SOLUTION SELLINGHANDBOOK

Selling is easy in theory but less so in reality. Few succeed to the very top of the sales profes-sion which is why, in a typical sales organization, 80 per cent of the commissions are earned by less than 20 per cent of the sales team. One of the reasons we wrote this handbook is to help you to become one of the 20 percent, BUT …

We strongly believe that just writing a book is not enough. That has been tried many thou-sands of times before. Just run a search on Google or any other major search engine for ‘sales books’ and you will get more than 60 million results.

Of course all sales books have their merits; our point is that just reading about something and trying to put it into action is simply not enough. Theory and reality are just so far apart.

That is why, as well as producing this and other handbooks, we created the Salesbox CRM App. This way you not only learn, but also work with an app, which gives you all the neces-sary information and support to implement Solution Selling and Activity Based Selling as new behaviors and routines in your career.

PREFACE

Solution Selling is both an art and a science. It is the most complex style of selling and also certainly the most powerful and effective.

The purpose of this handbook is to make Solution Selling easier to understand and imple-ment for sales success. It is the introduction to the Salesbox CRM version of Solution Selling which focuses on activities rather than a sales ‘process’ and which we call ACTIVITY DRIVEN SALES. Its’ purpose is to clarify for the individual salesperson how to implement this sales methodology, how you can work together with other members of the team to increase sales and also serves as an explanation for the other colleagues who may be involved in the sale such as consulting managers, project managers etc.

In his international best selling sales book ‘How To Double Your Sales’ (Financial Times Pren-tice Hall 2010), the author, Bruce King defines Solution Selling as follows:

‘Exposing companies and individuals to problems they maybe never knew they had and to opportunities they maybe never knew existed, and showing them how your ideas, products or services can help them solve their problems or exploit the opportunities – and getting them to buy.’

Solution selling is therefore not about WHAT you sell - it is about HOW you sell. Solution Selling is about making prospects aware of and willing to invest to eliminate painful and costly problems and exploit potential opportunities.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever wondered what are the real keys to success in sales? It is quite simply focus and activity. This handbook will describe what activities to perform and what to focus on within Solution and Activity Based Selling. If you follow these guidelines and use the associ-ated Salesbox CRM app, we guarantee your success and that you will also will have more fun while achieving your goals. Don’t forget, the journey to the goals should be as much fun as achieving them.

The Salesbox methodology can be broken down into the following stages:> Identify the problem or opportunity> Identify the solution> Gain agreement your solution will solve the problem or exploit the opportunity> Get an agreement that the cost of the solution is acceptable> Secure your sponsors and power sponsors agreement that they want to work with/buy from you> Agree the time plan for purchase (and implementation if required) > Send proposal, quote, contract and sign the deal.

Solution selling is about mak-ing clients aware of and willing to invest to get rid of painful and costly problems.

ACTIVITY AND FOCUS

Have you ever been told that you are not following the process? Have you ever felt that your manager does not understand what happens in the field when you are selling? Have you ever felt that your clients do not act as your process indicates they should?

There is a reason for this. It is simple but never the less sometimes hard to see and perhaps more importantly, hard to do anything about.

The reason why processes within sales very rarely work effectively is because processes only work when you or the person responsible for the steps in the process are 100 percent in con-trol such as a delivery process, a support process, a manufacturing process etc.

When you are selling, you are selling to a human being with feelings, fears, doubts, responsi-bilities and other human characteristics including distinctly different DISC* profiles.

Therefore it is vital to realize that whilst you can manage things, you cannot manage people. You can however LEAD people. There is an excellent book on that topic that we recommend

(The Servant by James C. Hunter). In sales it is all about LEADING a client through a pre-set number of activities.

There are of course occasions when following a sales process is successful. But when it is, it is usually because of a rare and random chance that your sales process is perfectly aligned with your client’s buying process. At Sales-box, we do not believe in random chances. We believe in control of the situa-tion and increasing the probability for success several fold.

