selling breakthroughs boot camp
TRANSCRIPT
Selling Selling Breakthroughs:Breakthroughs:
Boot Camp for Mastering Boot Camp for Mastering Market LeadershipMarket Leadership
2013 Executive Leadership ConferenceRichard Currier
Mastering the Breakthrough Topline
The must do’s to quickly and decisively:• Quickly accelerate revenue• Ensure superb new product/service launches• Fix topline problems/ eliminate selling roadblocks• Slash sales cycles• Annihilate the competition, especially do nothing• Drive high impact, consistent company execution
reve
nue
Market Leadership Works
Three Alternative Leadership Approaches
Solution Leadership
Sales Leadership
Market Leadership
Time
Succ
ess
When Solution Leadership Works
• High percentage of the solution is unique
• Buyers dig deep to appreciate unique values
• Solution especially appeals to early stage buyers:• Bleeding-edge, leading-edge, early adopters are excellent targets• Pioneering buyers seeking significant advantages• Productive evaluations: buyers dig into your solutions• Successful implementation: buyers readily push the solution’s limits
and are not put off by rough edges
Alas, Solution Leadership Erodes
• More and stronger competitors emerge
• Competitors respond by copying your core features
• Feature-based competitive edge erodes rapidly• “Good enough”: 20 - 80% features • Proving differentiation to less knowledgeable buyers • Fewer and fewer new “killer app” feature opportunities
The Development Death SpiralCrashing faster while struggling to develop your way out of competitive
differentiation issues/ problems
When Sales Leadership WorksYou excel at “hand-to-hand combat”:
• You can readily master new account entry• Develop “own leads” if necessary, but it’s not that tough• Fight to enter “active evaluation "as a real contestant
• And, master competitive battles• Great product/industry knowledge• Superior sales personnel• Strong sales support: engineers, consultants, product/industry specialists
• Sales leadership works very well from earliest stages through to mid-stage buyers
Sales Leadership Erodes
• Cost• Operation costs too much, takes too long, is much too hard• Huge growth challenges: slow-to-realize, costly failures
• Capacity• Quickly run out of skilled hand-to-hand combatants
Eagles don’t flock
• Often run out of early-stage/mid-stage buyers
• Leads to the evolution of into a “deal-driven company”
Mastering Topline Performance
Mastery of the must do’s for breakthrough top line Success:
• Market Thought Leadership Message-based market leader strategy: positioning and message-based strategies to define, seize, and “own” markets, plus crush competitive threats
• Account Thought LeadershipVision-Driven Selling – Crafting and refining a highly productive, reliably predictable “killer sales machine”
• “Obliterate Obstacles” Focus“Boulder Blasting” Marketing – a problem-focused high-impact solution that obliterates major success-impacting obstacles to quickly boost revenue/ fix growth problems
Market Leader or Hand-to-Hand?
A market thought leader has:• High positive aura and exciting market buzz• Broad message consistency• Easily reached strategic/tactical-direction consensus• Natural pipeline sufficiency/easy pipeline growth• Highly efficient, predictable revenue production
Symptoms of excessive hand-to-hand combat:• The 3 D’s: Demo, Discount, Develop• Poor conversion of leads to closed sales• Hard to create urgency and consistent timely closes• Accounts languishing in pipelines• Select performers produce almost all the revenue• Difficulties in maintaining price
Minimize hand-to-hand combat
Ultimate Leadership: Category Killer
First, Create the Category• Name it• Define key characteristics• Promote differentiated,
compelling benefits
Then, Become the Category Killer• Position for leadership• Follow the validation roadmap• Promote leadership/
growing momentum
Marketing and Market Leadership
“Marketing is the one thing in a company that is too important to delegate”
— David Packard
MasteringMasteringMarketMarket
LeadershipLeadership
InsightThe Insight to Lead
Understanding the 3 Key Dimensions of Buyers
To really understand buyers:
you must understand the three key dimensions that drive critical actions -- who, how, when and what they buy:
• Action Drivers
• Time-shifted Action Drivers
• Level-shifted Action Drivers
Primary Action Driver Categories
• UrgentDrives action:
Buy
• ImportantDrives activities:
Active evaluation
• UsefulDrives interest:
“Drive by” activities
Why Pitch to Other Than Urgent?
