© Solution Selling, Inc. 2009 2 Day Office Depot Workshop for Territory Development Managers

© Solution Selling, Inc. 2009

2 Day Office Depot Workshop

for Territory Development Managers

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 2009 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:

4720 Piedmont Row Drive, Suite 400Charlotte, North Carolina 28210 USA

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.

AchieveGlobal®, Professional Selling Skills®, and Professional Prospecting Skills® are registered trademarks and service marks of AchieveGlobal, Inc. Professional Sales Coaching™ is a trademark and service mark of AchieveGlobal, Inc.

All other referenced marks are those of their respective owners.

Copyright Notice: This manual is a copyrighted work of Solution Selling, Inc. This manual may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Solution Selling, Inc.

Additionally, Sales Management and Coaching, Targeted Territory Selling, Major Account Selling, Strategic Opportunity Selling, Collaborative Sales Negotiations, Solution Prospecting and Executive-Level Selling are copyrighted materials of Solution Selling, Inc.

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 1985 – 2009

918-MAT


Solution Selling®: Workshop Objectives

After completion of this Solution Selling® Workshop, you will be able to:

describe “how buyers buy” and align your selling activities to accordingly

recognize the difference between “latent pain” and “active vision” opportunities

conduct effective pre-call planning and research

stimulate interest and establish credibility with prospects

get prospects to share / admit high priority pain

engage in consultative dialogue that promotes the differentiating strengths of your offerings

gain access to “power” people within an opportunity

effectively qualify and disqualify opportunities based on objective decision criteria

better control and manage sell cycles

improve your chances of winning competitive opportunities

shorten sell cycles and avoid no decision

manage proof and internal resources

negotiate the steps leading to closure of a sell cycle


Office Depot Sales Process Elements

Office Depot TDM Sales Process

Buying Process

Define problems and opportunities

Determine needs / requirements

Select solution, evaluate risk, &

finalize contracts

Resolve issues & implement

Evaluate success

Sales Stage

Plan and Engage Diagnose Propose and Close Implement Fulfill

Verifiable Outcomes

Opportunity created in Sales Online

Gain agreement with Power Sponsor to

next steps

Gain verbal agreement to buy First order is placed 7-7-7 Goals

Accomplished

Sales Tools and Resources

Key Players List

Contact Strategy

PSS® Pre-Call Planner

Power Sponsor Letter/e-mail

Bid Builder

Get-Give List Implementation PlanReference Story

Success Criteria

Yield Probability

25% 75% 100%


AchieveGlobal Models Will Be Used Within the New Sales Process

Professional Selling Skills®: Needs Satisfaction Selling Process

Goal: To make informed, Mutually Beneficial Decisions

Professional Prospecting Skills®:

AchieveGlobal®, Professional Selling Skills®, and Professional Prospecting Skills® are registered trademarks and service marks of AchieveGlobal, Inc.


SPI and AchieveGlobal Tools Will Help Sellers Have Conversations with

Customers at Various Points in Their Lifecycle

Loyal customers

Grow

C

Share of Wallet

“At-risk” customers

Retain

D

Retention

Newly acquired customers

Convert

B

Conversion

New customers

Acquire

A

New Business


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


Selling Difficulties: Example

“I have trouble maximizing my time in the field and may not be calling on the right

customers.”

“Customers only care about price.”

“A lot of customers don’t want to switch to another supplier right now unless the

price is significantly lower.”

“I was a BDM and now I have trouble with account management.”

“My experience is primarily working with existing customers so I have challenges

with prospecting and finding new customers.”

“We get involved in the opportunities too late.”

“I lose control of the opportunity at the end of the sell cycle.”


Exercise: Introduction and Selling Difficulties

Purpose:

To introduce yourself to the facilitation team and other participants

To identify your specific selling challenge(s)

Activities:

Record the following information:

Your name and location

Your title and/or responsibility

The top selling difficulty that you may be experiencing

Note:

Selling difficulties should be challenges over which you have control (i.e. no mention of “my manager wouldn’t…” or “my product or service doesn’t…”)


Key Selling Skills

PLAN & ENGAGE DIAGNOSE PROPOSE & CLOSE IMPLEMENT

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

FULFILL


Negotiating Throughout the Sales Process

Maintaining Your Control

Quid Pro Quo: Latin, “something for something”

Set the tone for all things to be negotiated throughout the sales cycle

Use “quid pro quo” to:

Qualify the buyer and the opportunity

Move opportunities forward

Position your personal “power”

Minimize the cost of sale

Quid Pro Quo and NegotiatingQuid Pro Quo and Negotiating

Office Depot Sales Process

Plan and EngagePlan and Engage DiagnoseDiagnose Propose And Propose And CloseClose ImplementImplement FulfillFulfill


Shifting Buyer Concerns

How Organizations Plan, Evaluate and Buy

Phase I:Determine Needs

Phase II:Evaluate Alternatives

Phase III:Evaluate Risk

Risk

Price

Solution

Needs

Buying Phases

Time

Le

ve

l o

f C

on

ce

rn

Strategy Projects Issues Priorities Budgets

Phase 0:Conduct Planning

Decision to solve a priority problem


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: 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


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


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


Sales Process Flow Model (Sales Execution Focused) Example

Potential opportunity starting points

Conduct pre-call planning and research

Stimulate interest

Define “pain” or critical business issue

Diagnose and create vision of company-biased solution

Perform opportunity assessment

Select competitive strategy

Reengineer vision with company differentiators

Negotiate access to power

Develop & manage Evaluation Plan(sample steps)

• Summarize findings• Prove capabilities• Present preliminary solution• Determine value analysis/s. criteria• Gain all approvals (L/T/A)• Conduct pre-proposal review

Reach final agreement

Measure and leverage success criteria

Go?

At power

?

Yes Yes

Yes

No

NoYes Yes

Yes

No

NoNo

Latent or Admitted Pain Vision or Active Evaluation


Office Depot Sales Process: Plan and Engage Stage

Buying Process


Sales Stage Plan and Engage

Activities

New Business Conduct research on

prospective accounts Identify contacts

Retain and Grow Monitor client

satisfaction Research buying

trends Identify new

opportunities across SKU’s and categories

Create interest Gain initial meeting


•Dun & Bradstreet lists•Hoovers •Qualification Criteria•Key Players List•Contact Strategy•Business Development Prompter

•Reference Story•PPS Scorecard•PPS Funnel Calculator

Verifiable Outcomes

Opportunity Created in Sales Online

Yield Probability

0%

Retain and GrowMonitor client satisfactionResearch buying trends Identify new opportunities across

SKU’s and categories


Contact Strategy within Sales Online


Appointment Preparation

When preparing for appointments, take advantage of the tools that are on the dashboard.

MARKETING MATERIAL – you will also find this link on the left side of the Dashboard under the QUICK LINKS section. This takes you to an EXCEL document with links to some helpful marketing material. You can filter the material based on Sector, Product Group or Project name. Print them off, or go GREEN and email them to your customer before or after the sales call.

