© solution selling, inc. 2008 sales tool build workshop

© Solution Selling, Inc. 2008

Sales Tool Build Workshop

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 2008 PAGE 2www.solutionselling.com

Credit, Copyright, and Contact Information

Trademark Notice: The following trademarks and service marks are owned by Sales Performance Holding Company (DBA: Solution Selling, Inc.) and licensed by Sales Performance International, LLC. Any questions concerning the use of these trademarks or whether a name that does not appear on this list is in fact a trademark of Solution Selling, Inc. or comments concerning this manual, workshop or presentation should be referred to Sales Performance International, LLC in the United States at the following address:

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Phone: 704.227.6500 FAX 704.364.8114

Solution Selling® and Situational Fluency Prompter®, Pain Sheets®, 9 Block Vision Processing Model® and Pain Chains® are registered trademarks and service marks of Solution Selling, Inc. All other referenced marks are those of their respective owners.

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© Solution Selling, Inc. • 1985 - 2008

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MMTC Sales Process Map: (Draft 9/16/09)

Close IM Analyze Develop Prove NegotiatePlan Implement

What HELP is available?Define needs/wants & requirements

Evaluate options

Select solutions and evaluate risk Resolve issues and finalize contracts Implement and

evaluate success

Get necessary documents signed

Identify potential beneficiary

Establish trust and credibility

Stimulate interest Identify perceived

pain Conduct plant

tour Confirm and

prioritize pain Confirm dialogue

and agree upon next steps

Diagnose admitted pain of Sponsor

Create or reengineer vision for sponsor

Gain agreement to explore further

Negotiate access to power

Confirm dialogue and agree upon next steps

Diagnose admit-ted pain of Power

Create or reengineer vision for power sponsor


Determine evaluation criteria

Propose a plan of next steps

Confirm dialogue and agree upon plan of next steps

Begin execution of next steps

Present preliminary solution

Prove capabilities (Oper, Trans, Fin)

Conduct review of proposal

Issue proposal Ask for the

business Receive verbal

approval

Prepare for final negotiations

Reach final agreement

Conduct territory / account and/or opportunity planning

Identify potential opportunity

Conduct pre-call planning and research

Participation and follow-up of Learn About & Seminars

Develop Partner Relationships

Lead Follow-up

Implement solution

Complete implementation approach

Measure success criteria

Identify potential new opportunities

Obtain referrals

Documents signed

Lead Letter agreed upon

Sponsor Letter agreed upon

Evaluation Plan modified or agreed upon

Verbal approval received

Ts and Cs agreed upon

Territory / Acct / Opportunity Plan developed

Evaluations & Lead Tracking

90%10% 25% 50% 75% 100%

S.A. PrompterValue PropositionReference StoryBus. Dev. LetterBus. Dev. PrompterWaste WalkTrans. Planner/BPS

9 Block Model®Pain Sheet®S. A. PrompterSponsor LetterTrans. Planner/BPS

9 Block Model®Pain Sheet®S. A. PrompterPower S. LetterEvaluation Plan

Evaluation PlanTransition LetterImplement. PlanValue AnalysisSuccess Criteria

/A3

Negotiating Worksheet

Get-Give List

T/A/O PlanAccount ProfilePain Chain®Key Players List

Implementation Plan

Success CriteriaA3Reference StoryPost project debrief

Plan Execute Implement

Sales Sales mgt. Sales support

Sales Pre-sales Marketing

Sales Pre-sales Sales mgt. Subj Expert



Sales Sales mgt.

Sales Sales mgt.

Sales support Services Sales

Sales Process Steps

Sales Process Activities

Verifiable Outcomes

Roles (examples)

Sales Tools

Sales Management System

Implementation Plan completed

Buying Process



Defensible Differentiators: Template

Differentiator Pain Linkage Defensibility



Core Capabilities: Template

Core Capabilities Pain Linkage Key Selling Points



10

100VALUE

UNIQUENESS

Differentiation Grading Chart

Cool,

Nice to haveDifferentiators

Core/

Commodity

Junk



Solution Messaging Card: Definitions

Pain One of the core pains

Reasons for Pain

Contributing factors or causes to the pain

Organization Impact

Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed Could be personal or organizational impact

Trend Relevance

Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3 rd party research Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through

increased situational knowledge Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation

Capabilities

What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation

Solution Linkage Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain

Differentiators Specific differentiators components included in the solution

Metrics / Proof of Value

Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented

Key Players Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain

Case Studies Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer



The Training Application Breakdown

100% 100%

<10%

~30% ~30%

Training / HRFocus

Sales OpsFocus

TrainingBusiness Results

THE GAP

THE GAP

TOOLS PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN CLOSING THE APPLICATION GAP



Three Key Audiences that Benefit

THOSE WHO BUILD

THOSE WHO USE

SALES TOOLS

THOSE WHO

INSPECT

Sales ManagementEducate on usage, role in opportunity management (inspection) and coaching

Sales ProfessionalsEducate on when and how

to use them and which ones to use

Marketing, Delivery and Sales Professionals

Focus on supporting sales by building sales tools

(interim and going forward)






Evaluate options


evaluate success





pain Conduct plant

tour Confirm and




















approval








Lead Follow-up

Implement solution




Obtain referrals

Documents signed








90%10% 25% 50% 75% 100%





/A3


Get-Give List


Implementation Plan








Sales Sales mgt.

Sales Sales mgt.


Sales Process Steps


Verifiable Outcomes

Roles (examples)

Sales Tools



Buying Process



Plan IM Analyze & Develop Prove Finalize and Close Implement

Sales Process with Sales Tool and Verifiable Outcomes Emphasis

Account Profile Key Players List Messaging Cards Pain Chain® Value Proposition Reference Story Business

Development Letter / Prompters

Strategic Alignment Prompter (First Call Introduction)

Reference Story 9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® for

Sponsor (including Differentiators)

Pain Chain® Sponsor Letter

9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® for

Power Sponsor (including Differentiators)

Power Sponsor Letter

Success Criteria Evaluation Plan

Evaluation Plan Transition Issue and

Capabilities Implementation /

Transition Plan Letter

Implementation / Transition Plan

Value Analysis / Justification


Get-Give List

Implementation Plan Success Criteria Reference Story

Sales Process Steps

Verifiable Outcomes

Sales Tools

Sales Management System (with Win Odds per Milestone)






Documents signed

90%-100%10% 25% 50% 75%



Talent Assessment

Are intuitive Have conversations Ask questions

Make presentations Make statements Process is key to success

80%80%

20%20%

JourneypeopleJourneypeople

EaglesEagles



Situational Fluency

What Buyers Should Expect from Salespeople

Situational Knowledge

Capability Knowledge

People Skills

Selling Skills

How Do We Integrate?

Situational Fluency: Integration of knowledge and skills by the salesperson for “eagle” performance



Key Selling Skills

PLAN CREATE QUALIFY DEVELOP PROVE NEGOTIATE CLOSE

Sales Process Steps

ProspectingProspecting

Developing NeedsDeveloping Needs

Developing and Delivering ValueDeveloping and Delivering Value

Managing ProofManaging Proof

Accessing Power

Accessing Power

Qualifying / DisqualifyingQualifying / Disqualifying

Controlling the ProcessControlling the Process

AligningAligning

Negotiating / ClosingNegotiating / Closing



Shifting Buyer Concerns

Phase I:Determine Needs

Phase II:Evaluate Alternatives

Phase III:Evaluate Risk

Needs

Cost

Solution

Risk

Risk

Price

Solution

Needs

Buying Phases

Time

Le

ve

l o

f C

on

ce

rn



Sales Tools for Completion

Sales Tool Groups Purpose and/or Actions

Group 1

Account Profile Key Players List Pain Chain®

Brainstorm, analyze, discuss and agree upon key elements of a general opportunity upon which the development of all other sales tools will be based

Group 2

Business Development Prompters and Letter Reference Story Initial Value Proposition First Call Introduction

Develop sales tools that can be used to assist a sales professional in initiating a sales cycle by establishing credibility and targeting possible critical issues of the prospect

Group 3

Pain Sheet® (Sponsor and Power Sponsor) Evaluation Plan Transition Issues & Capabilities Transition-Implementation Plan Value Analysis / Justification Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List

Create sales tools to help control the sales cycle, qualify the buying process, and mitigate buyer’s risk through promoting value and offering proof

Group 4

Sponsor and Power Sponsor Letters Situation Questions Go/No Go Step Completion Letter Sponsor Vision Reengineering Letter Transition Plan Letter

Complete these sales tools based on input from Sales Tool Groups 1-3



Basic Principle

NO PAIN, NO CHANGE

Pain = Problem, Critical Business Issue or Potential Missed Opportunity

BASIC PRINCIPLE



Criteria for Pain

Job specific

How the prospect is:

Measured

Motivated

Recognized

Rewarded

Viewed by peers

Personal

Provides a compelling reason to act



Basis of Pain

Increasing Costs Competitive losses Errors Customer complaints Returns Employee turnover

Eroding Profits Market share Service quality Growth rate Customer care

Compliance Government regulation Industry standard

?COMMON

DENOMINATOR



Basic Principle

YOU CAN’T SELL TO SOMEONE WHO CAN’T BUY

BASIC PRINCIPLE



Approval Types and Roles

Informal: Opportunity Level

Sponsor

Cannot make the buying decision

Provides information

Conducts internal selling

Provides access to power

Power Sponsor (a.k.a. “VP of Change”)

Enough influence (regardless of title) and authority to get it if they want it, even if unbudgeted

Can and will take you anywhere in the organization you need to go

Can and will negotiate the steps leading to a buying decision

Beneficiary

Adversary

End user

Formal: Account Level

Legal / Technical / Administrative (Purchasing)

Financial

Ultimate Authority



Three Sales within a Sale

LINE OF BUSINESS SALE

Operational Vision

“What capabilities do we need to meet our business goals?”


