The Kick-off:  Winning!  Both sides want to do it, but what does it mean?! 

There is a competitive tone already set as you face off across the table from the person you are working to cut a deal with (buyer or seller).  Each has something the other wants, and like a chess match, certain strategies are contemplated and deployed as a means to get to the ultimate goal - a win.  But what does that mean? 

If each side did any amount of homework before sitting down at the table some expectations are likely already set.  To get to the heart of what winning means in each scenario it comes down to understanding how the person across from you gets measured.  A win for some salespeople could be in the form of a singular transaction, a purchase order, an annuity agreement, a multi-year enterprise-wide contract, or some other metric.  There are of course other sales metrics, such as gross margin, bookings, billings, contract length, contractual price increases, product line diversification, and on and on.  A win for some buyers could be in many of the same forms as the seller, with the caveat that the figures in question are more in their favor, and buyers generally want to establish relationships that limit the risk that they assume when conducting business with the seller.  A win for a buyer could also be something as simple as information - so sellers, it's important to know when you are being interrogated vs. interviewed.  Finding out what drives the role and the person opposite you at the table and understanding what a win is to them is paramount to whether or not you will be able to win yourself.

Most people (buyers or sellers) default to playing a game of information cat-and-mouse.  Choosing to dance around this question instead of going straight in.  There are two ways to play this that we will discuss here.  First, go about your dance...  Ask all kinds of indirect information-gathering questions about the nature of work being performed or needing to be performed, or the nature of the products.  This will get you closer to the true information you seek, however, you'll never reach the destination without some risk of making an incorrect assumption. 

Second, chase down your answer.  Be direct, get right to the point, and ask the specific question on what it is that will get you to what you want to know.  I'm not suggesting that you make this your first question, however.  After all, there is a human being across from you with a different personality than yourself and you aren't sure what theirs may be yet or how they receive information.  Start with some framing questions, and as you build credibility work your way into asking the direct question.  Even after warming them up, the other person may still be stunned, and that's ok as it is likely temporary, and you may even earn rapport in the process.

The buy-sell cycle is an interaction that likely dates back to the invention of the wheel.  At that time it was sure to be in the form of bartering or trading but there the primary ingredient was present - some type of perceived value.  Today, from the buy-side, it's a question of "What is the lowest value that I can get a seller to take for the business I have to offer?"  From the sell side, the question is often "How much of my offering am I able to get a buyer to sign up for?"  (It's important to note that I am speaking of value right now, and not price.  The distinction is something we'll cover in future posts.)  In either case, there is a common perception that there is a competitive relationship between buyer and seller, and the "Win" is subjective.

The perceived value of the parties facing off must be brought forward early in the process.  It expedites the time it takes to get to a mutually beneficial close and takes much of the angst out of the process.  Time is a valuable commodity for both parties - for the very same reason:  the longer the process takes, the larger the volume of work needed for each side to meet their performance metrics (a sales quota, a savings goal, etc.). 

So back to our main question - what is a "Win"?

Winning for Buyers (a lesson for Sellers)

All buyers, regardless of type, have at least one of the following:  Vision, Goals, and Problems.  Let's touch on these one by one.

Vision

You may think that Vision is something that is strictly reserved for a Chief Procurement Officer (CPO) or some other executive type, but that's not true.  Think of yourself, or a  younger version of yourself, you may have had an image of what your ideal future state would be - in a job, an industry, your retirement, etc.  Everyone has a vision, finding out what the vision is of a buyer may be the most difficult of the three things to identify for a seller as it may be more personal.  A buyer may not necessarily have a grand vision for their work or themselves, however, if you dig deep enough you will find one. 

Goals

How is a goal different than a vision?  Visions tend to be longer-term in nature, while Goals are stepping stones towards the realization of one's Vision.  If my vision is to one day be a CPO, then I need to make sure I master the art of negotiation (in theory and practice), so I will need Goals that help me get there as part of the journey to realize my vision of becoming a CPO.  Goals can also be present in the absence of Vision - in those cases, Goals tend to be more transactional and have a more immediate impact in the short term (a quarter or a fiscal year, for example.).

