Differentiate to Create a Better Outcome

Remember in the early dark days when sales training courses focused on overcoming ‘objections’ and the mode was ‘never met an objection I didn’t like’?  Back then I was part of an organization that focused on creating business results for our customers.  Industry marketing was closely tied to sales, training….and customers.   We had a very active customer advisory board, and as a result our go-to-market strategy matched their needs.  We also had robust industry sales councils made up of a cross section of salespeople to guide our training efforts.

This training allowed sales to experience a day-in-the-life of their customers.  What was it like to be in their shoes, and what was getting in their way of making a profit?  In a relevant and interactive way sales learned how to advise their prospects on what would improve their business results.

Prior to these industry trainings, salespeople knew the products and their feeds and speeds.  Through these courses sales became knowledgeable about their business challenges and how our offerings could resolve.  This took time to understand and practice, and required lots of involvement with the experts.  We provided 2 ½ day case study based training including tours of the paper mill or food warehouse to understand at a very practical level how things worked.  We developed glossaries, specific success stories, and provided subject matter experts to share the nuances and context of ‘why’ it mattered to their customer. And how for example, using our offerings, they could improve inventory turns, or create less waste when making paper.

I am not saying it was nirvana, but we were getting there. We were gaining traction in new and profitable markets.  It was expensive and time consuming, but was worth it. Customers noticed the salespeople’s ability to have the appropriate business level conversations, and sales people were able to call higher and feel more comfortable in that new realm.  Just as the momentum was building, we had a tech crash.  Budgets were slashed and the focus on industry all but disappeared. We lost the gains we had made.

Why am I mentioning this example?

Because it takes leadership, time and a sustained commitment across many organizations, to make this shift real.  Customers are demanding this level of knowledge or risk not being part of the conversation where the deals happen.  Forrester’s client summed it up nicely:

“We do not care about what you do; we care about how you make us successful.”

Forrester found that only 20% of the conversations were aligned to the goals and agenda of the buyer, while 80% are focused on products and the vendor.  And according to IDC, only 1/3 of the buyers are satisfied with the quality and value of the information from sales reps.  It is very difficult to be an active part of your customer’s success if you are only talking about you and your stuff. But it does take leadership and focus to make this evolution occur.

‘Outcome Selling’, as described by Scott Santucci, Forrester, is the embodiment of this transition.  It starts when a company rationalizes and aligns its portfolio to produce measurable business results for their target customers.  By design, downstream, the company’s messaging and tools for sales and customers are simplified and more concrete.   This simplification enables sales to internalize and convey the messages more effectively as a part of their selling efforts. Also, this change necessitates a systemic and cross-functional approach including sales, marketing, services, and training organizations — all organizations that touch sales.  To net it out, Santucci says:

“Outcome selling is a go-to-market approach where you design your value communications system to optimize the value your customers realize.”

As an example, at the Forrester Forum the Allant Group discussed how they embraced the Outcome-based approach.  Their strategy was to focus their product development and selling/marketing efforts on the CMO role, show how their software provided measurable benefits to the CMO and drive growth through their strategic account team.  Given this alignment, the company was able to provide the type of products CMOs need together with the messaging and tools to effectively sell to the target CMO.  As a result, they were able to close multi-million dollar deals in significantly less time than in the past.

At a time when many other companies experienced a precipitous downturn, Allant Group achieved increases in 5 critical areas between 2007 and 2010, average YOY performance increases, without increasing headcount:

• 22% average annual revenue growth
• 45% average annual profitability increase
• 32% average annual contract sold
• 33% average annual pipeline increase
• 52% average annual top 10 account revenue

Key learnings for the Allant Group were:

1. Systemic thinking: Selling is a system, based upon the customer’s requirements and buying cycle.  It’s a cross-organizational issue, and therefore requires a cross-organizational solution.
2. Transparency: The more transparent your approach, the more the client will react positively.
3. Adoption: Their largest miscalculation was that they severely misjudged the organization’s ‘muscle memory’. They learned to secure buy-in from the top down to get rid of the obstacles.

The Allant Group, from initial strategy to sales execution, focused on producing measureable outcomes for their customers, which in turn produced similarly impressive results for their company. The result of their systemic approach was to simplify and align their offerings.  This portfolio rationalization created easier to understand messages and, of course, tools.  Consequently sales were equipped to have the conversations their customers’ require to create better business outcomes.