Operational Vision


TRANSITION SALE

Transition / Implementation Vision

“How do we get from where we are today to where the Line Vice

Presidents want to be?”

TRANSITION SALE




FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+


“What is the overall value to the organization?”

FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+





Basic Principle: There are Four Levels of Buyer Need

Level One: Latent Pain

Level Two: Admitted Pain

Level Three: Vision of a

Solution

Level Four:

Active Evaluation

BASIC PRINCIPLE



Four Levels of Buyer Need: Definitions

Level Four: Active Evaluation Power person driving evaluation Business issues are defined Requirements are documented Evaluation team in place

Level Three: Vision of a Solution Buyer accepts responsibility for solving problem Buyer can visualize the when, who, and what that will

enable them to address the reasons for their pain

Level Two: Admitted Pain Buyer is willing to discuss problems, difficulties or

dissatisfaction with the existing situation Buyer admits the problem, but does not know how to solve

it

Level One: Latent Pain Buyer is not actively attempting to address a problem for

which the salesperson can see a solution Buyer is unaware a potential solution exists or may have

failed at previous attempts to solve the problem Buyer has rationalized potential solutions viewed so far as

“too expensive,” “too complicated,” or “too risky,”



Conceptual Sales Territory

Power person driving evaluation Business issues defined Requirements documented Evaluation team in place

*

Not Looking

Active *

Of all the people who could benefit from your offering…

What % are actively evaluating?



How Organizations Evaluate and Buy

Not Looking Active Requirements Company A Company B Company C



Identify Opportunities through Planning

Territory Territory

Account Account Account AccountAccount

Opp Opp Opp Opp Opp

Existing Accounts New Accounts

Territory Planning

Account Planning

Opportunity Planning



Planning

Account Pre-call Planning and Research

Key Areas to Research

Company History Nature of the business Mission statement Annual reports / 10Ks

Offerings Description Types Uniqueness

Market analysis Size Location Trends Maturity Share

Financials Balance sheet Income statement Track record

Competition How positioned Strategies Comparisons

Executive profiles Work history Education Competencies

Potential critical business issues (pains)

Opportunities in the Pipeline




Information Sources

Review account’s website

Access public information

Annual Reports / 10-Ks

• Chairman’s Letter

• Financial highlights

Dun & Bradstreet (contact Marketing Manager) * – company overviews: financials, key people in the organization, industry-related news, competitor profiles, business & financial rankings, and company subsidiaries.

Google News Alert

MSN Business Online (www.msnbc.com) Company information and news articles searchable at the world, national and local levels

OneSource (www.onesource.com) * – A single source for detailed company information for both public and private companies.

Standard & Poor’s (www.standardandpoors.com) – Financial information about organizations around the world in multiple languages. Financial information includes credit ratings, equity research, global indices and articles pertaining to the financial impact associated with world events.

US Securities Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov) – Information on public filings from 1993 – present

Yahoo Finance

Contact account’s shareholder department (e-mail) with specific questions – become a shareholder

Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization


http://www.onesource.com/

http://www.standardandpoors.com/

http://www.sec.gov/



What to Do with the Information

Identify key players

Identify potential areas for critical business issues (pains)

Match up key players with critical business issues (pains)

Align your capabilities to each key player and potential pain

Create an Initial Pain Chain® for the potential opportunity

Target most likely Power Sponsor

Determine your business development strategy leveraging the specific information gathered

Develop or select appropriate stimulating interest Sales Tools to support the strategy

Account-level activities

Opportunity-level activities



Account Profile – Titan Games Inc. (TGI): Example

Account ProfileCompany:Titan Games Incorporated (TGI) is a 20 year old organization which manufactures and distributes educational and recreational games and toys throughout the world.Offerings:TGI manufactures a line of educational and recreational games and toys that are endorsed and approved by leading experts in the field, and are ergonomically designed. Market analysis:Loss of shelf space has created market erosion, hence a loss of sales while lessening the company’s competitive position.Financials:

Sales have declined in direct proportion to market and shelf space loss. Earnings per share have had a disproportionately high decline as margins are squeezed, and costs cannot be reduced quickly enough to protect profits.Competition:There are five primary competitors, three of which are technologically in a position to take advantage of TGI’s inefficiencies.Executive profiles:The CEO, Susan Brown, was hired in the past year to turn the company around because earnings per share have declined. The VP Finance, Jim Smith, has been with TGI for the past 5 years. He is currently unable to positively affect profits due to missed revenue targets and the increasing cost of credit write-offs. The VP Sales & Marketing, Steve Jones, is chartered with increasing revenues for TGI. He has been hampered by technology limitations that cause his salespeople to spend too much time servicing existing accounts while not developing new ones. The CIO, John Watkins, has been chartered with finding a solution to the technology deficiencies.Potential critical business issues:CEO: Earning per share are declining; VP Finance: Eroding profits, VP Sales & Marketing: Missing new account revenue targets



Sales Tool Description

Account Profile

Overview:

A brief overview of a target company that describes particular elements of the organization. The profile highlights challenges the organization is facing.

Where / How used:

The Account Profile serves as an ideal “quick information” resource for you to gain insight about an account into which you are about to make contact. The profile should include: Overview of the Company, Description of their Offerings, Analysis of their Markets, Summary of their Financial Status, Description of their Competition, Executive Biographies and Descriptions of Potential Pains.

What you should achieve:

The Account Profile should help you or your team to strategize on how to move forward with a potential opportunity by identifying specific pains the organization is likely to be facing. Additionally, identification of key players with the organization and their pains will start to formulate a picture of how the individuals’ pains are connected in a cause and effect relationship.

Input required:

Knowledge of the prospect’s organization, key players, and pains they are likely facing – a Key Players List for the industry will be useful.

Note: Account Profiles can be supplemented by corporate information such as Account Plans or Customer Relationship Management data. There are also many third party organizations that can serve as a resource for researching and providing the latest information on accounts. A complete Account Profile represents the minimum amount of information that should be known before engaging with an opportunity.



Exercise: Develop a Sample Account Profile

Purpose:

To draft an Account Profile of a typical client to use as an example

Activities:

Record key information about a typical account that would benefit from the selected offering(s)

Notes:

You may model the profile after a real account, but reserve the right to change the information if necessary



Account Profile: Template

Account ProfileCompany:

Offerings:

Market analysis:

Financials:

Competition:

Executive profiles:

Potential critical business issues:



Account Profile: Template

Account ProfileCompany:Hillsdale Terminal, Inc. Manufactures and distributes electrical terminal products mostly in automotive and recreational vehicle industries. Current market is US. Company has been in business for

Offerings:Manufacturer of Solderless crimp terminals and wiring accessories

Market analysis:Customers are boat manufacturers and recreational and leisure manufacturers. Sell only to distributors, wholesalers, end users

Financials:

D&B says $3.4m annual sales

Competition:Tyco, Terminal Supply, 3M

Executive profiles:Frank Condon is President of company. Jim Condon is VP

Potential critical business issues:Want to sell retail, build a capacity to sell on the web



Key Players List: Manufacturing Industry (SME)

Key Players (Job Title) Potential Pains

President/Owner Missing profit goals Growth goals not being achieved Lack of a future workforce

Controller/CFO Increasing costs Inadequate cash flow Profit goals not being met

VP Operations/

Plant Manager

Increased production costs Excess Inventory Declining throughput

Production Manager Declining first pass yield Decreased employee productivity Inefficient equipment/processes

Quality Manager Increased defects Inadequate QMS to meet needs of new, larger customers Higher costs/less results implementing QMS

VP Engineering Miss-alignment with sales on product specs Commoditized/mature products Risks associated with new product launch

Sales/Marketing Mgr

Declining sales revenue Missing new account targets Increased difficulties to differentiate Ineffective sales channels performance

CI Manager Difficulty sustaining internal process improvement Declining employee productivity

HR Manager Challenge attracting/retaining qualified labor Increasing average age of workforce



Job Aid Description

Key Players List

Overview:

The Key Players List is a listing by industry of important job titles along with the likely critical business issues (pains) which that job title (key player) might face.

Where / How used:

The Key Players List helps you identify pains to probe for when marketing to, calling on or meeting with a particular buyer based on their job title and role. This is especially helpful when calling on a buyer or within an industry where you may less inexperience with or be unfamiliar with.

The Key Players List can be used to initiate sales opportunities by identifying latent pains that buyers have not yet recognized. It also can be used to identify the underlying pain which have driven a buyer to commit to action in active sell cycles.


By using the Key Players List, you should be able to more quickly identify key players and their potential pains. It also can help develop your situational knowledgeable and experience in a given industry.

Input required:

To create a Key Players List, you must research the key players, their pains and job titles within your target industries.



