The document discusses the changing landscape of B2B sales influenced by economic factors, emphasizing that today's buyers prioritize quantifiable value and bottom-line benefits over traditional considerations like innovation and features. It highlights the increased control of CFOs in purchasing decisions and the challenges sales teams face in communicating value effectively, with a significant portion of buyers feeling unprepared to assess value independently. To combat 'frugalnomics,' the document advocates for value selling strategies that emphasize diagnosis and justification of potential solutions, supported by third-party validation.

1. TOM PISELLO, Chairman & Founder
Blog: http://tompiselloroiguy.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @tpisello
http://www.alinean.com
http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com
Selling to Today’s Economic-Focused Buyer:
Leveraging Value-Based Tools for Sales Enablement Success

2. Today’s Economic-Focused Buyer
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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3. The Economic-Buyer
• Size
More Leads to Close Same Longer Sales Cycles
Amount of Business
Increased Competition
Stalled Deals
Price Focus = Reduced Deal Size
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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4. Successive Downturns Cause Fundamental & Permanent Change
B2B Spending Annual Growth
12.0%
10.0%
Tech Bubble
8.0%
6.0%
Great Recession
4.0%
2.0%
0.0%
-2.0% 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
-4.0%
-6.0%
-8.0%
IDC 2010
IDC historical spend
Forecast compiled from IDC, Forrester, Gartner and Goldman Sachs
Two successive downturns in past 10 years have permanently changed buyers
Affected technology marketplace first:
 Prior: Innovation, growth, time to market, features / functions drove purchases
 After: Saving money, bottom-line impact, best value and fast payback
“Great Recession” downturn reinforcing / accelerating this fundamental change
 All areas of economy impacted for all of B2B purchase decisions © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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5. Frugalnomics: the new mantra for B2B Buyers
On average 90% of corporations surveyed require
Quantifiable benefits
quantifiable proof of bottom-line benefits on most
are mandatory
projects.
Two-thirds (65%) of buyers indicate that they do not
Quantifying value is
have the knowledge or tools needed to do business
difficult for buyers
value assessments and calculations.
Buyers turn to vendors 81% of buyers expect vendors to quantify business
for value proof points value of proposed solutions.
Most trusted sources are: Industry Analysts (31.4%),
Third party validation is and Peers (28.7%).
essential
Vendors lag as a trusted source for only 8.1%.
Source: IDC 2010, survey of 200 B2B buyers,
Sirius Decisions 2010 B-to-B Buyer Survey on trusted sources.
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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6. Internet Fueled Buying Cycles
• Buyers do more research independently and online
• Arm themselves with ideas, solution, competitive product knowledge
• Firmly in control of buying process
• Using online vendor content + 3rd party sources / social groups
• Inviting sales later, after set strategy, budget and solution roadmap
At Same Time, Perceived Sales Readiness Is
On the Decline
Not Prepared
Well Prepared
29%
35%
Somewhat
Prepared
36%
IDC 2010
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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7. CFOs Gain More Control
• #1 Reason for NOT Meeting Sales Quotas –
Inability to Communicate Value Messages (27%)
– SiriusDecisions 2010
• Only 38% of sales reps understand the
customer’s issues and can identify how vendor
can help – Forrester 2010
• CFOs responsible for more groups
• Taking control of strategy + buying-
cycle
• More financial due-diligence on all
purchases
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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8. Fight Frugalnomics with Value Selling
http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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9. Product / Solution Selling Reigns
Forrester - 2011
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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10. Fight Frugalnomics with Value Selling & Marketing
Product Focus Solution Focus Value Focus
Discussion: Discussion:
Discussion:
• Customer knows issue • Prescriptive & Quantified
• Customer knows issues &
• Tie features / functions to desired outcome • Discover… Is customer
needs aware of issue?
• Questions to discover pain
• Compares product points
alternatives • Diagnose… How bad is it?
• Feature • Function • Price • Recommend solution to • Quantify … Value of change
solve pain
• Compare … Value vs. Status
Drive: Sales Led: Product
Quo / Competition
Driven Drive: Sales Led: Pain-Point
Driven
Drive: Diagnostic Led: What
is issue & value of change?
Vendor Solution Provider Trusted Advisor
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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11. Strategic Vendors Reap Rewards
More Opportunities
Greater Deal Size
Shorter Sales Cycles
Greater Competitive Advantage
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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12. Value Selling: How Companies Buy vs. How to Sell
Loosening
of the
Status Quo
Discovery
Committing to
Change
Sales Qualified Lead
Exploring
Requirements Definition Possible
Solutions
Consideration
Value Demonstration
Committing
to a Solution
Proposal
Justifying
the
Decision
Negotiate
Decision
Making
the
Close
Selection
Traditional Sales Cycle SiriusDecisions Buying Cycle
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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13. Discovery
Risk adverse / overloaded
Loosening
of the Easier to do nothing than change
Status Quo
Don’t have time to fully understand
Discovery issues
Committing to
Change Executive driven / CFO aligned
Internet fueled via 3rd party sources
Exploring
Possible Sales often not engaged yet
Solutions
Consideration
Committing
to a Solution
Justifying
the
Decision
Decision
Making
the
Selection
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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14. Discovery - Diagnose with Assessment Tools
– Survey current spending and practices
– Diagnose issues
– Benchmark status quo versus
competition and leaders
– Recommend improvement strategies
– Map solutions to improvement strategy
– 3rd party validation to improve credibility
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