Problems

Those pesky things that get in the way of a buyer being able to work on their goals to realize their vision.  Billing issues, credit lines, inventory shortages, system issues, data challenges, quality concerns, labor shortages, contract disputes, the list is practically endless.  These are the things that slow a buyer's progress and dampen their hopes of reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.

So, as a seller, what can you do with this information?  Connect to these!  Ideally, connect to all of them!  Start with solving or preventing a problem - it's the quickest and most lasting way to build credibility and rapport. Buyers don't always have time to spare, so they quickly want to understand what's in it for them to continue a dialog with you. From there, progress towards assisting, accelerating, or substantiating your buyer's goal(s).  This will be harder to do because these tend to be quite guarded, but it's possible.  If you've demonstrated enough value, you should be able to connect to a vision - and if you can demonstrate value that connects with a buyer's vision then you are in a position to have a customer for life.

Winning for Sellers (a lesson for Buyers)

Contrary to what some buyers may believe, all sales are not created equal.  It all comes down to how a seller gets measured and/or paid, as well, it depends on the sales motion they are charged with executing.  For example:  Hunting New Business (New Sold-To's and Ship-To's), Upselling/Cross-Selling products and services within established relationships, renewing contracts, driving volume (revenue) or value (gross margin), or generating net new enterprise-wide contracts. 

Knowing the measure isn't the only factor to consider - that's only one dimension - you should also get an understanding of the type and scope of other relationships that the seller has or has had in the past, how long they spend on a given sales opportunity, what their role will be at the various stages of the relationship, Etc.  The time factor is important so you can get a sense of the amount of attention and energy your seller is willing to put into closing you as a customer.  Not all customers are created equal - and sellers have an ideal customer profile that they like to sell into as a way of allocating their time to opportunities that will allow them to meet/exceed their goals as quickly as possible.  Because winning depends on the metric, and what type of relationship allows the seller to hit their metric, it's important to get a strong enough understanding so you know what your potential business means to the seller.  Connect to that, and you will know where you stand.

Going for the "W"

Now that you have sized up the person sitting across from you, and you have either directly or indirectly established what you think the profile of a Win means to them, you negotiate to a point where you arrive at a deal.  It's that easy, right - wrong!  If it were our economy would be in a constant state of chaos, inflation, and supply chain disruption.... 

Oh, wait...  Ok, it would be worse. 

I just set the table for the game of chess to begin.  If you want to know more, keep reading as I will take you through the litany of strategies, tactics, elegant negotiables, and insider speak that is the B2B buy-sell relationship.

Have you ever thought about the ideal type of person you would want to sell to, or buy from?  I'm sure you had.  If you are a buyer, I'm sure you have those salespersons that you enjoy working with, and those you do not - sellers, I'm sure you are in the same boat as to which phone call or appointment you like to have as opposed to the ones you have to talk yourself up about before engaging.  These types of desirable vs. undesirable people either profession transact with - let's call them "Transactors"  - can be classified using the same quadrant analysis and two primary characteristics.  Yes, there are obviously more qualities that you can assess these people with, but these two speak to the majority and answer the question of "Would I do business with this person?".  So, let's take a deeper look.  Consider the traditional quadrant analysis, measuring "Sophistication" on the Y-axis and "Professionalism" on the X-axis. 

Sophistication could mean many things for either Transactor (buyer or seller), but it really comes down to how well they know what it is that they are speaking about (product or service, technical or non-technical) relative to the person sitting across the table from them, representing the organization they support.  Do they know the problems, stakeholders, root causes, desired results, and investment needed to fix the problem or implement the solution, or do they even know the right questions to ask - if they even ask them at all? 

Professionalism.  I'm optimistic that this one can go without much explanation, but to be clear, this is really when it comes down to if the Transactor is suited to represent the organization or group (department, function, etc.) that they are associated with and how well they match or align with the people opposite of them.  Professionalism is in the eye of the beholder.  Engineers who are buying something may not consider a non-technical salesperson in a $1,000 suit as professional if they don't come prepared to make good use of their time and progress their situation toward a promising end.  If the salesperson does that, that's not professional no matter what way you slice it!  Professionalism also extends to the basic values that the person opposite you at the table extends. We could add a z-axis for that, but let's keep it simple for now.