Exercise: Develop a Key Players List

Purpose:

To draft a Key Players List to use as an example

Activities:

Identify 5-6 client key players (by title) typically involved in a sales cycle for your chosen offering(s)

Record 5-6 potential pains faced by each key player. Ideally, your offering would directly or indirectly address one or more pains of the key players

Notes:

Choose key players that represent various approval types such as Sponsors, Power Sponsors, etc

Remember a pain is personal and specific to the person and their role



Key Players List Template




Key Players List Template (Continued)




Basic Principle

PAIN FLOWS THROUGH AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION

BASIC PRINCIPLE



Pain Chain® - “Cause and Effect”

Job Title: Sales ManagerPain: Lack of marketing knowledgeReason: Lack of trainingReason: Lack of resources

Job Title: Sales ManagerPain: Lack of marketing knowledgeReason: Lack of trainingReason: Lack of resources

Job Title: President Pain: Inability to seize new market

opportunityReason: Lack of marketing knowledgeReason: Missing sales opportunities

Job Title: President Pain: Inability to seize new market

opportunityReason: Lack of marketing knowledgeReason: Missing sales opportunities



Pain Chain™: Manufacturing. Example

Job Title: VP OperationsPain: Increased production costsReason A: Declining first pass yield Reason B: Decreased employee productivity

Job Title: VP OperationsPain: Increased production costsReason A: Declining first pass yield Reason B: Decreased employee productivity

Job Title: President/OwnerPain: Missing profit goals Reason A: Increased production costsReason B: Decrease in sales revenue

Job Title: President/OwnerPain: Missing profit goals Reason A: Increased production costsReason B: Decrease in sales revenue

Job Title: Quality ManagerPain: Increased defects Reason A: Inability to identify root causes Reason B: Lack of process controlsReason C: Lack of adherence to a QMSReason D: Lack of a QMS

Job Title: Quality ManagerPain: Increased defects Reason A: Inability to identify root causes Reason B: Lack of process controlsReason C: Lack of adherence to a QMSReason D: Lack of a QMS

Job Title: Production ManagerPain: Declining first pass yieldReason A: Increased defectsReason B: Increased process waste

Job Title: Production ManagerPain: Declining first pass yieldReason A: Increased defectsReason B: Increased process waste




Pain Chain®

Overview:

The Pain Chain® is a graphical depiction of the cause and effect relationship of critical business issues (pains) inside an organization. It includes job title, pain, and the reasons for that pain. The graphic shows a pain as being a reason for someone else’s pain.

Where / How Used:

This job aid can be employed in multiple ways and in multiple points in a sell cycle. It can be used as a pre-call planning aid to understand potential interdependencies in an opportunity. After interviewing key players, a seller can re-craft an Initial Pain Chain® to reflect their new findings. It is also used when building a business case to identify sources of benefits across the organization. The Pain Chain® becomes an “organizational impact chart” when used to explain the benefits to the customer(s). It can then be viewed as a “Gain Chain.”


A completed Pain Chain® demonstrates to the client an insightful understanding of their business. In addition, as the seller’s understanding of the client’s overall situation is expanded so is the corresponding opportunity to build a broad base of support and justification for implementation of the solution.

Input required:

To create a Pain Chain®, you must understand the pain(s) of key players in the organization and the reasons for the pain(s). As many key players in an organization may have multiple pains, the Job Aid Build team must narrow the pains down to one per key player. The pains and the reasons for other key player’s pains should relate to one another with little confusion or misunderstanding in order to teach the concept of “organizational interdependency” with ease.



Exercise: Create a Pain Chain®

Purpose:

To create a Pain Chain® to use as an example for demonstrating how one pain in the organization affects other key players

Activities:

Using the Key Players List and Account Profile that have already been drafted:

Identify (by title) at least 4 key players within your opportunity

Identify the primary pain and reasons for each of these key players

Using the key players and their pains, construct a Pain Chain® showing their organizational interdependency. Do this by tracing the flow of pain up and/or down the organization

Each pain should have at least two reasons



Pain Chain® Template

Job Title:Pain:Reason A:Reason B:












Group 1



Group 2



Group 3



Group 4





Business Development: Messaging Considerations

“Are You Curious?”

You have limited time to get attention and create curiosity

Business-to-business vs. Business-to-consumer

Put yourself in the mind of the buyer

Target pains / critical business issues:

• describe how someone else has solved a problem

• target a peer in a potentially similar situation

• select a problem they might have or to which they can relate

Communicate value

The communication should NOT:

focus on company history or new offerings

ask them to buy anything or schedule a meeting

ask the buyer to admit “pain”




Business Development Prompters

Overview:

This job aid provides a seller with a variety of dialogue prompters to help stimulate interest with prospective clients by focusing on critical issues (pains) typical of the client’s job title. It gives the seller an opportunity to establish credibility by demonstrating situational fluency while helping to differentiate himself/herself from other sellers through proven techniques and best practices.

Where / How Used:

It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “stimulating interest ” of the Solution Selling® process and can be used in a variety of settings including telephone calls, voice mail messages, and face to face communications at networking events, trade shows, etc.


When used successfully, the prospect’s curiosity will grow and they will want to know more about how who helped someone else with a situation they can relate to. The conversation could then continue further by the seller sharing a reference story.

Input required:

To create Business Development Prompters, you must know the key pains, and reasons for pains, of the individuals by job titles that can benefit from your offerings.



Business Development Prompters

Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity

This is Ron Quinkert with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. You and I haven’t spoken before, our organization been working with Michigan manufacturers for more than 20 years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other JAMA members is their difficulty in finding new business. Despite the tough

economy, we have been able to help other members identify new business prospects. Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Menu Approach (See Business Development Letter)

This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with Michigan manufacturers for the last 20 years. The top three concerns we are hearing from other Sales Managers are:

decreasing sales, lack of new leads and lack of resources. We’ve helped companies like: JC Gibbons, Bolton Conductive and Integrity Steel address some of these issues. Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Referral Approach

This is Karen Seman with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but Patricia Yulkowski , President of Total Door suggested that I give you a call. We were able to help her address her difficulty with developing

their new web site. Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Multiple Contact Approach

This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You might recall my last e-mail regarding the Learn-About you attended where we described how we have been working with Michigan manufacturers to find new customers. A

common trend is frustration with declining sales due to the economy. We have been able to help our customers address this issue. Would you like to know how?



Business Development Letter / e-mail: Template

Dear Mr. Smith,

Our company is in the business of helping our clients find new business.

We have been working with Michigan manufacturers for over 20 years.

Our clients include Bolton Conductive, JC Gibbons and Integrity Steel.

Some of the chief concerns we heard from them included:

• Decreasing sales• Lack of new sales leads• Lack of resources to generate new business

We have been able to help our customers successfully deal with these and other issues. I would like an

opportunity to share some examples with you. If you are interested in learning how we have helped other manufacturers solve some very challenging issues, please call me at 734-451-4204 and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on October 30th .

Best Regards,Ron Quinkert, cBSP

Dear Mr. Smith,

Our company is in the business of helping our clients find new business.

We have been working with Michigan manufacturers for over 20 years.

Our clients include Bolton Conductive, JC Gibbons and Integrity Steel.

Some of the chief concerns we heard from them included:

• Decreasing sales• Lack of new sales leads• Lack of resources to generate new business

We have been able to help our customers successfully deal with these and other issues. I would like an

opportunity to share some examples with you. If you are interested in learning how we have helped other manufacturers solve some very challenging issues, please call me at 734-451-4204 and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on October 30th .

Best Regards,Ron Quinkert, cBSP



Reference Story: Format and Template

FORMAT REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE

Job title / industry: A customer job title and

vertical industryCritical business issue:

The pain of the above title

One of the reasons: One of the reasons for

the critical business issue biased to your

product / serviceCapabilities (when,

who, what):In the words of your

customer, the business event, the player(s) and

specific capabilities needed to address the critical business issue

(He / She / They told us they needed a way…)

We provided:If the “solution” is

described properly above, all we have to do

here is say that we provided those

capabilitiesResult:

Specific measurement is best ($ or %)

Situation: The Lean Champion

Critical Business Issue:

Increased production costs

Reason(s): One of the key reasons was declining employee productivity.

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

He said he wanted a way that, when filling customer orders, his workforce would utilize standardized work processes and eliminate non-value added activity.

We provided… that capability

Result: Eliminated 510 hours per year of NVA activity · On-time machine deliveries improved to 97% (up from 92%) · Vendor performance improved to 98% on-time delivery (up from 92%)



Reference Story Format

Situation: A customer job title and vertical industry


The pain of the title above (Anxiety words and phrases are very powerful here).

Reason(s): One of the reasons for the critical issue biased to your product or service

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s) and specific capabilities needed to address the critical issue - “He/she/they told us when… who… what they needed”

We provided… If the “solution” is described properly above, all we have to do here is say that we (our product / service / company) provided them those capabilities

Result: Specific measurement is best, $ or %




Reference Story

Overview:

This job aid provides a seller with a dialogue prompter to help build credibility with a client by helping the client begin discussing their critical issues (pain). It gives the seller an opportunity to share situationally specific examples of how the prospect’s peers have been helped by implementing capabilities provided by the seller’s organization.

Where / How Used:

It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “Stimulating Interest” step of the Solution Selling® process, but can be used effectively to assist in building credibility or getting pain admitted.


When used successfully, the prospect will either admit pain, or the seller will discover that the prospect already has a vision of a solution. The conversation could then continue further by vision processing (creation or reengineering).

Input required:

To create a Reference Story you must have specific examples from previous sales and know the measurable results that were achieved by implementing capabilities provided by your organization.

