreadyidentifiedasaCoach,DorisGreen, to help you better understand Steinberg’s resistance. This actionwould have the added advantage of utilizing theDegree of Influence concept:Since you’ve identified Green as having a High influence, she might be theappropriate lever to turn theMedium-influence Steinberg around.Notice, too,thatbothofthesesuggestedactionsobservetheGroundRule:Theycapitalizeonthe Strengths of your supporters to leverage against the Technical Buyer’snegativity.

Remember,finally,thatwheneveryoumeetanEconomicBuyer,youneedavalidbusinessreasonfordoingso—validinhisorhereyes,notjustyourown.Farleywillbemoredisposed togiveyou the informationyouneed ifyoufirstbringhiminformationhe findsuseful.Suggestedactions:RemindFarleyofanupcoming conference on national productivity decline, set up an executivebriefingonyourpastWin-Winsales,orbringhimajournalarticleonproblemsolving.As always, you should knowwhere andwhen each of these possibleactionsistobeimplemented.

RESPONSEMODES

Only ifyoufirstunderstandallyourkeyindividuals’currentperceptionof the

situationcanyoubealerttotheirreceptivitytothechangeyouareofferingthem.ThepointhereisthatthereareonlytwoResponseModes,GrowthandTrouble,inwhichaBuyingInfluencewillbeopentochange.ThesearetheonlymodesinwhichBuyersperceiveadiscrepancybetweentheircurrentbusinessrealityandtheResultsthattheyneedtoWin.Bydefinition,havingaBuyerinoneofthesetwomodes is aStrength (if there’s a positive rating), andhavingone inEvenKeelorOverconfidentModeisaRedFlag(nomatterwhattherating).

WithyourBuyingInfluencesChartandAlternatePositions liststill infrontof you, list actions that would highlight 5?our Buying Influences’ perceiveddiscrepancy between reality and Results—and that would also demonstrate tothoseinGrowthorTroublethatyourproposalcaneliminatethediscrepancy.

In the sampleBuying InfluencesChart thatwe presented inChapter 8, forexample,we identifiedDan Farley (EconomicBuyer) andDorisGreen (User,Coach) as inGrowthMode, andGary Steinberg (Technical) and SandyKelly(Coach)asinTrouble.Sothebestimmediateactionsherewouldprobablyfocuson these four people, rather than on Will Johnson (Technical), who’s inOverconfident Mode, or on “Harry Barnes (User, Technical), who’s in EvenKeel.

Suggestedactions:First, “LunchwithGreenandFarleyFriday to reinforceGrowth potential of proposal”—an action that observes the Ground Rule bycapitalizing on a proposal Strength. Then, to overcomeSteinberg’s negativity,“Tour of Steinberg’s department next Tuesdaywith Kelly so Kelly can showhow proposal will solve Steinberg’s problem”—an action that reduces theimpact of a Red Flag. Remember again, you don’t have to sell everybody byyourself. In this situation, Kelly may be better qualified than you to sellSteinbergbecausethetwoofthemshareaperceptionofTrouble.

One caution. The four Response Modes must be viewed as situationperceptions,notpersonalitytypes.Thismeansthattheycanchangeatanytime.

WIN-RESULTS

The fundamental goalof every sales strategy shouldbe to ensureWin-ResultsforallyourBuyingInfluences,aswellasWinsforyourself.Thekeypointhereis thatWinning, the underlying reason that anyone buys, isn’t measurable orquantifiable:Wins reinforceemotional values andattitudes.ObjectivebusinessResults are the means by which Buyers obtain Wins, but they’re only abeginning. If you focus only on Results, your Buyers will Lose—and sowill

you.Are you sure that your sales proposal can provide each of your Buying

InfluencesacorporateResultthatwillprovidehimorherwithapersonalWin?Look at yourWin-Results Chart.Do you have a clearWin-Results StatementwrittenforeachandeveryoneofyourBuyingInfluences?Ifnot, that’saRedFlag.

OnthesampleWin-ResultsChartwesetupinChapter10,forexample,wefailed to identify aWin for either Farley or Steinberg.We placed Red Flagsthere to make our lack of data visible. If you were managing this sale, yourActionPlanwouldhavetoincludespecificsforsettingupmeetingstoeliminatethoseRedFlags.CoachingfrompeoplewhoknowFarleyandSteinbergbetterthan you do would help you determine the who, when, and where of thosemeetings. A sample action: “Appointment Fridaywith SandyKelly; have herexplainFarley’sWins.”

Threewarnings: First, although itmay seem unnecessary for you to knoweverybody’s Wins on every sale—and although you can in fact close dealswithout knowing this—delivering Results alone is still a hazardous strategy.Sinceyou’reintheaccountforthelongrun,thesooneryouknowhoweachofyourkeyplayersWins,themoreeffectivelyyou’llbeabletomeeteachperson’sneeds in futuresales. IgnoringaBuyer’sWinswilleventuallyundermineyourpositionwiththeentireaccount.

Second,gettingeverybodytoWintothesameextentmaynotbepossibleoneveryComplexSale.ButyourgoalshouldremaintoprovidethehighestdegreeofWinningandthelowestdegreeofLosingforeveryoneconcerned.Sometimesthebestyoucandois tominimizetheLosses.Inourview,this isstillplayingWin-Win.

Third, don’t forget yourownWins.Youwouldn’t think sales professionalswould have to be reminded of this, but sometimes they do: We’ve alreadymentionedhowsalespeoplecangiveawaythestoreinthehopethattheirBuyingInfluenceswillonedaypaythemback.Weurgeyoutodropfromyourlistanyaction that might put you in this Lose-Win scenario. There’s little point inclosing business that you’ll resent later—and even less in doing business thatyouresenttoday’.

COMPETITION

Finally, consider adopting actions that can minimize the importance of your

competition for this Single Sales Objective. Remember that competition, aswe’ve defined it, isn’t just themultinational giantwho’s trying to “steal yoursale.” Competition is any alternative to the solution you’re offering thecustomer, including the customer’s decision to use the available resourceselsewhere,toprovideanin-housesolution—ortodonothing.

Indevisingactionstooffsettheseunattractivealternatives,concentrateontheprincipleofLeveragefromStrength.Insteadofaskingdefensively“HowcanIavoidbeingbeatenuphere?”thinkpositivelyandproactively.Askwhataddedvalueyou canbring to this customer’sbusiness thatwillmakedoingbusinesswithyouthemostattractivesolution.

Inseekingthataddedvalue,lookbeyondtheproduct.Maybewhatyouhavetoofferisthespecialknowledgeofoneofyourownkeyexecutives.Maybeit’sa track record for spotless serviceexcellence.Maybe it’sawillingness tohelpthecustomerdesignnewcriteria.Whatever it is, the actionsyou select shouldestablish your difference. They should establish the uniqueness, not just thecheapness,ofyoursolutionbysayingtotheBuyingInfluences,“Wedon’tpushcommodities. We want a relationship that will contribute to the way you dobusiness.”

