groveblog

By Michael J Grove

Special to the Sun

Companies that want to sell into large companies will need to follow new ground rules.  Selling to a big business is alluring, especially if it offers the opportunity to double your revenue.  How exciting.  Imagine the luxury of living off one large account instead of managing the endless demands of 10 or more individual clients. 

Selling into big businesses is tough.  Really tough…and it is getting tougher.

Being successful with the majors first requires that you understand their realities.

Big companies are smart, elusive and play by a different set of rules than smaller companies.  It is where voicemails lead to voice jail with no human being at the other end.  It is where people are trained to block you from contacting or even knowing decision makers.  Yes, that was decision makers – plural, as in many.  As a more complex sale, there is more than one decision maker.  There can be an economic buyer, technical buyer, and user or user group.  To navigate this byzantine structure you may need an internal sponsor, much like a guide in the jungle.  If selling to the majors was easy, everyone would be doing it.

Cracking the corporate code.  Throughout my career I have been selling to big businesses.   I have tried every tactic in the book and even wrote a few new ones on my own, some successful others not so.  I have sold services and opened new markets for companies selling to big companies in all industries — oil and gas, banking and financial, insurance, pharmaceutical, healthcare, consumer products, logistics, and food service.  Big companies that have included 3M, Kellogg’s, Quaker Oats, General Mills, Tyco, Continental, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Maersk, Memorial Hermann, McDonald’s, Schlumberger, Searle, Monsanto, Calpine, Cooper Industries and many others within the ranks of the Fortune 1000. 

To be successful, you must know and adapt to the realities inside these behemoths. 

Employees in big companies are overwhelmed with expanded responsibilities and insufficient time to complete them.  They are defensive from an onslaught of internal demands and calls from sales people.  Corporate layoffs make for even fewer people to get the work done.  Reorganizations are moving people through revolving doors into new jobs and locations, making your customer today gone tomorrow.  Communication technologies such as voicemail and email put decision makers out of touch and interacting with them nearly impossible.  A secretary taking a message from you is a luxury of the past. 

The conundrum — big businesses have big problems too but little time to be sold. 

Big businesses buy billions of dollars of product and service from outside suppliers.  You just need to learn how to play the game – break the corporate code.

Just to get your toe in the door you need to rethink and change your go-to-market and account entry strategies.  You must be succinct, differentiated and communicate a meaningful value proposition to the right people at the right time. 

The journey of working with big companies always begins with a few first steps.  You need to…

·         Create a target list of companies

·         Study and become familiar with the business issues of the target companies

·         Identify decision makers

·         Sharpen your value proposition

·         Pursue various approaches to get the attention of decision makers

·         Differentiate the value of your offering against the competition

·         Dazzle them convincingly with a tailored offering, outcomes and other benefits important to the business and the personal needs of the buyer

·         Keep the momentum while expanding your internal network, until you close the sale.

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 The selling environment is tough — very tough.  There is a considerable lack of buying and delayed decisions with prospects and customers alike.  They are also hiding behind voicemail and playing all kinds of gate keeping games.  In spite of this, there is no reason to make selling more difficult than is necessary. 

To stay ahead in the game, consider applying these rules.   

Rule #1:  When speaking to a prospect either directly or through voicemail you absolutely must give them a compelling reason to take your next call.  There are a number of strategies to take but you must be very clear each time with the value or benefit you are promising. 

Rule #2: Don’t make it up on the fly.  Prior to every call know exactly what you are going to say, why and what outcomes you seek.  Be ready if an administrative assistant answers your call.  If caught flat-footed you will have wasted an opportunity.  In my experience, reopening a door after a flubbed cold call is next to impossible.

Rule #3: Be aware of your tone.  70% of what people initially hear on a phone call is your tone.  By following rules 1 and 2, preparation will improve tonality 100%.  If only 30% of content is being heard, rules 1 and 2 apply again.  Preparation will ensure a clear, concise and confident delivery.

