How to AVOID Discovery Feeling Like an Interrogation

 

Discovery should be perceived by your prospects as a two-way conversation, where both parties take away useful information.

 

 

"A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue."

– Truman Capote

 

 

A long time ago in a country far away, my boss (the regional head of sales) and I were in a discovery conversation with a prospect at a large Swiss pharmaceutical company. The prospect was the head of research computing, and we were working to sell our new cheminformatics flagship product into his organization.

 

The three of us were face-to-face in our prospect’s office, sitting beside a small table. I’d started the conversation with demographics questions, and, at a logical point, we began to explore pain and impact.

 

My boss and I had been trading questions which, in retrospect, must have really felt like an inquisition, because as we continued, our prospect began to twist himself into a pretzel-like knot. He wound his legs together about as tightly as one might do without self-injury. As this progressed, he folded his arms – but not across his chest – he folded his arms tightly above and behind his head!

 

Obviously, he was not comfortable! And intriguingly, in our debrief afterwards, my boss and I both believed that our prospect’s actions were involuntary: he didn’t realize he was showing severely strained body language.

 

It was clear that we needed to change our approach, and this is when we realized that there needed to be a kinder, gentler, balanced approach to discovery where both parties learn things and enjoy the experience.

 

Moral: Make discovery a real conversation by giving as well as gathering information!

 

 

Learn how to give (and not just gather) starting on page 199 in Doing Discovery: https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

If you missed some of these knowledge nuggets, you’ll find another dozen more waiting for you at https://greatdemo.com/blog/.

 

And you’ll find 35 additional story gems in “Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)” here: https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

The Myth of the Informed Buyer – And the Importance of Vision Reengineering!

 \

Do you know everything about the products you buy?

 

 

“Informed decision-making comes from a long tradition of guessing and then blaming others for inadequate results.”

 

 

A while ago, I was in a tight competitive battle with another vendor in the cheminformatics space, and, frankly, their software looked slicker than ours. The prospect had specified “exact structure and sub-structure searching” on their list of requirements and both vendors provided these, without significant differentiation.

 

However, we had recently implemented chemical similarity searching (oohs and aahs, please…!), which was unknown by the prospect (and most of the industry at that time).

 

I was in a meeting with the prospect, discussing their requirements list. I said, “Many of the other customers we have worked with, in very similar situations to yours, found that similarity searching enabled them to find novel compounds that they would have missed with sub-structure searching alone. In fact, several of our customers shared that they have moved these compounds into the next phase of research for tox and metabolism testing. 

 

I’d suggest that similarity searching be included as a requirement for your implementation

as well.”

 

This was a perfect example of Vision Reengineering: Broadening your prospect’s understanding of what is possible and expanding or changing their vision of a solution with a bias towards your capabilities.

 

Well, this brief conversation paid off!

 

The prospect chose our solution and told us it was largely because of the new similarity searching capability. And I learned later that they too had found novel compounds using similarity searching, including some that they had moved forward into preclinical testing.

 

This is also another example of The Myth of the Informed Buyer and the importance of Vision Reengineering. Prior to the discussion above, the prospect thought they were familiar with all the available types of chemical structure searching – they weren’t!

 

 

Moral: Buyers don’t know what they don’t know, and you may have to address this!

 

Learn more about Vision Reengineering starting on page 87 in Doing Discovery: https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

If you missed some of these knowledge nuggets, you’ll find another dozen more waiting for you at https://greatdemo.com/blog/.

 

And you’ll find 35 additional story gems in “Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)” here: https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

Power Tools of Communication: Analogies and Metaphors!

 

Sometimes a good metaphor or analogy can save the day.

 

 

“People don't resist change. They resist being changed!"

– Peter Senge 

 

 

Years ago, I worked for a company whose products rather dramatically disrupted traditional materials science research practices.

 

By applying software, miniaturization, automation and know-how, we provided systems that could cut long-term research projects from a dozen years down to one-to-two, and research optimization projects from one-to-two years down to a couple of months. 

