ten slides in ten minutes - thinking about products and solutions
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Thinking about what is needed to ensure a relevant portfolio of Products and SolutionsTRANSCRIPT
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Ten Slides in Ten Minutes: Thinking about Products and Solutions [Capturing the Hearts and Minds of Prospects & Clients]
Presented by:
Bill Graham APM.APMP
November, 2013
Fact: Most of the proposals that customers receive have pricing that more closely resemble a
quotation.
“A sales organisation must supply profit [Business Improvement] as their offering
vs.. Classical sellers who merely supply product.”
“Relevant sales organisations use a Profit/Business Improvement Proposal vs..
Classical sellers who use a quotation.”
Note: Profit also relates to Business Improvement
Building mutually beneficial and sustainable long-term client relationships by
crafting solutions that support a clients’ Business Imperatives
One must define the type of Sales Organisation you wish to be…
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Source: various
Source: various
‘Many companies have the client focus of a vulture - they pay close attention to what the
clients are up to, but only in order to figure out the right time to pounce and tear at their
flesh!’
- Charles Green
Client Centric Organisations ‘Resonate’ with their Clients
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• They repeatedly strive to please their clients
• They design the correct & relevant offerings for the correct clients
• They build their organisations around cross-functional teams
• They make decisions that resonate with clients
• They seek to create positive, memorable experiences for their clients.
Industry Challenges Response Opportunity
Financial services
(financing, insurance)
Durable goods
(appliances)
Manufacturing
(process & discrete)
Oil & gas
(exploration & supply)
Transportation
(rail, aviation, shipping,
automotive)
Health
(life sciences, telemedicine,
bio- engineering)
Utilities & engineering
(energy, water, design,
construction)
Professional services
(consulting, IT services)
Articulate Industry Knowledge for Sales-Interaction Credibility
Complete a matrix iro your
organisation’s position with
respect to Industry Knowledge
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Market
Management Relationship
Building Opportunity
Scouting
Prompts: • Global trends • Industry knowledge • Unfolding
opportunities • Emerging risks
Prompts: • Pedigree/s • Preferences • Requirement/s for
advancement • Resource alignment • Communication plan/s
Prompts: • Wants vs. needs • Resourcing
requirements • Solutions vs. Risks • Ability to deliver • Competition
Account Managers
should be “Thought
Leaders” in specific
industries
Account Managers
need to be
articulate & be the
Single Point of
Contact [SPOC]
Account Managers
need to understand
the clients’ needs
and deliver against
this need
Account Management assists in the Determination of Solutions
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Abundance of
Solutions Selection of
Solutions
Mutually Agreed
Solutions
Relevant solutions must be mutually agreed between the Service Provider & the Client
Source: Sales Synthesis
Client
An Organisational Product Development Process is an Imperative
a. Strategy - Objectives, Strategic guidance (Senior Management)
b. Idea Generation - Stimulate perception for new opportunities (All)
c. Idea Screening - Evaluate commercial worth of New Product (All)
d. Concept Testing - Test idea with potential customers (Marketing)
e. Business Analysis - Estimate sales, cost and profits (Marketing, Sales, Engineering, Accounts)
f. Product Development - concept to product actualisation (Engineering, Marketing, Legal, Projects)
g. Market Testing - limited launch of product to assess market response (Sales, Marketing)
h. Commercialisation - Product launch to early adopters (Sales, Marketing)
Step 1
New
Product
Strategy
Step 2
IdeaGeneration
Step 3
IdeaScreening
Step 4
Concept
Testing
Step 5
Business
Analysis
Step 6
Product
Dev.
Step 7
Market
Testing
Step 8
Commercialization
Source: various
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Input to product development is based on marketplace needs & sales persons feedback from clients/customers
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Emerging Dominant Pervasive
Prospect Customer Client
Vague Optional Mature
Strategy Plans Actions
Market Penetration
‘Opportunity Conversion’
is a function of offering
relevance
Policies & Processes
Business Necessities
A Well-defined Business Acquisition Flow is Required
Product Solution
Source: Sales Synthesis
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Source: Sales Synthesis
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It is a Necessity to Deploy Relevant Cost-Efficient Solutions
A Common Strategic
Vision with Clients
Basic Products
Basic Solutions
Value-Added Services
The Competitors’
Trajectory of
Irrelevance
Evolving Solutions
Moment of Truth
Competitive
Mountain
Competitive
Molehill
An evolving relationship
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Solution Fit
Profitability
and / or
Business
Fit Ascent of
Acceptability
Forcing a solution to fit a client’s requirements [commonly referred to as ‘shoehorning’] will result in lower marketplace credibility and lower long term profitability
Hope, Prayers and Wishes
do not a robust Solution
make
The Descent of Despair
100% 0%
The Region of
Ruined Solutions
Superfluous Elements in Solution
The Rapid Rise
of the Unsound
Solution
The Peak of
Performance
A Forced Solution is a Forecast for Failure
Building mutually beneficial and sustainable long-term client relationships by
crafting solutions that support a clients’ Business Imperatives
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Pulling it all together…
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Define type of sales
organisation
Build a Client-Centric
culture
Build Industry Knowledge
Formulate a Product
Development Process
Build a robust Business
Acquisition flow process
Ensure the deployment of
mutually agreed solutions
The ascent of acceptability
Robust relationship
development, based on trust and
openness
Consider planning some concurrent stages, depending on availability of resources/budget
Product/Solution Decision Hurdle
Account Management to
define solution suitability
Product & Solution selection is not just about
a portfolio, but has its roots firmly in the actual
organisation and its ability to operate – and be able to maintain relevancy - in the ever changing marketplace
Source: Sales Synthesis
Underpin the process with Strategic Market Development initiatives