6 Steps to be really successful in complex B2B sales

©GunnarSchöder2016
by Gunnar Schröder
©GunnarSchröder2016
Accelerate your
Sales Performance
To be really successful
in complex B2B sales
6 Steps

©GunnarSchöder2016©GunnarSchöder2016
6 Steps
to be really successful
If you are in B2B, complex sales with many
different stakeholders is your daily routine.
However sometimes you might feel stuck in a
project or wonder why a prospect is not interested
in your offer.
This little story about the Smith family (customer)
and myself (sales guy) guiding you through the
different stages of a complex sale with different
stakeholders.
The presentation including the big “look and see”
picture is intended to be a concise reminder for
common best practices but is surely also useful as
an introduction for newcomers .
Gunnar Schröder, September 2016
Accelerate Your
Sales Performance

Content
6 Steps to be really successful
The “Complex Sales” Circle
Look and see picture summary.
1 Prospecting
Approaching the right customer.
2 Qualifying
Identifying the right timing to approach.
3 Identify Customer Stakeholders
The 4 most important stakeholder types.
4 Working on Opportunities
The strategy to successful sales.
5 Closing
Striving for Win Win results.
6 Self Management
With discipline to constant sales results.
Accelerate Your
Sales Performance

1 Prospecting
Approaching the right customers
Giant Slide
Ultimate fun for
The whole Family
Try it today !
I’m Gunnar
the sales guy

The perfect customer fit
Prospecting the right customers is the
key for sales efficiency.
Make up your perfect customer profile
to minimize the risk of wasted efforts
and bad business.
Analyse the characteristics of your
current and past customers.
Analyse the character of your most
pleasant and most terrible customers.
Please refer to Annex 1 for a table
of typical characteristics to
consider.
I’m too
old
I love
Giant Slide
I’m too
small

Identifying the right timing to approach.
2 Qualifying

Even though you identified customers
which could be potentially interested in
your product or service they might not
be in the right “mood” to be a good
customer for you at this time point.

Open for business
proposals.
Need for change.
Progress mood
o Need for quantity and/or quality
improvement
 Sell “support”
Problem mood
o Reality is different than expected
 Sell “survival”
This is the most
boring holiday I
ever had
Mom,
I think the slide
is too small
for me

Not open for business
proposals. Resistance to
change.
Happy mood
o Satisfied with the status quo
 How to approach
o Best to tackle with another
stakeholder in the same organization
o Challenge them that actual reality is
different than they believe
o Make them aware that they could
achieve much more
This is the
best thing I
can imagine
Swinging is
so much fun

Not open for business
proposals. Resistance to
change.
Day dream mood
o More than satisfied with the status
quo
o Could be that their target setting is
just to low
o That they have unrealistic view of
the situation
 How to approach
o Stay in touch and wait

3 Identify your
Customer Stakeholders
Introduction to the 4 most important stakeholder types.
I’m Mia
Hello, I’m
Mrs.Smith
My name
is Tom Smith
I’m
Gandma
Smith
Hey there,
my name
is Leo

Identify your customer
stakeholders
Once you have qualified an opportunity
it is utmost important that you get to
know all possible stakeholders,
their desires, their personal feeling
about your offer.
Each stakeholder has different needs
and responsibilities in the purchase
process but also different
influence/power to the purchase
decision.
Only by understanding your position
with each of the stakeholders you can
perfect your sales strategy and
offer.

