The document outlines a discovery session with Fortunewest focused on enhancing sales and marketing strategies by understanding client objectives, diagnosing challenges, and providing tailored solutions. Key components include analyzing buyer types, assessing current sales processes, and reviewing competitive positioning to refine marketing messages. The intended outcomes involve detailed reports and recommendations aimed at improving sales culture, conversion rates, and overall business impact.

1. Discovery
Session
Discover practical insights into sales/
marketing issues and solutions.
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I N N O VAT I V E T H I N K I N G D R I V I N G B U S I N E S S

2. In our first engagement we listen to what you have to say
about your company and share practical insights into
sales-marketing issues and solutions, be they for growth,
turnaround, expansion, product launch, portfolio development
or displacement sales. We work with you to diagnose, design,
evaluate and implement ‘sales-marketing’ solutions that work.
FortuneWest will visit you to learn about your objectives and
any hurdles to be overcome.
The overall aim is to look at the marketing channel, new
business funnel and sharpen clients’ sales culture, particularly
at the points of engagement mentioned in this document.
Areas of Exporation
The Sales Evidence layer
We set out to understand and communicate tangible sales justification,
which may cover topics such as technical superiority, overall business
case, ease of adoption, total cost of ownership, portability, upgrade
path, among others.
Complementary Sales layers
We set out to understand and communicate what might be called the
intangible aspects of a sale. While hard to describe they are powerful
sales influencers that address the buyer’s perceptions and need for
trust and value. These may include perception of reliability and service
levels, presentation of roles and responsibility in the relationship (who
takes the bullet!), overcoming tainted past experiences, overcoming
allegiances to a competitor, brand impact, and more.
The Presentation Process (sales/marketing support)
Check that logical, easy to understand and appropriate presentation
material is being introduced at defined stages of the sales engagement
Attraction, nurture and conversion of opportunity
Examine the current sales process (pipeline) from unaware to
converted customer to ensure an opportunity is understood and
doesn’t get abandoned prematurely or slip between ‘departments’.
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3. Competitor review
Mainly a review of web based and accessible assets though we
would request ‘client’ assistance (specialist sector knowledge) to
help collate additional information prior to the Discovery meeting.
This is a useful exercise for clients as it takes the immediate
emphasis off ‘you’ about whom you know a lot. It also gives
clients an insight into how we look at:
l Brand, identity and messaging
l Sales presentation and product/competitor USPs
l Positioning (from company/customer perspective)
l Presentation styles, tone of voice, engagement channels
l Trading position, operational tactics, client relations,
current ambitions
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
Outline competitor report – Draft SWOT analysis.
What makes your company
Interesting and Safe?
This question touches all aspects of sales presentation and speaks to
the matter of how we best portray your company heritage, the team and
its expertise to the market, alongside product and service ranges. The
intended end point is to match client capability and outbound marketing
messages to how prospects seek your services and products. What is
interesting about your product and company and do they look safe?
l Review current marketing and sales assets
l Discuss current and future refinements and
enhancements
l Assess impact on market, prospects, customers
and partners
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
Overview of competing marketing and value propositions in your sector,
and identifying how you can strengthen your own propositions.
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4. Who are the buyers?
This section of the programme focuses on different buyer types
who may influence a sale. To move beyond ‘demos and deals’ it is
useful to explore the motivation of different buyer types in order
to mobilise potential enablers, and address potential blockers, to
purchase. Typical buyer types include:
The Financial Buyer
Typically most concerned with the cost of a product or service
– not only the initial cost but also future costs that might be
incurred. Their main concern is cost efficiency and they may
purchase a product on price alone.
The Technical Buyer
Usually involved in influencing the person who makes the final
decision. Often tasked by the decision-maker to research and
evaluate before a purchase. They are concerned with quality and
the specifics that meet their particular requirements.
The User
This type of buyer will review the impact of a product or service
being used. In the case of a software product, for example, they
may be the end user who will need to work with the product. Their
concern will be how a product will affect the way they do their job.
The Executive Buyer
It is very common for the executive buyer to have all the decision-
making power or to have a strong influence in buying decisions.
Their main concern is how a product or service will help advance
their organisation’s (or their own) strategic goals. Their main
concerns lie with profits, growth and long-term strategy.
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
Profiles of current and projected buyer types.

