New Trade Routes

Drawing digital pathways on the new trade maps.

Seattle, WA USA

Trade drives the way people interact.  People, products, money, and ideas follow the trade routes and impact everything in their path.  Keeping pace with the way trade routes are changing is essential to success or even survival.  New Trade Routes is working to better understand the changes so we can help our clients, investees, and grantees improve their chances of success.

 

We Can’t Keep Winning if We Don’t Really Know The Why

October 03, 2022  /  Jay Leon

Lack of curiosity killed the sales process cat.  It is fun to celebrate a record quarter or even a new closed deal. The bigger the number, the more fun it is at the celebration.  After the fun, and probably after the ibuprofen kicks in, it is worth the effort to go back through each step of the sales process and capture as much learning as possible. 

While doing so, it is essential to be aware of preconceived ideas (or pet theories) and actively work to understand the why behind the win – and not just look for evidence that supports existing thinking.

Here are my five mile markers in the sales process and related questions to help guide the learning for either one big deal, or a record quarter:

Mile Marker 0, the Beginning

Often referred to as the awareness stage, and it can be quite a bit earlier than we thought – making the sales cycle longer than we may have previously calculated.

·       When did the prospect(s) first interact with us?

·       What exposure did the prospect(s) have to us before the inquiry?

·       What were their initial motivations for the inquiry?

Mile Marker 1, the Connection

People buy things from people they like.  How are the relationships built between our prospects and our company?

·       What relationships were built and in what order?

·       What activities drove the relationship building?

·       How did the motivation of the different parties vary?

Mile Marker 2, the Alternatives

There is always competition.  Sometimes the alternative is buying nothing.  Quantifying the alternatives is essential to understanding the process and building a winning predictable machine.

·       What were the prospect(s) picking between?

·       What are our strongest arguments (the prospect’s perspective)?

·       Weakest arguments?

·       What drives the timeline?

Mile Marker 3, the Details

It is easy to get caught up in our perspective and fail to clearly understand the customer’s motivation.

·       How do the prospect(s) think about risk?

·       How do they calculate the value of our product?

·       What problem are we solving for them?

 Mile Marker 4, the Win

The win is just the beginning of the relationship and customer happiness is not assured!

·       What is the first measurable mile marker after the win?

·       What pivotal actions need to be taken and when?

·       How do we calculate ongoing customer happiness?

There is often a good deal of hand waving in sales, and even more in marketing.  It is fun to call out the good numbers, and celebrate wins with the team.  At the same time, let’s not miss the opportunity to learn. Great teams are willing to dig into the details and really think openly about the why.

Extra Credit: It may seem strange that I started the list with Mile Marker 0. If you have ever been to Key West, you will know why!

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