Could The iPad Kill Solution Selling?

The much publicized failure of one of the world’s largest iPad contract represents another ‘nail in the coffin’ of Solution Selling You have heard people say that Solution Selling is dead. But what you probably don’t realize is that the iPad may be hastening its demise. More specifically the much publicized failure […]

Added on December 17, 2013 Ray Collis Buying Process , Buying Steps , Maverick Buyer , Procurement , Purchase Order , Sales Process , Sales Success

7 Strategies To Prevent Delays In Getting The Customer’s Purchase Order

Successfully Navigating The Procurement (PO) Maze

Closing the sale and getting the Purchase Order no longer go hand in hand. In many buying organizations a new level of bureaucracy and administration has grown around what was once just an administrative formality. Getting the PO is no longer a straight-forward matter – for the unprepared seller can be a costly maze. […]

Added on May 29, 2013 John O' Gorman BANT , Business Case , Buyer Risk , Buying Decision , Buying Process , Buying Rationale , Forecast Accuracy , Prequalification , Procurement , Sales Cycles , Sales Forecasting

The Top 10 Most Revealing Deal Questions

Imagine you are asked as a sales manager to evaluate a key deal. How many pieces of information would you need in order to assess the likelihood of the deal closing as forecast?

Added on April 29, 2013 John O' Gorman Buying Decisions , Buying Process , Cosy Supplier Relationships , Featured , Procurement , Relationship Selling

Is Relationship Selling Under Attack?

Relationships are an essential ingredient of successful selling. But will your relationship survive a change in the customers strategy, increasing budgetary pressures or the involvement of procurement? In this insight we examine the challenges to relationship selling and how they can be met.

Added on April 18, 2013 Ray Collis Buying Process , Featured , Key Account Management , Procurement , sacred cows , Supplier performance

Sellers Look Out: It’s Open Season On Sacred Cows!

In the relentless march of procurement, it is open season on so called ‘sacred cows’. So, if your relationship with a key account depends on tradition, a personal relationship, or the old fashioned approach to buying, watch out! It is time to ensure the indisputable commercial logic is in place!

Added on April 5, 2013 Ray Collis Aggregation Of Purchases , Buying Process , Buying Trends , Category Management , Centre-Led Procurement , competitive tendering , consolidation of suppliers , Demand Management , Featured , Procurement , procurement systems , Sales Process , Sales Strategy , Strategic Procurement

The Perfect Storm: 8 Trends That Will Rock Your World

How organizations buy is changing – we all know that. But as a seller how to know exactly what is on the horizon in your key customer, or prospects? In this insight we will examine the key procurement related changes that will rock your world and help you predict when they will happen.

Added on April 4, 2013 John O' Gorman Aggregation , Buying Process , Consolidation , Cost Savings , Demand Management , Price Pressure , Procurement , Supplier Margins

The Cost-Saver Menu: 11 Ways To Help Your Buyer Save

Imagine if you could give the buyer a menu of ways to save money, other than cutting your margins. This insight shows you how.

Added on February 15, 2013 Ray Collis Buying Process , Category Management , Customer Research , Featured , Know Your Customer , Procurement

What ‘Know Your Customer’ Means In 2013

In this era of stalled buying decisions and increasingly complex buying processes sellers cannot really know their customers without understanding how and why they buy.

Added on January 16, 2013 Ray Collis Best Class Procurement , Procurement , Strategic Procurement , Superior Business Performance

Do You Know Why Procurement Really Matters?

Few salespeople understand how much procurement really matters to the organization. Even if salespeople are not directly selling to procurement this myopia can result in avoidable frustration, not to mention lost sales! Are You Indifferent To Procurement? Salespeople/sales teams are often taken by surprise at the growing power and influence of procurement within their customer […]

Added on January 15, 2013 Ray Collis bottom line , Chief Procurement Officer , Featured , Procurement , Strategic Procurement , Strategic Selling

The New Love Affair Between CEOs and CPOs

Few managers or departments can write their CEO a cheque for millions and promise more again next year. Procurement however is the exception. Its almost un-paralleled ability to boost the bottom line has earned it a position of influence and power. Little wonder then that procurement is the CEO’s new best friend. Strategies for Low […]

Added on December 26, 2012 Ray Collis Cash Flow , Liquidity , Procurement , Procurement Terms , Strategic Procurement , Working Capital

Procurement: The Corporation’s New Bankers!

The credit crunch forced organizations to look for new ways to access funding their growth and survival. Then enter procurement – the organisation’s new banker! Most people are worse off since the global credit crisis. There is one notable exception however. That is procurement! Procurement has become the new organisational banker. Its role has expanded […]

Added on December 3, 2012 Ray Collis Bay Group International , Collaboration , ES Research Group , Negotiation , Procurement

The Era of Avoiding Procurement Is Over

Collaboration with procurement is the future of selling – that was the clear message from research just published by ES Research Group and The Bay Group. In the past sellers exercised considerable creativity in avoiding procurement – seeing them as an unnecessary impediment to the sale. That strategy won’t work any more warns the authors and sponsors […]