5. Product review
- past, present and future
We ask the client to give us insight into their product and service
range, sectors, bestsellers, client types and size, purchase and
deployment models, R&D, and more. This may require a geographic,
industry sector or other relevant overlay.
We will work with you to make sure you go to market authentically.
We can talk in terms of market leaders, challengers and niche players,
and there are sales-marketing activities appropriate to each. However,
there are many nuances that can enhance a company’s impact when
it understands the assets at its disposal. We will assess what values and
aspirations the company and product have:
Market Leader
Large, pioneering, financially stable or well resourced?
Innovative, high performing or premium products?
Market Explorer
At the forefront of sector R and D?
Market Educator
Helping the market to understand how to acquire or use products and
services
Market Facilitator
Assisting product adoption
Market Disruption
Introducing new technologies or new sales models
Market Expansion
Greenfield development or strategic partnerships in emerging markets
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
- (light) report evaluating current product positioning
- Recommendations for future company and product
positioning
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6. A sales culture that considers
all stages of the cycle
Unaware > Aware > Comprehension > Conviction > Purchase
Web > Campaigns > Case reference > User > Great
groups presentation
Improving sales can involve being less transactional and more consultative
in approach. That is, not trying to achieve all aspects of a sale in one hit. It is
useful to understand where a prospect is on their journey with you and the
touch-points where you can deepen their understanding of your company
and products.
It is important to create context for the sale, and also to speak in the
appropriate marketing tense. (This is a standard FortuneWest insight)
It is possible to help buyers make a decision by explaining aspects of
a problem they face (operational and financial), how you developed a
solution, how your solution differs from competing solutions, and your
credentials as a trusted supplier. We explore whether becoming an advisory
brand can help you fare better than brands that are singularly either
technically-led or product-led.
We will also explore how as an advisory brand you may improve direct sales,
as well as attract and stimulate active channel partners, and possibly jettison
underperforming agents.
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
Report outlining options for sales-marketing culture development.
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7. Assessing the sales funnel
Making sure the right touch-points and monitoring are in
place to understand and nurture all addressable opportunity.
FortuneWest will take time to understand the current sales
cycle and explore potential and capability to scale.
l What are the historical
and current sales statistics?
l How long is a typical engagement process
from prospect > customer?
l What are the current prospect/sales
team touch points?
l What are the current customer/sales
team touch points?
l How do you find and acquire new
prospects the sales funnel?
Outcomes/deliverables could include:
Recent sales map
Trend focus
Pipeline target setting

8. Discovery Session
Outline ‘delivery’ structure
Typical ‘Discovery’ programmes would require:
l 2 days’ preparation
l 1 day Discovery meeting (plus travel if offsite)
l 1 day evaluation, report and recommendations
Discovery Session – next steps/expected outcomes
Following the Discovery session the client will have a clearer
understanding about opportunities to strengthen sales, by
such means as extending impact and reach, stimulating
channels, improving sales conversion.
Specific deliverables (reports) could include:
l Overview of competing marketing and value propositions
in your sector
l Outline competitor report – Draft SWOT analysis f rtunewest
l Profiles of current and projected buyer types
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l Evaluation of current product positioning FortuneWest Group
18 Oxford Road
l Recommendations for future company and product Wokingham
positioning Berkshire
United Kingdom
RG41 2XY
l Report outlining options for sales culture and development
T: +44 (0)845 094 9215
l Recent sales map, trend focus and pipeline target setting
www.fortunewest.co.uk/discovery