The Smith family
 customer organization
This is the Smith Family. Mia a little girl
aged six and and Reon a wild boy aged
10. Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Grandma
Smith.
Grandma Smith is the Mother of Tom
Smith. She loves her grandchildren
and knows the desires, behaviors and
roles of each family member by her
heart.
I’m Mia
Hello, I’m
Mrs.Smith
My name
is Tom Smith
I’m
Gandma
Smith
Hey there,
my name
is Leo

Mia + Leo
 User
Mia + Leo are representing the “User”.
They want to use the “Giant Slide”
“User” will use or supervise the
product or service you are selling.
“User” will judge on the impact to their
work. They focus on practical concerns
for the use of the product.
o Ease of use
o Training needs
o Service record
o …
I’m a bit
scared
This is
Exactly what
I want

Mrs. Smith
 Spec Checker
Mrs. Smith is representing the “Spec
Checker”.
The “Spec Checker” is
o Screening possible suppliers
o Evaluates the fit of the product or
service against the requirements
and needs
o Limits the number of sellers
o Can say “No” to a purchase
o Often to find in the purchase
department
A “Spec checker” can be also just legal
restrictions or other internal company
rules.
Is it
really save ?
I’m too
small
110 cm

Tom Smith
 Wallet
Mr. Smith is representing the “Wallet”.
The “Wallet” gives the final approval
for a specific purchase.
He focuses on
o Price / performance
o Bottom line impact to the organization
o Return of investment
o Strategic concerns
Please refer to Annex 2 for information
where to find the “Wallet” in an
organization.
Wouldn’t it be nicer to do
something the whole family
can enjoy together?

Grandma Smith
 Insider
She represents the “Insider”.
An “Insider” is your guide in the
customer organization for a specific
opportunity and an information source.
A good “Insider”:
o You have credibility with the person
o Has credibility with the customer
stakeholders
o Wants your product/solution
I really want my
grand child's to enjoy
the Giant Slide

4 Working on Opportunities
The strategy to successful sales.

Opportunity check list
1. I have identified all customers
stakeholders.
2. I have determined the degree of
influence of each stakeholder
(Annex 3).
3. I know my position with the
individual stakeholder.
4. I have located my areas of
weakness.
5. I have located my areas of strength.
6. I have identified the mood of the
stakeholders.
7. I know how the individual
stakeholders feel about my
proposal.
8. I have identified individual results
and wins (Annex 4).
9. I have evaluated my competitive
position (Annex 5).
1.
2.
3.
4.

To do’s on each
opportunity in the sales
funnel
(Re) Define your opportunity
target setting
o Whom to sell
o What to sell
o How many to sell
o When to sell
I want to sell
one family day ticket
for “Giant Slide”
to the Smith’s
by 10 a.m.

Watch out for relevant
potential changes
What might impact the sales positively
or negatively ?
o A new product your company will
launch soon
o A new competitors product
o Financial situation of the customer
o Production issues with the product
you are offering
o Organizational changes at the
customer

Identify potential issues
for each individual
stakeholder
o Missing Information
o You do not understand the role of a
stakeholder
o You do not know who is responsible
o Uncertainty about information
o Not 100% sure if the information is
correct
o A stakeholder you have had no
contact yet
o Any stakeholder new to the job
o Reorganization at the customer

Develop actions to
improve your competitive
position
Define concrete actions which will
bring you closer to your target for a
specific opportunity.
Think of a plan B - what else could you
do - if an action is not successful.
Any action should
o Improve your differentiation
Clearly identifiable difference between
your proposal and alternatives which
matters for the customer
o Improve your position
Increases the chance for your success
o Should be relevant to reach the target
of a specific opportunity
o Reduce price sensitivity

Evaluate your feelings
against the opportunity
target
If you feel too confident winning an
opportunity or feel too unsecure – As a
result you might do too less activity or
too much- both can be dangerous.
Being aware about you feelings is
therefore key to efficiency and success.
I’m
super confident
For the sales
opportunity

5 Closing
Striving for Win Win results.

Striving for
win-win results
Personal win’s are the real reason why
people buy.
A win result is a personal gain that
satisfies an individual customer
stakeholder self interest.
Quantifiable results are the
precondition for Win results.
Difference between results and wins:
Results
o Measurable impact of
product or service
o Objective
o Effects Corporate
Wins
o Not measurable
o Subjective
o Personal