Note: Make sure you use the STAR report to identify multiple categories to go after. Have backups and don’t stop if the customer agrees to purchase in a new category. Keep penetrating and offering solutions.

TOOLS AND JOB AIDS – you will find this link on the left side of the Dashboard under the QUICK LINKS section. This link takes you to a series of CATEGORY CHEAT SHEETS that allow you to prepare for specific categories on customer calls. Print them off as needed and use them in your appointment planning. You will find the CALL PLANNER under this link. This Call Planner assists in developing your action plan and incorporates PSS skills. You will also find the SOLUTION SELLING® TEMPLATES at this link.


Account Pre-call Planning and Research

Information Sources

Review account’s website

Access public information

Annual Reports / 10-Ks

• Chairman’s Letter

• Financial highlights

Hoover’s Online (www.hoovers.com) – Company overviews: financials, key people in the organization, industry-related news, competitor profiles, business & financial rankings, and company subsidiaries

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

LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com) - Source for increasing network and association with past and present colleagues

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


Exercise

Discuss Contact Strategy and Planning Best Practices

Purpose:

Share best practices for using Contact Strategy and planning

Activities:

Break into teams

Discuss how you as individuals have leveraged Contact Strategy to your advantage for Conversion, SOW, and Retention opportunities

Discuss additional planning best practices

Select a spokesperson and be prepared to debrief


Contact Strategy and Planning Best Practices

Conversion SOW Retention

Other


Additional Planning Best Practices

Plan at least 2 weeks ahead of time

Understand your territory and major groupings/clusters

Segment territory into 3-4 clusters

Plan to spend the appropriate amount of time in each grouping/cluster

Guide prospects/customers to gain appointments while in the cluster area (don’t be afraid to

suggest another time)

Use all available tools to gain information on prospect/customer

Identify new prospects to visit based upon existing appointments

Always have a contingency plan

As part of Smart Mondays, confirm appointments and agendas with prospects and customers

for the week

Use calendar / time management tools to confirm appointments

Confirm you have synced with Sales Online

Know your “sweet spot” within the territory


A Week in the Life Best Practices



Buying Process



Activities




satisfaction Research buying trends Identify new






Verifiable Outcomes


Yield Probability

0%

New BusinessConduct research on



Qualification Criteria: Example

Finding the “Sweet Spot”

Criterion Measure Points

# of White Collar Workers

25-50 1

50-75 3

75-100 5

Chamber / Association MemberYes 5

No 1

Referred to Office Depot by another customer

Yes 5

No 1

High revenue producing verticals

Legal 1

Medical 3

Education 5

Close proximity to Office Depot stores

Yes 5

No 1

Currently under “Contract” or receiving customized pricing with

competitor

25-50 WCW Yes = 1No = 3

50-75 WCW Yes = 1No = 5

75-100 WCW Yes = 1No = 7

Not mandated by corporate

Not mandated by corporate

Criteria will vary from region to region (gain input from manager)

Criteria will vary from region to region (gain input from manager)

Not a form… things to consider!

Not a form… things to consider!


Sorted in Descending Rank: Example

Account Name # of WCW

Chamber / Association Member

Referred to Office Depot by another customer

High revenue

producing verticals

Close proximity to Office Depot

stores

Currently under “Contract” or

receiving customized pricing with competitor

Total

Matchmakers, Inc. 5 5 5 3 5 1 24

United Way 3 5 5 1 5 3 22

Kwik Transport 5 5 5 3 1 3 22

Lifestyle Leasing 1 1 1 5 5 7 20

MSA Payroll Services 3 1 1 1 5 1 12

Fantasy Travel 3 5 5 3 1 3 20

4Square Entertainment

1 5 1 5 5 3 20

Baldrige Consultants 5 1 5 3 5 7 26

City Government 3 1 1 3 1 3 12

Able Bakers 1 5 1 1 1 5 14


* “Traditional criteria”

Account Criteria Examples

Annual company revenue

Our revenue from this account last year *

Expectations of future revenue *

Market position

Market viability

Financial strength

Recent good/poor financial performance

Growth in revenues

Growth in employees

Our relationship quality

Our account coverage last year

Customer satisfaction level

Current installed inventory of our products

Potential usage of our offerings *

Analyst opinions

Known email address

Strategic value to us

Company’s compatibility with our culture

Our experience in this industry

Urgency of Business Issues (Pains)

Knowledge of buying processes

Trusted advisor vs. vendor

Likelihood of sponsorship

Expected profitability

Technology adoption position

Competitive strength

Competitive presence

Our solution fit to their needs *

Business initiatives we can help with

Mergers & acquisitions

Convenience of geographic location

Responded to (e)mailing


Exercise

Develop Qualification Criteria

Purpose:

Identify criteria to help determine the “sweet spots” in your territory

Activities:

Record the top 5 criteria that describes an ideal customer in your territory

Be prepared to debrief


Qualification Criteria: Example

Finding the “Sweet Spot”

Criterion Measure Points


Identify Opportunities through Planning

Territory Planning

Opportunity Planning

Territory Territory

Account Account Account AccountAccount

Opp Opp Opp Opp Opp

Existing Accounts New Accounts


Key Players List: Example

Role

Pains OwnerFinance /Purchasin

gAccounting

Office Manager

Administrative Professional

Sales / Marketing

IT

Difficulty controlling spend X X X

Unable to track spend easily/efficiently

X X

Increasing operational costs X X

Difficulty completing workload X X X X

Increased pressure / responsibility with less resources

X X X

Increase in personal workload X X X

Inefficient office management processes and procedures

X X

Increased time to process invoices

X

Eroding margins X X

Declining revenue X X

Company image is not standard or consistent

X

Increasing technology costs X

Increasing costs and time to manage multiple vendors

X X X X


Opportunity Example Snapshot

All tools throughout materials are based on these characteristics:

50-60 WCW, approximately $250 spend/year for each WCW

Office Manager is Power Sponsor

Owner has given all departments directive to cut budgets by 10%


Basic Principle

PAIN FLOWS THROUGH AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Pain Chain® - “Cause and Effect”

Job Title:Pain:Reason:







Pain Chain®: Example

Job Title: AccountingPain: Increasing time and cost to process

invoicesReason A: Managing multiple vendors

Job Title: AccountingPain: Increasing time and cost to process

invoicesReason A: Managing multiple vendors

Job Title: Office ManagerPain: Increasing costs and time to manage

multiple vendorsReason A: High use of single vendors to provide

services

Job Title: Office ManagerPain: Increasing costs and time to manage

multiple vendorsReason A: High use of single vendors to provide

services

Job Title: Finance Pain: Increasing operational costsReason A: Increasing time and cost to process

invoices

Job Title: Finance Pain: Increasing operational costsReason A: Increasing time and cost to process

invoices

Job Title: OwnerPain: Difficulty controlling spendReason A: Increasing operational costs

Job Title: OwnerPain: Difficulty controlling spendReason A: Increasing operational costs


Buying Process



Activities




satisfaction Research buying trends Identify new






Verifiable Outcomes


Yield Probability

0%


Create interestGain initial meeting


Business Development Best Practices

Remember who is responsible for your quota

Distinguish between prospecting vs. polling

Analyze funnel to plan activity and determine level of activity needed

Create interest and curiosity with your approach

Reserve sacred time for business development activities

Target the same job title or same industry (if possible)

Target high in the organization

Experiment with new approaches

Consider “timing and touches”

Measure results of various approaches

Remember the “SW” rule


Business Development: Messaging Considerations

“Are You Curious?”