Now, let's put these two together, and for the sake of clarity for those buyers who don't want to be lumped in with the sellers, and vice versa, I've given each Transactor group its own designations in each quadrant.  Looking at the figure, you'll see that the four quadrants are as follows: 

BB - Low Sophistication / Low Professionalism

• Buyers - If this is you, you are what we refer to as a "Paper Pusher".  You're the person who is purely tactical and cares little about the how, what, why, or where the money is going.  Push out the PO and punch the clock.

• Sellers - If this is you, you're at the rank of "Peddler".  You know what you have to offer but you don't know why or how it really connects to what the other half needs, wants, or cares about.  Feature/Benefit central.

• Why?  The people who are in this quadrant are there likely due to no fault of their own.  It could be generational, the old adage of "it's always been done this way", which likely stems from the other favorite "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" - but things around you change constantly, and if you don't then you may find yourself in a place you won't want to be in.

BA - Low Sophistication / High Professionalism

• Buyers - If this is you, you are what we refer to as an "Empty Suit". You look good, you may even have some degree of authority (if you don't, you do a great job projecting that you do).

• Sellers - If this is you, you are what we refer to as a "Slide Guy/Gal". You've got the sizzle sizzle, but that's where it stops. There is no show you can't put on in front of a client, but deals still evade you.

• Why?  You may be this way as a product of your environment. Where you are in a position where you have too much responsibility but too little time to take action. Sadly, this means you often exhibit an "all show, but no go" image. Another cause may be the support your organization has for you when you land that new contract or deal. If you are a buyer, you may have a decentralized organization where each entity or site gets the option as to whether or not they want to opt in. If you are a seller, you may be in a position where your support operations do a good job with the work they have and aren't looking to take on more.

AB - High Sophistication / Low Professionalism

• Buyers - If this is you, you know it (and may even be proud of it) - you're a "Thug". You want what you want when you want it and it doesn't matter how much it hurts the other side to get it done. Sell at a loss? You don't care! Received above-contract performance and benefits for years - yet, you're going to bid out the business anyway!

• Sellers - If this is you, you know it (and you likely don't have a strong enough moral compass to change it) - you're a "Snake". You have all the knowledge, capacity, even inventory - yet you'll hold back to see what else you can get and how much you can get it for. You'll use your knowledge to take advantage of people with less experience or exposure to things than yourself (inside or outside of your own organization).

• Why?  Values. Environment. Upbringing. Lack of role models. People behave the way they do based on how they are programmed by their experiences, observations, and beliefs. This approach may yield great success - but at what cost? Imagine if you could be equally or even more successful without the cost or damages that happen like they do today. The good news is, you've got half of what it takes already...

AA - High Sophistication / High Professionalism

• Buyers - Partner status. You share information, you are tough, communicative, timely, and fair. You know how to set expectations while being humble enough to know you aren't the expert - your supplier is. You can leverage that (notice I didn't say "use that") to the advantage of everyone. If all goes well, everyone will be better off tomorrow.

• Sellers - Partner status. You are a trusted advisor to your customer. They have confidence, respect, and a genuine belief that you are on the same team and want to be a part of their success.

• Why?  Because it's about results, not winning over the other side. It's about the sale today AND the sale tomorrow. It's about getting to a place where if one side wins the other side does too. It's also a much more pleasurable experience for all involved. You go home feeling good about yourself.

TIE IN...

The degree of Credibility and Trust that one achieves is a result of the position they are in the quadrant analysis.  Credibility and Trust are what get people into more meaningful and progressive business discussions, getting closer to a closed deal and reaping the reward that the deal realizes.

While there is so much more here to talk about, I'm interested to know what you think.  Is this an oversimplification?  If given the opportunity to insert a Z-axis onto a quadrant analysis to further assess the aptitude of the Transactors you encounter what would you suggest be measured? Values? Resourcefulness? Something else?

Oh, and for those of you who aren't in the quadrant you want to be in - don't worry, there's hope. Come back for updates and additional content and you'll be on your way in no time.

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