One other reason why sales processes rarely work is that the best salespeo-ple are usually creative, dominant and intuitive (In DISC* I and D), which means that they do not like being put in a box and being forced to work with a process. Despite that, many sales managers, sales directors and CEOs try to force the sales staff to work with a defined sales process.

In complete contrast, the people who like processes and fixed routines (In DISC* C) are not ideally suited to sales roles although they may be well suit-ed to a sales support role or customer service (after sales) role.

*For more information on DISC, download the additional DISC handbooks from our website.

ACTIVITY BEFORE PROCESS

THE ACTIVITY IS THE MAIN PRIORITY

THE THREE MAIN ELEMENTS

Salesbox Solution and Activity Based Selling is based on three main elements:

> Lead generation> Sales activities > Teamwork.

Together these parts form the activities that drive the sale and note that the activities are the important things to focus on, BUT NOT necessarily in a particular order.

There are several purposes of this model and these guidelines, including:

> To make it easier to foresee which prospects are potential customers for your solutions, in both the short and long term.> To streamline the actual sales activities and to lead the prospect in both a transparent and clear way to a decision. > To create opportunities to quickly establish trust with the prospect, gain an understanding of their problem and what business benefits they will achieve by working with you.> To enable management to create reliable and continuous forecasts and support the sales team using the information in the Salesbox CRM app.

LEAD GENERATION

Lead generation is based on various types of information channels:

> Cold calls to new prospects where there is no relationship> Warm calls to existing clients where there is a relationship > Incoming enquiries from various marketing campaigns and from partners> Referrals from colleagues> Referrals from customers

COST OF SALES

Although not an activity, cost of sales can be an important factor and often an extremely high cost when generating leads, so therefore worthy of careful consideration and a men-tion here.

Many companies know that the cost of selling continues to rise year on year, making per-son-to-person sales calls ever more expensive. But what is the actual cost of a B2B sales call? They of course vary by industry and geography. However, as an indication, Cahners and Reed Publishing Companies found that the average cost of a Business-to-Business sales call increased by over 30 percent between 2001 and 2013. Including salary, travel and expenses, the cost amounted to more than 500 dollars per call in the USA. Similar research from B2B publishers including Penton, Thomas and McGraw Hill confirmed these findings.

Knowing the high cost of B2B sales cold calls, why would any company hire sales people to hunt down prospects with only that methodology? Yet many companies do so, and at a staggering expense. Smart companies recognize that it is the Marketing Department’s job to identify, nurture and qualify viable sales opportunities and to fill their sales lead pipeline with qualified leads their salespeople can more readily convert and close.

Therefore the ultimate strategy for Lead Generation should be:> Reduce the overall cost-of-sales> Maximize sales call conversion results.

However an equally important question is why a company would invest in a marketing campaign to fill their sales lead pipeline with viable sales opportunities and then ignore the fact their sales people fail to follow-up? It happens far too often. In fact research shows that a significant number of B2B product inquirers never hear from a sales person.

We all know salespeople are busy, the question is ‘busy‘ with what? The same research shows that salespeople spend the majority of the their time calling on existing custom-ers. A big part of the marketing department’s responsibility is identifying, nurturing and generating “new” sales leads and opportunities, yet the follow-up is often poor.

With the cost of sales rising it is critical for companies to understand the true cost of their sales calls, and to make sure their sales people are spending their time developing their best sales opportunities. The Salesbox CRM provides a simple and effective solution to tracking this.

COLD TELEPHONE CALLS

As with everything in business there are exceptions and some time invest-ed in cold telephone calling can indeed be a worthwhile investment. Some of the key points to successful telephone cold calling campaigns include:

> Calling a well researched and targeted list, likely to have a potential interest.> Having a mutual connection who can either introduce you or whose name you can mention. Linked In can be a good source.> Having a powerful opening statement and relevant follow up questions to qualify the prospect and to gain a meeting (or sale).> Having a series of at least six different powerful voicemail messages you

can leave that will encourage a call back and which continue to build potential interest. Most salespeople quit after leaving just one or two voicemail messages, which is a big mistake.