Note: If measured results are not available, indicate (as a footnote) that the Reference Story results are for education purposes or that they are pending



Exercise: Craft a Reference Story

Purpose:

To draft a Reference Story that could be used to establish credibility, stimulate interest and begin the discussion of pain with a prospect

Activities:

Using the Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® exercise:

Fill in the Reference Story Template with the information already identified

Create the measurable results achieved as the outcome of buying the solution

Note:

Although Reference Stories are traditionally developed at the end of a sales engagement, this sample will be used as if it was the basis for stimulating interest into the current opportunity (scenario) thus it should “map” to the existing scenario (i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® )



Reference Story: Format and Template

FORMAT REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE

Job title / industry: A customer job title and

vertical industryCritical business issue:

The pain of the above title

One of the reasons: One of the reasons for

the critical business issue biased to your

product / serviceCapabilities (when,

who, what):In the words of your

customer, the business event, the player(s) and

specific capabilities needed to address the critical business issue

(He / She / They told us they needed a way…)

We provided:If the “solution” is

described properly above, all we have to do

here is say that we provided those

capabilitiesResult:

Specific measurement is best ($ or %)

Situation:


Reason(s):

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

We provided… …this capability

Result:



The Value Cycle

“Lead with Value”

CLOSE

VERIFYMEASURE

LEAD

Initial Value Proposition



Building a Compelling Value Proposition

Your Offering Your OfferingCustomer B

Situation

Customer A Situation



Reference Story

Reference Story

Projected Results

Measured Results

EXTRAPOLATE



Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template

VALUE PROPOSITION

“We believe that Morton Buildings should be able to Reduce production costs

by 10%, or $6.6 million annuallythrough the ability to streamline production and eliminate non-value added steps

as a result of re-mapping your work processes, accurately allocating costs across product lines, and updating the skills of your personnel

for an investment of $50,000

Value Proposition Assumptions:

Fabrication Line not included

Morton personnel available at requested times

Assume gross margin of 40% on sales of $370m = COGs of $222m

Assume project impacts 30% of COGs = $66m/10 = $6.6m




Value Proposition

Overview:

A statement which projects the potential quantified benefit (value) a client could realize through the implementation of a specific capability or solution. It is intended to create curiosity and serve as the catalyst to start a sales cycle.

Where / How used:

The projected quantified benefits are extrapolated from a previous successful implementation(s) or engagement(s) and then projected upon the prospective client.

The primary use is to stimulate interest in what the seller may have to offer. If interest is generated, the (Initial) Value Proposition can and should be refined during the sell cycle eventually evolving to a more elaborate Value Analysis / ROI.


The Value Proposition should stimulate interest with the client (or prospect) and commence a sell cycle.

Input required:

To create a Value Proposition you must have knowledge of the specific value already achieved by a customer who is using your products / services. You will also need to know specific information about the prospect you are targeting.



Exercise: Develop an Initial Value Proposition

Purpose:

To draft an initial Value Proposition that could be used to lead with value and stimulate interest with a prospect

Activities:

Extrapolate the results and characteristics found in the Reference Story to create a Value Proposition for the targeted prospect (i.e. the Sponsor )

Notes:

This should be built on well-known metrics that a successful account has experienced

Much like the Reference Story, since the Value Proposition will be positioned as a method for stimulating interest into the current opportunity (scenario) it should “map” to the existing scenario (i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® )



Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template

VALUE PROPOSITION

“We believe that TC Sports should be able to increase sales by $500,000

through the ability to market effectively, drive new RFQ opportunities, and

infiltrate new markets as a result of updating personnel skill sets and

website enhancement, for an investment of $ 22,000”

VALUE PROPOSITION

“We believe that TC Sports should be able to increase sales by $500,000

through the ability to market effectively, drive new RFQ opportunities, and

infiltrate new markets as a result of updating personnel skill sets and

website enhancement, for an investment of $ 22,000”

Value Proposition assumptions being made:

Average sale amount = $20,000 Closing ratio = 15% 24 hour response to all quote opportunities Personnel available at requested times

Value Proposition Format:We believe that [ Client name ]

should be able to [ improve what ] by [ how much, what %? ]

through the ability to [ do what? ]as a result of [ what enabling capabilities? ]for an investment of [ what relative cost? ] .



Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)

Step 2: Introduce Call

State call objective *

What I’d like to do today is to:• Introduce you to the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center• Tell you about another Sales Manager in the injection molding business we have worked with• I would then like to learn more about you and your situation…• …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed

any further.”

Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme)

“ The MMTC is in the business of helping Michigan Manufacturers identify new markets, generate new leads, and close more sales”

Provide company / personal introduction *

FACTS

□ We are part of the national network of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which makes our approach dramatically different. We are dedicated to helping small to medium sized Michigan manufacturers make operational improvements. A key point is that as part of the MEP network, we are measured on your results.

□ Our approach to training and consulting is focused on knowledge transfer. We teach you how to fish, we don’t do the fishing for you. We also help you implement what you’ve learned, making you self sufficient.

□ We helped a total of 1,250 Michigan manufacturers since our inception.

Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date)

“A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________ (job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________. What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).”

Transition to “getting pain admitted”

“But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.”

* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant



Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)



What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to:• Introduce you to IMEC• Tell you about another OEM supplier we have worked with• I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation…• …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed

any further.”


IMEC is in the business of helping companies to be more productive and competitive.


FACTS IMEC has been in business since 1996 We’ve worked with nearly 2,000 Illinois manufacturers We have 10 offices statewide On average, our clients report a 10 to 1 return on their investment in our resources


“A particular situation you might be interested in is another Caterpillar Supplier. Their VP of Operations was having difficulty with increasing production costs. The reason for his difficulty was a decline in employee productivity. What he said he needed was a way when filling customer orders, his production workers would have standardized work processes to follow with minimal non-value added activities. We provided them with those capabilities and as result his on-time delivery improved from 65% to more than 95%.


“But enough about IMEC. Tell me about you and your situation.”




Exercise: Create the First Call Introduction Information

Purpose:

To draft specific elements of messaging during a first call to allow the sales professional to properly introduce themselves to a new prospect in order to establish the call agenda and credibility

Activities:

Create a positioning statement that describes how the company helps their clients

Create this with the title and industry of the prospect in mind

Provide 3-4 facts about the company and/or seller that will help the prospect draw desired conclusions



First Call Introduction Template: Strategic Alignment Prompter (Step 2)



What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to:• Introduce you to __________ (my company)• Tell you about another _________ (job title and industry) we have worked with• I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation…• …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed

any further.”


“__________________ (my company) is in the business of helping organizations / companies in the

__________________ industry to… (provide brief statement of how organizations use our products and services)

____________________________________________________________________________________________.”


FACTS

□ __________________________________________

□ __________________________________________

□ __________________________________________


“A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________ (job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________. What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).”


“But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.”






Group 1



Group 2



Group 3



Group 4





10

100VALUE

UNIQUENESS

Differentiation Grading Chart

Cool,

Nice to haveDifferentiators

Core Capabilities Junk



Solution Messaging Card: Definitions

Pain One of the core pains

Reasons for Pain

Contributing factors or causes to the pain

Organization Impact

Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed Could be personal or organizational impact

Trend Relevance

Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3 rd party research Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through

increased situational knowledge Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation

Capabilities

What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation

Solution Linkage Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain

Differentiators Specific differentiators components included in the solution

Metrics / Proof of Value

Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented

Key Players Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain

Case Studies Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer



Basic Principle

DIAGNOSE BEFORE YOU PRESCRIBE

BASIC PRINCIPLE



I1

I3

C1

C2

C3

R1

R2

R3

I2

Architecture of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™

Diagnose Reasons Visualize CapabilitiesExplore Impact

Open

Control

Confirming

PAIN

BUYING VISION

3 Question Types

3 Question Types 3 Areas of

Exploration

3 Areas of Exploration

Customer’s Point of View

Customer’s Point of View

Salesperson’s Point of View

Salesperson’s Point of View

Combined Point of View

Combined Point of View



9 Block Vision Processing Model® - Vision Creation

Diagnose Reasons Visualize CapabilitiesExplore Impact

Ope

n C

ontr

ol

Con

firm

ing

PAIN $

BUYING VISION $

741

852

963

C1 I1 R1

C2 I2 R2

C3 I3 R3

“Besides yourself, who in your

organization is impacted by this (pain)

and how are they impacted?”

“Is this (pain) causing… (another pain)?”

“If so, would (other job title)

also be concerned?”

#?, %?, $?

“From what I just heard, (repeat the “who” and “how”) are impacted.

It sounds like this is not just your problem, but a

______ problem! Is that correct?”

“What is it going to take for you to be able to

(achieve your goal)?”

“Could I try a few ideas on you?”

“You mentioned (recall reason)…Would it help if …

Capability Vision A?...Capability Vision B?...Capability Vision C?...

“So, IF you had the ability to (summarize capability

visions),

THEN could you (achieve your goal)?”

“Tell me about it, what is causing you

to have this… (repeat pain)?”

“Is it because…

Reason A?…Reason B?...Reason C?...

#?, %?, $?

“So, the reasons for your (pain) are…?

Is that correct?”



Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Example

Pain:Job Title & Industry:

Offering:

Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%) Production ManagerKiazen Events

REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2)Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…?