You have limited time to get attention and create curiosity

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 Prompter: Examples

Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity

This is Bill Hart (salesperson name) with Office Depot (your company). You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with legal firms (specific industry) for the last 10 (#)

years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other Office Managers (job title) is their frustration (difficulty) with not being able to complete their workload (job title’s likely critical

issue / pain) [resulting from excessive administrative time they are spending on office supplies (articulate common reasons)]. We have been able to help our customers address this

issue. Would you like to know how?




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?

Business Development Prompter: Menu Approach (See Business Development e-mail)

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. The top three issues (concerns) we are hearing (lately) from other __________ (job title) are: (1) __________, (2)

__________ and (3) __________ (job title’s top three likely critical issue / pain). [We’ve helped companies like: (1) __________, (2) __________ and (3) __________ (three reference-able organizations) address some of these

issues.] Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Referral Approach

This is __________ (salesperson name) with __________ (your company). You and I haven’t spoken before, but __________, __________ at __________ (reference person’s name, title and organization) suggested that I give you a call. We were able to help her/him address his/her difficulty with __________ (reference person’s

critical issue / pain) [resulting from ______ (articulate common reasons)]. Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Multiple Contact Approach

This is __________ (salesperson name) with __________ (your company). You might recall my last contact via [phone / email / seminar / webinar / tradeshow] where we described how we have been working with __________ (specific industry) organizations for the last ___ (#) years. We cited a common trend with

__________ (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?


Business Development Letter/e-mail: Example

Steve,

Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division helps companies in 3 primary areas: sourcing, procurement, and payment for anything office related, and we help you do that effectively and efficiently.

We have been working with legal firms since 1999. Some of the chief concerns we hear lately include:

□ Increasing operational costs□ Difficulty completing workload□ Increased pressure / responsibility with less resources

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 Office Managers solve some very challenging issues, please call me 555-215-1111 and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on Wednesday of next week.

Regards,

Bill Hart

Steve,

Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division helps companies in 3 primary areas: sourcing, procurement, and payment for anything office related, and we help you do that effectively and efficiently.

We have been working with legal firms since 1999. Some of the chief concerns we hear lately include:

□ Increasing operational costs□ Difficulty completing workload□ Increased pressure / responsibility with less resources

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 Office Managers solve some very challenging issues, please call me 555-215-1111 and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on Wednesday of next week.

Regards,

Bill Hart


Reference Story: Example

REFERENCE STORY

Situation: Office Manager in a 50 person organization

Critical Business Issue:

Difficulty completing workload

Reason(s): Spending too much administrative time on office supplies

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

They needed a way when ordering office supplies the administrative professional could access frequently ordered items from a pre-populated list and select the appropriate items and volume needed.

We provided… …this capability

Result: They were able to gain back 25% of time spent on office supplies and reallocate it to other areas of the business.


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 %


Building a Compelling Value Proposition

Your Offering Your OfferingCustomer B

Situation

Customer A Situation

Initial Value Proposition

Initial Value Proposition

Reference Story

Reference Story

Projected Results

Measured Results

EXTRAPOLATE


Components of an Initial Value Proposition

A simple, clear statement of:

Your target prospect

Key quantified benefits you may offer them to address their potential critical business issue(s)

Based on:

Your knowledge of the specific value already achieved by an existing customer

Your company’s experience / knowledge of the prospect with a comparable situation

Your initial projection of the value to that prospect


Initial Value Proposition: Example for Office Manager

INITIAL VALUE PROPOSITION

“We have worked with similar companies and have demonstrated up to 15%

savings on total costs associated with procuring office supplies by helping

them improve some critical processes through the improvement of their

sourcing, procurement, and payment processes around office supplies. Would

you be interested in exploring the potential savings for your organization?”

Value Proposition Assumptions:

General statistics associated with non-automated processes

50-60 WCW

Other companies of similar size and industry typically achieve 15% savings on total costs based upon current usage


Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template

VALUE PROPOSITION TEMPLATE

“We believe that _____________________________ should be able to

__________________________________________________________

(by $_______________ or _______________%)

through the ability to ________________________________________

as a result of ____________________________________________.”

VALUE PROPOSITION TEMPLATE

“We believe that _____________________________ should be able to

__________________________________________________________

(by $_______________ or _______________%)

through the ability to ________________________________________

as a result of ____________________________________________.”

Value Proposition assumptions being made: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________

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? ].


Exercise

Stimulating Interest

Purpose:

To allow you and/or your team to develop specific job aids aimed at stimulating interest with the prospect organization by describing how you have helped others solve business problems

Activities:

In your group, identify an opportunity (from your pre-work) to use as an example

Identify the person you would like to contact (most likely Power Sponsor) and build a Business Development Prompter

Build a Reference Story for a past success or use a typical example of an opportunity you may encounter on a daily basis. Elements of this exercise may be fictitious or you may have to fabricate metrics for the results portion of the story (if results have not been measured as of yet)

Note:

Worksheets have been provided on the pages that follow




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?

Business Development Prompter: Menu Approach (See Business Development e-mail)

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. The top three issues (concerns) we are hearing (lately) from other

_______________ (job title) are: (1) _______________________________, (2) ___________________________

and (3) _________________________ (job title’s top three likely critical issue / pain). [We’ve helped companies

like: (1) __________________, (2) _________________________ and (3) ______________________________

(three reference-able organizations) address some of these issues.] Would you like to know how?



Business Development Prompter: Referral Approach

This is ________________ (salesperson name) with __________________ (your company). You and I haven’t

spoken before, but ________________________________ at ______________________________ (reference

person’s name, title and organization) suggested that I give you a call. We were able to help her/him address

his/her difficulty with ______________________________________________ (reference person’s critical issue /

pain) [resulting from _______________________________________________ (articulate common reasons)].

Would you like to know how?

Business Development Prompter: Multiple Contact Approach

This is _______________________ (salesperson name) with ____________________________ (your company).

You might recall my last contact via [phone / email / seminar / webinar / tradeshow] where we described

how we have been working with ___________________________ (specific industry) organizations for the last

___ (#) years. We cited a common trend with _______________________________________ (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?


Reference Story: Format and Template

FORMAT REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE

Job title / industry: A customer job title and

vertical industry

Critical 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 / service

Capabilities (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

capabilities

Result:Specific measurement is

best ($ or %)

Situation:


Reason(s):

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

We provided… …this capability

Result:


Quid Pro Quo in Plan and Engage

“What things would the customer want from you and what would you want from the customer?”