6 Self Management
With discipline to constant sales results.
.

Work continously on all levels of
your sales funnel to avoid that
your pipeline is suddenly empty:
Lead generation
Ideal customer, potential change /need
Qualification
Any concrete information that this customer
needs my product or service
Opportunities
Have contacted at least one customer
stakeholder and know how the product or
service you offer can produce results for the
customer
Hot Opportunities
have all information , business can be
closed in less than half of selling cycle, I
know the tasks to be done to close the deal

Best time management
structure to plan your
Work schedule
While it is natural to work on
opportunities as long as you have
enough, your pipeline easily dries out
when you do not equally work on
prospecting and qualification.
Especially when your sales cycle is
very long.
Therefore make sure you plan your
schedule in the following order :
1st : Closing work on really hot
opportunities
2nd : Prospect
3rd : Qualify
4th : Work on Opportunities
This is the most
boring holiday
I ever had
1.
2.
3.
4.

Hope You got
some Inspiration
Gunnar Schröder
+41 76 748 34 93
Gunnar.Schroeder@bluewin.ch

Character of the perfect customer
Company Compatibility
o Company size/revenue
o Company industry
o Company reputation
o Distance from your service/shipping
point
Product Compatibility
o Compatibility of your product to
existing infrastructure
o Number of users of your product
o Current equipment condition/age
o Compatibility with norms and
directives
Culture Compatibility
o Ethical standards
o Attitudes towards people
o Openness to innovation
o Importance of quality
o Importance of cost
o Seeking for long term relation
Only a customer which fits to your company, products and culture will
be a good customer which appreciates and values you, your products
and services.

Where to find the “Wallet”
in an organization ?
The person giving the final approval for a purchase is not a specific
person or position in an organization. The person might change
even from project to project.
Where to find depends on : Moves the hierarchy level
Up Down
Business condition of the
customer
Critical financial
situation
Wealthy
Experience with you No experience Trusted partner
Experience with the
specific product or service
No experience Much experience
Potential organizational impact
of the product or service
Large Small

Who is the most important stakeholder ?
Things to consider
o Organizational Impact
Where in the organization your proposal will have the biggest impact ?
o Level of Expertise for the product /service you are offereing
Who has the biggest knowledge about your products/services and related
applications ?
o Location
Usually the one who is geografically closer to the „Impact“ has more
influence
o Personal Priority
Level of personal interest
o Politics

Stakeholder Potential Results
User
o Reliability
o Increased efficiency
o Upgrades his skills
o Improves his performance
o Best problem solution
o Versatility
o Excellent service
o Easy to learn
o Easy to use
Spec Checker
o Specifications meeting the
requirements
o Best technical solution
o Timely delivery
Wallet
o Low cost of ownership
o Good fit with the budget
o Return of investment
o Increased Productivity
o Profitability
o Cash flow
o Flexibility
Insider
An Insider does not get
measureable results but
personal wins.
o Recognition
o Visibility
o Contributes

Personal Win Examples
Gain recognition
o Be an instrument of change
o Be looked on as a problem solver
o Contribute to the organization
o Get more knowledge
Feel more secure
o Remain in a given location
o Remain in power
Avoiding a loose
o Loss of credibility
o Loss of recognition
o Loss of the job
Get more power
o Get a promotion
o Increase responsibility
o Increase authority
o Achieve control over others
Self fulfilment
o Have more fun
o Get more leisure
o Get more confidence
o Improve social status
o Have more time with family
o Follow a lifestyle

Competitor Assessment
Assess major competing firms
o How does your offer differentiates ?
o Who is the “Insider” of the
competition ?
o Targeting the same “Wallet” ?
o Who are their supporters/detractors
o Experience of the customer with this
supplier ?
o Strength and weakness
o Price difference ?
o Service/Support differences ?
Identify and assess likely
alternatives
o Buying from someone else
o Using budget for something else
o Using internal resources
o Doing nothing

6 Steps to be really successful in complex B2B sales

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