Rule #4: Don’t give up too quickly.  Selling today demands emotional resilience.  Treat sales as a profession, learn and grow from each and every call.

As a sales coach and business owner I receive cold calls every day from sales people pitching insurance, home maintenance programs, car warranty programs, insurance claims services, etc.  Occasionally a sales call is good.  As a practitioner of sales training, I politely listen to them all and engage the salesperson by probing deeper into the value proposition.  I try to learn from their techniques and ask questions to test their product knowledge.  Surprisingly, about 50% of the time the caller hangs up on me when he or she doesn’t know the answers.  Another 30% try but cannot provide detailed answers about their product.  Only about 10% of callers are fully prepared, ask more questions, and eventually ask for the order.  With those numbers, it is not surprising that people immediately hang up when receiving a cold call.  They waste people’s time and create a negative reputation for their employer.

When making cold calls into voicemail, here are two strategies to consider:  1) If you don’t personally know the person you are calling, do not leave a voicemail after your first call.  At random times, make three attempts throughout the day to get them live on the phone.  At the third attempt, leave a scripted voicemail.  Follow this practice:  “Hi Mr. Prospect, this is Michael Grove from Grove USA, we accelerate success of sales people through coaching and training.  As a potential opportunity to you, I have read that a major competitor of yours just went out of business.  Clients we work with see a 15% or more gain in sales from our services.  How valuable would a 15% gain be to you and your company?  It is unfortunate that I missed you and will call you back tomorrow at 8 a.m.”   When I am a stranger to this prospect, I will leave two voicemails similar to this, if unable to reach them personally.  Initially, I don’t leave my phone number or any call back instructions.  I will do that at on third call if I can’t reach them.  Also, I will call early in the morning prior to the secretary arriving and when many high level executives answer their own phone.  I have reached prospects at 6:30 a.m. and as late as 8 p.m. 

2) A second strategy for when cold calling or cold emailing is to gain a personal reference or introduction to the prospect.  Your voicemail might sound similar to this.  “Hi Mr. Prospect, Mr. Referral in your office recommended that we speak to discuss how my services can provide specific benefits to the project you are managing.  Mr. Referral is familiar with a similar project we recently completed that delivered xyz results.  I thought you would be interested in learning more.”  Remember rule #1 and keep the value proposition front and center.  It’s all about delivering measurable results that are important to the prospect. 

Gaining referrals has become a lot easier with online social and business networks.  When I sell, most of the time I can find a referral or introduction into the organization through Linked In or other networks I have joined.  A warm referral almost always guarantees a conversation and saves me at least a half dozen calls. 

After connecting with a prospect after a cold call, you must now qualify to determine if a sales opportunity exists now or in the near future.  By not qualifying thoroughly sales people waste a lot of time on deals that will never move forward.  Also, delayed decisions may require you re-qualify with additional or different decision makers. 

Keep in mind, selling is not a numbers game.  It’s a blend of art and science driven by strategies and simple straightforward rules.  Write down your script and outline your approaches.  Monitor and keep track of your results.  Success comes from paying attention to your process, learning and making incremental improvements. 

 By Michael J Grove

Special to the Sun

Selling successfully to big business demands precision targeting.  In today’s shifting and hyper-competitive market, your selling has got to be smart and highly focused.    In spite of conventional myth, selling is not a numbers game.  You must know your target and the value they seek in your solution.  This requires foundational work.  Big businesses expect this much from you if you want them to buy.

Your sales strategy rests on the foundational legs of knowing the customer and having a solid value proposition. You cannot convey appropriate value if you don’t thoroughly understand your target customer’s business preferences and problems.    When selling to big businesses, buyers will expect you to know their business.  Executives are too busy to educate you on who makes decisions and how and what their company buys.  A little research will heighten your value with a prospective buyer who lacks time to train you on the many ins and outs.

