Solution Selling Principles Primer Content

© Solution Selling, Inc. 2008
Sales Tool Build Workshop

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 2008  PAGE 1
www.solutionselling.com
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other referenced marks are those of their respective owners.
Copyright Notice: This manual is a copyrighted work of Solution Selling, Inc. This manual may not be
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© Solution Selling, Inc. • 1985 - 2008

MMTC Sales Process Map: (Draft 9/16/09)
Close
IM Analyze Develop Prove Negotiate
Plan Implement
What HELP is available?
Define needs/wants &
requirements
Evaluate
options
Select solutions and
evaluate risk
Resolve issues and finalize contracts
Implement and
evaluate success
 Get necessary
documents
signed
 Identify potential
beneficiary
 Establish trust
and credibility
 Stimulate interest
 Identify perceived
pain
 Conduct plant
tour
 Confirm and
prioritize pain
 Confirm dialogue
and agree upon
next steps
 Diagnose
admitted pain of
Sponsor
 Create or
reengineer vision
for sponsor
 Gain agreement
to explore further
 Negotiate access
to power
and agree upon
next steps
 Diagnose admit-
ted pain of Power
 Create or
reengineer vision
for power
sponsor
 Gain agreement
to explore further
 Determine
evaluation criteria
 Propose a plan of
next steps
and agree upon
plan of next steps
 Begin execution
of next steps
 Present
preliminary
solution
 Prove capabilities
(Oper, Trans, Fin)
 Conduct review
of proposal
 Issue proposal
 Ask for the
business
 Receive verbal
approval
 Prepare for final
negotiations
 Reach final
agreement
 Conduct territory /
account and/or
opportunity
planning
opportunity
 Conduct pre-call
planning and
research
 Participation and
follow-up of Learn
About & Seminars
 Develop Partner
Relationships
 Lead Follow-up
 Implement
solution
 Complete
implementation
approach
 Measure success
criteria
new opportunities
 Obtain referrals
 Documents
signed
 Lead Letter
agreed upon
 Sponsor Letter
agreed upon
 Evaluation Plan
modified or
agreed upon
 Verbal approval
received
 Ts and Cs
agreed upon
 Territory / Acct /
Opportunity
Plan developed
 Evaluations &
Lead Tracking
90%
10% 25% 50% 75% 100%
S.A. Prompter
Value Proposition
Reference Story
Bus. Dev. Letter
Bus. Dev. Prompter
Waste Walk
Trans. Planner/BPS
9 Block Model®
Pain Sheet®
S. A. Prompter
Sponsor Letter
9 Block Model®
Pain Sheet®
S. A. Prompter
Power S. Letter
Evaluation Plan
Evaluation Plan
Transition Letter
Implement. Plan
Value Analysis
Success Criteria
/A3
Negotiating
Worksheet
Get-Give List
T/A/O Plan
Account Profile
Pain Chain®
Key Players List
Implementation
Plan
Success Criteria
A3
Reference Story
Post project debrief
Plan Execute Implement
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales support
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Marketing
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales support
 Services
 Sales
Sales Process Steps
Sales Process Activities
Verifiable Outcomes
Roles (examples)
Sales Tools
Sales Management System
 Implementation
Plan completed
Buying Process

Defensible Differentiators: Template
Differentiator Pain Linkage Defensibility

Core Capabilities: Template
Core Capabilities Pain Linkage Key Selling Points

10
10
0
VALUE
U
N
I
Q
U
E
N
E
S
S
Differentiation Grading Chart
Cool,
Nice to have
Differentiators
Core/
Commodity
Junk

Solution Messaging Card: Definitions
Pain
 One of the core pains
Reasons for
Pain
 Contributing factors or causes to the pain
Organization
Impact
 Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed
 Could be personal or organizational impact
Trend Relevance
 Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace
 Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3rd party research
 Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through
increased situational knowledge
 Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation
Capabilities
 What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons
 Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way
 Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation
Solution Linkage
 Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain
Differentiators
 Specific differentiators components included in the solution
Metrics / Proof
of Value
 Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented
Key Players
 Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain
Case Studies
 Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer

The Training Application Breakdown
100% 100%
<10%
~30% ~30%
Training / HR
Focus
Sales Ops
Focus
Training
Business
Results
THE
GAP
TOOLS PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN
CLOSING THE APPLICATION GAP

Three Key Audiences that Benefit
THOSE
WHO
BUILD
THOSE
WHO
USE
SALES
TOOLS
THOSE
WHO
INSPECT
Sales Management
Educate on usage, role in
opportunity management
(inspection) and coaching
Sales Professionals
Educate on when and how
to use them and which
ones to use
Marketing, Delivery and
Sales Professionals
Focus on supporting sales
by building sales tools
(interim and going forward)

MMTC Sales Process Map: (Draft 9/16/09)
Close
IM Analyze Develop Prove Negotiate
Plan Implement
What HELP is available?
Define needs/wants &
requirements
Evaluate
options
Select solutions and
evaluate risk
Resolve issues and finalize contracts
Implement and
evaluate success
 Get necessary
documents
signed
beneficiary
 Establish trust
and credibility
 Stimulate interest
 Identify perceived
pain
 Conduct plant
tour
 Confirm and
prioritize pain
and agree upon
next steps
 Diagnose
admitted pain of
Sponsor
 Create or
reengineer vision
for sponsor
 Gain agreement
to explore further
 Negotiate access
to power
and agree upon
next steps
 Diagnose admit-
ted pain of Power
 Create or
reengineer vision
for power
sponsor
 Gain agreement
to explore further
 Determine
evaluation criteria
 Propose a plan of
next steps
and agree upon
plan of next steps
 Begin execution
of next steps
 Present
preliminary
solution
 Prove capabilities
(Oper, Trans, Fin)
 Conduct review
of proposal
 Issue proposal
 Ask for the
business
 Receive verbal
approval
 Prepare for final
negotiations
 Reach final
agreement
 Conduct territory /
account and/or
opportunity
planning
opportunity
 Conduct pre-call
planning and
research
 Participation and
follow-up of Learn
About & Seminars
 Develop Partner
Relationships
 Lead Follow-up
 Implement
solution
 Complete
implementation
approach
 Measure success
criteria
new opportunities
 Obtain referrals
 Documents
signed
 Lead Letter
agreed upon
 Sponsor Letter
agreed upon
 Evaluation Plan
modified or
agreed upon
 Verbal approval
received
 Ts and Cs
agreed upon
 Territory / Acct /
Opportunity
Plan developed
 Evaluations &
Lead Tracking
90%
10% 25% 50% 75% 100%
S.A. Prompter
Value Proposition
Reference Story
Bus. Dev. Letter
Bus. Dev. Prompter
Waste Walk
9 Block Model®
Pain Sheet®
S. A. Prompter
Sponsor Letter
9 Block Model®
Pain Sheet®
S. A. Prompter
Power S. Letter
Evaluation Plan
Evaluation Plan
Transition Letter
Implement. Plan
Value Analysis
Success Criteria
/A3
Negotiating
Worksheet
Get-Give List
T/A/O Plan
Account Profile
Pain Chain®
Key Players List
Implementation
Plan
Success Criteria
A3
Reference Story
Post project debrief
Plan Execute Implement
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales support
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Marketing
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Pre-sales
 Sales mgt.
 Subj Expert
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales
 Sales mgt.
 Sales support
 Services
 Sales
Sales Process Steps
Sales Process Activities
Verifiable Outcomes
Roles (examples)
Sales Tools
Sales Management System
 Implementation
Plan completed
Buying Process

