Figure A.2 Target Buyer Profile
Assumed Value Estimate
An effective tool for stimulating interest with buyers is a value proposition or value estimate. This tool expresses an initial, assumed estimate of value for addressing a potential problem or opportunity. This tool is often used by the Value Driver persona early in the buying process to stimulate interest or later in the buying process if entering late. In documenting their assumptions, sellers should not obsess about being exceptionally precise with this tool—it is designed to stimulate interest or further a conversation with the buyer. Ultimately, the goal is to collaborate further with the buyer and reach mutual agreement on the real value. Figure A.3 shows the format for a good assumed value estimate.
Figure A.3 Assumed Value Estimate Format
Differentiation Grid
The Visualizer persona must be prepared to engage with the buyer in conversations that provide insight and value. To that end, sellers must understand what unique differentiators they can bring to help develop a compelling vision in collaboration with the buyer. The differentiation grid is a simple exercise that helps develop that understanding based on the uniqueness and value of potential solution capabilities for the buyer. By evaluating and charting each of these capabilities, the Visualizer can focus on those solution components that provide the most value and that also help to differentiate the vision from alternatives. Figure A.4 provides a template for the differentiation grid exercise.
Figure A.4 Differentiation Grid
Sales Conversation Prompter
The Visualizer persona engages in conversations with buyers to create, enhance, or reengineer visions of a potential solution. The collaborative sales conversation structure described in Chapter 5 provides a method for sellers to execute dialogues with buyers that encourage collaboration toward a mutually agreed vision of a solution. Soliciting the buyer perspective is relatively easy for sellers—they only have to ask open questions. Sellers should be prepared to share their own perspectives, so that they can ask insightful questions and demonstrate situational fluency. The sales conversation prompter tool enables the Visualizer persona to accomplish this. It can be used to prepare for vision creation, vision enhancement, or vision reengineering conversations. Figure A.5 shows a sales conversation prompter template.
Figure A.5 Sales Conversation Prompter
Buyer Communication
After meeting with a buyer, whether virtually or in person, sellers should confirm their alignment by sending a communication, usually an e-mail message, to the buyer. The communication should confirm the problem or potential opportunity (“pain”), the reasons for the issue, the capabilities needed, the initial value or key benefits, and agreed-upon next steps. The intent of the communication is to generate a response from the buyer; the quality of that response is a verifiable outcome showing alignment and progress with the buyer. Figure A.6 shows a template for a suitable buyer communication.
Figure A.6 Buyer Communication Template
Collaborative Negotiation Worksheet
Sellers must know how to negotiate effectively in order to secure business with Buyer 2.0. By the time an opportunity is at this stage, the seller should have used the Visualizer persona to develop a clear vision of a solution in collaboration with the buyer, and also used the Value Driver persona to establish a jointly agreed estimate of value for the solution. This information can be used to prepare for a suitable negotiation that is a win-win agreement for both the buyer and the seller. An effective negotiation should be a joint collaboration exercise, instead of a conflict. The collaborative negotiation worksheet, illustrated in Figure A.7, helps sellers to prepare for a collaborative negotiation session with the buyer.
Figure A.7 Collaborative Negotiation Worksheet
Contributors
Keith M. Eades
Keith is Founder and CEO of Sales Performance International (SPI), one of the largest sales improvement companies in the world. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, SPI is currently doing business in more than 50 countries.
Keith speaks regularly at industry, customer, and partner events, and he is considered one of the most knowledgeable authorities on transforming companies into world-class sales organizations. The Collaborative Sale is Keith's fourth book.
In 2001, Clemson University recognized Keith with the Alumni Fellow Award for his outstanding career accomplishments. He is an inaugural member of the Shapiro Center Entrepreneurial Round Table and serves on the Executive Advisory Board for the College of Business and Behavioral Sciences at Clemson.
Timothy T. Sullivan
Tim is Director of Business Development at Sales Performance International, where he works with clients to identify and develop solutions for sales performance issues. In this capacity, Tim has the unique opportunity to observe and collect best practices from many of the world's top-performing sales professionals.