Useful/important needs bring these benefits:
• EmpathyResonates with “popular/ trendy thinking”
• SpeedOften easier and quicker to present and explain
• InterestGreater range of feature/benefits can make for more interesting marketing materials and sales conversations
• VolumeCreates much “longer lists” when needed
Drive focus to urgent needs as you approach the sales goal lineRemember: customers distract you by seemingly focusing on useful and important issues
Before and After: The Time-shifted Action Drivers
Pre-sales list:• List incomplete • Sales and marketing can
influence lists• Excel at useful and important but
may lack urgent needs • Often early leaders, but frequently
fads, then shelfware• Second-acts essential
Most likely embraced by:• Sales dominant• Those newer to domain
Post-sales list:• List clear, soon obvious• Meets most urgent and some
important/useful needs• Usually niche, but with a loyal
customer base• Enriched product line/ more
products crucial to growth
Most likely embraced by:• Engineers/product specialists
dominant• Those with domain expertise
Market Leaders master BOTH lists
Above and Below: The Level-shifted Action Drivers
Budget MakersBudget Takers
Words: Risk, Cost, …Focus: problems, strategiesChallenges: journeysUrgent needs: wins on my watch, in charge not in control,strategic problem yet no strategic solution, …Words: Risk, Cost, …Focus: products, processesChallenges: destinationsUrgent needs: I’m valuable/ important/ strategic, …
Some Early PC Market Examples
Apple Microsoft
Market ApproachComputer in every home Computer on every desk
Some Urgent Needs
Ease of use, fun Be faster and better at your job,Control your destiny (your own: data; timing, change, processes, etc.)
Some Pre-Sale Needs
Integrated, single-vendor complete solution, works immediately out of the box, “I” can do it; elegant, simple
Open, extensible (new capabilities), upgradeable (future-proof), multi-vendor commoditized approach (lower cost), familiar enterprise vendors (safe)
Creating Urgency
The three key rules for creating urgency:
1. Position to urgent needs
2. Create/leverage decision-level relationships
3. Obliterate showstopper objections
Creating Demand
• You can’t create need
• But you can transform latent needs into active demand
• In today’s markets “demand creation” becomes paramount
• “Leadgen” is not demand generation, therefore leadgen has become less and less effective
Acquiring/ Vetting Knowledge
• The “testing” scenario• Tell peer-based problem stories and their proposed solution
direction• Suggest hypotheses• Feedback based on “tells”
• Speed to aha
• Openness and energy
• Word/ theme reuse and enriching
• Consider formal testing • Always perform informal, continuous testing
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Targeting Summary
• Target “markets” not “populations”• Populations: superficial commonality (size, geography, etc.)• Markets – commonality in buying/lead with a common message
• More compact markets are way more efficient• Easier to know/understand/serve• More affordable to reach• More credible to become the perceived leader
• Ideal markets:
You can quickly and credibly become perceived as #1 or #2 and the market (segment) is just big enough to meet your revenue targets
Targeting Summary (cont’d)
Targets• Groups with high buyer homogeneity – alike in dimensions such as
buyer profiles • urgent/important/useful• Pre/post• Strategic values/tactical needs
Sales versus marketing targets• Overlap but not completely congruent• Sales sweet spot: likely to buy from you on standard terms• Marketing target: focus for market leadership initiatives, demand
creation activities and sales support leverage
MasteringMasteringMarketMarket
LeadershipLeadershipMessage-based
Thought Leadership
The Leadership Framework
MarketTargetingVision Market
TargetingPositioning
PositioningPackaging
PackagingPackagingExecution
Strategies
Long-term company strategy and marketplace position
Current competitor- and marketplace-focused strategies, tactics and messages[per product/product line/market]
High impactproblem-solving/revenue-drivingexecution
The Tale Telling of the Tale Driving Results
3 - 7+ Years 6 - 18+ month refresh cycle
BusinessStrategies
Programs
Transform Strategies to Action
Mastering Market LeadershipIt Starts With Vision
Leaders consistently project a clear, crisp, compelling vision within their companies and throughout their marketplace
Vision drives focus for market leaders
Competitive Positioning:
SAP – The MostCustomers, features, languages, processes, partners, …
PeopleSoft – PeopleNice people to do business with, Leverage human capital, …
Baan
Oracle – TechnologyTechnology leader, best technology, …
JD Edwards – ? Technology leader?Nice people to do business with?Mid-market?
