As a small-midsize company, some of your attempts at landing big sales will not turn into deals despite your best efforts. In such cases, the best choice is to temporarily abandon this effort and look for other opportunities to go after the big sales. Some small-midsize companies desperately try to salvage the deal by offering incentives and concessions to the buyer even when the buyer is not in a position to move forward. This is a very bad move because it hurts your credibility and set you up to make even more concessions in future deals. More likely trust between the two companies will falter and further business will be difficult.

Though giving up on prospective big sales may be a painful decision for the small-midsize company, it is better to spend your time, energy and resources on companies who have problems they want to fix today.

In order to ensure that you clinch the big sales at the next attempt, your company should do its homework and start preparing itself now. Here are some suggestions that will help in landing big sales.

• Analyze the big sales you have lost this year and identify the probable reasons for your failure, as well as counter-measures to avoid their recurrence.
• Revisit the buyer’s requirements, their buying policies and methods, and other pertinent details.
• Look out for any advance signals that the big company is about to start their buying operations and plan for appropriate action.
• Use Google alerts to monitor changes in the company that signal a chance to re-engage.
• Identify the potential decision makers and other members of the buyers’ purchase team and get as much information about them as possible for eventual use.

Building up confidence levels:

As you start landing big sales it is natural to expand your products, services and capabilities to meet the needs of bigger companies. It is a good strategy to keep big companies you are not doing business with informed about your expanded offerings, capabilities and new clients that demonstrate your expertise and credibility. By sharing relevant information with key contacts you can enhance relationship and see if there are mutual interests worth exploring.

The wrecking crew:

Whenever a smaller company is doing business with a larger company it is important to take adequate precautions to protect the deal from sabotage by other interested parties. The risks will mainly be from three sources:

• The first wrecker will be the current supplier who will be displaced by you. As soon as your new deal is signed and sealed, this supplier will start fighting for regaining his lost business by offering all kinds of promises and concessions to the large company.
• The second wrecker will be from within the large company itself. There will be some disgruntled elements that felt slighted or ignored by the decision makers when the new deal was confirmed and have their own axe to grind.
• The third type of wrecker is other small businesses who are your competitors in the field. They will try to find an entry for themselves in the newly concluded big sales and eat into your business.

You should exercise extreme vigilance and caution to ward off these threats to your business and protect your own interests.

A large company, for our purpose, is defined as one that is 5 to 20 times the size of your company in terms of revenue potential. Many small companies dream of big growth but it takes time and effort. There are 3 ways to get growth: make your sales people stronger through training, hire sales superstars or land big deals. If you want to grow at double the industry average the only way to do it is by landing big deals!

In these circumstances, the small company should focus on selling to large companies. The basic premise is that large deals can transform a small company. Selling to large companies presents many benefits and will pave the way for more revenue, higher profit margins and accelerated growth.

Select your targets:

As a first step, you should make a short list of potential large companies which meet your criteria. Your sales personnel who are handling this project should seek interviews with company executives and collect as much information as possible. They may use the following list of great questions as guidelines during fact finding interviews.

Great questions are open-ended questions which will lead people to provide more information than a simple “Yes” or “No” answer. These questions are in random order and designed to get you thinking about what questions you should be asking.

• What are the key initiatives your CEO has put in place for this year?
• How have the recent changes in the market affected your business?
• How have the recent technological changes affected your company?
• What needs to happen for your company to establish the pre-eminent position in the industry?
• What changes can be made in your industry which will improve the profitability of your company?
• What specific changes would you propose if your company were to grow at double the industry average this year?
• What major changes does your company plan to make in the next 6-12 months?
• If you accomplish your goal will you get a promotion?
• What are the important steps you have taken for improving _____ area in your business?
• On a scale of 1—5 (5 being the best), what rating would you give your company in the area of ______?
• If you were going to do business with us, what would we need to have, be or do to get a rating of a 5 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being highest?
• Does the executive staff have membership in any professional associations, charities or other social groups?
• What is the procedure you currently use for selecting your suppliers?

These questions are intended to make the large company open up and for you to get more insight into what drives their business and important initiatives. The key is asking good thought provoking questions that shows you have done your homework and understand their world. If you selected companies that are a good match for your criteria you should expect a very productive meeting.

This exercise will give you a fair idea about where to place the company in your final short list of large companies and whether you should pursue your target of selling to large companies.