Defining the customer means learning the demographic and business characteristics.  Demographics are those characteristics about the industries your customers represent, from locations (regional, global), size (employees, revenue), stage of business (growth, mature, declining), organization (business units, product/service lines), to competitors.  The Internet is the best source for demographic data.  Start by reading the annual report, especially the CEO’s letter, 10Ks, web site, analyst reports, white papers, and subscribe to RSS feeds.  Business characteristics you will need to know include the decision makers, buying process, buying triggers, your competition, budget cycles and more. I have sold to Fortune 500 companies with budget cycles that begin in January.  Two to three months prior a lot of buying commitments are made so the year begins without delays.  Trying to sell in February would only generate a response of, “we have no budget.”  Knowing this will enable you to benefit from this potential windfall.  Another big lesson my clients discover is the different roles decision makers have in big businesses.  There are four types and each brings a different set of motivations and criteria to the buying process.  There is usually an economic buyer who holds the money; the technical buyers who evaluate the product, there are end-user buyers, and finally, the sponsor. The sponsor is the person you team with internally who wants you to be successful.  Without an internal sponsor to reveal who holds the checkbook, your odds of winning the deal will be small.

To manage this volume of information, I recommend to clients that they create a ‘playbook’ for every target customer to be reviewed prior to making contact during any stage of the relationship.  Use the playbook to capture key facts, summarize competition, chart decision makers and criteria, note conversations, and plan next steps.  Selling to big businesses can be complex that involves managing a lot of information about numerous people.  A playbook will keep you organized and improve your chance for success.

The second leg of your sales strategy is the value proposition.  Like a sharp knife, a powerful value proposition will consistently get you through the door.  Use it wisely.  A value proposition is not a unique selling proposition or a 30-second elevator pitch.  It is the value your prospective buyer anticipates from the solution you are promising, and against which you will be measured after the sale.  It differentiates you from competition.  Remember, you aren’t selling a 5/16” drill bit.  You are promising to deliver a 5/16” hole.  Herein lays the essence of the value proposition.

Value propositions should be measureable, and phrased in terms of saved dollars, reduced hours, faster time-to-market, more deals closed, or increased revenue or profits.  When I speak before business owners I state that my clients experience more success selling to big businesses and will see an increase of 25% or more in opportunities within a one year’s time.  That is my value proposition.  It is also a service promise.  My guarantee.

When selling to big businesses, too often inexperienced sales people lose the deal at the outset by talking too much about all their wonderful product features.  Forget the speech on all your bells and whistles and wonderful colors and shapes your product comes in.  People in big businesses are too busy to listen to this enthusiastic ramble.  When a prospect asks for the time, they don’t want to learn how the watch was made.  Selling to big businesses requires precision targeting, discovering their needs and promising measureable value that can’t be beat.

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By Michael J Grove

Special to the Sun

Even with new online networks making it easier to find out who is on other side of the door at a big business, your sales team must continue to pursue old school techniques with new and different twists if your marketing isn’t generating qualified leads.  Getting your foot into a big business is no easy task, much less your entire body.  Big businesses are skilled at keeping you out.  Due to the many pitfalls, winning a big business requires more finesse than selling to a smaller firm.  Here are a few approaches I have used with varying degrees of success.

Cold calling

In my opinion, cold calling is the least effective way to sell to big business.  Big business executives are too stressed and busy to listen to strangers calling and will rarely give you enough time to deliver a convincing pitch, plus earn the opportunity for a next step.  There are many who might disagree with me but new research and networking tools making it a thousand times easier to get a warm call to the right person.  A warm introduction will at least position the recipient of your call with a listening ear.  A cold call requires that you earn the right to their time in about 10 seconds. When I sell, I prefer to work on expanding and leveraging my network to increase the odds of a productive conversation.  Cold calling works better when selling a commodity when price and relationship differentiate you from others.  The more complex or consultative your solution is, the more difficult it is to position an effective value proposition in a timely way.

