When it comes to major buying decisions, managers are pulling rank. Senior managers are not just rubber-stamping buying decisions. They are taking an active role to ensure all major purchases underpin organizational goals, priorities and strategies. When Buyers Pull Rank All this means the job titles of those involved in making today’s major buying decisions [...]
The modern buyer is a team, not an individual. Indeed, as the example shown earlier suggests, the roll call of all those involved in the buying decision is a veritable ‘who’s who’ of the organization. The excerpt below highlights the number of levels involved in the buying decision, the seniority of the decision makers as [...]
Once upon a time a question like “who makes the buying decision?” was easy to answer; one or two names were typically sufficient to describe where the power lay. But this is no longer the case, and nowadays sellers almost need a map of organizational buying to reflect all those who make and shape the buying decision…
Predicting the future is not easy, but that is exactly what the business case must attempt to do. This is particularly true in a time of market turbulence. Today’s perfect plan could be completely invalidated by a change in the competitive situation, an upset in the market or any one of a host of other [...]
The term business case can mean different things to different people. For this reason it is helpful to explain the key elements of a business case in terms of other more universally understood business planning and analysis tools. The business case combines four elements as shown in the diagram. Fig: The Building Blocks of the [...]
One of the most powerful realizations for sellers is that when it comes to the complex sale there are no buying decisions, only business decisions. The implication is that buying decisions which in the past focused on the what, where, when and how, are now purely concerned with the ‘why?’ Peel back the layers of [...]
Why do buyers do what they do? Why do they choose one supplier over another and choose some projects to be scrapped, while others are advanced? These are questions that understandably intrigue salespeople. Buyers tend to reveal little, leaving many salespeople complaining that they don’t know what buyers are thinking. They may even complain buyers [...]
Why is the business case so important? Well, the key reasons the business case is now at the center of major buying decisions are listed below. The business case: 1 Drives business success: It ensures any projects, purchases or investments enable the organization to achieve its objectives. 2 Allocates scarce resources to maximum effect [...]
Would you be surprised to know that many large organizations require a business case for purchases of as little as €20,000? As one UK veteran salesperson told us recently, ‘I have seen more business cases in the past year than I have in the previous 19 years.’ There is more strategic business logic being applied [...]
A business case is an economic argument for investing in a project or purchase. However, it is not purely economic, but also political. In this context the successful business case will involve a process of extensive involvement with stakeholders and will be written, or at least reviewed, by cross-functional committees. This is essential to creating [...]
The business case requires much more than a cost-benefit analysis — that is too simplistic for complex business decisions. For example, a more in-depth analysis would highlight that while the payback from project A might be twice that of project B, this benefit may be negated when higher levels of risk are considered. Managers are [...]
The business case can take many forms, but at its core is one key question — why should we buy? or more to the point: How will this purchase help the organization (department/unit) succeed? The business case clearly outlines the value equation of the proposed purchase that reflects not only costs, benefits and risk, but [...]
Clearly one of the key trends in respect of organizational buying is the movement towards the application of business logic to business decisions. It is clear that features and benefits will not swing the big sale, forcing the seller to address the key economic, strategic and political issues if the purchase is to be sanctioned. [...]
So, we have examined the key steps of the buying process. But, within each step, how much discretion remains in the hands of the manager-buyer? Is the buying process a flexible blueprint or a rigid rulebook? The Fortune 1000 buying process we have highlighted is highly prescriptive, something that is increasingly common. It clearly mandates [...]
Each progressive step brings the purchase one step closer to reality, with the commitment being made gradually over many months. Thus, the purchase decision is not simply a matter of one big YES or NO decision. Rather it is the culmination of a series of YES or NO decisions at each stage of the buying [...]
So far you are probably thinking this buying process is all about the buyer as there has been no mention of the seller yet. Well, now that we have looked at the conception and the conclusion of the Six Step Buying Process, and before we start to examine all the detail that is involved, let [...]
In our Fortune 1000 example managers must follow six key steps to gain purchasing approval. These logical and self-explanatory steps, ranging from Initial Requirements Capture to Launch and Review are shown below. Fig. 2.3 The 6 Steps of the Buying Process These steps can take place over anything from three months to two years, and [...]
Organizational buying, once ad hoc and unstructured, has become highly sophisticated and process-driven. Although salespeople have noticed some changes, they often underestimate just how sophisticated buying has now become. In this section many salespeople will come face-to-face for the very first time with the full complexity of buying — in the form of a Fortune [...]
Organizations are making slower and, in many cases, fewer buying decisions. But these decisions are being more carefully made, with greater consideration and planning than ever before. It seems inevitable that all this will lead to better buying decisions or at least decisions that reflect more closely organizational priorities and objectives. However, it also means [...]
You can see the finishing line, and your sponsor is telling you they are ready to buy. So, it is that the many months of groundwork seem ready to pay off. You had allowed (in your costings) for the discount that has been agreed and negotiation around terms has thankfully left your original proposal relatively [...]
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