A you are experiencing unscheduled machine down time? What is the maximum hours of machine time availability per week/per year? (80)(4000)What percentage of time is loss due to unscheduled machine down time (4%)What is the market value of products produced per hour? ($2,300)So, the value of products lost due to unscheduled down time is approximately 160 hours or $368,000 per year, is that correct? (Yes)How much of that $368,000 could be eliminated if you could optimally schedule preventive maintenance? (50 % or $184,000)

• lost orders?• Increased inventory costs? • Increased production costs?Is the VP Manufacturing

impacted?

• loss of (or threat of losing) customers?

• declining profits?• poor cash flow?Is the President/Owner

impacted?

A When:

Who:What:

equipment is not operating within spec (i.e. temp, lube, filters, etc.) your machine operator could apply minor preventive maintenance or notify a technician so thatproper maintenance can be optimally scheduled

B customer demands require an increasing number of setups?How many set ups per week/year? (6)(300)How does compare to last year? (up 10%)What about in the future? (10% higher)What is the average time per set up? (1.5 hour)That means that 450 hours per year is required today and 495 for future volume? (Yes)What is the market value of products produced per hour? ($2,300)That means the value of products lost due to machine set up is approximately 1M per year, is that correct? (Yes)How much of that 1M could be saved with time saving setup techniques and standard procedures?(50% or $500,000)

B WhenWho:What:

set ups are requiredyour set up team could apply time saving techniques, have easy access to required tools, and follow standard procedures so that set up time is reduced

C your experiencing frequent out-of-raw materials at the point of use?How many hours per week/per year are lost due to raw material outage? (.5 hours)(25hours)What is the market value of products produced per hour? ($2,300)That means that the value of products lost due to raw material outage is approximately $57,500 per year? (Yes)Shouldn’t that all be eliminated? (Yes)

C When

Who:What:

raw materials are approaching predetermined minimal levels your line workers could have inventory replenished automatically and before outage occur and production stops



Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Example


Offering:

Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%) Production ManagerKiazen Events


D You have an improper line balance?What percent of true capacity do you think you are operating at right now? (92%)How much of that 8% gap is due to improper flow i.e. bottlenecks, excess product travel, wait time, etc. (50%)What is your current annual output? (10M)That would mean a potential gain of $400,000 in sales. Is that a good estimate? (Yes) How much of that $400,000 could be realized if you could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow? (80% or $320,000)

• lost orders?• Increased inventory costs? • Increased production costs?Is the VP Manufacturing

impacted?



impacted?

D When:Who:What:

product mix changes occur your production team could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow

E E WhenWho:What:

F F When

Who:What:




Pain Sheet®

Overview:

A Pain Sheet® is a questioning prompter used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model®.

It provides a set of control questions to help diagnose a business issue (pain), identify the impacts of that pain on the rest of the organization, and describe the capabilities which could be provided to address the pain. It is an integral job aid to creating (or reengineering) visions biased to specific offerings / solutions of the seller’s organization.

Where / How used:

It is used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® for creating (or reengineering) customer visions biased toward specific offerings / solutions of your organization.


The use of the Pain Sheet® with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® will help bring the buyer to a vision of how he / she will be able to address their critical business issue (pain) as well as quantify the value to them and understand the impact their pain has across the organization.

Input Required:

To build a Pain Sheet® you will need understanding of potential Sponsor / Power Sponsor (likely) pains as well as associated reasons. Situational knowledge of how the capabilities of your product can address the client’s business initiatives and in turn solve their critical issues. A knowledge of your offering’s differentiators will be useful.



Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet®

Purpose:

To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted business issue of a likely Sponsor –level buyer.

To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated value that his/her offering can provide

Activities: Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated:

Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the capabilities in the future

Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis

Notes: Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Sponsor



Pain Sheet® - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Template


Offering:

Loss of business and profitsOwner, ManufacturingMarket Diversification

REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIESIs it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…?

A You rely too much on one shrinking customer

What’s the annual sales to this main customer? ($3M)What has the sales trend been over the last year? (Decreased 15%)So if my math is correct, you need to replace at least $345k to make up for the loss.How many new leads have been generated to replace lost business? (Two)What was the value of the two new customers? ($150K)So if my math is correct, that leaves a gap of $195kOn a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you can fill that gap? (2. In other words, we can probably get 20% using current resources)If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $156k (80% of the $195k) could you get? (100%)

A When:

Who:

What:

Looking for new customers

you

could quickly and easily identify and qualify potential new prospects?

B Lack of pricing power and declining profits

Have your profit margins declined over the last two years? How much? (5% per year, now making only 6%)Have you ever investigated other higher profit markets to sell into? (Yes, we tried with no results)What were the revenue and margin expectations in those markets? (6 new customers with 15% margins)So if my math is correct, that represents $450k in revenue, with almost $68k in profits. (Yes)If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $450k could you get? (Maybe 30%)

B When:

Who:

What:

Selling your product

You

Had data to help choose target market segments with higher profit potential?

C Fear of the unknown

Have you missed opportunities because you were unsure if your core competencies aligned with new markets? (Yes)Is there an opportunity existing today that you have been considering but are unsure of the risk or market requirements? (Yes, $500k in vending machine manufacturing)

C When:

Who:

What:

faced with unknown risk

You had

Readily available market insights to help decide which new markets fit your core competencies?

D Lack of Sales and Marketing Skills

How many leads a month do you have? 10How many of those leads result in a sale? Maybe 1(If no leads, what was the historic closing rate? 5%)What is your average customer value? $100,000So, if my math is correct, the value of having 20 new leads a month is approximately $1,200,000. Is this correct? Wow. Yes.If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $1.2M could you secure? (50%)

D When:

Who:

What:

Looking for new business

You or your staff

Had a repeatable process to identify and qualify the most likely prospects?





Offering:

Lack of Resources to Attract New CustomersOwner, ManufacturingMarket Diversification


A No dedicated sales or marketing staff

Who does your sales and marketing now? MeHow much time do you dedicate to sales and marketing efforts?What are the types of marketing activities that you do?How do you measure the success of those activities?Do you have anyone that could dedicate 4 hours per week to new marketing efforts?

A When:

Who:

What:

Looking for new prospects

you

Could use current staff more effectively with an established process?

B Ineffective website

Do you receive leads from your website?How many of those leads result in a sale?Do you track the visitor traffic to your website?

B When:

Who:

What:

Looking for a new supplier

Your prospective customer

could more easily find your company instead of your competitors

C Lack of communication tools C When:

Who:

What:

D Lack of knowledge / skills D When:

Who:

What:





Offering:


A XXX

aaa

A When:

Who:

What:

B B When:

Who:

What:

C XXX C When:

Who:

What:

D YYY D When:

Who:

What:



Gaining Access to Power

A Second Vision Processing Conversation

Power SponsorPainReason AReason BReason C

Power SponsorPainReason AReason BReason C

SponsorPainReason AReason BReason C

SponsorPainReason AReason BReason C

I2 C2

RI

R2

I1 C1

R3 I3 C3

I2 C2

RI

R2

I1 C1

R3 I3 C3



Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: ExamplePain:

Job Title & Industry:Offering:

Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders? ( ) VP Manufacturing Kiazen Events


A You are missing on time deliveries Your Production Manager believes it is possible to recapture a little over $1Million related to missing on time deliveries.Do you agree? (Yes)



impacted?

A When:

Who:What:

WhenWho:What

When

Who:What

WhenWho:What

equipment is not operating within spec (i.e. temp, lube, filters, etc.) your machine operator could apply minor preventive maintenance or notify a technician so thatproper maintenance can be optimally scheduled set ups are requiredset ups are requiredyour set up team could apply time saving techniques, have easy access to required tools, and follow standard procedures so that set up time is reduced raw materials are approaching predetermined minimal levels your line workers could have inventory replenished automatically and before outage occur and production stops

AND

product mix changes occur your production team could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow



Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: ExamplePain:

Job Title & Industry:Offering:

Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders) VP Manufacturing Quality, Solution Selling

REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2)

Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…?

B you are not able to meet potential customers quality requirements?How many opportunities were lost over the past 12 months? (5)What was the potential sales volume of those opportunities? ($800,000)What is the quality standard that is mostly commonly requested ? (ISO9000)If you were ISO 9000 Registered, how much of that $800,000 would have hit the sale line? (At least 50% or $400,000)



impacted?

B When

Who:What:

potential customers require proof of quality you sales team could offer your status as an ISO 9000 registered company as proof that your organization adheres to the rigors of an internationally recognized quality standard

C you are not competitive on short-run jobs?How many short-run opportunities did you bid during the past year? (15)How many were accepted? (0)How many opportunities were not bid on? (60) What would you estimate the revenue value of these 75 opportunities? ($1.5M)What % of these opportunities could you have won if you were more competitive on short-runs?(60%)If you could pass on cost savings from efficiency and productivity gains, how much of that $900,000 would have hit the sales line? (At least 1/3 or $300,000)

C WhenWho:What:

bidding on short-run jobsyour sales team could pass on cost savings realized with improved efficiencies and increased productivity

D D



Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet® for a Power Sponsor

Purpose:

To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted business issue of a likely Power Sponsor –level buyer.