Plan IM Analyze & Develop Prove Finalize and Close Implement
Sales Process with Sales Tool and Verifiable Outcomes Emphasis
 Account Profile
 Key Players List
 Messaging Cards
 Pain Chain®
 Value Proposition
 Reference Story
 Business
Development Letter /
Prompters
 Strategic Alignment
Prompter (First Call
Introduction)
 Reference Story
 9 Block Model®
 Pain Sheet® for
Sponsor (including
Differentiators)
 Pain Chain®
 Sponsor Letter
 9 Block Model®
 Pain Sheet® for
Power Sponsor
(including
Differentiators)
 Power Sponsor
Letter
 Success Criteria
 Evaluation Plan
 Evaluation Plan
 Transition Issue and
Capabilities
 Implementation /
Transition Plan
Letter
 Implementation /
Transition Plan
 Value Analysis /
Justification
 Negotiating
Worksheet
 Get-Give List
 Implementation Plan
 Reference Story
Sales Process Steps
Verifiable Outcomes
Sales Tools
Sales Management System (with Win Odds per Milestone)
Lead Letter agreed
upon
Sponsor Letter
agreed upon
Evaluation Plan
modified or agreed
upon
Verbal approval
received
Ts and Cs agreed
upon
Documents signed
90%-100%
10% 25% 50% 75%

Talent Assessment
 Are intuitive
 Have conversations
 Ask questions
 Make presentations
 Make statements
 Process is key to success
Journeypeople
Eagles

Situational Fluency
What Buyers Should Expect from Salespeople
Situational
Knowledge
Capability
Knowledge
People
Skills
Selling
Skills
How Do We
Integrate?
Situational Fluency:
Integration of knowledge and skills by the salesperson for “eagle” performance

Key Selling Skills
PLAN CREATE QUALIFY DEVELOP PROVE NEGOTIATE CLOSE
Sales Process Steps
Prospecting
Developing Needs
Developing and Delivering Value
Managing Proof
Accessing
Power
Qualifying / Disqualifying
Controlling the Process
Aligning
Negotiating / Closing

Shifting Buyer Concerns
Phase I:
Determine Needs
Phase II:
Evaluate Alternatives
Phase III:
Evaluate Risk
Needs
Cost
Solution
Risk
Risk
Price
Solution
Needs
Buying Phases
Time
Level
of
Concern

Sales Tools for Completion
Sales Tool Groups Purpose and/or Actions
Group 1
 Account Profile
 Key Players List
 Pain Chain®
 Brainstorm, analyze, discuss and agree upon key elements of
a general opportunity upon which the development of all other
sales tools will be based
Group 2
 Business Development Prompters and Letter
 Reference Story
 Initial Value Proposition
 First Call Introduction
 Develop sales tools that can be used to assist a sales
professional in initiating a sales cycle by establishing
credibility and targeting possible critical issues of the
prospect
Group 3
 Pain Sheet® (Sponsor and Power Sponsor)
 Evaluation Plan
 Transition Issues & Capabilities
 Transition-Implementation Plan
 Value Analysis / Justification
 Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List
 Create sales tools to help control the sales cycle, qualify the
buying process, and mitigate buyer’s risk through promoting
value and offering proof
Group 4
 Sponsor and Power Sponsor Letters
 Situation Questions
 Go/No Go Step Completion Letter
 Sponsor Vision Reengineering Letter
 Transition Plan Letter
 Complete these sales tools based on input from Sales Tool
Groups 1-3

Basic Principle
NO PAIN, NO CHANGE
Pain = Problem, Critical Business Issue or Potential Missed Opportunity
BASIC
PRINCIPLE

Criteria for Pain
 Job specific
 How the prospect is:
 Measured
 Motivated
 Recognized
 Rewarded
 Viewed by peers
 Personal
 Provides a compelling reason to act

Basis of Pain
 Increasing
 Costs
 Competitive losses
 Errors
 Customer complaints
 Returns
 Employee turnover
 Eroding
 Profits
 Market share
 Service quality
 Growth rate
 Customer care
 Compliance
 Government regulation
 Industry standard
?
COMMON
DENOMINATOR

Basic Principle
YOU CAN’T SELL TO SOMEONE
WHO CAN’T BUY
BASIC
PRINCIPLE

Approval Types and Roles
Informal: Opportunity Level
 Sponsor
 Cannot make the buying decision
 Provides information
 Conducts internal selling
 Provides access to power
 Power Sponsor (a.k.a. “VP of Change”)
 Enough influence (regardless of title) and authority to get it if they want it, even if unbudgeted
 Can and will take you anywhere in the organization you need to go
 Can and will negotiate the steps leading to a buying decision
 Beneficiary
 Adversary
 End user
Formal: Account Level
 Legal / Technical / Administrative (Purchasing)
 Financial
 Ultimate Authority

Three Sales within a Sale
LINE OF BUSINESS SALE
Operational Vision
“What capabilities do we need to
meet our business goals?”
TRANSITION SALE
Transition / Implementation
Vision
“How do we get from where we
are today to where the Line Vice
Presidents want to be?”
FINANCIAL SALE
Operational Vision
+
Vision
“What is the overall value to the
organization?”

Basic Principle: There are Four Levels of Buyer Need
Level One: Latent Pain
Level Two: Admitted Pain
Level Three:
Vision of a
Solution
Level
Four:
Active
Evaluation
BASIC
PRINCIPLE

Four Levels of Buyer Need: Definitions
Level Four: Active Evaluation
 Power person driving evaluation
 Business issues are defined
 Requirements are documented
 Evaluation team in place
Level Three: Vision of a Solution
 Buyer accepts responsibility for solving problem
 Buyer can visualize the when, who, and what that will
enable them to address the reasons for their pain
Level Two: Admitted Pain
 Buyer is willing to discuss problems, difficulties or
dissatisfaction with the existing situation
 Buyer admits the problem, but does not know how to solve it
Level One: Latent Pain
 Buyer is not actively attempting to address a problem for
which the salesperson can see a solution
 Buyer is unaware a potential solution exists or may have
failed at previous attempts to solve the problem
 Buyer has rationalized potential solutions viewed so far as
“too expensive,” “too complicated,” or “too risky,”

Conceptual Sales Territory
 Power person driving evaluation
 Business issues defined
 Requirements documented
 Evaluation team in place
*
Not
Looking
Active *
Of all the people who could benefit from your offering…
What % are actively evaluating?

How Organizations Evaluate and Buy
Not Looking Active Requirements Company A Company B Company C

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



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









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







Identify Opportunities through Planning
Territory
Account Account Account Account
Account
Opp Opp Opp Opp Opp
Existing Accounts New Accounts
Territory Planning
Account Planning
Opportunity Planning

Planning
Account Pre-call Planning and Research
Key Areas to Research
 Company
 History
 Nature of the business
 Mission statement
 Annual reports / 10Ks
 Offerings
 Description
 Types
 Uniqueness
 Market analysis
 Size
 Location
 Trends
 Maturity
 Share
 Financials
 Balance sheet
 Income statement
 Track record
 Competition
 How positioned
 Strategies
 Comparisons
 Executive profiles
 Work history
 Education
 Competencies
 Potential critical business issues
(pains)
Opportunities in the Pipeline

Information Sources
 Review account’s website
 Access public information
 Annual Reports / 10-Ks
• Chairman’s Letter
• Financial highlights
 Dun & Bradstreet (contact Marketing Manager) * – company overviews: financials, key people in the
organization, industry-related news, competitor profiles, business & financial rankings, and company
subsidiaries.
 Google News Alert
 MSN Business Online (www.msnbc.com) Company information and news articles searchable at the
world, national and local levels
 OneSource (www.onesource.com) * – A single source for detailed company information for both public
and private companies.
 Standard & Poor’s (www.standardandpoors.com) – Financial information about organizations around
the world in multiple languages. Financial information includes credit ratings, equity research, global
indices and articles pertaining to the financial impact associated with world events.
 US Securities Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov) – Information on public filings from 1993 –
present
 Yahoo Finance
 Contact account’s shareholder department (e-mail) with specific questions – become a shareholder
 Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization

What to Do with the Information
 Identify key players
 Identify potential areas for critical business issues (pains)
 Match up key players with critical business issues (pains)
 Align your capabilities to each key player and potential pain
 Create an Initial Pain Chain® for the potential opportunity
 Target most likely Power Sponsor
 Determine your business development strategy leveraging the
specific information gathered
 Develop or select appropriate stimulating interest Sales Tools to
support the strategy
Account-level
activities
Opportunity-level
activities