The“Final”List

How many actions should be included in an Action Plan?We recommend ashortlistbecauseanActionPlanisadynamic instrumentdesignedtohelpyouimproveyourcurrentposition.Onceyou’veimplementedtheactionsonasalescall, that position by definition will have changed. Once it’s changed, you’llhave toreassessyourstrategyanddevise thenextActionPlan. Inaworld likeours that’s spinningamileamillisecond, there’snopoint in saddlingyourselfwithatwenty-pointactionagendathatstretchessixmonthsintothefuture.Youcouldbehalfwaythroughthatlistwhenitbecomesobsolete.

For the test-case objective you’re targeting in this book, you should be ingoodshapeifyoucannarrowyourlisttojustfouroxfivesolidactions.Aslongaseachonemovesyouvisiblyanddemonstrablyclosertoyoursalesobjective,you’llhaveaccomplishedeverythingyouneedtoaccomplishrightnow.Asyoupractice theprinciplesofStrategicSelling,andasyoudesignActionPlans forfutureobjectives,you’llbeable to identifyappropriate actionswith increasingspeed and accuracy—oftenwithout actuallywriting themdown.Naturally, theactionsyouchooseinthefuturewillbeuniquetotheirownsituations.Butthe

selectionprocessyou’reperforminghere-ifthemodelforallthosefutureefforts.Often,youcangetyour“final”listdowntothisoptimumnumberoffouror

fivebymeasuringeachpossibleinclusionagainstthreecriteria.Thebestfourorfiveactionswillbe:

•Logical:They’llbuildnaturallyontheworkyou’vealreadydonetowardyoursalesobjective.

•Urgent:They’llhaveahighpriority,intermsofyourgettingtotheclose.•Do-able: They’ll be actions that, given your current position, you canrealisticallyaccomplishinthenextoneortwosalescalls.

These criteria for choosing the best actions, of course, are meant to amplifyratherthanreplacetheRedFlags/StrengthsGroundRule.Everyoneofyourbestfourorfiveactionswillbydefinitionstillobservethatrule.

AWiderPerspective

If you’re having trouble defining valid actions, youmaywant to use theKeyElementsofIdealCustomerandSalesFunneltohelpyou.Theymaynotalwaysbeasrelevanttosettingupindividualsalescallsasthefivetestareaswe’vejustdiscussed.Buttheydoprovideawiderperspectiveonyourtotalaccountpicturethatcanactasanextracheckonthevalidityofyouractions.

Forexample,supposeyourchosensalesobjective, liketheGoliathexamplewementionedearlier,isastuckorder.Ifreviewingtheareaswehighlightinthischapterisnothelpingyoutounstickit,youmightwanttolookatwhereitisinyourSalesFunnel,todeterminewhetherornotyou’regivingittherightkindofwork.Youmaydiscoverthatyou’vemoveditdowntheFunneltoorapidly,andthatyou’retryingtoputacloseonacustomerwho’snotyetreadyforit.Inthatcase,anappropriateactionmightbetoreconsideryourpositionand“re-cover”thebases.

Or youmightwant to test the overall viability of a sales objective againstyour Ideal Customer Profile. If none of the actions you’re considering seemslikelytoimproveyourpositionsignificantly,maybeyou’reworkingonadead-endaccount.Checktheaccount’salignmentagainstyourprofile.Inasmallbutsignificantnumberofsituations,thebestactionmaybetoletadifficultpieceofbusinessgo.

TheAcidTest

Here’sonefinaltesttomeasurethevalidityofyouractions.InChapter3,whenwepresented theEuphoria-PanicContinuum,wementioned thatyourowngutreactions often provide confirmation of your real position faster and morereliablythancerebralanalysisdoes.Judginghowyoufeelaboutyourpositioncanalsobeanacidtestforthefourorfive“best”actionsyou’veselected.SorefertotheEuphoria-PanicContinuumonemoretimeanduseitasafinalcheckofyourplan.

For each action that you’re now considering implementing in your ActionPlan,askyourselfwhetherornotitmakesyoufeelmorecomfortableabouttheoverall sales situation. If the actionsonyour list are reducingyour feelingsofstress,uneasiness,oruncertainty,thentheyprobablyreallyareyourbestactions.If theyaren’tdoing that,you should retest theplan, zero inonwhat’smakingyouuncomfortable,andfindoutwhy.Andmakesureyoudoitbeforethenextcall.

FromStrategytoTactics—andBackAgain

TheActionPlanyou’ve justdevised, inaddition toprovidingyouamodel forfutureuse,hasalsopreparedyou tomakeagivencallononeormoreBuyingInfluences. Since the selling process is dynamic, once youmake that call theplanwillberenderedobsoletepreciselybecauseithasdoneitsjob.Anditwillbetimetoconsidernewactions.

Aswementionedearlyinthebook,strategyandtacticsaredifferent,buttheyaren’tdisconnected.Theyworktogether,likeonehandwashingtheother.EveryActionPlanyoucreatewillenableyoutoenteranindividualsalescallsowellpreparedthat,onceyou’reface-to-facewithyourBuyingInfluence,youcanuseyourtacticalskillstoyourbestadvantage.Atthesametime,eachcallwillgiveyouadded informationaboutyour salesobjective thatyoudidn’thaveatyourdisposalbeforeyouwentin.

Yo”u won’t let that information lie there. You’ll use it to reassess yourposition, reconsider your Strengths and Red Flags, and plan your next set ofactions.All tactical encounters are opportunities for reassessing your position.YourevolvingActionPlansaretheenginesofthatreassessment.

CHAPTER20

STRATEGYWHENYOUHAVENOTIME

DraftinganActionPlan like theoneyou’vedone in the lastchapter typicallytakesaboutanhourtodoproperly.Ifyouhadthetime,youcouldperformthiskind of in-depth planning on all your accounts, for all your sales objectives,before every sales call. Your sales figures would undoubtedly justify theexpenditureoftime.

Butyoudon’thave the time.Even thoughcreatingacompleteActionPlanbecomeseasierandquicker themoreyoudo it,andeven thoughsuchdetailedplans can help you understand everything from the most modest to the mostextravagant of your sales objectives, the reality is that your time is a finiteresource.Givenalltheotherthingsyouhavetodotobesuccessful,yousimplycannot spend that sixty minutes on every one of your potential pieces ofbusiness.

Thisdoesn’tmean thatyoushoulddecidebychancewhichsalesobjectivesdeserve the full treatment.And itcertainlydoesn’tmean thatyoushouldenteranysalescallwithoutthebenefitofsomestrategicplanning.Indetermininghowto give the appropriate amount of advance planning to each sales call, werecommendthatyouconsideratwo-partsolution.