One of the best books to read and to help you improve your cold calling techniques is by Bruce King. Titled Telephone Sales & Appointment Setting – How To Become World Class (Available on Amazon)

Campaigns are an effective way to generate leads. With a well executed, multi channel marketing campaign it is possible to identify which prospects are currently interested in an

offer or may be in the near future.

The purpose of this campaign method is an alternative to the traditional method of cold calling because most of the potential clients are busy, must prioritize their time and are often reluctant to accept cold calls. With the campaign approach it is possible to create a practical opportunity to connect with the right decision maker at the right time. In order to conduct a campaign the following prerequisites must be met:

> There are definite and known problems to solve or opportunities to exploit> There must be solutions > Ideally, references to substantiate the effectiveness of the solutions should be available

THE METHODOLOGY

The campaign is consists of sending up to five physical letters or emails and publishing the message on preferred social media channels (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.).

Each email or letter is personalized and is not therefore perceived as a mass mailing. The email series contains variations of the same or similar information. The purpose of the mailings is to drive the recipient to the company’s website where it is possible to track and identify who opens and reads them and how many times the recipient visits the site.

By tracking the behavior of the recipient it is possible to identify which may have an interest and thus prioritize which recipients should be contacted by telephone to schedule an appoint-ment.

The campaign can also be followed up by an invitation to a seminar where all potential clients who do not want a one on one meeting can be invited.

WORKING WITH CAMPAIGNS AS A LEAD GENERATION TOOL

If sending mailing via post rather than email, response rates can be improved by hand writing the envelopes and signing the letters by hand. All mailings should include some of the following and varied in each mailing:

> A powerful summary of the problems you can solve and / or the opportunities you can solve> Links to the relevant parts of the company website> Links to downloadable information such as white papers, books or other relevant information> Reference customers and partners> Testimonials to the effectiveness of your solutions.

SALES ACTIVITIES

Salesbox recommend implementing a simpler model of SolutionSelling called ACTIVITY DRIVEN SALES. The purpose of the implementation is to create a meth-od that meets the following requirements:

> Everyone can agree and work to the same methodology> Everyone uses the methodology, no matter what their position in the company > The activities are easy to understand and implement

The classic style of Solution Selling is process based and often contains very many elements and stages making it unnecessarily complex Therefore it is often not followed precisely if at all and defeats the whole purpose of introducing a common way of working. Salesbox limits the use of Solution Selling to only a few steps with clear criteria to enhance the usefulness and effective-ness of the method. The Salesbox version is also focused on the activities and not the process.

The Salesbox method, ACTIVITY DRIVEN SALES consists of the following:> Ask questions to identify the problem or opportunity> Identify the solution> Gain agreement your solution will solve the problem or exploit the opportunity> Get an agreement that the cost of the solution is acceptable> Secure your sponsors and power sponsors (Decision Maker’s) agreement that they want to work with/buy from you> Agree the time plan for purchase (and implementation if required) > Send quote, contract and sign the deal.

In a complex sale, many of these activities may require a single meeting. In some cases and par-ticularly with a less complex sale, several or all of these activities may be completed in a single meeting and a sale agreed and finalized on the spot.

CAMPAIGN STEPS

FIRST MEETING WITH THE PROSPECT

This is probably the most important stage in a sale. In the first meeting with the prospect and as well as identifying the problem/s and/or opportunities it is vital to:

> Create the necessary rapport and trust. Potential clients will usually only do business with people and companies they like and trust.> Create a common understanding that a co-operation is possible and beneficial to both parties.> Identify that an opportunity to work together within a reasonable time frame is possible

It is vital that the individual who performs this meeting has the capability to create rapport and trust. It is so common to make the mistake of considering the first meeting as not im-portant. This is the step where you often bring in your top salespeople or even your CEO if the potential is high and the Power Sponsor / Decision Maker will be present.

