In my previous post I said there were two processes in play in every sale and proceeded to spend a few paragraphs discussing the importance of defining and adhering to a sales process, regardless of the tantalizing allure of a quick sale. Well isn’t that all self serving and inward looking?!!

The second (but MOST important, LEAST understood and MOST under-appreciated) process involved in every sale is the Customer’s Buying Process! Do we really think they don’t have one? Or don’t have people focused on defining and refining it? Do we think customers don’t have training classes on how to interact with partners and vendors? Sure, like us, sometimes the process is not as well defined as it should be or not followed as religiously as envisioned by the team that developed it, but it is there and understanding it and working in sympathy with it will make you, at least, much more likely to forecast more accurately. But I believe, you will be much more successful with this understanding.

At PTC we famously developed a sales methodology described by the acronym MEDDIC (later expanded to be MEDDICC-U but that’s another discussion). MEDDIC has rightly found its way to many companies as the PTC diaspora have travelled far and wide. We all owe Jack Napoli a nod of thanks for its development (and a cast of thousands). But even Jack would tell you it’s not rocket science. Change the words, refine for hours, days, weeks…and you end up in the same place. In order to be successful in a complex B2B sale you need to understand (in no particular order):

–       The Metrics a customer will use to decide on a purchase

–       The Executive Sponsor who will approve and fund the purchase

–       The Decision Process

–       The Decision Criteria

–       The Identified Need the customer is trying to meet

–       The Champion who will fight for your solution when you’re not in the room

 Some of the PTC crowd has already noted a couple of changes I have made to make these more customer centric vs sales centric (Exec. Sponsor vs Economic Buyer). In this day and age if you are not thinking and talking like the customer they will find someone who is.

The most over looked, least understood element of MEDDIC is always line number 3: The Decision Process…the customer’s process. We spend hours discussing The Decision Criteria because it’s easy. That’s the bits & bytes and speeds & feeds that we all love; the customer and us. That’s where we think the battle will be won and our widget will vanquish the competition’s. Don’t get me wrong, that’s important, but how many times have you worked with a customer to build the perfect evaluation document (Success Plan), with a turbo charged, weighted, five point must system, only to have the customer’s process introduce a new person or department, who unbeknownst to you was always going to enter at that point, with new concerns that divert or delay the sale. At best this makes you look like a lousy forecaster. At worst, since time kills deals, all your hard work fades into oblivion.

So customers have a process that runs in parallel with your sales process, face it. It is ideal when you can work together with the customer to align the processes. This is a great opportunity to sit with them and explain, in customer centric terms, what your management is expecting from you and ask what they will need to do to succeed, including potential pitfalls. I love asking the question “Have you made a purchase like this recently”? Since you sell every day it’s easy to forget that most customers only buy once in a while, they may not fully understand the process they will be following at the outset. This is a great opportunity for you to add value and help them figure it out and plan. It may involve your engaging with their procurement person (the person who does buy things every day) to help chart the course. “Working with Procurement” is a topic for another day but suffice it to say, the best procurement groups engage with the business to get them what they need in a timely way. They are not the enemy.

Big finish: It is your job to connect your sales process with the customer’s buying process (seems obvious). If your selling process is the circulatory system, then the customer’s buying process provides the oxygen, ignore it and suffocate!

Good luck and good selling!

Please comment.  It would be great to have a conversation about selling and to hear a story or two.  If I don’t reply instantly, feel free to talk amongst yourselves until I get back ;-).

Image by Vince Vassallo via http://vincevassallo.blogspot.ca/