First:Determinewhichaccountsandwhichsalesobjectivesreallycallfora“long form”ActionPlan—andgive them thehour that theydeserve.Second:Adopt a “short form” action analysis for those sales objectives and thoseupcoming sales calls where conditions just don’t allow for the extended

treatment.

Long-FormAnalysis:WhenIt’sNeeded

At many of the companies who have adopted our Strategic Selling process,“long form” analyses are required by management for all objectives wherecertain conditions are met. The conditions vary from client to client, butgenerallytheyhavetodowithsomecombinationofimmediatedollarsinvolvedand long-term potential. At some companies, salespeople must give theirmanagers a complete analysis for all objectives worth over one hundredthousanddollars.Atothers,thecriticalfigureisfiftythousanddollars.Atothers,thereisnoofficialcutoffpoint,butmanagersmaystillrequirecompleteanalyseswhenevertheaccountbeingtargetedpromisespotentiallyhugereturns.

Because of the variety of situations that any sales organization mayencounter,therearenohard-and-fastrulesforwhenyou“must”putinthatfullhour.There are, however, a number of generally reliable indicators.Consider,forexample,thefollowingcommonsalesscenarios:

1.You’vejust“inherited”animportantaccountfromanothersalesperson.2. You’re handling a big-dollar account, or one in which there will beseverenegativeimpactifyoufailtogettheorder.

3.You’reinatoughbattlewiththecompetition.4.Youdon’tknowwhothecompetitionis.5.You’rehandlinganaccountthatrepresentsanimportantnewmarketornewindustry.

6.Your sales objective is stuck in theSalesFunnel, the expected closingdatehaspassed,andyoudon’tknowwhattodonext.

7.You’reabout to reviewthestatusofadifficultaccountwithyoursalesmanager.

8.Youlackapieceofinformationthat’sessentialtothesaleandyoudon’tknowhowtogetit.

In cases like these, we advise you never to opt for a short-form analysis.Whenever the sales objective you’re considering involves big money, cansignificantlyalteryourlong-termsalespicture,orisfilledwithuncertainties,weurgeyoutofindthetimeforthat“fullsixty.”Toputitnegativelybutcogently,if

youtrytoapproachdifficultsalessituationslikethesewithoutadetailedActionPlan, you’ll be fooling yourself—and offering a good opening to thecompetition.

WhentoUseShort-FormAnalysis

Ontheotherhand,whentheobjectiveyou’reaimingfordoesn’tinvolveahugedollaramount,whentherisksinvolvedaren’tparticularlyhigh,whenyou’renotworking against a high degree of uncertainty, or when there are only a fewBuyingInfluencesinvolved,ashort-formapproachcanbeofsignificantvalue.

WhenacompleteActionPlanisn’tessential,orwhenyousimplydon’thavetimetoconstructone,wesuggestthatyouemployoneoftwomodificationsofthesixty-minutemodel.Whichonetousedependsontheindividualsituation.

MODIFIEDANALYSIS1:THETEN-MINUTE“QUICKANDDIRTY”ANALYSIS

Suppose you recently inherited an account with a modest but reliable salesvolume.Your current sales objective is to get that account to approve a pilotprogram for a new product line within the next six months. You’ve met theEconomic Buying Influence and a couple ofUser Buying Influences, and arescheduledtomeettheEconomicBuyeragainthisafternoonatfour.YouwantedtodraftanActionPlanforthismeeting,butyourotheraccountstookupallyourtime.It’snowtwentytofour.Whatkindofstrategicplanningcanyoudo?

A brief analysis, like all the analyses you’ve been doing in this book,involvesaskingyourselfquestionsdesignedtouncoverareasofuncertaintyandsuggestways to improveyourpositionwith theBuying Influences.Whenyouhave only ten or fifteenminutes, you obviously have to narrow the questionsdowntothemostessentialones.Wesuggestthefollowingfour:

• Do I knowwho all myBuying Influences are? That is, do I know theidentities and buying roles of all the key individuals for this salesobjective? If not, do I at least know who is acting as the EconomicBuyingInfluenceforthissale?

•Do I know all these individuals’Win-Results?Do I knowhow each ofthemwillWinpersonallybygettingabusinessResult thatmyproposal

candeliver?• Am I capitalizing on Strengths andworking to eliminate or reduce theimpactofRedFlags?

•DoIhaveatleastonereliableCoachforthissale?

Ifyoucananswerallof thesequestionspositively,you’reprobably ina fairlysoundstrategicposition.Inthesalescallthatfollowsthisquickanalysis,youcanbuildonwhatyoualreadyknowtocontinueaddressingWin-Results,leveragingfromStrength,andeliminatingRedFlags.

Ifyoucan’tanswerthesequestionsaffirmatively,youknowthatyouhavetousethatsalescalltobegingettingtheanswers.ThebenefitofaskingthesefourquestionsbeforeyougointoseeaBuyingInfluenceisthat,evenifyoudrawablank,you’llknowwhereyou’remissinginformation,andwhatkindofdatayouneedtogetfromthatperson.Oftenthemostvaluablethingyoucanaccomplishinanysalescallissimplytosecureorconfirmsuchessentialinformation.

How you get someone to give you this information—that is, how you askquestions designed to better your understanding of the sale—is a matter oftactics, not strategy. Tactics are essential to good selling, of course, and wecover themextensively inourConceptualSellingprogramandbook.StrategicSelling is designed to give you the fullest possible understanding of the salessituationbefore you see theBuyer.A“quickanddirty”method for increasingthat understanding is to find out howwell you can answer the four suggestedquestions.

MODIFIEDANALYSIS2:THE“CRISISINTHEELEVATOR”ANALYSIS

Sometimes, of course, you don’t even have the ten minutes you need toinvestigate these four questions properly. So here’s an even briefer analyticalmodel.

Maybe it’s a small account where you didn’t really think that strategicanalysis was necessary. Maybe it’s a “routine” renewal in an account where“nothing ever changes.”Maybe it’s a newaccount for you, andyourmanagerhasjustdroppedanoteonyourdeskthatsays,“JustfoundoutLacey,atCPI,isleavingforAustraliainthemorning.He’sexpectingyouatfourthisafternoon.”Forwhateverreason(andtheabovereasons,asyouknow,areonlythetipoftheiceberg),youfindyourself inanelevatorboundfor theseventeenthfloor,with

nomorethanafuzzyideaofwhothecustomeris,andfifty-twosecondstogountilzerohour.

Noneedtopanic.Evenifyou’veneverdoneanyconsciousstrategicplanningforthisaccountandthissalesobjectivebefore,youstillknowsomethingaboutit—evenifit’sonlyofficescuttlebuttaboutthecustomerorthenamesofacoupleofkeyplayers.Whatyouneedtodointhatfifty-twosecondsistoidentifyjustwhatyoudoknowsothat,whenyoumeettheBuyingInfluence,you’llatleasthave made your current position—shaky as it might be—more visible, andthereforemoremanageable.