SET THE SCENE

Explain why you are there and agree an agenda for what will be discussed during the meeting and the expected outcomes on both sides. Takes notes of what is agreed or note on a white-board if this is appropriate.

Also, check that the pre-agreed duration of the meeting is still valid. This is important so you do not run out of time and cannot complete all items on your agenda.

IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM OR OPPORTUNITYAsk questions to identify the problems the client experiences relevant to your product or ser-vice or could exploit the opportunities you could introduce and deliver.

Establish their buying process and discuss potential dates for signing a contract and delivery of the solution. If the person you meet cannot answer these questions, it is likely that either

> The client is not in a purchase mode> They are just killing time and have no real interest> They are information seekers who will not buy> They are not a power sponsor or decision maker

If they are not a power sponsor or decision maker, it is essential you determine who is and ask if that person can be involved in a next step meeting.

PRESENT YOUR COMPANY

The prospect is initially more interested in whether or not you can help them with a problem or opportunity than listening to a myriad of facts about your company. Therefore keep your company introduction brief and:

> Focus on what really differentiates your company from your competitors> Talk about relevant references in this phase and how you have helped others. Good

stories of how you have helped others to solve similar problems and exploit opportu-nities are very powerful when selling.

DEMONSTRATE YOUR SOLUTION

Wherever possible, give the prospect a taste of your solution. This could be in the form of a physical demonstration, a brief video based presentation or other format. This part of the meeting aims to demonstrate your effectiveness and secure the prospect’s positive interest in your solution and how you can help them. This is a an important step in the meeting and it should be presented with passion and enthusiasm.

SUMMARIZE THE MEETING

Involve the prospect in the summary of the meeting. Get an agreement that all their key agenda points have been covered to their satisfaction, and they have accepted your key agenda points. If they have not, it will be necessary to recap and discover any hidden objections.

BOOK NEXT MEETING AND AGREE NEXT STEP/S

If a sale cannot be concluded at this first meeting, and before you ask for a next meet-ing, demonstration, or whatever the next logical step may be, you need to explain what needs to be involved. Therefore, describe in detail what this is. For example:

‘Based on what we have discussed and your obvious interest in moving this forward, our next step is ….’ and list all the activities you need to walk through with the client to move the sale forward. Once that is done, arrange a date and time for the next meeting and who will be present.

Never leave the meeting without a next meeting booked or a de-cision has been made that there is no opportunity to move the sale

forward and no point in a further meeting. This is vital because:

> A prospect speaking intensively with one supplier is less likely to initiate dialogues with your competitors.

> An intense dialogue creates a relationship> An intense dialogue will often reduce the time to conclude the sale> It is a sign that the prospect is indeed interested in resolving a problem and/or exploiting an opportunity> There is no point in having meetings with prospects who have no intention to

buy and are just seeking information in an attempt to find out how they might solve the problems or exploit the opportunities internally and without your assistance, or worse still, pass your suggestions on to a current supplier.

FOLLOW UP MEETINGS

If this is not a one-visit sales opportunity and one or more further meetings may be required, the following are key activities you may need to re-address at each meeting, even if they have been covered in a previous meeting:

> Confirm you are speaking with a Power Sponsor / Decision Maker> Confirm the problem the prospect wants to solve or the opportunity they wish to exploit> Confirm you can provide solutions > Get confirmation they agree your solutions would be successful and you are both a potential and preferred supplier> Confirm the prospect wants to act / buy within a reasonable time frame > Confirm your price range for providing the solutions is within their budget and acceptable.

QUOTES & PROPOSALS

After all previous activities are carried out and agreements reached on all points, you will either:

> With a relatively simple sale, ask for a signed order OR> With a complex sale, need to submit a detailed proposal and quotation.

Even though the prospct should know all facts at this stage, it can be a mistake to think you know precisely what should be included in your proposal. Business is often lost at this stage due to sending incomplete or unsatisfactory proposals.