Staking Out The Corners
Leveraging Communications The Three Primary “Aha!”Types
• NarrativeProse text, analytical/logical presentation
• MetaphoricalWord pictures, stories, analogies
• VisualGraphics, charts, diagrams, pictures
Because “speed to aha” is critical
The Message Structure• Level 0 – problem context
• Problem theme• Drive the sales cycle/account focus: solve this problem • Drive focus on urgency to drive action
• Level 1 – benefit theme• The compelling customer promise• Grabs attention/builds empathy/sets the tone
• Level 2 – differentiation theme• “What sets us apart from everyone else is …”• Drives leadership
Account entry/mass market messaging/executive selling
• Level 3 – the secret sauces• Key differentiation enablers
avoid fluff, make it real
• Defend positioning/set competitive traps• Level 4 – your solution
• Prove the vision• Showcase the feature• Ace the checklist• Prove the assumptions/ ROI basis
VisionMessageStructure
The Market Leadership Message
• Starts with problem-based bonding
• Driven with vision-centered messages• Crisp, clear• Speed to “aha”• Compelling (different)• Repeatedly used/ Repeatable by them• Multi-level “what’s in it for me”
Initial Core Messaging that Yielded Breakthroughs
Approach/Vendor i2 PeopleSoft SAP Oracle
Problem ThemeNeed for
Step-changeCost savings
Mantra of modern business : Do more
for less forever
Execs not in control of global business
Islands of automation run the business
Benefit Theme $50B …Breakthrough
productivity at the frontlines of business
Regain control of the enterprise
Knit together the islands of automation
Differentiation Theme Integrate
ForecastingGlobal SC …
Push power of the computer to the
frontlines
Integrated single global application
solution
Integrated global data across disparate
platforms
Secret sauces[2 – 6]
MRORTAP
…
PeopletoolsVisual organization
…
One version of the truth
Baked in processes support
Multiplatform supportFast first step
Complete environment
MasteringMasteringMarketMarket
LeadershipLeadership
Vision-Driven Selling
Account Leadership
Leadership Throughout the “Sales Funnel”
Attract
Engage
Position
Present
Prove
Close
$$
Traction
The Real Battle in the Sales Funnel
Traction Vision Lock
Engage
(Re) Position
Prove
Close
Feature List Hell
Traction without leadership No Vision Lock
Predictable Feature Hell outcomes:• Do nothing• Buy from biggest/ safest• Buy cheapest• Lose to predetermined vendor• A crushing implementation• A profile successful sale
Market the Vision, Sell the Solution
Market the Vision:• Crucial to create “right” interest • Key to call high/stay high• Drives evaluation requirements
Vision
Solution Messages:• Showcase comprehensive, rich, solution • Drive series of “next steps”• Leverage references, demos, proofs
Solution
Seize Control:Define the battle
Make the Sale:Win the battle
Vision Messages:• Focus on the customer• Crisp, clear, compelling messages• Showcase named problem/features• Leverage techniques:
• Stories, examples, visuals, sound bites, metaphors
Sell the solution:• Evaluation focuses on vision proof• Sets competitive traps• Maintain executive focus/involvement
VisionLock
VisionLock
Messages TransformThe Telling of the Tale Evolves Across the Buying Process
Top of Funnel
Bottomof Funnel
Traction
Different
Hot,Exciting
Better
Safe
CrispMessages
RichMessages
Speedto “aha”
Quantity/Depth
Themes
Lists
Customer-centric
Productcentric
AuraBuzz
Relationships
StrategicValues
TacticalNeeds
H2HFails
H2HOK
= Comfort Zone
≠ Comfort Zone
MasteringMasteringMarketMarket
LeadershipLeadership
Message-based
Market Leadership
"New Message” Communications
1. Company internally
2. Customers
3. Influencers
4. Mass media
5. Prospects
Effective Communications Leverage
Numbers of Communications Constituents
The Prioritized Sequence for New Message Roll-out
Pebbles Rocks BouldersAnnoying Slows down sales activities Roadblocks sales activities
Marketing solutions may “feel good” but provide little practical sales benefit
Good marketing can streamline results and minimize sales slowdowns
Great marketing essential for revenue success
Minimal effect on any rep Especially effects new reps and below-average performers; minimal effect on skilled hand-to-hand combatants
Hits all reps hard
Magic wand to make them disappear: no effect on revenue
Magic wand to make them disappear: revenue improves slightly, especially if lots of new reps or large number of below-average hand-to-hand combatants
Magic wand to disappear make them disappear: revenue explodes
Obliterating Obstacles
Only Programs Blast Boulders
Boulders:Huge revenue backup• Hand-to-hand: useless• Breakthrough revenue increase potential
Aprograms
Large Rocks:Sales may slow down but likely just difficult• Real/perceived problems• Trips good reps sometimes, new reps more often
Bprograms
CNo
programs
Small rocks/Pebbles/gravel:Often annoying• Marketplace real/perceived problems• Other real/perceived issues/factors
Obliterating Obstacles: Leverage A/B/C Programs
“A” Boulder-mover programs• Approach: whatever It takes for World-class• Gate #1: ability to execute world-class for programs type• Gate # 2: competitive/marketplace context allows world-class
• rise above the “clutter”• rise above market share leaders• rise above mindshare leaders
“B” Friction point reduction programs
Minimal resources for passing resultspass, don’t fail, but don’t waste resources beyond passing
“C” None of the aboveonly if you have loads of excess budget/bandwidth
“A' ” — Opportunistic programs: A-level results for minimal costs
Aprograms
Bprograms
CNo
programs