Whether you're a Salesperson, Sales Manager or CEO, you know there is room for improvement in the enterprise sales process.
I thought we had a great relationship, in fact we played golf together just last quarter. I was shocked to hear that we weren't even invited to bid on the new project.
It's crazy - everyone is off doing their own research and they only care about their specific issues. How am I supposed to build consensus?
I've already handed out the same stale case study from 2 years ago. It mentions an older product, and has nothing of interest for the Chief Security Officer. I badly need something new to share.
The new tools looked promising. But in practice they're either too simple or too complex for clients to use. And our competitors have them too, so it's information overload. The question is now how to stand out from all the noise.
We've already done lunch. I also brought over our VP for a courtesy visit. Currently they have no new project on the horizon, and we have no new product updates. I wouldn't know what to give as a reason for meeting.
They're flying us to Frankfurt for the annual sales meeting. Beer gardens here we come! There will be a packed agenda. But to be honest, the side conversations (rather than the main sessions) - that's where the real value is for me.
There's no way I can credibly talk to a C-level executive about their own industry. They would instantly know I'm bluffing. Maybe after 5-10 years I wouldn't embarrass myself.
I could try to scour six different repositories to see if there's any new & relevant information to pull together for my next client meeting. Instead, I think I'll just stick with what I have.
I'd love to talk about Business Outcomes with my clients, but that would require a deep understanding of their situation and their industry as a whole, as well as all our solutions. I'm sorry but that webinar from last year is nowhere near enough.
Let's be realistic for a second. Just because my territory is small you expect me to be conversant with all our offerings to prospects in the Energy, Telecoms, Retail and Manufacturing sectors?
Sure, it helps me stay organised, but it most certainly does not make me better at holding high-value conversations with customers.
There's a lot of stuff in the Knowledge Management System, but after that guy in San Diego left it became a bit of an information graveyard.
Please give just give me examples of where we solved a problem, or how we made a difference.Specifications and data sheets don't help me connect with customers.
There was a session about this in the last sales meeting. Of course I want to talk about business outcomes, but every time it seems to come down to "Increase Revenues", or "Reduce Costs". I'm sure my competitors are telling clients the same thing.
This is an information problem,
not an experience problem.
Enterprise Salespeople are not equipped with
information that is:
Timely
Relevant
Authentic
Every day our field colleagues have hundreds of interactions with clients and pick up tons of insights and valuable knowledge.
At best we'll tell some people around us some of what we learn.
info@gistsystems.com