As in any analysis, making your position visible means asking yourselfappropriatequestions.Thelesstimeavailableforanalysis,themorefundamentalthequestions.Herearethemostfundamentalonesofall:

DoIknowwhomyBuyingInfluencesare?Ifnot,doIatleastknowwhoistheEconomicBuyingInfluenceforthissalesobjective?

Answering thesequestions, especially in fifty-two seconds, isn’t going togiveyouadetailedpictureofanyaccount.Butidentifyingtheaccount’skeydecisionmakers, and reminding yourself of the roles they’re playing for your specificsalesobjective,concentratesonwhatwe’verepeatedlysaidisthefoundationofgoodstrategy.Ifyoudon’tknowwhothekeyplayersare,andhowtheyfitintoyoursale,youreallyknownothingatall.

Admittedly,notknowingwhoyourUserBuyersare,forexample,isn’taverygoodposition.But it’samuchbetterposition thannotknowing thatyoudon’tknow. If you realize that you know nothing, you should also realize that youhavetousetheupcomingsalescalltobeginfillingintheblanks.

Thebottomlinehereisthatanystrategicanalysisperformedinadvanceofasales call is going to be to your advantage—even if all it gives you is aknowledgeofyourownmissingdata.Theonlyabsolutelyuntenablepositionisto go into a sales call cold,with no information and no strategic principles toguide you. What Socrates said about life is just as true about sales: Thebeginningofwisdomisrecognizingthedepthofyourignorance.

To quote a less august authority, listen to the words of a branch salesmanagerweknowwhoattributesarecentrecordquartertooursystem:“GoingintoacallwithoutaskingwhoyourBuyingInfluencesareislikewalkingintoaroomwithablindfoldon.Beforetakingyourprogram,Iusedtodothatallthetime—andover andover I endedupbangingmy shins.Asking that onebasic

questionisliketakingtheblindfoldoff.Idon’talwaysknowexactlywhereIamineverysale,butatleastIknowwherethefurnitureis.”

StrategyFirst—Again

Wedon’tadviseanyonetousethe“elevator”orthe“quickanddirty”analysisasasubstituteforamoredetailedanalysis.Theten-minutemodelfunctionsbestasaquickreviewofanaccountsituationwithwhichyou’realreadyfamiliar.Thecrisis model is just that—a default model appropriate only for emergencies.Sometimesneitherofthesemodelswillbeappropriate,andyou’llhavetomakethetimeforafull-fledgedActionPlananalysis.Themodelyoushouldadoptineach case depends on how much preparation is necessary to make you feelcomfortablebeforethenextcall.

Itallcomesbacktostrategy,andtotheobservationthatwemadeinChapter2:Strategyandtacticsarebothessentialtolong-termsalessuccess,butstrategymustalwayscomefirst.Nomatterwhichmodelyoudecideisappropriateforagiven sales objective and a given account, you’ll still profit from StrategicSelling only if you do your strategic analysis before the selling event. ThemomentthatyousitdowninFarley’sofficeisnotimetobewonderingwhetherornothe really is theEconomicBuyer.Addressyour strategicquestions first,andyou’llbefreeinthesellingeventtodowhatyoudobest-sell.

Ifyoualwaysputstrategyfirst,you’llbeassuredthatnomatterhowsmallaquantityoftimeyouhaveavailable,ineverycaseitwillstillbequalitytime.

CHAPTER21

STRATEGICSELLING:ALIFETIMEAPPROACH

Sales-improvement programs usually end with a snappy little “speech about“positive mental attitude” and “hard work,” at the end of which the trainerwishestheassembledsalesrepresentatives“goodluck”outinthetrenches.Wedon’tendourprogramsthatway,andwewon’tendthisbookthatway,becausewhenyoulookatyoursellingstrategically,it’snotaboutluck.

StrategicSelling is successfulpreciselybecause it reduces theuncertaintiesassociatedwithluck,trialanderror,andblindchance.Ithasworkedeffectivelyfortwentyyears—andindozensofdifferentindustries—becauseit’sfoundedonlogic and on a sound understanding of all the Key Elements of the ComplexSale.Byapplyingourmethodologyconsistently,youmakeyourownluck.

The reason that Strategic Selling professionals are able tomake their ownluckisthattheyunderstandtwocriticalkeystosalessuccess.

Thefirstismethod.StrategicSellingprofessionalsapproachtheirsaleswithaplanned system of selling steps that are logical, visible, and repeatable. Thesesalespeople understand that, in selling as in any other human activity, it’s thewaytheprofessionaldoesthingsthatsetshimorherapartfromthecompetition.

The second key is something that we’ve stressed again and again in ourPersonalWorkshops.It’stheimportanceofconstantreassessment.SincechangeistheonlyconstantinyourComplexSales,andsinceyoucanbeunderminedbychangeonlyifyoufailtoadapttoit,you’llgetthemostoutofStrategicSellingif you treat it as a dynamic system—one that’s always in the process of

refinement.There’s a logical conclusion to be drawn from this observation: Themore

you use Strategic Selling, the better it works for you. Not only that, but theeasierthesystembecomestouse.

WhenwedescribedtheuseoftheSalesFunnel,weobservedthatrepetitionmakes Funnel analysis a progressively simpler task, so that eventually itbecomes almost second nature. Once you’ve worked through a Sales Funnelanalysis several times, the techniques and concepts involved becomeinternalized,andyou’reabletoperformfurtheranalysesinaquickerandmoreefficientmanner.

ThesamethingcanbesaidaboutStrategicSellingasawhole.Notonlydothe sixKeyElements individually become easier to usewith practice, but thesystem itself becomes self-reinforcing over time. We’ve observed thisconsistently infollow-upsurveyswedoofourprogramparticipants:Themostsuccessfulonesowetheirsuccesstotheconstantuseofourstrategicprinciples,in all their accounts, all the time. In thewords of aMidwest branchmanagerwhoattributeshislatestsales-manager-of-the-yearawardtoourprograms,“ThemoreIpractice,theluckierIget.”

Wehopeyou’lltakethisobservationassomanyofourparticipantstakeit,asawatchword for future success. Strategic Selling is a lifetime approach to theComplexSale.Theanalysisthatyouperformedonyourtest-casesalesobjectiveinthisbookisamodel.Asyoucontinuetoapplyandrefinethismodelinfuturesalesefforts, increasinglyyou’llbeable tosay,“It’s thewayIgoabout it thatmakesmenumberone.”