To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated value that his/her offering can provide

Activities: Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated:

Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the capabilities in the future

Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis

Notes: Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Power Sponsor





Offering:


A A When:

Who:

What:

B B When:

Who:

What:

C C When:

Who:

What:

D D When:

Who:

What:



Draft Evaluation Plan: Example

Attachment to Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail

[DRAFT]

Event Week of √ Responsible Go/No Go Billable

Phone interview John Watkins (CIO) Feb 14 Us/TGI

Phone interview Donna Moore (COO) Feb 14 Us/TGI

Summarize findings to management team and agree to evaluation plan

Feb 21 Us/TGI *

Prove capabilities to management team Feb 28 Us *

Perform detailed survey of current systems (2 days) March 4 Us yes

Present preliminary solution/design March 11 Us *

Implementation plan approval by IT department March 18 TGI *

Determine / present value justification March 18 Us/TGI *

Agree on preliminary success criteria March 18 Us/TGI

Send our license agreement to legal March 18 Us

Gain legal approval (Terms & Conditions) April 4 TGI *

Visit Corporate HQ April 11 Us

Pre-proposal review meeting April 18 Us

Present proposal for approval April 25 Us *

Transition kickoff & finalize success criteria May 10 Us/TGI

Measure success criteria Ongoing TGI

* Mutual decision to proceed



Job Aid Description

Evaluation Plan

Overview:

The Evaluation Plan is a key job aid used in conjunction with the Power Sponsor Letter. It outlines the suggested steps that should be followed during the rest of the sales process.

Where / How used:

The Evaluation Plan combines events that the seller wants to achieve with the events that the client wants to achieve. The client will “buy into” an Evaluation Plan as soon as he / she starts to change it. Dates are assigned to each event with the thought of closing the sale on an agreed upon date. This helps the seller shorten sales cycles and enhances forecasting abilities.


The Evaluation Plan should help the seller maintain control of the buying process by documenting all events that will take place during the course of the sale and the order in which those events will take place. By managing this plan with a client, the seller can feel secure about when resources will be needed and the hurdles to overcome leading to closure of the sale. Also highlighting some of the important events as “go / no go” points gives both parties the opportunity to “disengage” from the opportunity if it does not benefit them.

Input required:

To create the Evaluation Plan, the Job Aid Build team will need knowledge of the events included in a entire sale process, whether or not the events should be billable (i.e. proof steps that incur hard cost), the potential cost alternative events to those the client may request, the time involved in presenting or demonstrating each event as it relates to the specific offering being “sold” and the typical length of the sale cycle for that offering.



Exercise: Create a Sample Evaluation Plan

Purpose:

To create an Evaluation Plan as an example to help the seller communicate the steps necessary to provide all relevant proof steps and move the opportunity to closure while helping create a sense of ownership of the plan for the buyer

Activities:

Create an example Evaluation Plan that could be executed with the Power Sponsor to lead to the closure of the sales cycle

Include typical proof steps required by the Power Sponsor to evaluate the chosen solution

Include any type of legal, technical, or administrative reviews that may be necessary

Be sure to think through the key Evaluation Plan components (date and sequence of events, go/no go steps, resources needed, which events are billable, etc.)

Notes:

Ensure this does not become an internal “to-do” list but requires action on the part of the prospect organization



Draft Evaluation Plan: Template

[DRAFT]







Operational Vision



Operational Vision


TRANSITION SALE




TRANSITION SALE




FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+







[DRAFT]





Feb 21 Us/TGI *

















The Transition Sale: Transition Issues & Capabilities - Example

Executives, Users and Beneficiaries

Susan Brown – CEO, Jim Smith – VP Finance, Steve Jones – VP Sales & Marketing and Donna Moore - COO

Person responsible for implementation of needed operational capabilities

Name and Title: John Watkins – CIOTransition Issue: Delays implementing e-commerce application on schedule

REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES

A. Technical staff lacks time and resources to devote to a new system

A. One week after agreement to proceed, our programmers will begin customizing the e-commerce application while supervised by your staff

B. Available packages don’t integrate with existing applications

B. 60 days prior to cut-over, our consultants will guide your programmers to create interfaces with existing applications

C. Limited training resources C. Two weeks prior to cut-over, one of our business partners could be contracted for salesperson training so your IT staff could concentrate on integrating the application



Job Aid Description

(Documentation of) Transition Issues and Capabilities

Overview:

A document that outlines the primary issues as well as the associated reasons, of the person within the client organization tasked with implementing the seller’s product / service. It also presents the seller’s capabilities that correspond with the reasons for the primary issue.

Where / How used:

Transition issues normally come up when trying to convince the person tasked with implementation to implement a potential solution that the lines of business needs to solve their business problems. They usually center around the fact that although they are interested in helping the business, he / she (responsible for implementation) doesn’t see how they can make it happen given their challenges which usually revolve around an extensive list of tasks already in place and/or deficiencies in staff and/or skills.


This provides another opportunity for the seller to create a transition vision with the buyer. You should also have an aid that helps minimize the risk associated with implementing the line-of-business capabilities.

Input Required:

To “document” the Transition Issues & Capabilities you will need an understanding of the buyers potential concerns with the implementation as well as the steps the implementation team will need to take in order to ensure a successful implementation into the buyer’s organization. A knowledge of your company’s services may be useful.



Exercise: Identify Transition Issues and Capabilities

Purpose:

Identify potential transition issues that could be roadblocks for closing the opportunity so that sellers can anticipate them and use them as the basis for a diagnostic conversation with one responsible for implementation

Activities:

Describe at least two reasons why someone in the buying organization (for your opportunity) might face a technical / transition issue when implementing the operational capabilities.

Describe the corresponding capabilities (services) that could resolve the reasons for the transition issue

Note:

This framework can be leveraged to create a Transition Issues Pain Sheet®



Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet


• • •


Name and Title:Transition Issue:


A. A.

B. B.

C. C.





Operational Vision



Operational Vision


TRANSITION SALE




TRANSITION SALE




FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+







[DRAFT]





Feb 21 Us/TGI *

















Value Analysis

Total Benefits (ABC Manufacturing Example)

Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE

Retained annual sales revenues resulting from reduced defects $500K (1)

New annual sales revenue resulting from improved throughput $500K (1) Profit margin is 32% (1)

$1M sales revenue increase

X 0.32 (profit margin)= $320K

profit increase

Reduced COSTS

Reduced COSTS Rework (1)

Avoided COSTS Recruiting and new hire training costs (2)

= $560,000 cost decrease

= $100,000 cost avoided

INTANGIBLES

Improved morale by the sales staff (1)(3) Increased throughput for greater capacity (1) Improved cash flow (2)

(1) VP Operations (2) Controller (3) HR Manager



Value Analysis

Total Investment (ABC Manufacturing Example)

One time INVESTMENT

Professional (1)• $10K in Q2, $25K in Q3, 15K in Q4

$50,000

(1) Selling Organization



Value Analysis

ABC Manufacturing ExamplePhased over time (in 000s)

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

BENEFITS

Increased profits (1) 0 0 200 120

Reduced costs (1) 0 60 200 300

Avoided costs (2) 0 10 45 45

Quarterly total 0 70 445 465

Cumulative value 0 70 515 980

INVESTMENTS

One time investment 0 10 25 15

Cumulative investment 0 10 35 50

NET VALUE

Quarterly total 0 60 420 450

Cumulative total 0 60 480 930

(1) VP Operations(2) Controller

1st year net return: $930,000Breakeven point: 2th quarterROI: 19.6X




Value Analysis / Value Justification

Overview:

The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used to document the projected benefits (revenue increase and cost decrease) associated with the used of the seller’s product / service after implementation. The cost or investment of the overall offering (“solution”) should be documented as well (including maintenance and services).

Where / How used:

The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used early in phase II of the sale (as the prospect is evaluating alternatives). It is used to present a detailed breakdown of the potential costs decreases and revenue increases within the buyer’s organization associated with the implementation of the seller’s product and services. This job aid enables a seller to present the value of their offering in relation to presenting the costs in terms of an investment. The strength in using this model is that the numbers for the analysis come from the prospect. This financial data is derived from the seller’s conversation with the buyer(s) during the vision processing conversation(s).


Using the Value Analysis / Value Justification Model will help sellers be able to project the “return on investment (%)”, the First Year Net Return ($), and the Breakeven Point (Qtr) using the numbers provided by the prospect. Note: Be careful using the term “ROI” vs. “Value Analysis” since most clients have different definitions and parameters around the phrase “ROI”.

Input Required:

Completion of the model requires the cost / customer investment of the entire project, projected increased revenue and decreased costs associated with the use of the implemented offering, and the return over a specific time period.



Exercise: Create a Sample Value Analysis

Purpose:

Create a draft of an example Value Analysis / Value Justification (spreadsheet) formulating the information that would be uncovered during the diagnostic conversations (vision processing)

Activities:

Prepare a Value Analysis / Value Justification that demonstrates how the projected benefits of your capabilities compare against the investment to be made on the part of the customer

Notes:

You may want to describe the individual benefits (increase profit from increased revenue, reduced cost and avoided costs) and investments (one-time and on-going) on separate pages and then have the final page show the comparative analysis in the form of a spreadsheet

Regarding expected benefits, consider the ramp up time associated with implementing and fully utilizing capabilities



Value Analysis: Benefits

Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE

Reduced COSTS

Reduced COSTS Avoided COSTS

INTANGIBLES

(1)(2)(3)(4)



Value Analysis: Investment

One time INVESTMENT

On-going INVESTMENT

(1) (2) (3) (4)



Value Analysis (Comparison)

Phased over time (in 000s)

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

BENEFITS

Increased profits

Reduced costs

Avoided costs

Quarterly total

Cumulative value

INVESTMENTS

One time investment

On-going investment

Quarterly total

Cumulative investment

NET VALUE

Quarterly total

Cumulative total

1st year net return: $ _____________Breakeven point: Quarter _____ROI (first year): _________%





[DRAFT]





Feb 21 Us/TGI *

















Success Criteria: Leveraging Success

Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

I2 C2

RI

R2

I1 C1

R3 I3 C3

Reference Story

Situation:Critical issue:Reasons:Capabilities:We provided:

Results:

Reference Story

Situation:Critical issue:Reasons:Capabilities:We provided:

Results:

Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity

This is __________ (salesperson name) with __________ (your company). You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with __________ (specific industry)

organizations for the last ___ (#) years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other __________ (job title) is their frustration (difficulty) with _______________ (job title’s likely critical issue / pain) [resulting from ______ (articulate common reasons)]. We have been

able to help our customers address this issue. Would you like to know how?