Account Profile – Titan Games Inc. (TGI): Example
Account Profile
Company:
Titan Games Incorporated (TGI) is a 20 year old organization which manufactures and distributes educational
and recreational games and toys throughout the world.
Offerings:
TGI manufactures a line of educational and recreational games and toys that are endorsed and approved by
leading experts in the field, and are ergonomically designed.
Market analysis:
Loss of shelf space has created market erosion, hence a loss of sales while lessening the company’s competitive
position.
Financials:
Sales have declined in direct proportion to market and shelf space loss. Earnings per share have had a
disproportionately high decline as margins are squeezed, and costs cannot be reduced quickly enough to protect
profits.
Competition:
There are five primary competitors, three of which are technologically in a position to take advantage of TGI’s
inefficiencies.
Executive profiles:
The CEO, Susan Brown, was hired in the past year to turn the company around because earnings per share
have declined. The VP Finance, Jim Smith, has been with TGI for the past 5 years. He is currently unable to
positively affect profits due to missed revenue targets and the increasing cost of credit write-offs. The VP Sales &
Marketing, Steve Jones, is chartered with increasing revenues for TGI. He has been hampered by technology
limitations that cause his salespeople to spend too much time servicing existing accounts while not developing
new ones. The CIO, John Watkins, has been chartered with finding a solution to the technology deficiencies.
Potential critical business issues:
CEO: Earning per share are declining; VP Finance: Eroding profits, VP Sales & Marketing: Missing new account
revenue targets

Sales Tool Description
Account Profile
Overview:
A brief overview of a target company that describes particular elements of the organization. The profile highlights
challenges the organization is facing.
Where / How used:
The Account Profile serves as an ideal “quick information” resource for you to gain insight about an account into which
you are about to make contact. The profile should include: Overview of the Company, Description of their Offerings,
Analysis of their Markets, Summary of their Financial Status, Description of their Competition, Executive Biographies
and Descriptions of Potential Pains.
What you should achieve:
The Account Profile should help you or your team to strategize on how to move forward with a potential opportunity by
identifying specific pains the organization is likely to be facing. Additionally, identification of key players with the
organization and their pains will start to formulate a picture of how the individuals’ pains are connected in a cause and
effect relationship.
Input required:
Knowledge of the prospect’s organization, key players, and pains they are likely facing – a Key Players List for the
industry will be useful.
Note: Account Profiles can be supplemented by corporate information such as Account Plans or Customer Relationship
Management data. There are also many third party organizations that can serve as a resource for researching and
providing the latest information on accounts. A complete Account Profile represents the minimum amount of
information that should be known before engaging with an opportunity.

Exercise: Develop a Sample Account Profile
Purpose:
 To draft an Account Profile of a typical client to use as an example
Activities:
 Record key information about a typical account that would benefit from the selected
offering(s)
Notes:
 You may model the profile after a real account, but reserve the right to change the
information if necessary

Account Profile: Template
Account Profile
Company:
Offerings:
Market analysis:
Financials:
Competition:
Executive profiles:

Account Profile: Template
Account Profile
Company:
Hillsdale Terminal, Inc. Manufactures and distributes electrical terminal products mostly in automotive
and recreational vehicle industries. Current market is US. Company has been in business for
Offerings:
Manufacturer of Solderless crimp terminals and wiring accessories
Market analysis:
Customers are boat manufacturers and recreational and leisure manufacturers. Sell only to distributors,
wholesalers, end users
Financials:
D&B says $3.4m annual sales
Competition:
Tyco, Terminal Supply, 3M
Executive profiles:
Frank Condon is President of company. Jim Condon is VP
Want to sell retail, build a capacity to sell on the web

Key Players List: Manufacturing Industry (SME)
Key Players (Job Title) Potential Pains
President/Owner
 Missing profit goals
 Growth goals not being achieved
 Lack of a future workforce
Controller/CFO
 Increasing costs
 Inadequate cash flow
 Profit goals not being met
VP Operations/
Plant Manager
 Increased production costs
 Excess Inventory
 Declining throughput
Production Manager
 Declining first pass yield
 Decreased employee productivity
 Inefficient equipment/processes
Quality Manager
 Increased defects
 Inadequate QMS to meet needs of new, larger customers
 Higher costs/less results implementing QMS
VP Engineering
 Miss-alignment with sales on product specs
 Commoditized/mature products
 Risks associated with new product launch
Sales/Marketing Mgr
 Declining sales revenue
 Missing new account targets
 Increased difficulties to differentiate
 Ineffective sales channels performance
CI Manager
 Difficulty sustaining internal process improvement
 Declining employee productivity
HR Manager
 Challenge attracting/retaining qualified labor
 Increasing average age of workforce

Job Aid Description
Key Players List
Overview:
The Key Players List is a listing by industry of important job titles along with the likely critical business issues (pains)
which that job title (key player) might face.
Where / How used:
The Key Players List helps you identify pains to probe for when marketing to, calling on or meeting with a particular
buyer based on their job title and role. This is especially helpful when calling on a buyer or within an industry where
you may less inexperience with or be unfamiliar with.
The Key Players List can be used to initiate sales opportunities by identifying latent pains that buyers have not yet
recognized. It also can be used to identify the underlying pain which have driven a buyer to commit to action in active
sell cycles.
By using the Key Players List, you should be able to more quickly identify key players and their potential pains. It also
can help develop your situational knowledgeable and experience in a given industry.
Input required:
To create a Key Players List, you must research the key players, their pains and job titles within your target industries.

Exercise: Develop a Key Players List
Purpose:
 To draft a Key Players List to use as an example
Activities:
 Identify 5-6 client key players (by title) typically involved in a sales cycle for your chosen
offering(s)
 Record 5-6 potential pains faced by each key player. Ideally, your offering would directly or
indirectly address one or more pains of the key players
Notes:
 Choose key players that represent various approval types such as Sponsors, Power
Sponsors, etc
 Remember a pain is personal and specific to the person and their role

Key Players List Template
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Key Players List Template (Continued)
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Basic Principle
PAIN FLOWS THROUGH AN ENTIRE
ORGANIZATION
BASIC
PRINCIPLE

Pain Chain® - “Cause and Effect”
Job Title: Sales Manager
Pain: Lack of marketing knowledge
Reason: Lack of training
Reason: Lack of resources
Job Title: President
Pain: Inability to seize new market opportunity
Reason: Lack of marketing knowledge
Reason: Missing sales opportunities

Pain Chain™: Manufacturing. Example
Job Title: VP Operations
Pain: Increased production costs
Reason A: Declining first pass yield
Reason B: Decreased employee productivity
Job Title: President/Owner
Pain: Missing profit goals
Reason A: Increased production costs
Reason B: Decrease in sales revenue
Job Title: Quality Manager
Pain: Increased defects
Reason A: Inability to identify root causes
Reason B: Lack of process controls
Reason C: Lack of adherence to a QMS
Reason D: Lack of a QMS
Job Title: Production Manager
Pain: Declining first pass yield
Reason A: Increased defects
Reason B: Increased process waste

Pain Chain®
Overview:
The Pain Chain® is a graphical depiction of the cause and effect relationship of critical business issues (pains) inside
an organization. It includes job title, pain, and the reasons for that pain. The graphic shows a pain as being a reason
for someone else’s pain.
Where / How Used:
This job aid can be employed in multiple ways and in multiple points in a sell cycle. It can be used as a pre-call
planning aid to understand potential interdependencies in an opportunity. After interviewing key players, a seller can
re-craft an Initial Pain Chain® to reflect their new findings. It is also used when building a business case to identify
sources of benefits across the organization. The Pain Chain® becomes an “organizational impact chart” when used to
explain the benefits to the customer(s). It can then be viewed as a “Gain Chain.”
A completed Pain Chain® demonstrates to the client an insightful understanding of their business. In addition, as the
seller’s understanding of the client’s overall situation is expanded so is the corresponding opportunity to build a broad
base of support and justification for implementation of the solution.
Input required:
To create a Pain Chain®, you must understand the pain(s) of key players in the organization and the reasons for the
pain(s). As many key players in an organization may have multiple pains, the Job Aid Build team must narrow the pains
down to one per key player. The pains and the reasons for other key player’s pains should relate to one another with
little confusion or misunderstanding in order to teach the concept of “organizational interdependency” with ease.

