The Ultimate ‘NO’ and How to Overcome It
Few people would accuse those in procurement roles as being ‘yes men’. But perhaps a direct ‘no’ is less common than people think. Those in procurement and finance have found a more effective way of stopping buyers (and those who want to sell to them) in their tracks. It is to ask for a cost-benefit […]
Buyers: Don’t be a Skinflint!
The Lesson from Flint Michigan is: Be Cautious of Short Term Savings The Presidential declaration of emergency in Flint Michigan offers lessons to buyers and sellers about the danger of short term savings that cost dear in long term. An Old Term Gets New Meaning The term ‘skinflint’ has gained new meaning in recent times. Traditionally it […]
Selling in the Cloud – Building the Business Case for Your Solution
Buying IT has changed. It is now as much a business decision as a technology decision and that makes the financial analysis of the costs and benefits and the return on investment very important. The implication for those selling IT is that a technically oriented sales pitch is no longer enough! With a range of […]
Want Your Customers To Spend More? Then don’t do this!
The actions of two major European retailers demonstrate two alternative strategies for up-selling, or getting customers to spend more.
53% of IT Sellers Have Their ‘Heads In The Clouds’
When it comes to the buyer’s business justification for the purchase of IT software, hardware or services, 53% of sellers have their ‘heads in the clouds’. Too many sellers are missing basic information such as the business rationale for the purchase or the buyer’s relevant numbers. Many don’t even realize that these things are needed. For ever […]
Selling Higher: Your Essential ‘C Level’ Glossary
The reality is that today’s more business focused senior buyers talk quite a different language to the junior, often more technical buyer. That poses a challenge for sellers that have dealt almost exclusively with the technical buyer in the past. Adding some new words to the sales vocabulary is required. Are You Speaking The […]
Selling To The Buyer’s Primary Ratio
Are you connecting with the number one metric used by CFOs and CEOs to measure business performance and to guide important decisions – including big purchases or investments? Here we will examine how talking ROCE with the buyer can boost your sales success. Return On Capital Employed The primary ratio is ROCE or Return On […]
Are You Only The Tip Of The Iceberg?
When it comes to the customer’s costs, your price may only be the tip of the iceberg. That is important if you are selling a quality solution and want to avoid being hammered on price. By making your customer aware of The Iceberg Principle you can move the conversation off price and onto value.
Sellers: How To Calculate Your Value? – The Value Equation
Communicating your value to today’s hard-nosed buyers can be a real challenge. You know that your marketing literature won’t do it. You know that your sales pitches and proposals must. Price Versus Value Many buyers have an almost single-minded obsession with price. That makes moving the conversation off price and onto value the seller’s priority. But […]
Where Have All The Savings Gone? Buyer Leakages As Sales Opportunities
Procurement is under pressure to continually cut costs. However a high level of leakage makes delivering fully on promised savings a challenge. That presents the seller with a number of opportunities.
Why Only Hard Savings Can Close The Deal
Sellers are not the only ones obsessed with making their numbers. Buyers have targets too – typically ambitious targets for cost reduction. However, increasingly only hard savings have the power to close the sale. We all know that buyers are increasingly numbers obsessed. The question is what format must those numbers be in […]
The Beermat Business Case
Being able to build the business case for your solution is an important sales skill. However the traditional approach to developing the business case fails more often than it succeeds. To address this problem sellers need to start the business case conversation much earlier. They need to adopt ‘beermat’ business case principles because they can’t […]
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