Office Depot Sales Process: Diagnose Stage

Buying Process



Sales Stage Plan and Engage Diagnose

Activities





trends Identify new



• Get pain admitted

• Diagnose admitted pain and create or reengineer a buying vision

• Agree upon next steps




•PSS® Pre-Call Planner•Vision Processing •Power Sponsor Letter/ e-mail

Verifiable Outcomes


Gain agreement with Power Sponsor to next

steps

Yield Probability

0% 25%



Getting Pain Admitted

Why Would Buyers Admit Pain?

Because the salesperson has:

Built rapport naturally

Established trustworthiness (sincerity + competence)

Established credibility

Demonstrated situational knowledge


Basic Principles

PEOPLE BUY FROM PEOPLE

POWER BUYS FROM POWER

BASIC PRINCIPLE

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Strategic Alignment

Opening of the Call

BUYER PERSPECTIVE / DECISION SALESPERSON ACTION

“Do I even want to listen to this salesperson?” Establish Rapport Naturally

Introduce Call

“Is this person different from other salespeople?”

“Is s/he sincere?... competent?”

“Am I ready to share critical information with this person?”

State call agenda

Share “we help” theme

Provide company / personal introduction

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

Transition to “getting pain admitted”


First Call Introduction: Strategic Alignment Prompter

Introduce Call

State call agenda *

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. Is that fair?”


“Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division focuses on 3 areas: sourcing, procurement, and payment for

anything office related, and we help you do that effectively and efficiently. ”

Provide company / personal introduction *

FACTS

□ Have X# of employees in your area□ Office Depot won the “Outstanding environmental leadership” award from Office Products International

□ Recognized as one of the top organizations for multi-cultural business opportunities by Diversity Business.com


“A particular situation you might be interested in is another 50 person organization we worked with. (organization type). Their office manager (job title) was having difficulty with completing her workload with less resources (pain). The reason for her difficulty was spending too much administrative time on office supplies. What she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) when ordering office supplies the administrative professional could access frequently ordered items from a pre-populated list and select the appropriate items and volume needed. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was she gained back 25% of time spent on office supplies and reallocate it to other areas of the business (specific result).”


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

* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant


Strategic Alignment



Get Pain Admitted

“Do I want to admit mycritical business issue (pain)

to this salesperson?”

Ask Situational Questions (if necessary)

Ask Menu of Pain Questions (if necessary)

Prioritize the admitted pain



Potential Buyer Responses

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

Potential Buyer Responses:Potential Buyer Responses: Salesperson’s Actions:Salesperson’s Actions:

1. 1.

2. 2.

3. 3.

4. 4.

5. 5.



Question Examples

SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS

MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS

“The top three difficulties we are hearing from other Office Managers these days include:

•Difficulty completing workload•Increased pressure / responsibility with less resources •Inefficient office management processes and procedures

…are you facing any of these issues today?” OR…are you curious how we have helped our customers deal with these issues?”

“How do you currently source, procure, and pay for office supplies?”

“What sources do you use to order?”

“What is the process for placing an order?”

“After the supplies are received how does the invoice get paid?”

“If you could change one thing about this process what would it be?”

“What problems does this cause and how is it affecting you?”


Anxiety: Example for SMB Customer Using Local Competitor

1. Anxiety Question:

“How would you feel if you received a damaged product or had to have return something to the vendor, but you had to go through a dispute process while the order was being investigated and had to pay a restocking fee?”

2. Capability Question:

“What if there were a way…when there is something wrong with the order you automatically received the appropriate credit while the process is being investigated and you did not incur additional fees for the return… would that help?”

3. Office Depot Differentiator:

Customer service team will provide credit back while orders are being disputed.


Anxiety: Example for Large Corporate Competitor


“How would you feel if you were having trouble with your service, and you were not able to access the person you built the initial relationship with who knew you and your account? As a result, you only had the ability to contact customer service and potentially go through multiple channels to get the issue resolved.”


“What if there were a way… if a big issue came up you could contact me as your local rep or my team that would know your account details and be able to handle your requests without going through multiple channels… would that help?”


Account management team approach- dedicated rep in the area that is reachable along with an inside sales rep and the customer service team.


Exercise

Call Introduction Role Play

Purpose: To provide a practice session for an initial sales call. This is your chance to define your

company on your terms and help position you and your organization with the prospect. Remember that rapport has already taken place

Activities: Avoid becoming too wordy or "rambling", especially in your company introduction.

The Call Introduction role play should include: 1. Call agenda2. “We help” theme3. Company introduction 4. Reference Story 5. Transition to getting pain admitted

Fill out the Strategic Alignment Prompter on the next page. You may need to embellish portions of the Reference Story that are not available to you or use the example provided. Complete the Questions Worksheet in order to have Situation Questions and a Menu of Pain approach available

Breakout into role play groups Each person should get an opportunity to play the “buyer” and the “salesperson” Be prepared to debrief

Note: Use an anxiety question if appropriate


Strategic Alignment Prompter

Introduce Call

State call agenda *

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. Is that fair?”


“Office Depot is in the business of helping organizations / companies in the __________ industry to…

___________________________________________________________________________________________.”

Provide company / personal introduction *

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.”

* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant


Getting Pain Admitted – Questions Worksheet

SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS (including “what bad thing happens” line of questioning)

MENU OF PAIN QUESTION

“The top three difficulties we are hearing from ____________________ these days include:

1.

2.

3.

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

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


Anxiety: Template


“How would you feel if….


“What if there were a way….



Office Depot Sales Process: Diagnose Stage

Buying Process



Sales Stage Plan and Engage Diagnose

Activities





trends Identify new







Dun & Bradstreet lists Hoovers Qualification Criteria Key Players List Contact Strategy Business Development

Prompter Reference Story PPS Scorecard PPS Funnel Calculator


Vision Processing Power Sponsor

Letter/ e-mail

Verifiable Outcomes



steps

Yield Probability

0% 25%




Basic Principle

DIAGNOSE BEFORE YOU PRESCRIBE

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Sales Performance Over Time

Time

Pe

rfo

rma

nc

e

P M

P = PerformanceM = Morale


Strategic Alignment

Develop Needs / Customer Buying Vision


Develop Needs / Customer Buying Vision

“Does this person understand my business issue and the reasons

contributing to it?

“Has this person thoroughly diagnosed my situation?”

“Do I agree with the capabilities suggested and the value articulated?”

“Do I want to take responsibility for solving this problem?”

Diagnose and create a vision of a company-biased solution

or

Reengineer a vision with company differentiators

Participate in existing vision

Introduce differentiators

Determine underlying pain (if not admitted)


Open

Purpose:

Control

Purpose:

Confirming

Purpose:

Types of Questions


Areas to Explore

Diagnose Before You Prescribe

Diagnose Reasons (how they operate today)

Visualize Capabilities (better future state)

Open(1)

Open (4)

Control(2)

Control(5)

Confirm(3)

Confirm(6)


Vision Processing: Example


Basic Principle

THE SOLUTION MUST EQUAL THE BUYING VISION

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Building Visions

“I am having difficulty completing all of my work!”

“What if you could complete all of your work?”

“What if you could duplicate your last office supplies order over the internet?”