“Luck,” a savvy sloganwriter once observed, is “where preparationmeetsopportunity.”StrategicSelling, it has been frequently proven, canprepare anydedicatedprofessionaltomeetsalesopportunitiesmoreeffectively.If,byusingthe principles-and techniques presented in this book, you and your BuyingInfluences continue to Win in all your sales objective—then we at MillerHeimanwillhaveWonaswell.

AFTERTWENTYYEARS:RESPONDINGTOOURCLIENTS’MOSTCHALLENGINGQUESTIONS

Over the twenty years that we have been introducing sales professionals toStrategic Selling, we have had the privilege of hearing them pose literallyhundredsofprovocativequestionsandconceptualchallenges.Theseexamplesof“clientparticipation”havegivenustremendoussatisfaction,fortheyhaveforcedusagainandagain tofollowourownadviceand tosubjectour thinkingaboutsellingtoconstantreview.

Mostoftheclarificationstowhichourclientshavethusproddeduswehavealreadywovenintothefabricofthisexpandedtext.Ahandfuloftheirquestions,though, seemed so provocative and so important that they called for specialtreatmentoftheirown.Wethereforeendthebookbyaddressingthemdirectly.Thefollowing“fabulousfifteen”clientquestions illustrateboth the insightandthe sophistication of our fellow salespeople as they wrestle with the manycomplexities of our profession. We offer our responses here to further thedialogueinthefascinatingconversationthatwecallselling.

1.WhereDoIStart?Atwhat level should Ibegin thesellingprocess&SincegettingtotheEconomicBuyerissoimportant,shouldIalwaystrytostartatthetop?

Sure,ifyoucan,andifyouhavecredibilitythere.TheplaceyoushouldstartanyComplexSaleistheplacewhereyouhavethegreatestdegreeofcredibility.Thisfollows logically from our emphasis on leveraging from Strengths. If you’recomfortablewith thevicepresident,great: start there.But ifyou’venevermetthatpersonandyouhaveastrongsponsorinaUserBuyer,startthere.Yourgoal

is to begin the selling process from as strong a foundation as possible, and tobuildonthatfoundationasyoumovehigher.ThelastthingyouwanttodoistobargeinonanEconomicBuyerandstartpitching-yoursolutionbeforeyoufullyunderstand the organization’s current problems, or the Economic Buyer’sindividualWins. If you don’t understand those things first—if you don’t getsolidCoaching to help youunderstand them—youmight get in the door, butwe’llguaranteethis:Onceyouleave,itwillneverbeopenedtoyouagain.

2. The One-Legged Stool. I’ve been dealing with the same person in mycustomer’sorganizationforfiveyears,andhejustgotfired.Help!

Developing a professional relationship with only one Buying Influence in anorganizationisanextremelycommon,andoftendeadly,scenario.It’swhatwerefer to as the “one-legged stool” strategy because it’s just about as stable assuchacontraption.Whenyou’renegotiatingtheorganizationallabyrinthofthemodern corporation, it’s imperative that you develop asmany relationships aspossible,andtoenhancethemwithasolidnetworkofCoaches.

We’ve said many times that change is today’s only constant. If you findyourselfinthecoldwhenasolecontactleaves,thenyoushouldprobablytakeitbothasa lessonandasanopening.Youmayormaynotbeable torescuetheSingle Sales Objective that hinged on that one individual, but you can startdevelopinganetworkforfutureopportunities.Startingfromscratchisn’taverycomfortable position, but at least it can’t be confused with a false sense ofconfidence.Sometimesrecognizingyourignoranceisaverygoodstartingpoint.Itprovidesyoutheincentivethatyouneedtobuildastoolthatwon’twobble.

3.Does She orDoesn’t She?One ofmyBuying Influences says she has finalapprovalauthority,hutI’mnotsure.HowcanItellifshereallyistheEconomicBuyer?

Ifeverybodywhosaidhehasfinalauthorityactuallydidhaveit,million-dollardealswouldbeapproveddailybyjuniormanagers.Thefactis,moreoftenthannot,thepersonwhosays“There’snobodyaboveme”istryingtokeepyoufromsomebodywho can veto his decisions. In cases like this, often themanner inwhich theBuying Influencedescribes his authoritywill give you a clue aboutwhetherit’srealorillusory.Whenyou’renotsure,werecommendthatyouaskindirect questions to clarify the actual location of final authority. Rather thansaying “Will you give final approval?” it’s often better to ask “What’s thedecision process?” “Who has to OK the funding?” or “Is there anyone elsewhoseapprovalweneedtosecure?

When you ask questions like these, you’ll often discover a paradox.Generally, those who are most vociferous about proclaiming their power—“Don’t you go aroundme or I’ll cut you off at the knees”—are TechnicalBuyerswhodon’t have the final say.ActualEconomicBuyers are less full ofthemselvesBecausetheyhavethepower,theydon’tneedtobatteryouoverthehead with it. Remember that most Economic Buyers are comfortable withcommand.Ifthepersonwith“finalauthority”looksnervousaboutlosingit,thechancesaregoodthatshemaynothaveitinthefirstplace.

4. The “Not-a-Factor” Factor. If I’ve identified someone as having a LowDegreeofInfluence,whyshouldIevenbothertalkingtothatperson?

Two reasons, First, you may be misreading the situation. The person you’veidentifiedashavingaLowlevelofinfluencemayinfacthaveagreaterDegreeofInfluencethanyouunderstand,andbytreatinghimorheras irrelevant,youwillattheveryleastbeleavingabaseuncovered.RecallourcommentabouttheEconomicBuyerwithaLowDegreeofInfluence:Hecanincreasethatinfluenceat will, if the need arises. The same is true, to an extent, of other BuyingInfluences. Jimmight lack the authority or the interest to significantly impactyoursaletoday,butathousandfactorscouldcausethattochangetomorrow.Soyouneed tobeconstantlyalert toall thebases,andwatchfordecision-makerswhomightcome“outofhiding.”

Second, precisely because things change, minimizing the importance of a“Low”-impact decision-maker risks creating a potential enemy—a resentfulantisponsor—notonlyonthissalebutonfutureones.Evenifyou’rerightabouta person’s current lack of authority or interest, treating him as if he doesn’tmatter couldcreateaboomerangeffect ina scenariowherehedoesmatter. Intoday’s climate of musical office chairs, the person who is a low-level UserBuyeronMondaymorningcouldbeaHigh-influenceEconomicBuyerby theend of the week. Remember the sobering reality of Buyer’s Revenge. AsShakespearemighthaveputit(ifhehadevermetapayroll),“HellhathnofurylikeaBuyingInfluencescorned.”

5.InsideCustomers.Someofmytoughest“customers”areinmyowncompany.When you have to sell a solution to your own production or support people,shouldyoutreatthemlikeyoudoyourBuyingInfluences?