The Collaborative Sale is Tim's second coauthored book with Keith Eades, the first being The Solution Selling Fieldbook (McGraw-Hill, 2005); he was also a contributor to The Solution-Centric Organization (McGraw-Hill, 2006). He contributes regularly to the Solution Selling Blog, found at www.solutionsellingblog.com. Tim is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences on advanced sales and marketing topics. He holds a business degree from the University of Notre Dame, and is a dedicated Fighting Irish football fan. He resides happily with his beautiful bride, Jane, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Robert Kear
Robert is Chief Marketing Officer at Sales Performance International. Before joining SPI, he served as VP of Marketing Strategy and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Strategy for JD Edwards & Company. In 1994, he co-founded YOUcentric, an enterprise CRM software company, where as chief strategy officer he was responsible for all aspects of corporate strategy, market planning and execution, and product direction.
Robert has been a recipient of Ernst & Young's eBusiness Entrepreneur of the Year for the Carolinas. He holds advanced and undergraduate degrees in mathematics from East Carolina University.
He coauthored The Solution-Centric Organization with Keith Eades (McGraw-Hill, 2006).
James N. “Jimmy” Touchstone
Jimmy is Director of Learning Programs at Sales Performance International, where he leads and manages the ongoing development of the Solution Selling® methodology and suite of offerings. He created and led the development of continual learning components that make up the SellingStream™ Continual Learning program. Jimmy is an author and contributor to several professional publications. He co-authored The Solution Selling Fieldbook with Keith Eades and Tim Sullivan, which proves that an English degree from the UNC Charlotte can be valuable preparation for a business career. He is grateful to his wife Kelley and twins, Jacob and Jonah for their love and support.
Dave Christofaro
Dave is Sales Performance International's Director of Sales Talent Optimization. In this role, Dave leads a practice area focused on helping clients hire, develop, and retain top sales talent through the use of assessment and talent management technology.
Prior to SPI, Dave held sales and sales leadership roles in the high technology industry. With a degree in computer science from North Carolina State University, Dave began his career managing technology development projects with Accenture.
Living in Charlotte, North Carolina, Dave's first and favorite personal interest is spending time with his wife Melanie and his children Josh and Sofia.
Kenneth Cross
Ken is Director of Solution Selling Enablement at Sales Performance International. His team places SPI's learning, methodology, and tools at the fingertips of a global client base, usually within a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
Prior to his work at SPI, Ken worked in technology-based consulting, sales, and channel management roles for CRM and other technology-based companies. He once served as an on-air guest host for Bose products on the QVC network.
Ken is an active writer and f
requent contributor to the Solution Selling Blog. A Pennsylvania native, he is a graduate of Westminster College and lives with his family in Pittsburgh.
Tamela M. Rich
Tamela ghostwrites and edits books, articles, speeches, and presentations for an international clientele of business and financial professionals. She earned an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
Living with her family in Charlotte, North Carolina, Tamela is a long-distance motorcyclist who shares life lessons from the people and places she encounters in her books, blog, podcast, and personal appearances.
Tamela's 2012 book, Live Full Throttle: Life Lessons from Friends Who Faced Cancer, won three national (U.S.) awards. Her website is www.tamelarich.com.