Online business or social network

The most powerful tools to expand your sales network are available on the Internet.  If you haven’t learned about these, register with several as soon as you finish reading this article.  Waste no time.  The more popular business tool is Linked In. You invite and are invited by others into Linked In to build a network.  Linked In allows you to see into the network of others, up to three degrees.  A person you know is one degree away.  For example, in my network I have 182 first degree contacts.  These are people I know through work and other venues.  People who are two degrees away count 34,800.  These are people my first degree contacts would be willing to introduce to me.  At three degrees, 2,809,600 people are within my reach.  Linked In allows me to find contacts or linkages into companies, or in some cases, make direct contact without an intermediary.   Other tools to explore are Jigsaw, which allows you to earn credits by adding contact information about an individual so you can do searches to find others.  Others to explore are Plaxo, Hoovers and ZoomInfo, which boasts 45MM people in its registry.    Check them all out to determine which might make you more productive.

Family, Friends and Golf Partners

Extended family, friends and golf partners or similar outing relationships can uncover valuable contacts or information about a target business.  When using family and friends for introductions, a few rules apply.  First, keep it business.  Introductions based on friendship won’t have same impact as one based on solid business value.  A practice I use is to coach my friend on what to say to improve the odds of getting the next step with the prospect.  I created this acronym to keep it simple and to easy to remember: I.R.S. — Introduction, Relationship, Solution.  It goes like this.  My friend is coach to say the following:  “I would like to introduce you to Michael Grove.  He is someone I have known for several years and have heard only good things about how he helps companies sell to big businesses.  He works for Grove USA and his services could offer us some benefits given our new strategy to sell into larger companies.  I think if you met with Michael you would agree.  How would you like for my friend to contact you?”  The value proposition is built into the referral and you can make it as specific or as general as you feel comfortable.  The important point is to create purpose and value for the referral to setup a next step.

Procurement office

Procurement translates into RFP.  An entire chapter can be written on strategies with procurement departments.  All function differently.   I once won a big project with Entergy.  To close the deal, the procurement manager simply told me what prices to charge so I could win the project.  Winning the manager over took a few dinners.  At MD Anderson Cancer Center, where I won another even larger project, it required making a series of presentations, answering dozens of questions online, and presenting at several meetings to a decision-making team.  The lessons from both of these were: respect the process, pay attention to details, and relationships count.  In spite of the defined procurement process, big business buyers buy people and value.  It’s not always about price.

If a big business has a procurement department, find out how it is organized.  If you attended the Economic Alliance, Houston Port Region ABC Power Breakfast event, you learned that at British Petroleum (BP) there are 200 sourcing specialists overseeing 100 product categories to handle more than $12B in annual buying in the Gulf Region.  The web site may answer some questions.  Otherwise, find a sponsor internally to help you navigate into and around the department.  Then, learn how to be kept informed of upcoming requests for RFPs.  MD Anderson is outstanding in this regard.  You sign up for email announcements when it seeks your type of solution.  If you have a solution for a big business, it makes sense to pursue opportunities through procurement.  There exist many opportunities for winning big, long-term projects with procurement departments.

Networking events

Most people don’t network effectively.  First, if you are selling to big businesses, you aren’t likely going to meet executives at the many dozen open networking events you could attend each night.  The people you need to meet are probably at their desk working.  Networking events present random acquaintances.  No focus.  Hit or Miss.  Unless you know there are people at the event who work at the companies you are targeting it is going to be a waste of time.  Too often the people you meet at networking events are so desperate to meet others that they don’t do a thing for you. 

After many years I have refined my win-win networking to this approach, and it works most of the time.

The rule I apply is “give to get.”  Reciprocity.  When I meet someone I very quickly ascertain what business they are in and their network.  If I believe their network could benefit my sales efforts, I start by asking, “How can I help you? What are your target companies? Who are you trying to meet?”  If I can be helpful with an introduction, I create an explicit verbal contract that states, in exchange for an introduction from me, I would like an introduction from you.  I make the first introduction to show how it is done properly.  To my contact, I make a personal introduction by phone or email and state the value or purpose of meeting this person.  I then recommend that they meet and in some cases I will join them in order to become more familiar with the person I am introducing.  I always ask the person I am introducing to copy me on a thank you email to my contact, to make sure it gets done.  If all goes well, I have earned the opportunity for a new network contact myself. 