Absolutely, because they are Buying Influences. Remember that we define aBuying Influence as anyone who can influence the outcome of your sale.Clearly, that includes an awful lot of people in your own organization—from

production, design, research, marketing, follow-up—awithout whose help youcannotgetqualitysales.Allofthesepeopleareindividualstoo,withtheirownneeds and levels of receptivity andWin-Results. Even though in some waysdealing with them is different from dealing with your more obvious BuyingInfluences,onecriticalstrategicrequirementisthesame:Youhavegottohavetheircommitment,oryoursaleisintrouble.

Unfortunately, many salespeople make the mistake of assuming that thiscommitmentexists,withoutevenasking.“We’reallonhesameteamhere,”theysaytothemselves,“soeverybodyherewillwantmetomakethissale.”Thatcanturnoutbeadeadlymistakewhenyouclosethedealofthecenturyandthenfindthere’s no support.Sellingyourownpeopleonyour solution can thereforebejust as important as selling the customer. In our Large AccountManagementProcess,whereweaddress thisfact,werecommendacorporatepolicyof“fullorganizationalcommitment.”Inworkingtosecurethatcommitment,you’vegotto“sellyourown.”

6. Swimming theChannel.We sell indirectly to endusers through-distributionchannels.WhereshouldwebelookingforEconomicBuyingInfluences?

That depends on howmuch impact the end users have, or could have, onwhatever it is thatyoudeliver to thedistributor. It’s extremelycommon todayfor salespeople to sell through channels, whether they’re identified asdistributors, dealers, or value-added resellers (VARs). But no two of thosechannel situations are exactly alike, and therefore it’s impractical—not tomention foolhardy—to generalize about decision-making- as you “swim thechannel.”Ifyou’resellinganinternalcomponentforaconsumerproduct—say,circuitboardsforapersonalcomputer—thenMr.Jones,whobuysthePC“ataretailoutlet,mayneverseeyourproduct,andhemayhaveno influenceon itsconfiguration,delivery,orprice.Therefore,eventhoughhe’s theenddecision-makerforthePC,he’snotasignificantBuyingInfluencefortheboards.Ontheotherhand,ifMr.Jonesrunsamajornationalbusinessthatpurchaseshundredsof PCs, he may carry enough weight with the VAR or retailer to have asignificant impact on specs, delivery schedules—even vendor choice. In thatcase,hisdecisionsmaydirectlyaffectyoursale.HemayevenbeyourEconomicBuyingInfluence.

Theoperativewordhereis“may.”Inanygivensalesopportunity,yourtaskis to understand how a variety of individuals play one or more of the fourBuyingInfluencerolesforthatsalesopportunity.Doingthatwellmeanslookingateachnewsituationindividually,thenaskingquestionstoclarifythedecision-makingprocess.There’snouniversalpattern,soyoucan’tassume.Ifyou’renot

sure how involved an end user is in your VAR’s buying decisions, find out.Otherwiseyou’reindangerofdrowninginthechannel.

7.WhoNeeds a Coach? In fifteen years in sales, I’ve never needed a Coachbefore.WhyshouldIworryaboutdevelopingonenow?

Weusedtohearthisfrequentlyintheearlydaysofourbusiness.Wehearitlessandlesstoday,asmajorsalesbecomeincreasinglycomplicatedandsalespeoplerecognize that strategizing without a Coach is like flying blind. Most of thepeoplewhostillclaimnottoneedCoachesfallintooneoftwocategories.Someof them are staunch members of the old guard who have been adequatesalespeopleforfifteen,orthirty,years,butwhohavealwaysfallenalittleshortoftheirfullpotential.OthershavebeenusingCoachesthroughouttheircareers,butcalling thembyanothername.Maybe they’vebeenvery skillfulatgettingguidance from inside salespeople or Economic Buyers, so that they’ve beenprofiting from Coaching without really acknowledging it as such. We didn’tinventtheideaofCoaching.WesimplyidentifiedthetypeofguidancethatmostsuccessfulsalespeoplewerealreadygettingontheirComplexSales,andisolatedthe threecriteria that thebest “guides” fulfilled.TheMillerHeiman insistenceondevelopingCoaches,farfrombeinganovelty,isjustcommonsense.Andit’scommonsensethatthebestsalesprofessionalshavealwaysutilized.

8.The“DoubleAgent”Coach.IthinkthatthepersonCoachingmemayalsobeprovidinginformationtomycompetitor.HowcanItellandwhatshouldIdo?

Thereisnosuchthingasa“doubleagent”Coach.BydefinitionaCoachisapersonwhoWinswhenyoursolutionisadopted:Heorshewantsyou tomakethe sale. It’s true that a Coach may provide information to more than onecompetitor.

Itmaysimplybeinthenatureofhisorherjobtodoso,andforthatreasonthereare“doubleagent”informationgivers.Butnotall informationisalike.IfthepersongivingyouinformationistrulyaCoach,she’llprovideyouandonlyyouwiththeuniquelyuseful informationyouneedtomakethesale—inotherwords,withqualityinformation.

Ofcourse,it’snotalwayseasytotellthewheatfromthechaff.ThatiswhyyouneedanetworkofCoaches,totestoneperson’sinformationagainstthatofothers. And it’s why you need to regularly ask yourself: Is this informationhelpingme to understand the customer’s decision-making process better? Is itimproving my position with the Buying Influences? Is it making mymanagement of this sale more predictable? If you can’t answer yes to thesequestions, the person giving you informationmight not really be yourCoach.

Evenworse, shemight be Coaching your competition. If that’s the case, youneedto“fire”herandgetCoachingelsewhere.

9.BeyondtheProduct.There’svirtuallynodifferencebetweenourproductandourcompetitor’s,yetourpriceishigher.Isthereanywaythatwecanmakethissale?

Not ifyou’reconvinced that there isn’t anydifferencebetweenyouand them.Probablythereisadifference, though.Maybeit’snot intheproductorserviceper se.Maybewhatdifferentiatesyou from thecompetition isabetter supportsystem,orsomespecializedknowledgethatyoucanbringyourcustomer,orkeypeople in your organization, or even the personal talents that you bring to theparty.Lookbeyond the “product or service to findwhat it is thatmakes yourhigherpriceworthit.

If there really is nothing different—on any level—between you and yourcompetitors,thenyou’reright.You’replayingacommoditygame,andlowpricewillwin.Butasasalesprofessional,youhavetogobeyondprice.Youhavetomove beyond simplyworking up quotes and answering bids to determine theuniquecontributionsthatonlyyoucanmake.Yourinterestandskillmustbeinunderstandingyour individualcustomer’sobjectives,andinshowinghowyourcompany,andyoursalone,canbesthelptoachievethem.

10.What,MeWorry?Our company is the undisputed leader in our industry.Whyshouldweworryaboutcompetition?