The first step in achieving big sales is to make a list of companies who are really good and fit your company, products and services. The list will include all demographics and psychographics pertinent details of the companies, such as private or public, annual turnover, profit/loss, employee strength, nature of products or services, names and biodata of executives, reputation, if they invest in their people, etc. A list of about 100 companies will be adequate to start with.

Using this basic list, dig deeper and get more information about each of the companies by going through their balance sheets, industrial reports, news from print and digital media, and personal discussions with friends and employees and so on. Use this information to make a smaller list of about 25 big companies, depending upon the size and capacity of your own company.

Using this list as a starting point, scout around for selling opportunities for your products and services in any of these companies. When opportunities present themselves, start taking appropriate action by replying to inquiries, RFP’s, etc. and then follow it up.

New buying strategies:

Most big companies have changed their buying strategies. No longer is buying made by one-to-one contacts between the individual buyer and seller. Instead, big companies now have a team of executives to consult and decide on matters like change of suppliers or purchase of a new product or service or other similar matters. The buying team will have at least one high level executive and stakeholders from various concerned departments like finance, labor, R&D, IT, HRD, and so on. While typically executives have the power to say “yes,” they prefer to have all the stakeholders bless the decision. The object of this exercise is not only to make the correct decision but also to eliminate risks to the business.

The small-mid size company, which is the seller in this case, should also have its own team of executives and specialists, who will be able to interact with their respective counterparts and help to carry the discussions forward. This process offers many advantages to both the buyer and the seller in finalizing big deals satisfactorily.

In the matter of big sales, larger companies generally prefer to deal with other large companies and are wary of transacting business with small companies for various reasons. Big companies speak the same language, have similar systems and processes, and respect each other’s ability to deliver. In comparison, small-mid size companies have the advantages of more flexibility, the ability to innovate, make quick decisions, and to offer more concessions.

As a small-mid size company, you should be able to allay the fears of the big companies and highlight the various advantages mentioned above to ensure that the big sales are decided in your favor.

The benefits of making big sales:

It costs nearly as much to land a small deal as to land a big deal. By landing more and more big sales, small companies stand to gain multiple benefits such as increased market share, higher revenue and profits, as well as enhanced reputation among their clients and customers. With this approach many CEO’s have grown their companies at double the industry average in a shorter period of time.

There has been a change in business around the world during the past three decades. The impact of the IT revolution has been felt in all spheres of industrial activity, which has brought forth a host of new problems as well as opportunities for big companies. They have introduced new technologies such as just-in-time inventories, statistical quality control, etc. in manufacturing, selling, purchasing, and distribution.

The days of ridged thinking are gone and new innovations are being introduced almost day by day. In the 1910s and 1920s, old Henry Ford could get away with his famous Model T “painted in any color so long as it is black.” Today, cars come out in a multiplicity of hues and sheens that would make a rainbow blush.

Small-mid size businesses have generally managed to keep abreast of these changes except in one vital area, namely the selling department. While the big companies have made radical changes in their buying methods, the sellers, i.e. the small-mid size companies, still continue with their vintage sales approach. These need to be revised and brought on par with the new buying methods.

In big companies today major decisions like changing suppliers, or buying a new product or service, are not taken by an individual. Such matters are now entrusted to a team comprising the head of the purchase department and supported by experts from various other departments which can be affected as a consequence of the decision, e.g. finance, R&D, human relations, engineering, and so on. The team members will discuss thoroughly all the pros and cons of the matter and will arrive at a collective decision. The object of the exercise is not only to ensure that a correct decision is taken but also to eliminate the risks of taking a wrong decision.

Small-mid size companies, who are the service providers and suppliers involved, should also have a similar team consisting of key executives and the appropriate subject experts. The members of the deal team will work with their counterparts in the buying team and work through any all the issues. These discussions may be prolonged over several days, weeks or months and the final decision will be taken only after both the buyer and the seller are satisfied.

Big companies/Small-mid size companies:

It is observed that big companies generally prefer to deal with other big companies similar to them in size and stature. While small-mid size companies have many qualities in their favor, buyers from big companies have fears about the stability, capacity to deliver, and consistency in performance of the smaller companies. Above all, they worry about falling behind their competitors because they picked the wrong provider. The deal team from the small-mid size company should be in a position to allay all these fears of the prospective buyers if they are interested in landing big sales.