It is therefore recommended that the meeting is extended, time permitting, to agree precisely what the prospect requires to be detailed in the proposal or to arrange a further Proposal Meeting to discuss this. Once this is agreed, it is important to keep control of the process and agree specific time frames. Just sending a proposal in the post without agreed next steps and a time frame could cause you to lose the sale, even at this late stage, for various reasons including:

> The prospect could send a copy of your proposal and quote to a current supplier or a competitor with a request for a lower price> They may delay reading the proposal or querying aspects of it and you get into the frustrating situation of having to make numerous calls to follow up. > The longer this process takes, the more likelihood the problem or opportunity may seem less urgent to deal with.

We therefore recommend you ask the following ques-tions:

> When do you need the proposal by?> How long will it take you to review it (with your team)?

When you have an answer to these questions, you re-quest a Follow Up Proposal Meeting as soon after the review date as possible and diarize it.

FOLLOW UP PROPOSAL MEETING

During this meeting the proposal is walked through and the prospect makes a decision to accept or not accept the proposal OR needs to:

> Ask more questions and / or make additions and/or alterations to the proposal> Negotiate on price

You will want to:> Agree delivery dates and implementation> Book a next step meeting with the client.> A draft agreement may also need to be constructed or amended if already includ ed in the proposal

You will then agree to present the revised agreement at a next booked meeting or, if everything is now to the prospect’s satisfaction … GET YOUR CONTRACT SIGNED

HAND OVER TO DELIVERY & IMPLEMENTATION

After the sale has been closed, it is vital to perform a good handover to the delivery department if they are to be involved.

For contracts with a complex delivery and after the contract is signed, you enter phase that Salesbox call the TRUST PERIOD.

In this period it is important to not attempt any further upsell or cross sell. The delivery department first needs to prove themselves and create additional trust with the client. The client needs to see how good the delivery is and start to trust that they will deliver what is agreed and in a timely fashion.

Only when that trust is established, will the client will then be ready to discuss further opportunities.

EXAMPLE PROGESS AND MEETINGS FOR A COMPLEX TECHNICAL SOLUTION

ACTIVITY PROGRESS MEETING RECOMMENDED DISC PROFILE

IDENTIFY PROBLEM 5 % 1

SECURE SPONSOR 5 % 1

SECURE SOLUTION 5 % 1

SEND PROPOSAL 25 % -

SEND CONTRACT 10 % -

SUMMARY 100 % 8

SECURE DATES 15 % 1

SECURE POWER SPONSOR 5 % 1

SECURE BUDGET 5 % 1

PROPOSAL ACCEPTED 15 % 1

CONTRACT ACCEPTED 10 % 1

To succeed in sales, and especially the complex sale, requires extensive knowledge of both the industry and the problem, opportunity and solution areas in question. In order to increase the ability to quickly

establish trust Salesbox recommends introducing a team based way of working.

The team must work together with the key salesperson, possibly even from the first exploratory meeting and through to when the contract is signed. The team supports on issues such as the customer’s problem or opportunity, the solution and particu-larly the technical aspects of this, the business value, cost and anything else where a team member may be more proficient and experienced than the salesperson.

Since solution selling is complex and involves many very diverse activities. A mod-ern salesperson needs to be excellent in several knowledge areas and also be able to adapt to many different behaviors the prospect exhibits. The individual who scores high in all the necessary skills and behaviors is rare and hard to find. That is why the teamwork way is much better for most companies.

Since each team member contributes with expert knowledge and the preferred DISC behavior profile for each individual activity on the way to closure, it is much more likely the team will succeed where the individual may fail. By doing so, the team maximizes the skills and mirrored behavior on each activity.

Salesbox CRM provides a mobile system which can be used by all members of the team and management to keep themselves updated and communicate effectively with other team members.

We hope you have enjoyed this handbook in solution and activity selling and that you have gained some new ideas that you want to implement in your sales department. We know that if you do, you will become even more successful.

WORKING WITH A TEAM

THE WAY A CRM IS MEANT TO EMPOWER!Copyrights © by Salesbox CRM-System

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