Unlessyouhaveacrystalballthattellsyoueverythingthat’sgoingtohappeninyourindustry—andinyourcustomers’industries—forthenextcentury,you’dbetter think about the competition. At least you’d better think about it to theextent thatyouaskyourselves, constantly andhonestly, howyour solutions toyourcustomers’problemsaredifferentfromeverythingelsethatisoutthere.Inotherwords,youshouldregularlyreviewhowyoubecametheleader,soyoucanconstantlyreinforcethecontributionsthatgotyouthere.Sellingisessentiallytheart of relieving problems. The biggest company in the world can lose itsleadershipovernightifitstopsthinkingabouthowitcandothatbest.

We don’t mean you should obsess about what the other guy is doing. Aswe’vestressedinthechapteroncompetition,onecommon,deadlystrategyistofocus so intently on The Competition that you divert attention from yourcustomers’ concerns. But ignoring the competition can be deadly, too. Noindustry leader is so big that it can’t be toppled. Andwhen an upstart DavidtakesGoliathdown,it’susuallybecauseDavidhasbeenlisteningmorecloselyto the customers, while Goliath has been congratulating himself on his

“undisputed”position.

11. Trapped in the Circus. My prospect doesn’t want a conversation All hewants is a fifty-minute dog and pony show. I can’t even identify, much lessunderstand,myBuyingInfluencesunderthoseconstraints.WhatshouldIdo?

Whenwe’reaskedhowtostageadogandponyshow,ourfirstrecommendationis to avoid them altogether because they’re a clear indication that you arepositioned badly, and that the prospect is forcing a comparison that obscuresyouruniqueness. If the showabsolutelymust goon, however,we recommendfirstthatyoutrytopositionyourselfwithkeyplayersandaimfordialogueswiththem long before the scheduled shindig takes place. If you do not haveestablishedrelationshipsandyoucomeincoldonthiskindofpresentation,youare in a very weak position.Wewon’t say absolutely that youwon’t get thebusiness,butifyoudo,itwillbeoneofthoserareinstancesofseller’sluck—notbecauseyou’vereallydoneyourhomework.

Another thing to consider—again, only if you can’t avoid the situation—isnottomakeaunilateralpresentation,buttocreateaninteractivedialogue.Keepinmind that, in ten-ring circuses like these, the prospects are generally boredbeyondrecognition.If,insteadoftryingtodazzlethem,youelicitopinionsfromthem,you’llbeinabetterpositionthananyofyourcompetitors.Notonlywillaconversational,give-and-take“show”differentiateyoufromalltheotherspeech-makers,butitwillhelpyoudeterminewhat’sonthecustomer’smind,whichisexactlywhatyouneedtoknowtohighlightyourcontribution.

Youcanuse all the lights and flip charts and transparenciesyouwant.Butavoid spending more than a couple of minutes at the outset laying out youragendaandviewofthings.Demandofyourselfthatyouseekandgetfeedbackinthefirstfiveminutes.Thatway,eventhoughyou’redoinga“presentation,”itwill feelmore likeaconversation toyourBuyingInfluences.Which isexactlywhatallgoodsellingisultimatelyabout.

12.BeyondFeaturesandBenefits.I liketheideaofdeliveringWinsaswellasResults,butisn’taWin-ResultsStatementbasicallythesamethingasafeatures-and-benefitsstatement?

No. A features-and-benefits statement is generated internally, usually by yourproductionormarketingdepartments.Itdescribeswhatyourpeoplebelievetobetrue about what you’re trying to sell. Such a statement, by its very nature, isgoing to be general. However articulately or snazzily it is produced, it’s stillgoingtobebasicallyalistofgoodiesthatareinherentintheproductorservice

itself.“Thismodelwillgiveyou34milespergallonincitydriving,”thatsortofthing.

AWin-ResultsStatement,ontheotherhand,fusestheobjective(Results)andthesubjective(Wins),and inaddition to that it’spersonalizedforeachBuyingInfluence. Such a statement is specific to a particular human being in a givensituation at a certain point in time. If you reduce it to its general, objectiveaspects,youruntheriskof“onesizefitsall”selling.That’sarecipeforproductcrammingandeventuallylostbusiness.

13.WalkingtheWalk.OneofmycustomersisnowherenearmyIdealCustomerProfile, and I’d love to walk away. But what if I can’t afford to lose hisbusiness?

Wouldn’titbegreatifweallhadsomanyprospectsthatwecouldignoreeveryonebuttheIdealCustomer“perfectfits”?Unfortunately,that’saluxurymostofus don’t have. In the real world, salespeople are assigned accounts that theycan’tjust.walkawayfrom,andtheydevelopbusinessthat’sjusttoolucrativetolet go, nomatter howmany headaches itmay involve. That’s why, whenwepresenttheIdealCustomerkeyelement,wesaythatitcanhelpyouintwoways:by concentratingonyourmost likelyWin-Win customers, andby anticipatingproblemswiththeoneswhodon’tmeasureup.

In anticipating those problems, you look for places where the fit betweenyourtwocompaniesisimperfect,andyoutryasearlyaspossibleineverysaletoaddress the discrepancies and adjust your strategy accordingly. You’reconstantly measuring potential aggravation against potential revenue, todeterminethesacrificesyou’rewillingtomaketogetthebusiness.Wesaythat’sfine—aslongasyouknowit’sacalculatedrisk,andyoureyesareopen.Insomecases you may not be able to eliminate all the Red Flags in a poor-fit salesopportunity.ButatleasttheIdealCustomerProfileletsyouknowthey’rethere.

14.TheSurefireClose.Whenallissaidanddone,youstillhavetoclose.Doyouhaveanyreliableclosingtechniquesforhelpingustoimproveourhitratio?

In a word: No. Sales managers have historically wanted “closers,” that is,people with a consistently high “hit ratio.” Most books on selling, in fact,includeanobligatorychapteron“surefirecloses,”or“sixteenfail-safewaystoget his signature on the contract.”We don’t have such a chapter because webelievethatthetraditionalemphasisonclosing“techniques”isinappropriate.Inourview,acloseisn’tsomethingthatyougetasarewardforsmoothtalking,orthat you should (or can) slam-dunk your customers into accepting.We don’tbelievethatyousucceedwhenyou“take”somebody’sorder.

AclosethatyougetbyfollowingTechnique14islikelytobebothartificialand ephemeral. Because it’s built on trickery, it can never bring you thesustained business that every professional wants. A solid close, on the otherhand, is the natural and inevitable outcome of a sales process that is built onincrementalcommitmentandmutualunderstanding.Ifyouhaveto“askfortheorder,” you probably haven’t been following that process, because when youwork with your customers toward mutually satisfying solutions, the closebecomes, in thewords of one of our clients, “almost automatic.”Not entirelyautomatic,we admit:We’re not in the business of offeringmagic bullets.Butcloseenoughforincreasedsalessuccess.Asanotherclientputsit,“IfI’vedonemy jobof fosteringsolidcommunication, it’soften thecustomerwhoasksmewheretosign.”