Success Criteria

Overview:

Measuring Success Criteria helps track the effectiveness of implementation.

Where / How used:

Establishing what criteria will be measured should be done with the Power Sponsor. The measurement of realized value compared to projected value is post sale activity.


Success Criteria tracks information that can be used to open new sales opportunities within an existing customer, provide guidelines for maintaining a strong customer relationship, and also provide quantifiable results that can be used in future Reference Stories. A major benefit of setting the criteria to be measured with the prospect is that is helps to reduce the risk the prospect starts to feel as they began to see themselves implementing the seller’s offering. Note: Risk is a dire concern to a buyer at this phase in their buying process.

Input Required:

To create the Success Criteria, actual customer results are required. In order to complete the template, specific, measurable elements of the Value Analysis / ROI that the seller’s products / services have influence over must be determined with the prospect. You also must determine the length of time to be engaged with the client in this activity. Note: Make sure that the criteria (when measured) can be attributed to your offerings. E.g. Often times stock price is a not a good element to track because too many things affect its value outside of your control.



Exercise: Create Sample Success Criteria

Purpose:

To create a sample list of Success Criteria that your sellers could use as a starting point for recommendation

Activities:

List some of the Success Criteria that would me measured after implementation (i.e. those things that will change in the business as a result of implementing your offering)

Establish a baseline metric that would demonstrate that the seller should work with the buyer to agree on baseline metrics by which to measure against

Note:

Ensure the items listed are controllable by the capabilities of your offering. Be cautious of using items that could be affected by numerous outside variables



Success Criteria Template

Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

(1) (2) (3) (4)



Negotiating

Knowledge is power

Plan before you begin

Is it closeable during this meeting?

Know what you will accept

Know what you are willing to give

Seek to understand the true interests underlying buying positions taken

Give reluctantly and slowly (if necessary)

Withstand up to three “squeezes” by the buyer

Don’t give without getting

Be willing to walk away today

Salesperson must overcome emotional hurdle first

Buyer must believe he/she is getting the best price

Use a mutual win approach

If less than 100% of quota, do not negotiate alone



Negotiating Worksheet: Example

Is it closeable today? Power to buy? Payback agreed to? VP Finance L/T/A approvals? VP Finance Plan completed? Known cost since: 4 months

Stand 1 (Plan):

“Our published plan shows an implementation starting on Monday. Is this issue worth the delay?”

Stand 2 (Value):

“When we calculated the payback, you told me that even with all of the costs included the return was higher than you expected and the project would pay for itself in 10 months.”

Stand 3 (Pain):

“The reasons we have spend the last four months together is because you are not meeting your new account revenue targets. That issue is not going to go away until you gain these new capabilities.”

Salesperson: “The only way I could do something for you is if you could do something for me.”

Buyer (should ask): “Like what?”

GET“Is it possible for you to… move phases I and II together and take delivery of the hardware shipment this quarter? Is that possible?”

If the buyer indicates a concession, present your “give”

GIVE“If you can… move phases I and II together, then we are prepared to offer __________ which is worth $__________. Can we go forward on that basis?”





Overview:

The Negotiating Worksheet is used as a pre-negotiation preparation tool. It helps you resist requests for concessions likely to be made by the buyer.

Where / How used:

The Negotiating Worksheet should be completed prior to discussions to finalize the terms of the sale. It provides guidelines to making stands against buyer concessions. The stands should be based on logical information you developed during the buying process. Key “stands” may include (in no particular order of importance):

1. Pain Stand – recall the buyer’s pain driving the opportunity

2. Vision Stand – recall the vision established to address the critical business issue

3. Value Stand – recall the quantifiable value associated with addressing the pain

4. Plan Stand – recall the Evaluation Plan indicating the timeline to realize benefits


Reduced stress by minimizing the pressure on you to discount price or give in on terms

Higher margins

Fewer concessions

Improved negotiations

Better business terms and conditions

Input required:

To create the Negotiating Worksheet, pain must have been uncovered, a buying vision created, a Value Justification Model completed, and an Evaluation Plan with a planned implementation date agreed upon.



Exercise: Develop a Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List

Purpose:

Create a sample Negotiating Worksheet in order to depict how key information established during the sales cycle can assist sellers in preparing for a final negotiation

Prepare a Get-Give List in anticipation of having to satisfy a concession

Activities:

Develop 3-4 logic-based stands that serve to undermine potential concessions asked of by your buyer. The logic inherent in these stands should be based on the business case developed throughout the sales cycle

Prepare for the negotiation by creating a Get-Give List:

Developing a list of potential concessions (“gives”)

Developing a list of potential requests (“gets”)

Developing a list of non negotiable items




Is it closeable today? __ Power to buy?__ Payback agreed to? VP Finance __ L/T/A approvals? VP Finance__ Plan completed?__ Known cost since: 4 months

Stand 1

Stand 2

Stand 3

Salesperson: “The only way I could do something for you is if you could do something for me.”

Buyer (should ask): “Like what?”

GET“Is it possible for you to… _____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________? Is that possible?”

Silence! Only if buyer accepts your condition

GIVE “If you can… ______________________, then we are prepared to offer _________________ _____________________ which is worth $__________. Can we go forward on that basis?”



Get-Give List

Your priority GET

Value

GIVEProjected customer priority

1

2

3

4

5

NOT NEGOTIABLE

1

2

3





Group 1

Account Profile Key Players List Pain Chain® Pain Sheet® (for Sponsor)


Group 2



Group 3

Pain Sheet® (for Power Sponsor) Evaluation Plan Transition Issues & Capabilities Transition-Implementation Plan Value Analysis / Justification Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List


Group 4





Potential Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Example

John Smith (Quality Manager),

Thank you for your interest in our company. The purpose of this letter is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan.

We discussed the following:(1) Your primary critical issue is increased defects which has added $600,000 this year to production costs.

(2) Reasons your defects are increasing: the inability to identify the root cause of the defects lack of process controls lack of adherence to your quality management system

(3) Capabilities you said you needed: that when parts or products are rejected, your quality personnel could apply effective data collection, defect analysis, and

problem solving tools to identify the root cause and to implement corrective actions when manufacturing a part or product, all your machine operators could eliminate variances by knowing exactly what to do

and how to do it when processing an order, all personnel involved would follow required work instruction and procedures.

You said if you had these capabilities, you would be able to reduce then number of existing defects and help reduce and address future defects, allowing you to recapture $560,000 of production costs.

Our next steps(4) You agreed to move forward with our company (5) and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities,

you will introduce me to Eric Jones, your VP Operation. You mentioned Eric is not happy with the increased production costs and its impact on profits.

(6) I would like to propose that we arrange a meeting with another Quality Manager who has implemented QMS tools and practices with our help. I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you Monday to discuss it further.

Sincerely, Steve Parsons

John Smith (Quality Manager),

Thank you for your interest in our company. The purpose of this letter is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan.

We discussed the following:(1) Your primary critical issue is increased defects which has added $600,000 this year to production costs.

(2) Reasons your defects are increasing: the inability to identify the root cause of the defects lack of process controls lack of adherence to your quality management system

(3) Capabilities you said you needed: that when parts or products are rejected, your quality personnel could apply effective data collection, defect analysis, and

problem solving tools to identify the root cause and to implement corrective actions when manufacturing a part or product, all your machine operators could eliminate variances by knowing exactly what to do

and how to do it when processing an order, all personnel involved would follow required work instruction and procedures.

You said if you had these capabilities, you would be able to reduce then number of existing defects and help reduce and address future defects, allowing you to recapture $560,000 of production costs.

Our next steps(4) You agreed to move forward with our company (5) and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities,

you will introduce me to Eric Jones, your VP Operation. You mentioned Eric is not happy with the increased production costs and its impact on profits.

(6) I would like to propose that we arrange a meeting with another Quality Manager who has implemented QMS tools and practices with our help. I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you Monday to discuss it further.


Qualification Components:123456



Potential Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template

Name-of-Sponsor,

Thank you for your interest in your-company-name. The purpose of this letter (email) is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan.

We discussed the following:

Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-sponsor’s-pain.

The reasons you are having this critical business issue are:

Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C

The capabilities you said you needed to resolve this situation are:

Describe-Capability-A

Describe-Capability-B

Describe-Capability-C

Our next steps

You agreed to move forward with our company and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities, you will introduce me to power-sponsor’s-name-and-title. You mentioned he/she is not happy with the impact that your critical business issue is having upon his/her ability to describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain-or-goal.

I would like to propose that describe-proof-step.

I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you on date to discuss it further.