Index
A
AberdeenGroup
Adapting to Buyer 2.0 paradigm
Adaptive process and methodology automation
Admitted state
Advanced analytics
Aligning training
Alignment buyer risks and management strategy
of buyers and sellers
coaching mutually agreed vision
and collaboration with Buyer
definitions of
effective implementation,
and future business
as help not control
indicator of
planning methodology
proof of
verifiable outcomes of
Alternative solutions
Attitude
Automation. See also Marketing automation; Marketing automation system (MAS) adaptive process and methodology
content-gathering technology
marketing as micro-marketing tool
monitoring
support tools
Autonomy
B
Behavior of buyer
of Buyer
buyer changes
and economic uncertainty effect
and information of Buyer
of looking buyer
of Millennials
of not looking buyer
online community
standards of sales
Behavior changes
Bezos, Jeff
Big Data analysis benefits
opportunity exploration
Billable services
Boss, Alex
Brands, buying choices,
BrandYourself.com
Buffer
Business development activities of
Business problems
Buyer alignment and risk management strategy
Buyer vs. Buyer
seller dependency
Buyer behavior and economic uncertainty effect,
vs. Buyer
conversation with visualizer persona
dynamic sales process with
emergence of
empowerment
information access of
information and behavior
messaging with
misalignment with
needs
norms of
principle factors of
research on sellers
Buyer 2.0 adaptation and paradigm about
comparison shopping
marketing and sales blur
risk aversion as new normal
Buyer-aligned learning and development aligning training
dynamic sales process, use of
learning as transformation
Buyer-aligned sales processes
Buyer(s). See also Buyer 1.0; Buyer 2.0; solution selling and new buyer about risk manifesting
alignment and risk management strategy
alignment of sellers and
business triggers
development of potential relationships of,
interest stimulation
kinds of
paradigm
perception
potential solution visions,
to remain with status quo
research
states and strength of vision
Buyer(s) behavior changes
looking
not looking
Buyersphere
Buying assistance
Buying decision risks of
Buying online
Buying phases
Buying process issues,
Buying scenarios
C
Capability knowledge
Carnegie, Dale
Challenge-solution-results format
Chesney, Robert ``Bobby,''
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Cluetrain Manifesto (Levin, Locke, Searls and Weinberger)
Coaching about
and client alignment
consistency
conversation
cycle
difference from
GRAF coaching model
and inspection cycle
as leverage
model of
opportunity or selling skills level
opportunity winning from
process definitions and associated playbooks for
proficiency with
and reinforcing the principles of The Collaborative Sale,
sales coaching conversation
and sellers and guidance and
for selling skills and people skills
sessions
and skills development
systematic
to win opportunities
Collaborating to close
Collaboration component
effective
opportunities through
relatedness and
transparent structure for
Collaboration Plan activities in
buyer alignment and risk management strategy
as buyer alignment and risk mitigation strategy
elements of
example of
structure of
Collaborative attitude
Collaborative Sales benefits of
component tools for
components for right people for
Collaborative Sales, coaching about
sales management cadence
Collaborative Sale, implementation about
buyer-aligned learning and development
commitment to success
focused enablement
talent assessment and analytics
Collaborative value estimation tools
Collateral templates
Column fodder
Commercial relationship bankers
Commitment to success
Communications skill
Compelling reason to act about
component
eliminating losses to no decision
Competence and business results
Competencies essential
prioritized infusion of
skyline
Competitive skills
Competitor influence
Components for right people, for collaborative sales,
Concepts, on-the-job applications of
Confidence, lack of
Connection
Continuous learning
Control Southern
Corporate assistance, for micro-marketers
Corporate assistance for micro-marketers about
assisting new
micro-marketer competencies
Cost of not taking action
Creative Conspiracy, The New Rules of Breakthrough Collaboration
Credibility
Credibility building
CRM (customer relationship management). See Customer relationship management (CRM)
Crush it! (Vaynerchuk)
CSO Insights best aggregate average results
business-to-business purchases study
close vs. no close decision
defined sales process and significant improvements
forecasted opportunities turn losses du
e to inaction,
marketing departments' qualified sales leads
sales process maturity and level of relationship
solution values misconveyed believed
The Culture of Collaboration (Rosen)
Curata
Curated website
Current situation
Customer business, monitoring of
Customer dedicated portal
Customer focus
Customer relationship, levels of
Customer relationship management (CRM) application
automated support tools for
platform
software
systems
usage of
Customer satisfaction ratings improvement of
Customer service
D
Daily Maersk
Deci, Edward L.
Demand creation
Demand GenReport study
Demand response
Determine needs phase
Developing, of situational fluency
Development of business messaging
buyer-aligned learning and
changes in business conduct and
of Collaboration Plan elements
and development balance
of each individual seller
and hiring practices