 

 “You can do a year’s worth of research in the palm of your hand…” was our vision.

 

I was at a conference and had presented a talk on our systems, including a few use-case success stories. At a break, a couple of scientists from one of my prospects came up to me and said, “Oh, you guys make the ‘job killer’ systems…”

 

They clearly were worried that these systems would entirely replace their work: fear of the unknown…!

 

I was a bit surprised and taken aback, but thought for a moment and responded, “Well, it’s really up to you. What we are providing is like power-tools for woodworking versus using hand tools. You are still the craftsmen. The power tools enable you to do it faster, with better accuracy and improved precision.”

 

They responded, “Ah – OK, we’ll take a closer look…!”

 

 

Moral: Analogies and metaphors can dramatically impact successful communication!

 

 

See Chapter 14 “Storytelling” in Great Demo! starting on page 345 for more on using analogies, metaphors, and (of course) storytelling in your demos and discovery conversations: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/

 

 

If you missed some of these posts, you’ll find another dozen or more waiting for you at https://greatdemo.com/blog/

 

And you’ll find 35 additional story gems in “Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)” here: https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

The Origin of Value Realization Events: A Delightful Differentiator!

 

Waaay back at the turn of the century (2000, not 1900), I purchased a CRM system for my organization, amounting to an investment of about $100,000 at that time (for a perpetual license). The moment I signed the license agreement and issued the PO to the vendor, a great pressure descended heavily onto my shoulders: the pressure of the responsibility of that $100,000 investment of our company’s money.

 

Was that pressure relieved when installation was complete? No.

 

Was the pressure released when data migration, data loading, and system set-up was finished? 

Nope.

 

Did the weight lessen when we went live and trained all the team? Negative.

 

I first began to feel the burden of responsibility relax when I was able to report my forecast in a few mouse clicks versus what had previously taken hours of my team’s time and my time. When I shared that up-to-date and accurate forecast with the balance of senior management, I commented, “This is the first time we’ve been able to do this in a few moments – and know that it is correct – versus the fire-drills we’ve been suffering for the past year.”

 

That’s when I realized that similar Value Realization Events were equally (if not more) important for our customers. That’s also when we started to work with our customers and prospects to define and track Value Realization Events going forward.

 

Vendors who define Value Realization Events in discovery with their prospects are demonstrating an earnest desire to ensure their prospects’ success as they become customers. Additionally, these vendors are establishing the front portion of the process that can be continued through implementation, through rollout, and handed neatly to customer success.

 

These vendors differentiate delightfully from their competition who sell and then run to their next opportunity (don’t get in their way!).

 

 

Moral: Define and agree upon Value Realization Events in discovery!

 

 

Learn more about Value Realization Events on page 110 in Doing Discovery: https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

If you missed some of these posts, you’ll find another dozen or more waiting for you at https://greatdemo.com/blog/

 

And you’ll find 35 additional story gems in “Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)” here: https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

Buyer Enablement and Transition Vision: Which Vendor Will Get Your Business?

 

“Drive-in banks were established so most of the cars today could see their real owners.”

– E. Joseph Cossman

 

“If all the cars in the United States were placed end to end, it would probably be Labor Day Weekend.”

– Doug Larson

 

“I replaced the headlights in my car with strobe lights, so it looks like I'm the only one moving.“

– Steven Wright

 

 

You are shopping for a new car: you’ve completed all your research, comparisons, and test drives, and have reached your decision. You’ve even determined the specific color, interior, packages and extras you want. You are ready to buy!

 

You drive to a dealership in your old car, walk in, and are greeted by a salesperson. You say, “I’m ready to purchase a new XD-100 sedan, and I saw the specific model with the trim and options package I want on your lot. All I need to do is to trade-in my old Zephyr to use the money to help with the purchase.”