By Michael J Grove

Special to the Sun

More than 100 business owners in pursuit of economic stimulus found new opportunities galore at the twice-annual ABC Power Breakfast meeting last Tuesday at the Galena  Park ISD.  Jan Lawler, Executive Director of the economic development powerhouse Economic Alliance, Houston Port Region, based in La Porte, opened the networking and learning event by stating that “more than $18B in new business opportunity resides in this room and it is only a handshake away.  As a business membership organization, this is just one example of how the Economic Alliance brings tangible benefit to businesses of all sizes throughout the ship channel area.”  

A panel of procurement executives from leading local companies and a municipality assembled to share with attendees how to win contracts at their respective organization, and some even shared secrets to being successful. Steve Cote, an Economic Alliance member from Brady, Chapman, Holland and event Committee Chair introduced the panel that featured Centerpoint, MD Anderson Cancer Center, City of Deer Park, BP Gulf Coast Region, and Lee College.  As a sales person himself of commercial risk insurance, Cote reminded the group, “Nothing earns business faster than a personal relationship, which is at the heart of how the Economic Alliance is helping local business.”    

Lee College in Baytown buys a range of products and services locally from construction services, computer equipment to office supplies.  According to Michael Sparkes, “Lee College is always looking for new vendors especially for maintenance services.”  Sparkes recommended that attendees complete a procurement registration form found on the Lee College web site and offered to be personally available to anyone who attended today’s ABC Power Breakfast event. 

Tracy McBride, who heads the procurement process for the City of Deer Park, explained that the City is required to review a minimum of three bids for projects.  McBride says, “we buy everything from fire trucks to pencils.  To become a supplier, you must first register with our purchasing department. 

The MD Anderson Cancer Center spends nearly a $1 billion dollars locally and has a mandate to create a level playing field for woman and minority owned HUB businesses to compete with the big companies.  Monica Netherly, the sourcing and contract manager said, “my department buys IT equipment, contingent workforce employees, temporary nurses, materials for labs, capital equipment and more.”  “Right now”, according to Netherly, “we have an open bid for institutional vending machines.”  MD Anderson features a streamlined bidding process that begins by registering on the procurement web site.  At MD Anderson they focus on best values.  Price alone is not enough. 

Amazingly, 10 years ago BP was a sleepy little company. Awakened, it has become a major U.S. buyer to the tune of $100B.  In the Gulf Coast region, where Bob Russell leads its procurement practice, it buys more than $12B from local businesses.  Bob went on to explain that BP is just beginning to make its procurement processes easer for outside suppliers to find opportunities within the huge BP organization.  As a benefit to those attending the Power Breakfast event, Bob offered to help any business owner make the right contacts.  A considerable benefit when BP has more than 200 sourcing specialists overseeing 100 different product/service categories. 

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Terry Munder, the Senior Sourcing Specialist from Centerpoint, provided ideas for when selling to his company.  His recommendations included, “do your homework and know the procurement details; be focused and pay attention to the details.”  Currently, potential sellers to Centerpoint begin with a call to its procurement help line.  Centerpoint will soon be featuring a supplier management web site.  Terry provided his personal email to assist those attending today’s event.  He also emphasized Centerpoints’ commitment to woman and minority owned HUB businesses. 

How can any business not grow when rubbing elbows with $18B in buying power?  Sylvia Pearson, owner of Projex Design a successful office furniture dealer based in La Porte but serving most of Houston said, “I made three hugely valuable new business contacts and was reminded of how necessary it is to become certified as a HUB business.  Having met the buyers at this event probably saved me a hundred phone calls.  This is very exciting to me.”

Lawler closed the event by reminding those attending that the Economic Alliance is a local membership organization that hosts many events and provides opportunities for local businesses of all sizes to discover new relationships and opportunities.   For more information and to schedule yourself for the next ABC Power Breakfast event, visit its web site at www.allianceportregion.com.

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