If you are selling large value, complex solutions, do you have a strategy to maximise your wins?
A Typical Complex Sale Story
Imagine this. You are Head-Sales for a Heating Ventilation and Airconditioning (HVAC) company executing large projects.
Global studies now show that airborne sources are responsible for 5 to 15% of Hospital Associated Infections (HAI). This was seen as a critical design criterion, especially during to the prevailing Covid-19 pandemic. This had created a need for upcoming hospitals, to have enhanced HVAC systems which are suitable for providing environmental control for comfort, asepsis and odour absorption.
Your company senses an opportunity... And so does your entire industry! How likely are you to succeed?
To succeed, you must have a strategy that considers some key questions
- Are you going to go after every opportunity out there?
- Addressing all the varied needs of Customers and the approaches they may prefer?
- How will you qualify and convert attractive and winnable opportunities? Will you offer solutions across investment levels and horizons?
- Do you identify people in the Buyer’s Team with power, and build influence with them in a systematic manner?
- Do you understand and address the varied anxieties of all stakeholders in both the prospect as well as your own Team? Are you sure you aren’t wasting valuable sales and expert resources?
- Did you generate the requirement or did the enquiry land up at your desk? If it’s the latter, is it possible that this opportunity has already been ‘spec’ed-in?
- Are you entering at the right point (meeting people high enough or only the purchase department)
- Do you have an early warning system in place which pre-warns us of the dangers and hurdles ahead? And more…
The Story is True for all Sectors
This isn’t just about HVAC alone. The story is the same with all B2B sellers offering complex solutions, in areas as diverse as managed services, urban mobility, infrastructure, energy, environment, water treatment, industrial automation and health care.
Ultimately, it comes down to - Do you have a strategy to maximise conversion of Opportunities into Orders?
4 Familiar Challenges
Regardless of sector, every company offering complex solutions faces 4 familiar challenges
- 1. Are you picking winnable battles on emotion rather than on analysis? Is the opportunity real, attractive and winnable? You are not sure. Remember pursuing a proposal commits resources. There is a cost to the time your proposal team, pre-sales team and specialists, invest in the opportunity. A positive mental attitude is an essential for selling but often an obstacle for qualifying.
- 2. Are you diving in before being clear about the Selling situation? You are certain that the selling situation as well as the competitive landscape has been clearly identified? Do you use the same sales approach for all selling situations? Does your sales approach take into account how the prospect perceives you with respect to competition?
- 3. Are unpredictable stakeholder reactions derailing your proposals? Are you aligned to all stakeholders? You possibly can’t bet on it. Complex solutions are sold to a group of stakeholders within the buying entity. Have you understood their individual and collective motivations and key drivers? Do we know whose votes count more than others? And is your sales approach aligned to address them all?
- 4. Are you on the same wavelength as the senior management? Users and senior management buy different benefits and speak different languages. Are you clear about the varying impact of your solution structure on the end users and the sponsors in senior management?
Winning orders can be a matter of chance for some, and a choice by design for some. How about you?
Intrigued?
Watch this space, as we introduce you to some select tools and solutions that can help you get a precise view of the opportunity, spot possible hurdles and identify effective ways to overcome them. The ‘Opportunity to Order’ – O2O - series of posts will bring you more on this …
Want to maximise your Sales Conversion of large complex deals? To know more about the O2O Process, and how it can maximise sales conversion for you, leave your contact details here. A Mercuri India Consultant will be happy to call you at your convenience to understand your needs better, and put together an O2O Solution for you and your Team. Let’s talk. Let’s make sales happen!
Happy Selling!