 

The salesperson says, “Terrific! Simply go ahead and sell your old car. Once you have that done, come back and we’ll get you set up with your new car.”

 

You leave, discouraged, because you don’t really want to invest the time and energy to sell your old car. You’ve never done it before and don’t know how. (And you were clearly unaware of the option of completing this all on the web…!)

 

You decide to visit a second dealership…

 

And as with the first dealer, you see the exact car you want on their lot. You walk into this dealership, are met by their salesperson, and repeat that you are ready to purchase. Once again you say, “All I need to do is to trade-in my old Zephyr to use the money to help with the purchase.”

 

This second salesperson says, “Very good. Simply give us the keys and registration papers for your old car. We’ll give you fair value for it, right out of the Kelly Blue Book, and we’ll handle all the documentation and transfer paperwork. We’ll also take care of the taxes and the government vehicle registration process. We’ll apply the trade-in value to your new purchase, and you can leave here in less than an hour in your new XD-100 sedan.”

 

Which dealer will get your business?

 

Clearly, the second dealer made it easy for you to make the transition from your current situation to the vision you have in mind of driving off in your new car. (And also note that the vision of completing all of this on the web, with web-vendor delivering your new XD-100 right to your front door and taking away your old Zephyr is even more compelling!)

 

 

Moral: The vendor that creates a clear Transition Vision establishes a competitive advantage!

 

 

You’ll learn how to establish a Transition Vision starting on page 108 in Doing Discovery: https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

If you missed some of these posts, you’ll find another dozen or more waiting for you at https://greatdemo.com/blog/

 

And you’ll find 35 additional story gems in “Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)” here: https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

Buyer Enablement: A Whole New Game

 

Buyer Enablement endeavors to remove as much friction as possible from prospects’ buying processes and anticipate their needs. It is a major, delightful shift from sales process to Buyer Enablement, changing your focus from “we the vendor” to “you the buyers.” It’s not just changing the game; it’s an entirely new way to operate!

 

 

“Confidence is going after Moby Dick in a rowboat and taking the tartar sauce with you.”

– Zig Ziglar

 

 

I’d read a terrific book on Buyer Enablement (“Selling Is Hard. Buying Is Harder: How Buyer Enablement Drives Digital Sales and Shortens the Sales Cycle” by Garin Hess) and realized that I could apply the book’s principles with my prospects. Accordingly, rather than wait to see if they wanted to execute an NDA or MNDA, I would propose it, proactively, along with similar suggestions and questions regarding SOWs and related items.

 

Experienced buyers appreciate this, as it moves their processes forward faster. New buyers also value this approach, as it helps guide them as they learn how their organizations make purchases.

 

Interestingly, after the sale was complete, one customer told me that my simple question and proactivity saved him hours of effort and reduced the transaction time by a full month!

 

Here are a few examples to consider providing or starting before they are requested – and inexperienced buyers may not even know to ask for them!

 

•       Vision Generation Demos / Other Internal Selling Tools

•       NDAs and MNDAs

•       Data/Privacy Surveys

•       Legal Agreements

•       Success Stories / References

•       Anticipating Objections

•       Value Analyses

•       Metrics and KPIs

•       Value Realization Events

 

 

Moral: Apply the principles of Buyer Enablement!

 

 

Doing Discovery is ALL about Buyer Enablement! https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

And you can find Garin Hess’ excellent book here: https://www.amazon.com/Selling-Hard-Buying-Harder-Enablement/dp/1632992949/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2DFDWRKYNIY1F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.byZuPVJSANY3o-bmmEO79VHdpbIOcajUGaH7-tv9p1DFdkf-g5gpjQ6ZoEpranRThqFQaB0QXnXETMX9EvUJk3fklHJlEQImpjh_9Nn_Kc4.RdLmFkI4Nu_zWpRxpk8F4kDKVo3R2bGPgpjnYna1F4E&dib_tag=se&keywords=garin+hess&qid=1751299555&sprefix=garin+he%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-1