Exercise: Create a Pain Chain®
Purpose:
 To create a Pain Chain® to use as an example for demonstrating how one pain in the
organization affects other key players
Activities:
 Using the Key Players List and Account Profile that have already been drafted:
 Identify (by title) at least 4 key players within your opportunity
 Identify the primary pain and reasons for each of these key players
 Using the key players and their pains, construct a Pain Chain® showing their
organizational interdependency. Do this by tracing the flow of pain up and/or down the
organization
 Each pain should have at least two reasons

Pain Chain® Template
Job Title:
Pain:
Reason A:
Reason B:
Job Title:
Pain:
Reason A:
Reason B:
Job Title:
Pain:
Reason A:
Reason B:
Job Title:
Pain:
Reason A:
Reason B:

Group 1
 Account Profile
 Key Players List
 Pain Chain®
Group 2
 Business Development Prompters and Letter
 Reference Story
 Initial Value Proposition
 First Call Introduction
prospect
Group 3
 Evaluation Plan
Group 4
Groups 1-3

Business Development: Messaging Considerations
“Are You Curious?”
 You have limited time to get attention and create curiosity
 Business-to-business vs. Business-to-consumer
 Put yourself in the mind of the buyer
 Target pains / critical business issues:
• describe how someone else has solved a problem
• target a peer in a potentially similar situation
• select a problem they might have or to which they can relate
 Communicate value
 The communication should NOT:
 focus on company history or new offerings
 ask them to buy anything or schedule a meeting
 ask the buyer to admit “pain”

Business Development Prompters
Overview:
This job aid provides a seller with a variety of dialogue prompters to help stimulate interest with prospective clients by
focusing on critical issues (pains) typical of the client’s job title. It gives the seller an opportunity to establish credibility
by demonstrating situational fluency while helping to differentiate himself/herself from other sellers through proven
techniques and best practices.
Where / How Used:
It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “stimulating interest ” of the Solution
Selling® process and can be used in a variety of settings including telephone calls, voice mail messages, and face to
face communications at networking events, trade shows, etc.
When used successfully, the prospect’s curiosity will grow and they will want to know more about how who helped
someone else with a situation they can relate to. The conversation could then continue further by the seller sharing a
reference story.
Input required:
To create Business Development Prompters, you must know the key pains, and reasons for pains, of the individuals by
job titles that can benefit from your offerings.

Business Development Prompters
Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity
This is Ron Quinkert with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. You and I haven’t spoken
before, our organization been working with Michigan manufacturers for more than 20 years. A common trend
we are hearing lately from other JAMA members is their difficulty in finding new business. Despite the tough
economy, we have been able to help other members identify new business prospects. Would you like to
know how?
Business Development Prompter: Menu Approach (See Business Development Letter)
This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with Michigan
manufacturers for the last 20 years. The top three concerns we are hearing from other Sales Managers are:
decreasing sales, lack of new leads and lack of resources. We’ve helped companies like: JC Gibbons,
Bolton Conductive and Integrity Steel address some of these issues. Would you like to know how?
Business Development Prompter: Referral Approach
This is Karen Seman with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but Patricia Yulkowski , President of
Total Door suggested that I give you a call. We were able to help her address her difficulty with developing
their new web site. Would you like to know how?
Business Development Prompter: Multiple Contact Approach
This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You might recall my last e-mail regarding the Learn-About you attended
where we described how we have been working with Michigan manufacturers to find new customers. A
common trend is frustration with declining sales due to the economy. We have been able to help our
customers address this issue. Would you like to know how?

Business Development Letter / e-mail: Template
Dear Mr. Smith,
Our company is in the business of helping our clients find new business.
We have been working with Michigan manufacturers for over 20 years.
Our clients include Bolton Conductive, JC Gibbons and Integrity Steel.
Some of the chief concerns we heard from them included:
• Decreasing sales
• Lack of new sales leads
• Lack of resources to generate new business
We have been able to help our customers successfully deal with these and other issues. I would like an opportunity
to share some examples with you. If you are interested in learning how we have helped other manufacturers solve
some very challenging issues, please call me at 734-451-4204 and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of
your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on October 30th .
Best Regards,
Ron Quinkert, cBSP

Reference Story: Format and Template
FORMAT REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE
Job title / industry:
A customer job title and
vertical industry
Critical business issue:
The pain of the above
title
One of the reasons:
One of the reasons for
the critical business
issue biased to your
product / service
Capabilities (when,
who, what):
In the words of your
customer, the business
event, the player(s) and
specific capabilities
needed to address the
critical business issue
(He / She / They told us
they needed a way…)
We provided:
If the “solution” is
described properly
above, all we have to do
here is say that we
provided those
capabilities
Result:
Specific measurement is
best ($ or %)
Situation: The Lean Champion
Critical Business
Issue:
Increased production costs
Reason(s): One of the key reasons was declining employee
productivity.
Capability(s):
(when, who, what)
He said he wanted a way that, when filling customer orders,
his workforce would utilize standardized work processes
and eliminate non-value added activity.
We provided… that capability
Result: Eliminated 510 hours per year of NVA activity · On-time
machine deliveries improved to 97% (up from 92%) · Vendor
performance improved to 98% on-time delivery (up from
92%)

Reference Story Format
Situation: A customer job title and vertical industry
Critical
Business Issue:
The pain of the title above (Anxiety words and phrases are very
powerful here).
Reason(s): One of the reasons for the critical issue biased to your product
or service
Capability(s):
(when, who,
what)
In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s)
and specific capabilities needed to address the critical issue -
“He/she/they told us when… who… what they needed”
We provided… If the “solution” is described properly above, all we have to do
here is say that we (our product / service / company) provided
them those capabilities
Result: Specific measurement is best, $ or %

Reference Story
Overview:
This job aid provides a seller with a dialogue prompter to help build credibility with a client by helping the client begin
discussing their critical issues (pain). It gives the seller an opportunity to share situationally specific examples of how
the prospect’s peers have been helped by implementing capabilities provided by the seller’s organization.
Where / How Used:
It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “Stimulating Interest” step of the
Solution Selling® process, but can be used effectively to assist in building credibility or getting pain admitted.
When used successfully, the prospect will either admit pain, or the seller will discover that the prospect already has a
vision of a solution. The conversation could then continue further by vision processing (creation or reengineering).
Input required:
To create a Reference Story you must have specific examples from previous sales and know the measurable results
that were achieved by implementing capabilities provided by your organization.
Note: If measured results are not available, indicate (as a footnote) that the Reference Story results are for education
purposes or that they are pending

Exercise: Craft a Reference Story
Purpose:
 To draft a Reference Story that could be used to establish credibility, stimulate interest and begin
the discussion of pain with a prospect
Activities:
 Using the Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® exercise:
 Fill in the Reference Story Template with the information already identified
 Create the measurable results achieved as the outcome of buying the solution
Note:
 Although Reference Stories are traditionally developed at the end of a sales engagement, this
sample will be used as if it was the basis for stimulating interest into the current opportunity
(scenario) thus it should “map” to the existing scenario (i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain
Sheet® )

Reference Story: Format and Template
FORMAT REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE
Job title / industry:
A customer job title and
vertical industry
Critical business issue:
The pain of the above
title
One of the reasons:
One of the reasons for
the critical business
issue biased to your
product / service
Capabilities (when,
who, what):
In the words of your
customer, the business
event, the player(s) and
specific capabilities
needed to address the
critical business issue
(He / She / They told us
they needed a way…)
We provided:
If the “solution” is
described properly
above, all we have to do
here is say that we
provided those
capabilities
Result:
Specific measurement is
best ($ or %)
Situation:
Critical Business
Issue:
Reason(s):
Capability(s):
(when, who, what)
We provided… …this capability
Result:

The Value Cycle
“Lead with Value”
CLOSE
VERIFY
MEASURE
LEAD
Initial Value
Proposition

Building a Compelling Value Proposition
Your Offering Your Offering
Customer B
Situation
Customer A
Situation
Initial Value
Proposition
Reference
Story
Projected
Results
Measured
Results
EXTRAPOLATE

Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template
VALUE PROPOSITION
“We believe that Morton Buildings should be able to
Reduce production costs
by 10%, or $6.6 million annually
through the ability to streamline production and eliminate non-value added steps
as a result of re-mapping your work processes, accurately allocating costs across product
lines, and updating the skills of your personnel
for an investment of $50,000
Value Proposition Assumptions:
 Fabrication Line not included
 Morton personnel available at requested times
 Assume gross margin of 40% on sales of $370m = COGs of $222m
Assume project impacts 30% of COGs = $66m/10 = $6.6m

Value Proposition
Overview:
A statement which projects the potential quantified benefit (value) a client could realize through the implementation of a
specific capability or solution. It is intended to create curiosity and serve as the catalyst to start a sales cycle.
Where / How used:
The projected quantified benefits are extrapolated from a previous successful implementation(s) or engagement(s) and
then projected upon the prospective client.
The primary use is to stimulate interest in what the seller may have to offer. If interest is generated, the (Initial) Value
Proposition can and should be refined during the sell cycle eventually evolving to a more elaborate Value Analysis / ROI.
The Value Proposition should stimulate interest with the client (or prospect) and commence a sell cycle.
Input required:
To create a Value Proposition you must have knowledge of the specific value already achieved by a customer who is
using your products / services. You will also need to know specific information about the prospect you are targeting.

Exercise: Develop an Initial Value Proposition
Purpose:
 To draft an initial Value Proposition that could be used to lead with value and stimulate interest with
a prospect
Activities:
 Extrapolate the results and characteristics found in the Reference Story to create a Value
Proposition for the targeted prospect (i.e. the Sponsor )
Notes:
 This should be built on well-known metrics that a successful account has experienced
 Much like the Reference Story, since the Value Proposition will be positioned as a method for
stimulating interest into the current opportunity (scenario) it should “map” to the existing scenario
(i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® )

Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template
VALUE PROPOSITION
“We believe that TC Sports should be able to increase sales by $500,000
through the ability to market effectively, drive new RFQ opportunities, and
infiltrate new markets as a result of updating personnel skill sets and
website enhancement, for an investment of $ 22,000”
Value Proposition assumptions being made:
 Average sale amount = $20,000
 Closing ratio = 15%
 24 hour response to all quote opportunities
 Personnel available at requested times
Value Proposition Format:
We believe that [ Client name ]
should be able to [ improve what ]
by [ how much, what %? ]
through the ability to [ do what? ]
as a result of [ what enabling capabilities? ]
for an investment of [ what relative cost? ] .

Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)
Step 2: Introduce Call
 State call objective *
What I’d like to do today is to:
• Introduce you to the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center
• Tell you about another Sales Manager in the injection molding business we have worked with
• I would then like to learn more about you and your situation…
• …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed
any further.”
 Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme)
“ The MMTC is in the business of helping Michigan Manufacturers identify new markets, generate new leads,
and close more sales”
 Provide company / personal introduction *
FACTS
□ We are part of the national network of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which makes our approach
dramatically different. We are dedicated to helping small to medium sized Michigan manufacturers make
operational improvements. A key point is that as part of the MEP network, we are measured on your results.
□ Our approach to training and consulting is focused on knowledge transfer. We teach you how to fish, we don’t do
the fishing for you. We also help you implement what you’ve learned, making you self sufficient.
□ We helped a total of 1,250 Michigan manufacturers since our inception.
 Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date)
“A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________
(job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________.
What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those
capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).”
 Transition to “getting pain admitted”
“But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.”

Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)
What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to:
• Introduce you to IMEC
• Tell you about another OEM supplier we have worked with
• I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation…
any further.”
IMEC is in the business of helping companies to be more productive and competitive.
FACTS
 IMEC has been in business since 1996
 We’ve worked with nearly 2,000 Illinois manufacturers
 We have 10 offices statewide
 On average, our clients report a 10 to 1 return on their investment in our resources
“A particular situation you might be interested in is another Caterpillar Supplier. Their VP of Operations was
having difficulty with increasing production costs. The reason for his difficulty was a decline in employee
productivity. What he said he needed was a way when filling customer orders, his production workers would
have standardized work processes to follow with minimal non-value added activities. We provided them with
those capabilities and as result his on-time delivery improved from 65% to more than 95%.
“But enough about IMEC. Tell me about you and your situation.”
* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant

Exercise: Create the First Call Introduction Information
Purpose:
 To draft specific elements of messaging during a first call to allow the sales professional to
properly introduce themselves to a new prospect in order to establish the call agenda and
credibility
Activities:
 Create a positioning statement that describes how the company helps their clients
 Create this with the title and industry of the prospect in mind
 Provide 3-4 facts about the company and/or seller that will help the prospect draw desired
conclusions

First Call Introduction Template: Strategic Alignment Prompter (Step 2)
What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to:
• Introduce you to __________ (my company)
• Tell you about another _________ (job title and industry) we have worked with
• I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation…
any further.”
“__________________ (my company) is in the business of helping organizations / companies in the
__________________ industry to… (provide brief statement of how organizations use our products and services)
____________________________________________________________________________________________.”
FACTS
□ __________________________________________
□ __________________________________________
□ __________________________________________
“A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________
(job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________.
What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those
capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).”
“But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.”
* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant

Group 1
 Account Profile
 Key Players List
 Pain Chain®
Group 2
 Business Development Prompters and Letter
 Reference Story
 Initial Value Proposition
 First Call Introduction
prospect
Group 3
 Evaluation Plan
Group 4
Groups 1-3

10
10
0
VALUE
U
N
I
Q
U
E
N
E
S
S
Differentiation Grading Chart
Cool,
Nice to have
Differentiators
Core Capabilities
Junk

Solution Messaging Card: Definitions
Pain
 One of the core pains
Reasons for
Pain
 Contributing factors or causes to the pain
Organization
Impact
 Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed
 Could be personal or organizational impact
Trend Relevance
 Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace
 Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3rd party research
 Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through
increased situational knowledge
 Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation
Capabilities
 What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons
 Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way
 Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation
Solution Linkage
 Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain
Differentiators
 Specific differentiators components included in the solution
Metrics / Proof
of Value
 Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented
Key Players
 Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain
Case Studies
 Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer

Basic Principle
DIAGNOSE BEFORE
YOU PRESCRIBE
BASIC
PRINCIPLE

I1
I3
C1
C2
C3
R1
R2
R3
I2
Architecture of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™
Diagnose Reasons Visualize Capabilities
Explore Impact
Open
Control
Confirming
PAIN
BUYING VISION
3 Question
Types
3 Areas of
Exploration
Customer’s
Point of View
Salesperson’s
Point of View
Combined
Point of View

9 Block Vision Processing Model® - Vision Creation
Diagnose Reasons Visualize Capabilities
Explore Impact
Open
Control
Confirming
PAIN $
BUYING VISION $
7
4
1
8
5
2
9
6
3
C1
I1
R1
C2
I2
R2
C3
I3
R3
“Besides yourself,
who in your
organization is
impacted by this (pain)
and how are they
impacted?”
“Is this (pain) causing…
(another pain)?”
“If so, would
(other job title)
also be concerned?”
#?, %?, $?
“From what I just heard,
(repeat the “who” and
“how”) are impacted.
It sounds like this is not
just your problem, but a
______ problem!
Is that correct?”
“What is it going to take
for you to be able to
(achieve your goal)?”
“Could I try a few ideas
on you?”
“You mentioned
(recall reason)…
Would it help if …
Capability Vision A?...
Capability Vision B?...
Capability Vision C?...
“So, IF you had the ability
to (summarize capability
visions),
THEN could you (achieve
your goal)?”
“Tell me about it,
what is causing you
to have this…
(repeat pain)?”
“Is it because…
Reason A?…
Reason B?...
Reason C?...
#?, %?, $?
“So, the reasons for your
(pain) are…?
Is that correct?”

Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Example
Pain:
Job Title & Industry:
Offering:
Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%)
Production Manager
Kiazen Events
REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2)
Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…?
A you are experiencing unscheduled
machine down time?
What is the maximum hours of machine time
availability per week/per year? (80)(4000)
What percentage of time is loss due to
unscheduled machine down time (4%)
What is the market value of products produced per
hour? ($2,300)
So, the value of products lost due to unscheduled
down time is approximately 160 hours or $368,000
per year, is that correct? (Yes)
How much of that $368,000 could be eliminated if
you could optimally schedule preventive
maintenance? (50 % or $184,000)
• lost orders?
• Increased inventory costs?
• Increased production costs?
Is the VP Manufacturing
impacted?
• loss of (or threat of losing)
customers?
• declining profits?
• poor cash flow?
Is the President/Owner
impacted?
A When:
Who:
What:
equipment is not operating
within spec (i.e. temp, lube,
filters, etc.)
your machine operator
could apply minor
preventive maintenance or
notify a technician so that
proper maintenance can be
optimally scheduled
B customer demands require an
increasing number of setups?
How many set ups per week/year? (6)(300)
How does compare to last year? (up 10%)
What about in the future? (10% higher)
What is the average time per set up? (1.5 hour)
That means that 450 hours per year is required
today and 495 for future volume? (Yes)
hour? ($2,300)
That means the value of products lost due to
machine set up is approximately 1M per year, is
that correct? (Yes)
How much of that 1M could be saved with time
saving setup techniques and standard procedures?
(50% or $500,000)
B When
Who:
What:
set ups are required
your set up team
could apply time saving
techniques, have easy
access to required tools,
and follow standard
procedures so that set up
time is reduced
C your experiencing frequent out-of-raw
materials at the point of use?
How many hours per week/per year are lost due to
raw material outage? (.5 hours)(25hours)
hour? ($2,300)
That means that the value of products lost due to
raw material outage is approximately $57,500 per
year? (Yes)
Shouldn’t that all be eliminated? (Yes)
C When
Who:
What:
raw materials are
approaching predetermined
minimal levels
your line workers
could have inventory
replenished automatically
and before outage occur and
production stops

Pain:
Offering:
Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%)
Production Manager
Kiazen Events
D You have an improper line balance?
What percent of true capacity do you think you are
operating at right now? (92%)
How much of that 8% gap is due to improper flow
i.e. bottlenecks, excess product travel, wait time,
etc. (50%)
What is your current annual output? (10M)
That would mean a potential gain of $400,000 in
sales. Is that a good estimate? (Yes)
How much of that $400,000 could be realized if
you could quickly analyze line balance, identify
bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve
flow? (80% or $320,000)
• lost orders?
• Increased inventory costs?
• Increased production costs?
Is the VP Manufacturing
impacted?
customers?
• poor cash flow?
impacted?
D When:
Who:
What:
product mix changes occur
your production team
could quickly analyze line
balance, identify
bottlenecks, and reallocate
resources to improve flow
E E When
Who:
What:
F F When
Who:
What:

Pain Sheet®
Overview:
A Pain Sheet® is a questioning prompter used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model®.
It provides a set of control questions to help diagnose a business issue (pain), identify the impacts of that pain on the
rest of the organization, and describe the capabilities which could be provided to address the pain. It is an integral job
aid to creating (or reengineering) visions biased to specific offerings / solutions of the seller’s organization.
Where / How used:
It is used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® for creating (or reengineering) customer visions biased toward
specific offerings / solutions of your organization.
The use of the Pain Sheet® with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® will help bring the buyer to a vision of how he /
she will be able to address their critical business issue (pain) as well as quantify the value to them and understand the
impact their pain has across the organization.
Input Required:
To build a Pain Sheet® you will need understanding of potential Sponsor / Power Sponsor (likely) pains as well as
associated reasons. Situational knowledge of how the capabilities of your product can address the client’s business
initiatives and in turn solve their critical issues. A knowledge of your offering’s differentiators will be useful.

Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet®
Purpose:
 To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted
business issue of a likely Sponsor –level buyer.
 To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated
value that his/her offering can provide
Activities:
 Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated:
 Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the
capabilities in the future
 Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address
 Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column
 Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis
Notes:
 Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Sponsor

Pain Sheet® - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Template
Pain:
Offering:
Loss of business and profits
Owner, Manufacturing
Market Diversification
REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIES
A You rely too much on one shrinking
customer
What’s the annual sales to this main customer? ($3M)
What has the sales trend been over the last year?
(Decreased 15%)
So if my math is correct, you need to replace at least
$345k to make up for the loss.
How many new leads have been generated to replace
lost business? (Two)
What was the value of the two new customers?
($150K)
So if my math is correct, that leaves a gap of $195k
On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you
can fill that gap? (2. In other words, we can probably
get 20% using current resources)
If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $156k
(80% of the $195k) could you get? (100%)
A When:
Who:
What:
Looking for new
customers
you
could quickly and
easily identify and
qualify potential new
prospects?
B Lack of pricing power and declining
profits
Have your profit margins declined over the last two
years? How much? (5% per year, now making only
6%)
Have you ever investigated other higher profit markets
to sell into? (Yes, we tried with no results)
What were the revenue and margin expectations in
those markets? (6 new customers with 15% margins)
So if my math is correct, that represents $450k in
revenue, with almost $68k in profits. (Yes)
If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $450k
could you get? (Maybe 30%)
B When:
Who:
What:
Selling your product
You
Had data to help
choose target market
segments with higher
profit potential?

Pain:
Offering:
Lack of Resources to Attract New Customers
Owner, Manufacturing
Market Diversification
A No dedicated sales or marketing staff
Who does your sales and marketing now? Me
How much time do you dedicate to sales and
marketing efforts?
What are the types of marketing activities that you do?
How do you measure the success of those activities?
Do you have anyone that could dedicate 4 hours per
week to new marketing efforts?
A When:
Who:
What:
Looking for new
prospects
you
Could use current staff
more effectively with an
established process?
B Ineffective website
Do you receive leads from your website?
How many of those leads result in a sale?
Do you track the visitor traffic to your website?
B When:
Who:
What:
Looking for a new
supplier
Your prospective
customer
could more easily find
your company instead
of your competitors
C Lack of communication tools C When:
Who:
What:

Pain:
Offering:
A XXX
aaa
A When:
Who:
What:
B B When:
Who:
What:
C XXX C When:
Who:
What:
D YYY D When:
Who:
What:

Gaining Access to Power
A Second Vision Processing Conversation
Power Sponsor
Pain
Reason A
Reason B
Reason C
Sponsor
Pain
Reason A
Reason B
Reason C
I2 C2
RI
R2
I1 C1
R3 I3 C3
I2 C2
RI
R2
I1 C1
R3 I3 C3

Pain:
Offering:
Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders? ( )
VP Manufacturing
Kiazen Events
A You are missing on time deliveries
Your Production Manager believes it is possible to
recapture a little over $1Million related to missing
on time deliveries.
Do you agree? (Yes)
customers?
• poor cash flow?
impacted?
A When:
Who:
What:
When
Who:
What
When
Who:
What
When
Who:
What
equipment is not operating
within spec (i.e. temp, lube,
filters, etc.)
your machine operator
could apply minor
preventive maintenance or
notify a technician so that
proper maintenance can be
optimally scheduled set ups
are required
set ups are required
your set up team
could apply time saving
techniques, have easy
access to required tools,
and follow standard
procedures so that set up
time is reduced
raw materials are
approaching predetermined
minimal levels
your line workers
could have inventory
replenished automatically
and before outage occur and
production stops
AND
product mix changes occur
your production team
could quickly analyze line
balance, identify
bottlenecks, and reallocate
resources to improve flow