“What if when ordering office supplies (who) the administrative professional (what) could access a frequently ordered items list

from a pre-populated list and select the appropriate items and volume, or with a single check duplicate a previous order & add or delete items immediately and have them delivered next-day?”

What if when an order is entered the (who) administrative professional (what) could be assured that the invoice

requirements have been completed so that less time is spent reconciling invoices on the back-end?”

“IF you could order office supplies from a frequently ordered items list or duplicate a previous order and have it delivered next-

day and be assured the invoice requirements have been completed , THEN could you complete your workload?”

Pain:

Goal:

Capability:

Capability Vision:

Capability Vision:

Buying Vision


Exercise

Vision Processing Role Play

Purpose:

To give a salesperson practice on how to diagnose the reasons for a prospect’s critical business issue or pain and help the buyer visualize the capabilities needed to address their pain

Activities:

Break into role play groups

Follow the blocks in the numbered order using the prompter provided

Each person should get an opportunity to play the “buyer” and the “salesperson”. Use an observer in the rotation if possible


Note:

Focus on following the process, not on personal skills such as eye contact


Vision Processing: Example


Exercise

Build a Vision Processing Prompter

Purpose:

To construct a Vision Processing prompter to help diagnose a customer’s critical business issue and build a vision of an Office Depot solution

Activities:

Include the primary reasons (for a key player’s pain) and the corresponding capabilities

Attempt to uncover at least 2 reasons and articulate 2 corresponding capabilities

Be sure to articulate the capabilities by crafting a “capability vision” that addresses each reason for the pain

Be prepared to share your work


Vision Processing: Template

6

5

4

3

2

1


Exercise

Vision Processing Role Play

Purpose:

To give a salesperson practice on how to diagnose the reasons for a prospect’s critical business issue or pain and help the buyer visualize the capabilities needed to address their pain

Activities:

Break into role play groups

Use the Vision Processing Prompter you built in your groups to practice

Each person should get an opportunity to play the “buyer” and the “salesperson”. Use an observer in the rotation if possible


Note:

Focus on following the process, not on personal skills such as eye contact


Strategic Alignment

Gain Agreement to Explore, Determine Ability to Buy, and Negotiate Access to Power


“Am I serious about moving this forward?

“Am I prepared to promote this to our decision-maker?”

Gain Agreement to Explore Further

Gauge the desire of the buyer to move to the next step

Move to next step if you perceive the buyer is not “power” and has not volunteered access to “power”

“Should I reveal the identity of power?”

Determine Ability to Buy

Ask the buyer to describe the process for proceeding if they are pleased with the capabilities. Ask them to identify anyone else involved in making the decision

“Do I want to sponsor this person if I’m convinced the capabilities

meet my needs?”

Negotiate Access to Power

Request access to “power”

If denied, strike a bargain

If buyer bargained, end the call and write a e-mail

If buyer will not bargain, find another potential Sponsor


Next Steps with Sponsor

Seller says… Actions

“If you had these capabilities could you fix your problem?”

Buyer agrees

“I am confident we can give you these capabilities. If you want to go forward, what do you do then? Who else is involved in this decision? How are they involved?”

Buyer acknowledges “Power” as someone else.

“Can we meet with him/her?” Buyer agrees or denies. If denied, strike a bargain.

“I’d like to make a suggestion. I’m willing to provide you some proof to demonstrate our capabilities that have been discussed. If you are satisfied with the proof step, would you then introduce me to (power person), is that fair?”

Buyer agrees

“Thank you for your time. I am going to write you an email confirming my understanding of our agreement and the proposed proof step. You should receive that email in a few days, and I will call you to discuss it.”

Buyer agrees


Gaining Access to Power

If vision and value are compelling, the prospect may volunteer access to power

Many will accept proof in exchange for access to power

How to handle those who will not grant access to power:

Find another potential Sponsor on your own

Ask for a contact they feel would sponsor you to power and get you an introduction


Potential Sponsor e-mail: Example

Sandra(Office Manager),

Thank you for your interest in Office Depot. The purpose of this e-mail is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan.

We discussed the following:(1) The primary critical issue is difficulty completing your workload.

(2) Reasons for difficulty completing workload: Lengthy process for ordering and maintaining office supplies Takes too long to reconcile invoices Cumbersome process for getting approvals on exceptions

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ When ordering office supplies the administrative professional could access a frequently ordered items list from

a pre-populated list and select appropriate items and volume and with a single check could duplicate a previous order & add or delete items immediately and have them delivered next-day

□ When an order is entered the administrative professional could be assured that the invoice requirements have been completed so that less time is spent reconciling invoices on the back-end

□ When a special request order is entered you had a way for the order to be automatically compared to preset rules and routed appropriately for approval so that you don’t spend too much time waiting for approvals

You said if you had these capabilities, you could complete your workload.

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 Jim Smith, your VP Finance. You mentioned Jim is not happy with the increasing costs.

(6) I would like to propose that we arrange a meeting with another Office Manager who has been using our services. I am confident you will like what you hear and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you Monday to discuss it further.

Sincerely, Bill Hart

Sandra(Office Manager),

Thank you for your interest in Office Depot. The purpose of this e-mail is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan.

We discussed the following:(1) The primary critical issue is difficulty completing your workload.

(2) Reasons for difficulty completing workload: Lengthy process for ordering and maintaining office supplies Takes too long to reconcile invoices Cumbersome process for getting approvals on exceptions

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ When ordering office supplies the administrative professional could access a frequently ordered items list from

a pre-populated list and select appropriate items and volume and with a single check could duplicate a previous order & add or delete items immediately and have them delivered next-day

□ When an order is entered the administrative professional could be assured that the invoice requirements have been completed so that less time is spent reconciling invoices on the back-end

□ When a special request order is entered you had a way for the order to be automatically compared to preset rules and routed appropriately for approval so that you don’t spend too much time waiting for approvals

You said if you had these capabilities, you could complete your workload.

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 Jim Smith, your VP Finance. You mentioned Jim is not happy with the increasing costs.

(6) I would like to propose that we arrange a meeting with another Office Manager who has been using our services. I am confident you will like what you hear and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you Monday to discuss it further.


Qualification Components:123456


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

Control

Open

Control

Open

Confirm Confirm

Control

Open

Control

Open

Confirm Confirm


Next Steps with Power Sponsor



Buyer agrees


Gain understanding of their decision making process

“How would you like to evaluate us?” Write down each request as you repeat it. Do not agree or disagree

“Will there be any type of legal or financial approval?”

Buyer responds

“Thank you for your time. I am going to send you an e-mail confirming my understanding of our agreement and next steps. You should receive that e-mail in a few days, and I will call you to discuss it.”

Buyer agrees


Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Example

Jim (Finance),

Thank you for meeting with me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both our companies.

We discussed the following:(1) The primary critical issue is increasing operational costs.

(2) Reasons for not increasing operational costs□ Spending too much time reconciling invoices □ Spending too much time in approval process

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ When an order is entered the administrative professional could be assured that the invoice requirements have been

completed so that less time is spent reconciling invoices on the back-end□ When a special request order is entered you had a way for the order to be automatically compared to preset rules and routed

appropriately for approval so that you don’t spend too much time waiting for approvals

You said if you had these capabilities, you would be able to decrease your costs.

