"They Said They Need It Yesterday..."

That’s good, right?

Nope. 

They didn’t take action yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that, or before that… Every day that passes includes another “yesterday”.

So, what "They said they need it yesterday" really means is that nothing is going to happen. They do nothing. It’s another No Decision outcome!

Your prospect has been able to live without making the change for days, weeks, months, or even years! There’s no Critical Date, no date with an accompanying driving force or sense of urgency that requires your prospect to make the purchase and implement.

To learn how to uncover (and propose) compelling Critical Dates that drive action, grab a copy of Doing Discovery. You’ll find a rich discussion of Critical Dates beginning on page 126 of the paperback edition of the book.

(Many thanks to Alex Smith of Cuvama who pointed this out!)

The Sales Hustle Podcast – Great Demo! & Doing Discovery Insights

 

“Sales, presales, and the tools that get us there…” I joined Miles Martin for this 40-minute exploration of:

• Intro – with a reverse!
• Experiences being the prospect – and a new perspective on demos
• The need to turn demos upside down and Do the Last Thing First
• Discovery – where the problems begin…
• Being different
• Biggest gaps in demos
• One size does not fit all!
• Demos need to be tailored to individual job titles
• CRM systems as an example
• Slice and dice, via discovery, what individual job titles want and need – and use cases
• 13 different job titles!
• Product growth and demos
• A mini horror story!
• Demo structure – making dinner as an analogy
• The ineffectiveness of traditional demos
• Restructure your demo in accord with your prospects’ interests – and desired deliverables
• A comment about sausage (as another analogy)
• Key elements of discovery – and perspective
• Solutions to the “Just show me your product” demand – Vision Generation
• Technical Proof Demos – done after discovery
• A doctor example – malpractice!
• 5 pieces of information needed for each prospect Job Title – An example with Miles…
• Critical Business Issues vs problems/reasons/pain
• Specific Capabilities – and to show is your demo
• The Value of making the change – the gap
• Critical Dates – when and the driving force
• Ready to demo – and reduced risk of “Do Nothing”, a No Decision outcome
• No Decisions consume 45% of B2B forecasted opportunities – and how to reduce this number
• The 3 reasons for No Decision outcomes
• The fallacy of “We need this yesterday…”
• What do you do with your discovery info?
• Traditional overview “Harbor Tour” demos
• Starting your demo with a Situation Slide
• Uncovering desired deliverables in discovery
• Presenting your demo – starting from the desired deliverables
• Fewest number of clicks!
• Peeling Back the Layers – conversationally
• Driving real interactivity vs “Any questions so far?”
• Some comments about demo automation – terrific opportunities!
• “Choose your own adventure” tools and examples
• Advantages for both the vendor and the prospect
• Complacency puts you at risk: Never Stop Learning!
• Dunning Kruger and Mt. Stupid – “They don’t know what they don’t know…”

You can find the recording here. Enjoy!

How Much of Your Time Is Wasted in No Decision Outcomes?

 

Sadly, if you are in B2B sales or presales, an average of 45% of your time is wasted in sales opportunities that go… nowhere!

These are the deals that should close, but they don’t. The prospect has confirmed they are in pain, they hate their current situation and have reiterated this repeatedly.

They said they have the budget available. They said they were in a buying process.

But somehow, they can’t get it done. Why? And what can you do to avoid investing 45% of your time in deals that never close?

I’ll provide answers when I join the fine folks at Pitch.Link in a 20-minute segment at Lit Fest this Thursday at 9:25 AM Pacific Time. Register here!

Reduce Your “No Decision” Outcomes – The Single Largest Waste of Sales Teams’ Time

On average, 45% of all forecasted opportunities result in No Decision outcomes. This means that nearly half the time spent working sales opportunities is wasted.

Join us at Lit Fest June 29 at 9:25 AM Pacific Time when we’ll share how improved discovery skills will help you avoid pursuing these time-consuming, unproductive sales opportunities.

Two Presales in a Pod – Podcast Recording - Champion Enablement

 

Two Presales in a Pod – Podcast Recording - Champion Enablement

If you are hungry for more recordings, here is a wonderful appetizer for you: Episode 66 – Champion Enablement.

From the Legumes:

“This episode Adam Freeman and Don Carmichael welcomes a very special guest, Peter Cohan. We talk about how to identify a Champion within a Buyer, what might be motivating them, and how their previous experience of buying Tech changes their approach. We look at whether it's even a Sales Engineer/PreSales Consultants job to enable a Buyer champion or whether that's just some Sales Execs do. We talk about how the definition of a Champion and where you find them in an organisation has changed in recent years. Focusing on the Enablement topic, we also discuss what a Champion might want from us, what we would want from them and how much we should be anticipating their needs.”

Here's a more detailed breakdown of this 34-minute podcast:

• What is a champion?
• What are other terms for champions?
• Understanding prospects’ job titles…
• Types of champions…
• Buying simple tools vs complex solutions
• Lower-level champions
• Numbers and outcomes
• An example of one type of champion
• Another example: Technology Scouts
• Navigating the various political, cultural, and business landscapes
• Is cultivating champions a presales or sales responsibility?
• An example of a champion guiding a demo
• Who is enabling whom?
• “What can I do to help?”
• “Have you done this before?” “First-time or experienced buyer?” “First-time or experienced champion?”
• Even more types of champions and drivers – “Three camps”
• Guidance from a CFO – building the business case – and champion enablement
• Portfolio analysis vs single-point purchases
• FOMU: Fear Of Messing Up
• Adam’s villa in Spain…
• Vendor experience vs champion experience – some examples of proactive champion enablement – vendor onboarding, data/privacy surveys, security surveys, environmental impact assessments, diversity, etc.
• Customer Perception Is Everything! Letting your champion drive the demo
• A terrifically awful pun by Don
• Champion and Buyer Enablement summarized: Anticipating and proacting
• Influence mapping
• “Go be a customer!” And “Would you buy the way you sell?”

Grab a bite here!