Pain:
Offering:
Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders)
VP Manufacturing
Quality, Solution Selling
B you are not able to meet potential
customers quality requirements?
How many opportunities were lost over the past
12 months? (5)
What was the potential sales volume of those
opportunities? ($800,000)
What is the quality standard that is mostly
commonly requested ? (ISO9000)
If you were ISO 9000 Registered, how much of
that $800,000 would have hit the sale line? (At
least 50% or $400,000)
customers?
• poor cash flow?
impacted?
B When
Who:
What:
potential customers require
proof of quality
you sales team
could offer your status as an
ISO 9000 registered
company as proof that your
organization adheres to the
rigors of an internationally
recognized quality standard
C you are not competitive on short-run
jobs?
How many short-run opportunities did you bid
during the past year? (15)
How many were accepted? (0)
How many opportunities were not bid on? (60)
What would you estimate the revenue value of
these 75 opportunities? ($1.5M)
What % of these opportunities could you have
won if you were more competitive on short-runs?
(60%)
If you could pass on cost savings from efficiency
and productivity gains, how much of that
$900,000 would have hit the sales line? (At least
1/3 or $300,000)
C When
Who:
What:
bidding on short-run jobs
your sales team
could pass on cost savings
realized with improved
efficiencies and increased
productivity
D D

Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet® for a Power Sponsor
Purpose:
 To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted
business issue of a likely Power Sponsor –level buyer.
 To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated
value that his/her offering can provide
Activities:
 Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated:
 Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the
capabilities in the future
 Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address
 Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column
 Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis
Notes:
 Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Power Sponsor

Pain:
Offering:
A A When:
Who:
What:
B B When:
Who:
What:
C C When:
Who:
What:
D D When:
Who:
What:

Draft Evaluation Plan: Example
Attachment to Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail
[DRAFT]
Event Week of √ Responsible
Go/No
Go
Billable
Phone interview John Watkins (CIO) Feb 14 Us/TGI
Phone interview Donna Moore (COO) Feb 14 Us/TGI
Summarize findings to management team
and agree to evaluation plan
Feb 21 Us/TGI *
Prove capabilities to management team Feb 28 Us *
Perform detailed survey of current systems (2 days) March 4 Us yes
Present preliminary solution/design March 11 Us *
Implementation plan approval by IT department March 18 TGI *
Determine / present value justification March 18 Us/TGI *
Agree on preliminary success criteria March 18 Us/TGI
Send our license agreement to legal March 18 Us
Gain legal approval (Terms & Conditions) April 4 TGI *
Visit Corporate HQ April 11 Us
Pre-proposal review meeting April 18 Us
Present proposal for approval April 25 Us *
Transition kickoff & finalize success criteria May 10 Us/TGI
Measure success criteria Ongoing TGI
* Mutual decision to proceed

Job Aid Description
Evaluation Plan
Overview:
The Evaluation Plan is a key job aid used in conjunction with the Power Sponsor Letter. It outlines the suggested steps
that should be followed during the rest of the sales process.
Where / How used:
The Evaluation Plan combines events that the seller wants to achieve with the events that the client wants to achieve.
The client will “buy into” an Evaluation Plan as soon as he / she starts to change it. Dates are assigned to each event
with the thought of closing the sale on an agreed upon date. This helps the seller shorten sales cycles and enhances
forecasting abilities.
The Evaluation Plan should help the seller maintain control of the buying process by documenting all events that will
take place during the course of the sale and the order in which those events will take place. By managing this plan with
a client, the seller can feel secure about when resources will be needed and the hurdles to overcome leading to closure
of the sale. Also highlighting some of the important events as “go / no go” points gives both parties the opportunity to
“disengage” from the opportunity if it does not benefit them.
Input required:
To create the Evaluation Plan, the Job Aid Build team will need knowledge of the events included in a entire sale
process, whether or not the events should be billable (i.e. proof steps that incur hard cost), the potential cost alternative
events to those the client may request, the time involved in presenting or demonstrating each event as it relates to the
specific offering being “sold” and the typical length of the sale cycle for that offering.

Exercise: Create a Sample Evaluation Plan
Purpose:
 To create an Evaluation Plan as an example to help the seller communicate the steps necessary
to provide all relevant proof steps and move the opportunity to closure while helping create a
sense of ownership of the plan for the buyer
Activities:
 Create an example Evaluation Plan that could be executed with the Power Sponsor to lead to the
closure of the sales cycle
 Include typical proof steps required by the Power Sponsor to evaluate the chosen solution
 Include any type of legal, technical, or administrative reviews that may be necessary
 Be sure to think through the key Evaluation Plan components (date and sequence of events, go/no
go steps, resources needed, which events are billable, etc.)
Notes:
 Ensure this does not become an internal “to-do” list but requires action on the part of the prospect
organization

Draft Evaluation Plan: Template
[DRAFT]
Go/No
Go
Billable

Operational Vision
TRANSITION SALE
Vision
FINANCIAL SALE
Operational Vision
+
Vision
organization?”

[DRAFT]
Go/No
Go
Billable
Feb 21 Us/TGI *

The Transition Sale: Transition Issues & Capabilities - Example
Executives, Users and Beneficiaries
Susan Brown – CEO, Jim Smith – VP Finance,
Steve Jones – VP Sales & Marketing and Donna Moore - COO
Person responsible for implementation of
needed operational capabilities
Name and Title: John Watkins – CIO
Transition Issue: Delays implementing e-commerce application on schedule
REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES
A. Technical staff lacks time and
resources to devote to a new system
A. One week after agreement to proceed,
our programmers will begin
customizing the e-commerce
application while supervised by your
staff
B. Available packages don’t integrate
with existing applications
B. 60 days prior to cut-over, our
consultants will guide your
programmers to create interfaces with
existing applications
C. Limited training resources C. Two weeks prior to cut-over, one of
our business partners could be
contracted for salesperson training so
your IT staff could concentrate on
integrating the application

Job Aid Description
(Documentation of) Transition Issues and Capabilities
Overview:
A document that outlines the primary issues as well as the associated reasons, of the person within the client
organization tasked with implementing the seller’s product / service. It also presents the seller’s capabilities that
correspond with the reasons for the primary issue.
Where / How used:
Transition issues normally come up when trying to convince the person tasked with implementation to implement a
potential solution that the lines of business needs to solve their business problems. They usually center around the
fact that although they are interested in helping the business, he / she (responsible for implementation) doesn’t see
how they can make it happen given their challenges which usually revolve around an extensive list of tasks already in
place and/or deficiencies in staff and/or skills.
This provides another opportunity for the seller to create a transition vision with the buyer. You should also have an aid
that helps minimize the risk associated with implementing the line-of-business capabilities.
Input Required:
To “document” the Transition Issues & Capabilities you will need an understanding of the buyers potential concerns
with the implementation as well as the steps the implementation team will need to take in order to ensure a successful
implementation into the buyer’s organization. A knowledge of your company’s services may be useful.

Exercise: Identify Transition Issues and Capabilities
Purpose:
 Identify potential transition issues that could be roadblocks for closing the opportunity so that
sellers can anticipate them and use them as the basis for a diagnostic conversation with one
responsible for implementation
Activities:
 Describe at least two reasons why someone in the buying organization (for your opportunity) might
face a technical / transition issue when implementing the operational capabilities.
 Describe the corresponding capabilities (services) that could resolve the reasons for the transition
issue
Note:
 This framework can be leveraged to create a Transition Issues Pain Sheet®

Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet
Executives, Users and Beneficiaries
•
•
•
Person responsible for implementation of
needed operational capabilities
Name and Title:
Transition Issue:
REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES
A. A.
B. B.
C. C.

Operational Vision
TRANSITION SALE
Vision
FINANCIAL SALE
Operational Vision
+
Vision
organization?”