15. Profile for Benchmarking
Benchmark comparisons
Typically by industry, location and size
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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16. Survey
Survey Questions – Multiple Choice, Pulldowns, Quantifications, Rankings
Spending, Sentiment or Current Practice Questions
Don’t Force Customer to Fill All In prior to Seeing Some Results © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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17. Diagnostic Assessment Results
Compare current responses vs. peer averages and leaders
Drive priorities through benchmark comparisons
Collaborate with customer / teammates to complete / refine © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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18. Detailed Drill Downs
Drill into details, layer by layer via pop-ups / drill downs
Confirm where doing well, illuminate areas needing improvements
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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19. Roadmap and Next Steps
Intelligently recommends solutions to resolve most pressing issues
Recommends next steps in buying lifecycle
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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20. Personalized Report
Results expanded in Word report. Can be further personalized.
PPT and PDF options available as well.
Multiple report options in single tool. © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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21. Discovery - Diagnose with Assessment Tools
– Reason to connect & engage earlier in
decisions
– Earn right to call higher with
executives
– Help set strategies, budgets and
roadmaps
– Establishes urgency of resolving these
issues over others
– Reduces time to realize issues and
commit to change
– Elevate relationship from Vendor to
Trusted Advisor
– Improves competitive position
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

22. Consideration
Loosening
of the
Status Quo
Discovery
Committing to
Change
Recommend solutions to address
issues / goals
Exploring
Possible Quantify the cost of doing nothing
Solutions
Make the case for change
Consideration
Committing Quantify rewards vs. risks
to a Solution
More stakeholders involved – Value is
in eye of beholder
Justifying
the
Decision
Decision
Making
the
Selection
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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23. Consideration : Justify Change with ROI Analysis
– Discover current costs for status quo,
quantifying the “cost of doing nothing”
– Recommend solution and quantify the
investment required
– Quantify the business benefits / savings for
each stakeholder
– Tally the project’s net cash flow in CFO terms:
• Return on investment (ROI)
• Net present value savings
• Payback period
• Internal rate of return (IRR)
– 3rd party validation to improve credibility
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

24. Profile
Profile current environment and opportunity.
Collect information about proposed solution / configuration.
Key defaults provided from research to streamline discovery © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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25. Benefits, Investments and ROI
Applying research, case studies and pricing, calculate investment, benefits & ROI
Allow specific benefits to be included / excluded based on what is important
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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26. Review Details and Edit Assumptions
Drill down into details to understand how each benefit / investment is calculated
Defaults provided, but allow review and editing of all metrics
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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27. Printed Report
Results expanded in Word report. Can be further personalized.
PPT and PDF options available as well.
Multiple report options in single tool. © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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28. Consideration : Justify Change with ROI Analysis
– Increase urgency for this project proposal over others
– Reduce time it takes for customer to build own business case / justify
change
– Reduce discounting (value vs. price)
– Prove value of add on solutions / services
– Improve competitive positioning
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

29. Decision
Loosening
of the
Status Quo
Discovery
Committing to
Change
Exploring
Possible
Solutions
Consideration
Committing
Sales teams make the case for change,
to a Solution
but lose deal to competitor…
Justifying B2B customers strategy has changed –
the “to buy only what they need at the
Decision lowest possible price.” (Forrester)
Decision
Need to prove solution as best value
Making
the
Selection Total cost of ownership (TCO)
comparisons can help
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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30. Decision – Differentiate with TCO Analysis
– Select solutions to compare
– Quantify costs for unique opportunity
– Tally total costs over product lifetime not just up-
front costs
– Prove better value via total cost of ownership (TCO)
• Lower lifecycle cost
• Better benefit realization
• Lower risk
• Intangible benefits (more upside potential)
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

31. Profile
Organization Profile to customize TCO comparison for specific scenarios /
configurations
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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32. TCO Comparison Overview
Head to Head comparison of solutions total cost of ownership
Capital & operating costs over useful product life
Ability to select comparisons / customize configuration pricing & cost
assumptions © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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33. Comparative Cash Flow and ROI
Can combine TCO comparisons with comparative ROI / Cash Flow Analysis
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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34. Detailed TCO Comparisons
Detailed results to highlight advantages & review / fine-tune assumptions
3rd party validation and sources
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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35. Report Options to Match Stakeholders / Decision Phase
Multiple report options available including Word, PPT and PDF.
Different reports templates designed to target different audiences / different
stage in buying lifecycle. © 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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36. Decision – Differentiate with TCO Analysis
– Validate selected solution as best value
– Quantify low risk of decision for buyer
– Reduce decision cycle in final stages of buying cycle
– Reduce competitive discounting
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© 2011 Alinean, Inc.

37. Value Selling Tools and the Buying Lifecycle
 Diagnose to Engage Earlier:
• Diagnostic assessment to identify issues
• Benchmark for urgency of issues
• Develop strategies
• Set priorities and build roadmap
 Justify to Make the Case for Change:
• Prove “cost of doing nothing”
• Cost justify the investment with ROI
• Prioritize urgency vs. other projects
 Differentiate to Prove Superior Value:
• Compare competitive solutions / configuration
head-to-head
• Prove that the selected solution represents best
value
• Quantified lower cost of ownership (TCO)
• Competitive feature comparison
© 2011 Alinean, Inc.
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38. Next Steps
Alinean powered tools can significantly upgrade the quality of sales interactions
throughout the buying process, allowing prospects to drive at the beginning
through simpler, self-service tools and sales to provide greater depth as the buying
process proceeds – SiriusDecisions 2010
1. Your Sales & Marketing Ready to Do Business with Frugal Buyers?
Take this Diagnostic Assessment to Find Out.
2. Research White Paper: Sales Enablement and the Economic Buyer
3. Over 200% ROI from a Value Selling Program Sound Impossible?
Find Out for Yourself
4. Why Alinean? Alinean Vendor Profile (SiriusDecisions)
http://www.fightfrugalnomics.com
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