Our next steps(4) When I told you I was confident Office Depot could help, you indicated you felt so too and suggested we proceed with next steps.

(5) Based on my knowledge to date, I have included a list of what the next steps might be to help you further explore Office Depot. I will call you on Thursday, to get your thoughts.


Next Steps Week ofReview usage list June 22Speak with Accounts Payable about pay requirements June 22Present and gain approval on bid June 29Agree on implementation plan & success criteria June 29Set-up account June 29Conduct web-site demo & place first order June 29 or July 6

Jim (Finance),

Thank you for meeting with me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both our companies.

We discussed the following:(1) The primary critical issue is increasing operational costs.

(2) Reasons for not increasing operational costs□ Spending too much time reconciling invoices □ Spending too much time in approval process

(3) Capabilities you said you needed:□ When an order is entered the administrative professional could be assured that the invoice requirements have been

completed so that less time is spent reconciling invoices on the back-end□ When a special request order is entered you had a way for the order to be automatically compared to preset rules and routed

appropriately for approval so that you don’t spend too much time waiting for approvals

You said if you had these capabilities, you would be able to decrease your costs.

Our next steps(4) When I told you I was confident Office Depot could help, you indicated you felt so too and suggested we proceed with next steps.

(5) Based on my knowledge to date, I have included a list of what the next steps might be to help you further explore Office Depot. I will call you on Thursday, to get your thoughts.


Next Steps Week ofReview usage list June 22Speak with Accounts Payable about pay requirements June 22Present and gain approval on bid June 29Agree on implementation plan & success criteria June 29Set-up account June 29Conduct web-site demo & place first order June 29 or July 6

Qualification Components:1 Pain2 Reasons for the Pain3 Buying Vision4 Agreement to Explore5 Suggested Next Steps


Exercise

Buyer / Process Qualification Role Play

Purpose:

To focus on qualifying the buyer. The “salesperson” should be able to determine whether they are engaged in conversations with a “power” person or a Sponsor

Activities:

Break into role play groups (or pairs)

Role play the next steps after creating a buying vision. The “buyer’s” answer to “Who else is involved in this decision? How are they involved?” will help the “salesperson” determine whether to proceed to negotiating access to Power or uncovering the buying process

Each person should get an opportunity to play the “buyer” and the “salesperson”

If at a Power Sponsor level, the salesperson needs to qualify the buying process. If only at a Sponsor level, the salesperson must “bargain” for access to power


Gain Agreement to Explore Further and Determine Ability to Buy



Buyer agrees


Buyer acknowledges themselves as “Power” or as someone.

Based on response, seller negotiates access to power or

uncovers the customer’s buying process


Next Steps

If with Sponsor

Seller says… Actions“Can we meet with him/her?” Buyer agrees or

denies. If denied, strike

a bargain.

“I’d like to make a suggestion. I’m willing to provide you some proof to demonstrate our capabilities that have been discussed. If you are satisfied with the proof step, would you then introduce me to (power person), is that fair?”

Buyer agrees

“Thank you for your time. I am going to write you an email confirming my understanding of our agreement and the proposed proof step. You should receive that email in a few days, and I will call you to discuss it.”

Buyer agrees

If with Power Sponsor

Seller says… Actions“How would you like to evaluate us?”

Write down each request as you

repeat it. Do not agree or disagree

“Will there be any type of legal or financial approval?”

Buyer responds

“Thank you for your time. I am going to send you an e-mail confirming my understanding of our agreement and next steps. You should receive that e-mail in a few days, and I will call you to discuss it.”

Buyer agrees


Quid Pro Quo in Diagnose



Office Depot Sales Process: Propose & Close Stage

Buying Process




finalize contracts

Sales Stage Plan and Engage Diagnose Propose and Close

Activities





trends Identify new



Get pain admitted Diagnose admitted pain

and create or reengineer a buying vision

Agree upon next steps

Engage appropriate overlay

Present solution

Gain agreement to transition plan

Develop value and refine value proposition

Identify success criteria

Respond to RFP or bid (if appropriate)

Gain agreement to buy





Vision Processing Power Sponsor Letter/

e-mail

Bid Builder Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet Get-Give List Resolving Customer

Concerns (PSS ® Skill Guide Card)

Verifiable Outcomes



steps

Gain verbal agreement to buy

Yield Probability

0% 25% 75%





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+





The Transition Sale: Transition / Implementation Vision


Operational Vision



Operational Vision


FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



TRANSITION SALE




TRANSITION SALE





Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet

Person responsible: Administrative Professional

Transition issue: Fear of changing the ordering process

REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES

A Confusion of ordering A After account is set-up, Office Depot will provide training on how to place orders and create a customized shopping list with the new SKU numbers on most purchased items. As part of the training, Office Depot will be present when the first order is placed to ensure all questions and concerns are addressed.

B Changing mindset of going to a different website for ordering

B After account is set-up, a mutually agreed upon cutover date will be established, and Office Depot will provide a transition incentive and all orders place in the first 30 days over $200 will receive a 10% rebate



The Financial Sale: Operational Vision + Transition / Implementation Vision


Operational Vision



Operational Vision


FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+



TRANSITION SALE




TRANSITION SALE





Basic Principles

THE BEST RELATIONSHIPS ARE BASED ON VALUE

PEOPLE MAKE EMOTIONAL DECISIONS FOR LOGICAL REASONS

BASIC PRINCIPLE

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Refined Value Proposition

Reasons for participation:

Initiating

Closing

Discounting

Must be done

Others?

Early adopters (visionaries) vs. Majority (pragmatic and conservative)


Refined Value Proposition

What Will Be Measured?

Profits from increased revenue Examples:

Capabilities provided by your product / service that help the buyer increase revenues and profits

Time-to-market Ability to react to competition Increased market share Increased order volume

Reduced costs from displaced costs Examples:

Capabilities provided by your product / service that help the buyer eliminate an existing cost and improve profits

Headcount / labor costs Process improvement Inventory costs

Reduced costs from avoided costs Examples:

Capabilities provided by your product / service that help the buyer eliminate a future cost

Overtime Employee turnover Equipment downtime

Intangible benefits Examples:

Capabilities provided by your product / service that help the buyer but either have no dollar value or the buyer is unwilling to assign a dollar value

Employee morale Company image


Refined Value Proposition: Example for Office Manager

REFINED VALUE PROPOSITION

“Based upon our discussions we believe you should be able to save

25 hours per month or $7,000 / year

through the ability to source, procure, and pay for office supplies more

efficiently.”

REFINED VALUE PROPOSITION

“Based upon our discussions we believe you should be able to save

25 hours per month or $7,000 / year

through the ability to source, procure, and pay for office supplies more

efficiently.”