The analysts: Forrester, IDC and SiriusDecisions — and customers — are in agreement what makes a meeting valuable, and according to Santucci:

“The salesperson clearly shows they understand my business issues and can clearly articulate to me how to solve them.”

And how often does that happen?  13% of the time!

Your thoughts?

The Muscle Memory of Change

Change is hard; even if you want to change.  For example, cross your arms the way you normally do.  Now try crossing them the opposite way.  It’s unclear where you put your right hand, then your left. It’s uncomfortable and you have to think about it.   It’s a simple action that you do every day, and when you’re asked to do a familiar thing in a slightly different way — it just feels unnatural!

That’s in part why change is difficult.  It’s not that we don’t want to change.  Nor it is that we don’t understand the goal, direction or what to do.  These concepts are important and actually critical to any sales enablement endeavor.  However an even more fundamental principle is at work.  Muscle memory. Changing the familiar muscle memory of behaving, thinking and working with others is hard.

This ‘muscle memory’ concept was discussed in depth by Dr. Brian Lambert at Forrester’s inaugural Sales Enablement Forum this week in San Francisco.  Muscle memory is important.  For example it keeps us upright after many years of not riding a bike!  Recognizing this capabilty and then working to create new muscle memory is key to successful sales enablement projects.

Crossing your arms is one thing.  Now magnify the complexity a 1,000-fold by starting a sales enablement initiative.  This requires changing how organizations support sales across the ecosystem, including sales support, training, marketing, HR, IT and of course the sales organization itself.  You’re asking an entire organization to conduct business a new way and risk possible failure.  It may be the right thing but it is uncomfortable, it is scary.  That is because it isn’t a habit – as yet…

How do you create this change and reduce the potential for failure?  Of course you need executive buy in and stakeholder support.  And you need to motivate and engage while reinforcing to make it a habit.  According to Dr. Lambert, change requires addressing both the individual behavior as well as the organizational support.   Understanding the differences between the old and the new behaviors is key.  Once you understand these differences, it becomes easier to communicate what needs to change.

This communication is critical.  Here is sage advice from a friend who has been involved in many change management initiatives, ‘Motivate from the top down and energize from the bottom up’.

And if you haven’t had the chance to read ‘Switch, How to Change Things When Change is Hard’ by Chip and Dan Heath, I recommend reading before you start your next project.

Sales Enablement: The Reality of Complexity

Over coffee with a friend yesterday, Lore recounted how she had just landed an executive level sales enablement position at a global mid-sized software firm.  She said it was exhilarating, yet exhausting, as in one day she interviewed with 8 people from different organizations across the company.  She intensely prepared questions for and from marketing, sales, sales operations, training, IT, HR, product marketing, and channels.  In each interview she had to understand the world from their perspective, paint an overall picture of how their organization would contribute to increased sales success, and of course develop the right rapport to garner their support for her candidacy.

Yes, the process was grueling, but what it says about Lore’s new company is worthy of note.  Companies are recognizing that a systemic view is the very essence of a best-in-class sales enablement environment.   This software firm knew that it isn’t just one organization, or even 2 or 3 that are critical to enabling their sales force to sell more effectively.  Each organization that touches sales has to be invested in the overall success to develop a consistent sales enablement mindset.  

It is a complex business and there are many issues to solve.  What do sales organizations require to be successful?  How does a company enable their organization to make these changes?  What role does each organization play in the success of sales and how are they held accountable?  How and when do you measure success?

These issues and others will be addressed at the upcoming Forrester Sales Enablement Forum.  I am looking forward to sharing these insights from the Forum with Lore as she begins her new role and I wish her the most success!

Learnings from the Trenches

The good news: Sales enablement projects will have an immediate positive impact on your sales organization. Sales will love it. The bad news: Success requires a multi-organizational effort, similar to all other change management projects. Change is hard. Everything else is always a priority, unless ‘encouraged’ from the top.

What we learned

• Always start with your best sales people.  If you cannot get buy-in here, you are in trouble.  Take the time to do this.
• Pilot with very small team, measure before and after, and obtain the highest levels of executive support before agreeing to roll-out to the wider sales audience.
• This change will initially create more work for marketing but those with a sales background will be the first on board.
• Training will appreciate the system/process as it will provide a consistent core from which to teach and ground their curriculum.
• Sales operations will love it because it provides a consistent process and leverages your CRM system.