[DRAFT]
Go/No
Go
Billable
Feb 21 Us/TGI *

Value Analysis
Total Benefits (ABC Manufacturing Example)
Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE
 Retained annual sales revenues resulting from reduced defects $500K (1)
 New annual sales revenue resulting from improved throughput $500K (1)
 Profit margin is 32% (1)
$1M sales revenue
increase
X 0.32 (profit margin)
= $320K
profit increase
Reduced COSTS
Reduced COSTS
 Rework (1)
Avoided COSTS
 Recruiting and new hire training costs (2)
= $560,000 cost decrease
= $100,000 cost avoided
INTANGIBLES
 Improved morale by the sales staff (1)(3)
 Increased throughput for greater capacity (1)
 Improved cash flow (2)
(1) VP Operations (2) Controller (3) HR Manager

Value Analysis
Total Investment (ABC Manufacturing Example)
One time INVESTMENT
 Professional (1)
• $10K in Q2, $25K in Q3, 15K in Q4
$50,000
(1) Selling Organization

Value Analysis
ABC Manufacturing Example Phased over time (in 000s)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
BENEFITS
Increased profits (1) 0 0 200 120
Reduced costs (1) 0 60 200 300
Avoided costs (2) 0 10 45 45
Quarterly total 0 70 445 465
Cumulative value 0 70 515 980
INVESTMENTS
One time investment 0 10 25 15
Cumulative investment 0 10 35 50
NET VALUE
Quarterly total 0 60 420 450
Cumulative total 0 60 480 930
(1) VP Operations
(2) Controller
1st year net return: $930,000
Breakeven point: 2th quarter
ROI: 19.6X

Value Analysis / Value Justification
Overview:
The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used to document the projected benefits (revenue increase and cost
decrease) associated with the used of the seller’s product / service after implementation. The cost or investment of the
overall offering (“solution”) should be documented as well (including maintenance and services).
Where / How used:
The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used early in phase II of the sale (as the prospect is evaluating
alternatives). It is used to present a detailed breakdown of the potential costs decreases and revenue increases within
the buyer’s organization associated with the implementation of the seller’s product and services. This job aid enables a
seller to present the value of their offering in relation to presenting the costs in terms of an investment. The strength in
using this model is that the numbers for the analysis come from the prospect. This financial data is derived from the
seller’s conversation with the buyer(s) during the vision processing conversation(s).
Using the Value Analysis / Value Justification Model will help sellers be able to project the “return on investment (%)”,
the First Year Net Return ($), and the Breakeven Point (Qtr) using the numbers provided by the prospect. Note: Be
careful using the term “ROI” vs. “Value Analysis” since most clients have different definitions and parameters around
the phrase “ROI”.
Input Required:
Completion of the model requires the cost / customer investment of the entire project, projected increased revenue and
decreased costs associated with the use of the implemented offering, and the return over a specific time period.

Exercise: Create a Sample Value Analysis
Purpose:
 Create a draft of an example Value Analysis / Value Justification (spreadsheet) formulating the
information that would be uncovered during the diagnostic conversations (vision processing)
Activities:
 Prepare a Value Analysis / Value Justification that demonstrates how the projected benefits of
your capabilities compare against the investment to be made on the part of the customer
Notes:
 You may want to describe the individual benefits (increase profit from increased revenue,
reduced cost and avoided costs) and investments (one-time and on-going) on separate pages
and then have the final page show the comparative analysis in the form of a spreadsheet
 Regarding expected benefits, consider the ramp up time associated with implementing and fully
utilizing capabilities

Value Analysis: Benefits
Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE






Reduced COSTS
Reduced COSTS



Avoided COSTS



INTANGIBLES



(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Value Analysis: Investment
One time INVESTMENT




On-going INVESTMENT




(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Value Analysis (Comparison)
Phased over time (in 000s)
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
BENEFITS
Increased profits
Reduced costs
Avoided costs
Quarterly total
Cumulative value
INVESTMENTS
One time investment
On-going investment
Quarterly total
Cumulative investment
NET VALUE
Quarterly total
Cumulative total
1st year net return: $ _____________
Breakeven point: Quarter _____
ROI (first year): _________%

[DRAFT]
Go/No
Go
Billable
Feb 21 Us/TGI *

Success Criteria: Leveraging Success
Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
I2 C2
RI
R2
I1 C1
R3 I3 C3
Reference Story
Situation:
Critical issue:
Reasons:
Capabilities:
We provided:
Results:
Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity
This is __________ (salesperson name) with __________ (your company). You and I
haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with __________ (specific industry)
organizations for the last ___ (#) years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other
__________ (job title) is their frustration (difficulty) with _______________ (job title’s likely
critical issue / pain) [resulting from ______ (articulate common reasons)]. We have been
able to help our customers address this issue. Would you like to know how?

Success Criteria
Overview:
Measuring Success Criteria helps track the effectiveness of implementation.
Where / How used:
Establishing what criteria will be measured should be done with the Power Sponsor. The measurement of realized
value compared to projected value is post sale activity.
Success Criteria tracks information that can be used to open new sales opportunities within an existing customer,
provide guidelines for maintaining a strong customer relationship, and also provide quantifiable results that can be used
in future Reference Stories. A major benefit of setting the criteria to be measured with the prospect is that is helps to
reduce the risk the prospect starts to feel as they began to see themselves implementing the seller’s offering. Note:
Risk is a dire concern to a buyer at this phase in their buying process.
Input Required:
To create the Success Criteria, actual customer results are required. In order to complete the template, specific,
measurable elements of the Value Analysis / ROI that the seller’s products / services have influence over must be
determined with the prospect. You also must determine the length of time to be engaged with the client in this activity.
Note: Make sure that the criteria (when measured) can be attributed to your offerings. E.g. Often times stock price is a
not a good element to track because too many things affect its value outside of your control.

Exercise: Create Sample Success Criteria
Purpose:
 To create a sample list of Success Criteria that your sellers could use as a starting point for
recommendation
Activities:
 List some of the Success Criteria that would me measured after implementation (i.e. those things
that will change in the business as a result of implementing your offering)
 Establish a baseline metric that would demonstrate that the seller should work with the buyer to
agree on baseline metrics by which to measure against
Note:
 Ensure the items listed are controllable by the capabilities of your offering. Be cautious of using
items that could be affected by numerous outside variables

Success Criteria Template
Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)

Negotiating
 Knowledge is power
 Plan before you begin
 Is it closeable during this meeting?
 Know what you will accept
 Know what you are willing to give
 Seek to understand the true interests underlying buying positions taken
 Give reluctantly and slowly (if necessary)
 Withstand up to three “squeezes” by the buyer
 Don’t give without getting
 Be willing to walk away today
 Salesperson must overcome emotional hurdle first
 Buyer must believe he/she is getting the best price
 Use a mutual win approach
 If less than 100% of quota, do not negotiate alone

Negotiating Worksheet: Example
Is it closeable today?  Power to buy?
 Payback agreed to? VP Finance
 L/T/A approvals? VP Finance
 Plan completed?
 Known cost since: 4 months
Stand 1
(Plan):
“Our published plan shows an implementation starting on Monday. Is this issue worth the
delay?”
Stand 2
(Value):
“When we calculated the payback, you told me that even with all of the costs included the
return was higher than you expected and the project would pay for itself in 10 months.”
Stand 3
(Pain):
“The reasons we have spend the last four months together is because you are not meeting
your new account revenue targets. That issue is not going to go away until you gain these
new capabilities.”
Salesperson: “The only way I could do something for you is if you could do something for me.”
Buyer (should ask): “Like what?”
GET
“Is it possible for you to… move phases I and II together and take delivery of the hardware
shipment this quarter? Is that possible?”
If the buyer indicates a concession, present your “give”
GIVE
“If you can… move phases I and II together, then we are prepared to offer __________
which is worth $__________. Can we go forward on that basis?”

Negotiating Worksheet
Overview:
The Negotiating Worksheet is used as a pre-negotiation preparation tool. It helps you resist requests for concessions
likely to be made by the buyer.
Where / How used:
The Negotiating Worksheet should be completed prior to discussions to finalize the terms of the sale. It provides
guidelines to making stands against buyer concessions. The stands should be based on logical information you
developed during the buying process. Key “stands” may include (in no particular order of importance):
1. Pain Stand – recall the buyer’s pain driving the opportunity
2. Vision Stand – recall the vision established to address the critical business issue
3. Value Stand – recall the quantifiable value associated with addressing the pain
4. Plan Stand – recall the Evaluation Plan indicating the timeline to realize benefits
Reduced stress by minimizing the pressure on you to discount price or give in on terms
Higher margins
Fewer concessions
Improved negotiations
Better business terms and conditions
Input required:
To create the Negotiating Worksheet, pain must have been uncovered, a buying vision created, a Value Justification
Model completed, and an Evaluation Plan with a planned implementation date agreed upon.

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