Value Proposition calculations being made:Save 3 hours per week on ordering process (1) Reconciliation of invoices takes 12 hours/year (2)50 employees save 3 hours/week on finding products they need ordered (1)FTE fully burdened is $50K/year (3)Save 25 hours/month = $7,211/year (1,3)

Sources for information: 1) Office Manager2) Accounting3) Finance / Purchasing


Success Criteria: Example

Part of Business Review

Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

# orders placed 1 2/week

Reconciliation of invoices (#) 2 2/week

Errors in invoice reconciliation 2 1/month

Time to place orders 14 hours/

week

Core spend / non-core spend 1,3 30% / 70%

(1) Office Manager(2) Accounting(3) Finance / Purchasing


Success Criteria: Leveraging Success


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:


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?


Buying Process




finalize contracts

Sales Stage Plan and Engage Diagnose Propose and Close

Activities





trends Identify new







Present solution











Letter/e-mail



Verifiable Outcomes



steps


Yield Probability

0% 25% 75%

Office Depot Sales Process: Propose & Close Stage

• Gain agreement to buy


Basic Principles

IF YOU ARE NOT READY TO WALK,YOU ARE NOT READY TO SELL

DON’T CLOSE BEFORE IT IS CLOSEABLE

BASIC PRINCIPLE

BASIC PRINCIPLE


Buying Tactics

Buyers:

Consider many alternatives

Know position in advance

Assign sponsor to each alternative

Never let you know you are winning

Never let you know you are losing

Price negotiate in reverse preference order

Take it away from you at least once

Are aware of your deadlines

Will take what you put on the table


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? Finance L/T/A approvals? Office Manager Plan completed? Known cost since: 2 weeks

Stand 1 (Plan):

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

Stand 2 (Value):

“When we reviewed the value, you told me you would be able to save at least 25 hours per month in process improvement, which is over $7,000 per year. Is this still accurate?”

Stand 3 (Pain):

“The reason we have been working together is because you are having difficulty completing your current workload with your current resources. This issue will not go away until you gain these new capabilities. Has something changed?”

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… provide a referral to us of one of the other offices in your building? Is that possible?”

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

GIVE“If you can… provide a referral to one of the other offices in your building, 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


Quid Pro Quo in Propose and Close



Sales Process Flow Model

Active Opportunities

Potential opportunity starting points

Conduct pre-call planning and research

Stimulate interest

Define “pain” or critical business issue

Diagnose and create vision of company-biased solution

Perform opportunity assessment

Select competitive strategy

Reengineer vision with company differentiators

Negotiate access to power

Develop & manage Evaluation Plan(sample steps)

• Summarize findings• Prove capabilities• Present preliminary solution• Determine value analysis/s. criteria• Gain all approvals (L/T/A)• Conduct pre-proposal review

Reach final agreement

Measure and leverage success criteria

Go?

At power

?

Yes Yes

Yes

No

NoYes Yes

Yes

No

NoNo

Latent or Admitted Pain Vision or Active Evaluation



Active Opportunities

Customer Buying Process



Select solutions & evaluate risk Resolve issues Evaluate success

Sales Activities




Retain and Grow Monitor client satisfaction Research buying trends Identify new opportunities

across SKU’s and categories


Get pain admitted Diagnose admitted pain and

create or reengineer a buying vision



Present solution Develop value and

refine value proposition




Set-up account Upload prices Show and train on

website

Measure success criteria

Resolve customer problems

Conduct business review

Monitor client satisfaction

Verifiable Outcome


Gain agreement with Power Sponsor to next steps


First order is placed 7-7-7 goals accomplished




PSS® Pre-Call Planner Vision Processing Power Sponsor Letter/e-mail



Implementation Plan Success Criteria Reference Stories

Yield Percentages

25% 75% 100%

Where is the buyer?Where are you?


Opportunity Assessment

“Quick Assessment”: Example

PAIN

Is the Pain compelling enough for them to change?

POWER

Do we know who “power” is and are we aligned with the right people to win?

VISION

Can our “solution” be differentiated from the competition?

VALUE

Can unique value be generated and agreed upon?

CONTROL

Can we exert control upon the buying process?

Sale = Pain x Power x Vision x Value x ControlSale = Pain x Power x Vision x Value x Control


Differentiation Grid

100CUSTOMER VALUE

UNIQUENESS


Tactics for Addressing Competition / Incumbents: Example

StaplesStaples

Key Vulnerabilities Response

1. Account management team

•How does your current vendor manage the account relationship? •How often do you see your representative? •What do you like about them? •If you could change 3 things about the current relationship, what would it be?

2. Lack of technology resources

•How do they provide for your technology needs? •How do you receive support on technology? •Do you have a dedicated account based resource for technology?

Regional Regional ProviderProvider

Key Vulnerabilities Response

1. Inconsistent pricing structure

•How long have you been with them? •What is their pricing philosophy? •How does it affect your budgeting process? •Have you audited the pricing? •Have you found it consistent?

2. Expertise•How do they support your current business initiatives?


Exercise

Identify Tactics to Handle Competition / Incumbent

Purpose:

Share ideas on how to handle competition

Activities:

Identify a competitor you encounter on a regular basis

Determine 1-2 of the competitor’s key vulnerabilities

Identify an differentiator that can address the vulnerability

Create questions that can be asked of the prospect to help bring them to self discovery about the competitor’s vulnerability


Tactics for Addressing Competition / Incumbents: Template

Competitor:

Key Vulnerabilities Office Depot Differentiator Response

Competitor:

Key Vulnerabilities Office Depot Differentiator Response


Office Depot Sales Process: Implement & Fulfill Stages

Buying Process




finalize contracts

Resolve issues & implement

Evaluate success

Sales StagePlan and Engage Diagnose

Propose and Close Implement Fulfill

Activities





trends Identify new








refine value proposition Identify success criteria Respond to RFP or bid

(if appropriate) Gain agreement to buy

• Set-up account

• Upload prices

• Show and train on website

• Measure success criteria

• Resolve customer problems

• Conduct business review

• Monitor client satisfaction






Letter/e-mail

Bid Builder Transition Issues Bid Builder Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet Get-Give List Resolving Customer


• Implementation Plan •Success Criteria•Reference Stories

Verifiable Outcomes



steps



Yield Probability

0% 25% 75% 100%

•Measure success criteria


Success Criteria: Example

Part of Business Review After 6 Months


# orders placed 1 2/week 2/week 1/week

Reconciliation of invoices (#) 2 2/week 1/week 0

Errors in invoice reconciliation 2 1/month 1/month 0

Time to place orders 14 hours/

week2 hours /

week1 hour /

week

Core spend / non-core spend 1,3 30% / 70%

40% / 60%

50% / 50%

(1) Office Manager(2) Accounting(3) Finance / Purchasing


Exercise

Turning a Customer into a Buying Customer

Purpose:

Share ideas on how to ensure customers that are signed up turn into buying customers

Activities:

As a group, identify activities you conduct with a customer to ensure they use Office Depot as their primary provider