Sincerely,

Salesperson’s-name

Name-of-Sponsor,



Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-sponsor’s-pain.


Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C





Our next steps

You agreed to move forward with our company and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities, you will introduce me to power-sponsor’s-name-and-title. You mentioned he/she is not happy with the impact that your critical business issue is having upon his/her ability to describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain-or-goal.

I would like to propose that describe-proof-step.

I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you on date to discuss it further.

Sincerely,




Potential Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Example

Jim (VP Finance),

Thank you for meeting with Steve Jones and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both TGI and our company.

We discussed the following:(1) Your primary critical issue is declining profits due to the revenue shortfall. You said you were about $8 million below plan.

(2) Reasons for declining profits:□ Missing new account revenue targets□ Rising operational costs□ Increasing credit write-offs

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ when visiting your web-site, your customers could place and confirm orders via the internet, get questions

answered through a FAQ menu, be notified of promotions, and be prompted to submit referrals□ for customers to be able to click on a FAQ web menu to get their answers and only require a CSR for

extraordinary situations□ prior to accepting an order, your web-site could alert your customer to outstanding credit issues needing to be

resolved with the ability to speak to someone in your accounting department

(4) You said if you had these capabilities, Steve could meet his revenue targets, Donna Moore could reduce operating expenses, your Controller could reduce the average age of his receivables and you would be able to increase profits by at least $4.5 M.

Our next steps(5) When I told you I was confident our company could help you integrate an e-Commerce application with your existing internal accounting and inventory system, you agreed to commit the resources needed to evaluate our ability to do so.

(6) Based on my knowledge to date, I am attaching a suggested evaluation plan for your further exploration of our company. Look it over with Steve, and I will call you on February 7, to get your thoughts.

Sincerely, Bill Hart

Attachment: Draft Evaluation Plan

Jim (VP Finance),

Thank you for meeting with Steve Jones and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both TGI and our company.

We discussed the following:(1) Your primary critical issue is declining profits due to the revenue shortfall. You said you were about $8 million below plan.

(2) Reasons for declining profits:□ Missing new account revenue targets□ Rising operational costs□ Increasing credit write-offs

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ when visiting your web-site, your customers could place and confirm orders via the internet, get questions

answered through a FAQ menu, be notified of promotions, and be prompted to submit referrals□ for customers to be able to click on a FAQ web menu to get their answers and only require a CSR for

extraordinary situations□ prior to accepting an order, your web-site could alert your customer to outstanding credit issues needing to be

resolved with the ability to speak to someone in your accounting department

(4) You said if you had these capabilities, Steve could meet his revenue targets, Donna Moore could reduce operating expenses, your Controller could reduce the average age of his receivables and you would be able to increase profits by at least $4.5 M.

Our next steps(5) When I told you I was confident our company could help you integrate an e-Commerce application with your existing internal accounting and inventory system, you agreed to commit the resources needed to evaluate our ability to do so.

(6) Based on my knowledge to date, I am attaching a suggested evaluation plan for your further exploration of our company. Look it over with Steve, and I will call you on February 7, to get your thoughts.

Sincerely, Bill Hart


Qualification Components:1 Pain2 Reasons for the Pain3 Buying Vision4 Organizational Impact5 Agreement to Explore6 Evaluation Plan Set-up



Potential Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template

Name-of-Power-Sponsor,

Thank you for meeting with Name-of-Sponsor and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both organizations.


Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain.


Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C





You said if you had these capabilities that describe-how-others-impacted-will-reach-their-goals.

Our next steps

When I told you I was confident that our organization can help you describe-goal-of-power-sponsor, you agreed to take a serious look at our ability to do so. Based on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an evaluation plan for your further exploration of our organization’s capabilities. Look over the plan with _______________ Name-of-Sponsor and I will call you on date to get your thoughts.

Sincerely,



Name-of-Power-Sponsor,

Thank you for meeting with Name-of-Sponsor and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both organizations.


Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain.


Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C





You said if you had these capabilities that describe-how-others-impacted-will-reach-their-goals.

Our next steps

When I told you I was confident that our organization can help you describe-goal-of-power-sponsor, you agreed to take a serious look at our ability to do so. Based on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an evaluation plan for your further exploration of our organization’s capabilities. Look over the plan with _______________ Name-of-Sponsor and I will call you on date to get your thoughts.

Sincerely,





Potential Vision Reengineering Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template

Name-of-Sponsor,



The capabilities you said you needed:




You said if you have these capabilities you would be able to address your primary critical business issue of describe-the-sponsor’s-pain.


Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C

Our next steps

You mentioned your current situation impacts others including power-sponsor’s-name-and-title-and-others. At the close of our conversation, you suggested you would schedule a meeting with them so we can discuss the organizational impact of this issue. At that meeting we can mutually agree upon next steps. As we discussed, I will be required to provide proof that we can give you these capabilities and you will require that same proof from all other potential vendors. I am available for our next meeting this on date-range-and-time-range . I will call you on date to schedule the appointment, it should take about number minutes.

Sincerely,


Name-of-Sponsor,



The capabilities you said you needed:




You said if you have these capabilities you would be able to address your primary critical business issue of describe-the-sponsor’s-pain.


Describe-Reason-A

Describe-Reason-B

Describe-Reason-C

Our next steps

You mentioned your current situation impacts others including power-sponsor’s-name-and-title-and-others. At the close of our conversation, you suggested you would schedule a meeting with them so we can discuss the organizational impact of this issue. At that meeting we can mutually agree upon next steps. As we discussed, I will be required to provide proof that we can give you these capabilities and you will require that same proof from all other potential vendors. I am available for our next meeting this on date-range-and-time-range . I will call you on date to schedule the appointment, it should take about number minutes.

Sincerely,




Getting Pain Admitted – Flowchart (Step 3)

Talking

freely?

Pain?

ASK SITUATION QUESTIONS

ASK MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS

No

Yes

No

Pain?

Transition to Getting Pain Admitted (End of Step 2)

“But enough about (my company). Tell me about you and your situation.”

Transition to Getting Pain Admitted (End of Step 2)

“But enough about (my company). Tell me about you and your situation.”

No

Pain?

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Qualify Out

Prioritize Pain Step 4Step 4

No



Getting Pain Admitted

Question Examples

SITUATION QUESTIONS

MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS

“Today, when a part or product is rejected, what steps are taken to identify the root cause?”

“Today, if a machine operator has a question regarding a particular work procedure what do they do?”

“What type of customer complaints are you hearing recently?”

“What bad thing happens because of the situation you described?”

“The top three difficulties we are hearing from Quality Managers these days include: Increased defects Inadequate QMS to meet the needs of new, larger customers Higher costs/less results implementing QMS

…are you facing any of these issues today?” OR

…are you curious how we have helped our customers deal with these issues?”



“Go/No Go” Step Completion Letter / e-mail: Example

To: [email protected]: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Subject: Evaluation Plan - step completionAttachment: Updated Evaluation Plan v2.doc

Eric and team,

I am pleased to report that another milestone has been completed. On February 21 your team approved the evaluation plan. The changes you requested are reflected in the attached copy.

Our next milestone is the week of February 28 when the entire management team is scheduled to visit our client and meet with their senior executives.

Thank you again for your continued support of this project.

Sincerely,Steve Parsons

To: [email protected]: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Subject: Evaluation Plan - step completionAttachment: Updated Evaluation Plan v2.doc

Eric and team,

I am pleased to report that another milestone has been completed. On February 21 your team approved the evaluation plan. The changes you requested are reflected in the attached copy.

Our next milestone is the week of February 28 when the entire management team is scheduled to visit our client and meet with their senior executives.

Thank you again for your continued support of this project.

Sincerely,Steve Parsons


mailto:[email protected]







Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet


• • •


Name and Title:Transition Issue:


A. A.

B. B.

C. C.



Transition / Implementation Plan Letter (e-mail): Example

Thank you… summarize my understanding of our meeting and propose some scheduling assistance for you.


Concern about…. Your specific areas of concern as they relate to the schedule are:

□ -□ - □ -

Proposed Transition Capabilities□ - □ - □ -

You said if you had these capabilities, you could support the proposed QMS/Process Improvement initiative.

Our next stepsBased on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an implementation plan for your consideration.


Attachment: ImplementationPlan.doc

Thank you… summarize my understanding of our meeting and propose some scheduling assistance for you.


Concern about…. Your specific areas of concern as they relate to the schedule are:

□ -□ - □ -

Proposed Transition Capabilities□ - □ - □ -

You said if you had these capabilities, you could support the proposed QMS/Process Improvement initiative.

Our next stepsBased on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an implementation plan for your consideration.


Attachment: ImplementationPlan.doc



Proposed Transition / Implementation Plan: Example

Attachment to Transition / Implementation Plan Letter / e-mail

Implementation Plan

Week of Event Us TGI Billable





Group 1



Group 2



Group 3



Group 4








Evaluate options


evaluate success





pain Conduct plant

tour Confirm and




















approval








Lead Follow-up

Implement solution




Obtain referrals

Documents signed








90%10% 25% 50% 75% 100%





/A3


Get-Give List


Implementation Plan








Sales Sales mgt.

Sales Sales mgt.


Sales Process Steps


Verifiable Outcomes

Roles (examples)

Sales Tools



Buying Process


© solution selling, inc. 2008 sales tool build workshop

Documents

trademark of solution

executivelevel selling

admitted pain of sponsor

potential opportunity

pain chains

pain sheets

sales management

ted pain of power