15.The.SecretofSuccess.We’reoften told that the salesperson’s singlemostimportantqualityispersistence.Whatdoyouthinkaboutthis?

Persistence is an admirable quality, but it won’t get you anywhere unless thepeopleyou’rebeingpersistentwithbelieveinyouandareabsolutelyconvincedthat theycan trustyou.Theonequality thateverygreatsalespersonhasgot tohave is not persistence but credibility. That’s the open secret of success thateverysalesleaderknows.Whenyouandyourcompanyhavecredibilitywithacustomer,itmeansyou’rereliable,you’retrustworthy,you’redeservingofhisorherconfidenceandcommitment.Itmeansthatthecustomercandependonyourword and feel certain that you’re not trying to cram product down his or herthroat.When that’s the attitude thatyouelicit inyour customers,you’remilesaheadofthemostpersistentcompetitor.

The’AmericansongwriterColePorteronceremarkedaboutstylethatifyouhad it you really didn’t need much else, and that if you didn’t, there wasn’tanything else that could save you. We’d go almost that far with regard tocredibility. It’s not quite true that it’s all you need, because even if yourcustomersbelieveinyou,youstillneedproductknowledgeandanalyticalskillsand,yes,persistence.Butifyoudon’thavecredibilityintheireyes,thennothingelse matters. That’s as good a note as any on which to end this book. Thebeginningofsalessuccessisasenseoftrust.AndaWin-Winphilosophyisthewaytogoaboutgettingit.

ABOUTMILLERHEIMAN

MILLER HEIMAN, INC. IS A GLOBAL LEADER IN BUILDING EXCEPTIONAL salesorganizations. The company’s team of world-class sales consultants helpsorganizationsdramatically improvesalesproductivity throughconsistent, field-ready processes, benchmarking tools, development programs, and processconsulting.

Best known for its time-tested Strategic Selling® program,Miller Heimanprovides solutions for introducing a consistent sales process throughout anorganization, identifying the strengths and weaknesses inherent in every salesforce,andensuringtheculturalindoctrinationoftrainingprograms.

Withaprestigiousclient list includingKLA-Tencor,BAXGlobal,MarriottCorporation,DowChemical,PricewaterhouseCoopers,andWellsFargo,MillerHeiman understands the issues and challenges facing sales leaders in virtuallyeverymajor industry, frommanufacturing and consumer goods to technologyandfinance.

PREPAREYOURENTIREORGANIZATION

The Miller Heiman portfolio of sales training and development servicesaddresses themost critical aspects of the selling cycle. From getting the rightpeople doing the right things to uncovering newopportunitieswith yourmostestablishedaccounts,weprepareyourentiresalesorganizationtosucceed.

Ourconsultingandtrainingissupportedworldwidethroughaglobalnetworkofmorethantwohundredsalesconsultantsinovertwenty-fivecountries.Eachisan independent salesprofessionalwithanaverageofeighteenyearsof real-world sales and sales management experience. Prior to working with MillerHeiman,oursalesconsultantsweresalesdirectorsandvicepresidents, so theytrulyunderstandyourchallengesandaspirations.

TRAININGSOLUTIONS

Ourtrainingsolutionsareproventohelpestablishandgrowmoreproductivecustomerrelationships.Thesepracticalsolutionsinclude:

•ConceptualSelling®•StrategicSelling®•LargeAccountManagementProcess(LAMP®)•NegotiateSuccessSM

•ChannelPartnerManagementSM

•ExecutiveImpactSM

BENCHMARKINGTOOLS

Our benchmarking tools can help you quickly evaluate the strengths andweaknessesofyour salesorganization, analyzepersonneldata againstpositionrequirements,andmakesureyouhavetherightpeopleintherightpositions.Wehelp you establish benchmarks to reach your sales goals.We bring clarity towhatworksandwhatdoesn’t.Thesepowerfultoolsinclude:

•PredictiveSalesPerformanceSM

•StartPointSM

•Conversion,Penetration,Retention(CPRSM)

SALESWORKSHOPS

Throughouttheworld,weconducthundredsofconvenientandaccessiblesalesworkshopswhereyourstaffcanlearntheMillerHeimansalesprocessandapplyit to real salesopportunities in their funnels.They’ll learn touncoverwhy thecustomerisreallybuying,toidentifyafit,andtodevelopandexecuteanactionplanthat’srightforyouandyourcustomer.

ForfurtherinformationonLAMPoranyofourotherserviceofferings,callMiller Heiman today and we’ll find you the right consulting partner who

understandsyou,yourcompany,andyourmarket.

MillerHeimanCorporateHeadquarters10509ProfessionalCircle,Suite100Reno,Nevada895211-877-552-1757

www.millerheiman.com

MillerHeimanInternationalHeadquartersNelsonHouse,1AucklandPark

MiltonKeynes,MK11BUEngland+441908.211212

www.millerheiman.co.uk

“Overthepasttwenty-fiveyears,StrategicSellinghasbecomethefoundationofsaleseffectiveness.Embracedbytheworld’smostsuccessfulsalespeople,itsstraightforwardconceptsandreal-worldmethodologieswillcontinuedriving

resultsforournextgenerationoftoperformers.”—SamReese,presidentandCEO,MillerHeiman,Inc.

THEBOOKTHATSPARKEDASELLINGREVOLUTION

In1985onebookchangedsalesandmarketingforever.Rejectingmanipulativetacticsandemphasizing“process,”StrategicSellingpresentedtheideaofsellingas a joint venture and introduced the decade’smost influential concept,Win-Win. The response to Win-Win was immediate and helped turn the smallcompany that createdStrategic Selling,MillerHeiman, into a global leader insalesdevelopmentwiththemostprestigiousclientlistintheindustry.

THENEWSTRATEGICSELLINGThismoderneditionofthebusinessclassicconfrontstherapidlyevolvingworldofbusiness-to-business saleswithnew real-worldexamples,newstrategies forconfronting competition, and a special section featuring the most commonlyaskedquestionsfromtheMillerHeimanworkshops.Learn:

•Howtoidentifythefourrealdecisionmakersineverycorporatelabyrinth•Howtopreventsabotagebyaninternaldeal-killer•Howtomakeaseniorexecutiveeagertoseeyou•Howtoavoidclosingbusinessthatyou’lllaterregret• How to manage a territory to provide steady, not “boom and bust,”revenue

• How to avoid the single most common error when dealing with thecompetition.

“Superbjobofrevitalizingagreatprogram…Combinesthebestofthefirsteditionwithexcitingnewfeatures.”

—BillGrubbe,vicepresident,nationalsales,CanteenVendingServices,adivisionofCompass

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