Best Practices for Creating Buying Customers


Quid Pro Quo in Implement and Fulfill




Managing Your Territory





Sales Activities

















website





Verifiable Outcome












Yield Percentages

25% 75% 100%






Sales Activities

















website





Verifiable Outcome












Yield Percentages

25% 75% 100%

The Sales Online Sales Cycle is Supported Within the New Sales Process

Lead

Prospect

Opportunity Customer


Pipeline Analysis Worksheet

Annual View: Yield Calculation Example

A A Quota: $ 2,000,000 BB Average sell cycle length: 3 months

C C Average opportunity size: $ 10,225 DD Months left in the year: 10

E E Year-to-date attainment not reflected in the completed step “Fulfill”: $ 60,000

Step completed Revenue X Yield % = Yield

Diagnose $ 500,000 X 25% = $125,000

Propose & Close $ 200,000 X 75% = $150,000

Implement $50,000 X 100% = $50,000

Pipeline revenue total: $750,000 FF Pipeline yield total: = $325,000

GG Projected yield for the year (F / B) x (D): $1,083,333

HH Gap * (A – G – E): * Gaps are negative ($856,667)

II Additional “Diagnose” opportunities required to close the gap (H / C) x 25:

2095


Tactical Approaches to Fill a Gap

PROCESS ACTION PROCESS JOB AIDS

Increase your win odds

Disengage when appropriate Qualification with Power Sponsor Focus on working with Power

Opportunity Assessment Power Sponsor Letter/e-mail

Increase the size of your current opportunities

Focus on total solution Identify benefit and value in other

parts of the organization Broaden the scope of the solution

Key Players List Value Proposition Vision Processing Model

Shorten your average sell cycle length

Early qualification Disengage where appropriate Mutual agreement to proceed Improve speed through sell cycles Get to Power more quickly

Power Sponsor Letter/e-mail Strategic Alignment Prompter

Find more opportunities during

“planning”

Focus on latent pain Leverage successes Increase business development Increase marketing campaigns

Success Criteria Value Proposition Reference Story Key Players List Business Development Prompter


Strength of Sale Check

Worksheet – “October 1st Example”

PAIN SCALE

Customer:

Rocket

Opportunity:

Database

Date Updated:

Oct 1_____

Sep 17_____

0 No identification of need or pain by customer

1 Salesperson assumes Sponsor’s needs

2 Sponsor admits needs

3 Sponsor admits reasons / symptoms for pain

4 Sponsor admits pain

5 Salesperson documents pain, Sponsor agrees

6 Salesperson assumes Power Sponsor’s needs

7 Power Sponsor admits needs

8 Power admits reasons / symptoms for pain

9 Power Sponsor admits pain

10 Salesperson documents pain, Power agrees

POWER SCALE

0 Power Sponsor not identified

1 Decision process revealed by Sponsor

2 Potential Power Sponsor identified

3 Bargain for access to Power agreed by Sponsor

4 Access to Power Sponsor achieved

5 Buying and decision processes confirmed

6 Power Sponsor agreed to explore further

7 Power Sponsor agreed to Evaluation Plan

8 Power Sponsor agreed to proposal content

9 Power Sponsor provided verbal approval

10 Power approved/provided contract signature

VISION SCALE VALUE SCALE CONTROL SCALE

0 No vision or competitive vision established 0 Customer explores solution, value not identified 0 No follow-up documentation of client conversations

1 Vision for Sponsor created in product terms 1 Salesperson identifies customer value proposition 1 Lead Letter (email) sent

2 Vision for Sponsor created in situational terms 2 Customer agrees to explore the value proposition 2 Lead Letter (email) agreed upon or modified

3 Differentiated vision created with Sponsor 3 Value discovered associated with Pain 3 Sponsor Letter (email) sent

4 Differentiated vision documented to Sponsor 4 Value discovered associated with Vision 4 Sponsor Letter (email) agree upon or modified

5 Documentation agreed to by Sponsor 5 Customer confirms or modifies potential value 5 Seller gained agreement to pre-proposal review

6 Vision for Power created in product terms 6 Additional beneficiaries included in value potential 6 Power Sponsor Letter (email) & Evaluation Plan sent

7 Vision for Power created in situational terms 7 Value analysis conducted – driven by salesperson 7 Letter and Evaluation Plan agree upon or modified

8 Differentiated vision created with Power 8 Value analysis conducted – driven by customer 8 First Go-No Go Step completed

9 Differentiated vision documented to Power 9 Value analysis conducted – jointly produced 9 Pre-proposal review conducted

10 Documentation agreed to by Power 10 Value of solution meets decision criteria 10 Evaluation Plan completed

Pain

10

00

00

0

ControlPower

ValueVision


Office Depot Sales Process for Territory Development Managers

Getting Started





Sales Activities

















website





Verifiable Outcome












Yield Percentages

25% 75% 100%


The Impact of Different Levels of Support

Phase I:“Easy”

Phase II:“Work”

Phase III:“Habit”

Time

Res

ult

s

Sellers Alone

Manager Support

Executive Support

Organizational Support

Low Hanging Fruit Use it 18-21 Times Part of the Fabric

Base


Getting Started – Salespeople: Example

First Week First Month Ongoing

1. Reserve “sacred” time on your calendar for prospecting

2. Perform an opportunity assessment on your top 5 opportunities

3. Schedule 2 refocus meetings to clarify an element of the formula for a successful sale

Sale = P x P x V x V x C4. Utilize these job aids with 2

prospects: Vision Processing Model Power Sponsor Letter/e-

mail5. Make 2 vision processing calls

focused on one of the following:

“drilling down” on the cost of doing business today

Creating compelling action visions including value

1. Grade top opportunities using the Pipeline Milestones Worksheet™

2. Add one additional job aid or concept each week until fully utilizing all

3. Build a Key Players List and Account Qualification Criteria

4. Interview 1 existing customer and write a Reference Story (monthly)

5. Establish success criteria for 1 opportunity (monthly)

1. Use the Solution Selling® sales process to manage your “territory”

2. Review key opportunities with management

3. Use appropriate Solution Selling® tools to win opportunities


Exercise

Getting Started

Purpose:

To identify sales process / Solution Selling® concepts or tools that you can implement immediately

Activities:

Write down the top 3 things you were exposed to during this session that you plan to implement immediately back in the field

New things you learned

Things you plan on doing differently

Etc.

Be prepared to share your thoughts

After the workshop, discuss with your manager how you will implement the list and how they can help you

List:

1. ____________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________


Next Steps

Participate in the post workshop assessment:

You will receive an e-mail after the workshop with the link below

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2boaIVDAFt4yfUY37hT9fTA_3d_3d

Continue to use Solution Selling® eLearning:

Take additional modules for areas that need improvement

Will be used by management for reinforcement


Effective Habits

Integration of Knowledge, Skills and Desire

“Creating a habit requires work in all three areas…

-----------------------------------------------

it is sometimes a painful process. It’s a change motivated by a higher purpose, by the willingness to subordinate what you think you want now for what you

want later.”

Source: Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective PeopleNew York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. Used with permission.

SKILLS(How to)

DESIRE(Want to)

KNOWLEDGE(What to do, why to)

HABITS

Documents

© Solution Selling, Inc. 2009 2 Day Office Depot Workshop for Territory Development Managers