The road map:

Landing big sales is an important first step towards your target of improving the size and status of your company. However, it should be kept in mind that selling to big companies is tough and needs strong leadership committed to exponential growth and a dedicated executive team to start the process and bring it to a successful conclusion. You will need 6-12 months to train such a team. The immediate time and resource commitment may appear high but the results will be an exponential ROI that last for years!

The teams are typically comprised of executives from different departments supported by subject matter experts from various fields involved in the deal. It may take weeks or even months of planning and preparation before the big sales are concluded satisfactorily.

Selling to a large company is not merely a question of supplying superior products, services and other competitive advantages, but overcoming their fears of dealing with smaller unknown companies.

Although there are many advantages in dealing with small companies, most large companies have the following fears about smaller companies:

• Fear of changes in the established procedures and practices.
• Fear of conflict and disruption in the existing comfortable relationships with employees, departments, customers, or suppliers.
• Fear of increase in employee workloads or work schedules.
• Fear of failures or mistakes during the implementation of new processes.

In spite of the many negative factors, it is very much in the long term interests of smaller companies to pursue and land big deals with large companies. With the first big sales which you complete successfully, you will draw the attention of the large companies. You will no longer be treated as an unknown company but as a reliable and established supplier and opportunities for big sales will be much easier to get.

By gradually increasing the size of your deals with large companies your revenues will grow and your profit margins will increase. You will enjoy the benefits of larger market share, stronger industry reputation and more opportunities for growth. Your affiliation with large companies will give you wider recognition and significance in the eyes of your customers, prospects and lift the morale of your staff.

As you attain more experience in dealing with large companies and closing big sales, you should adopt a strategy of gradually culling out some of your problem accounts. Look at a reduction of about five to ten percent per year as a starting point. The five to ten percent may be chosen on the basis of the lowest margins, the most difficult to satisfy, the hardest to collect from, or other criteria important to you. Ultimately you will be left with only high-dollar, high margin accounts that are a pleasure to do business with and will remain the mainstay of your future business.

The key to closing big sales is realizing that they way you sell to a big company is more complex, involves more people, takes more resources and has a longer sales cycle. If you can stay focused and find ways to identify and overcome their fears of doing business with you in 6-12 months you will be closing whales and growing exponentially!

Changing business environment:

Over the last 30 years I have seen the business environment undergo vast changes, prompted by a number of factors. One of the main factors is the need to curtail the waste of time and money and increase the efficiency and profitability of the organization. In any company, purchase of goods and services cost between 40-60 percent of the company’s revenue and any saving in this cost adds to profitability. You will find that most large companies have now adopted new buying technologies, driven by the IT revolution. These new technologies like just-in-time delivery, quality control rejection analysis, vendor performance rating, etc. have influenced their methods of doing business, particularly with the small suppliers.

Just-in-time deliveries:

I will take just-in-time as an illustration of the new technology. Large companies no longer hold big inventories of stores and spares in their warehouses. The cash locked in, as well as the costs of space, infrastructure and insurance put a drag on their finance. This burden is now passed on to the small suppliers who are expected to hold their stocks of manufactured products in their own warehouses. As per their purchase contracts, they have to deliver the products to the large companies in the required quantities, as per the agreed schedule.

This arrangement also implies that the small manufacturer has to maintain adequate stocks of raw materials and auxiliaries to ensure that the production levels and the flow of supplies to the large companies are not affected. In turn, the small manufacturer benefits by way of big sales and long term supply contracts.

Declining trends:

To a great extent, the small manufacturers have been able to adopt their production strategies in tune with the new buying technologies of the large companies. But I find a flaw in one area. Many of the small companies still cling to their old mindset and have failed to make concurrent changes in their selling techniques to achieve big sales and thus stagnate in the same “small” category.

It is this mindset that I want them to overcome. Some examples of its impact on small companies are given below:

• The arrival on the scene of new companies which have a more adventurous and accommodative approach to their business;
• In spite of regular participation in bids and proposals, the acceptance rate for the small companies remains low;
• The new and relatively larger companies encroaching on their turf and grabbing a share of their business;
• Wild fluctuations year over year in the revenues of the small companies, which they are not able to address;

Landing big sales:

I must confess that the current selling techniques and methodologies of the small companies are not appropriate for the complex buying process used by large companies. Single buyers are almost an extinct species in such companies. The purchasing head of a large company will likely be a professional manager, leading a team of subject experts in diverse fields like finance, IT, R&D, HRD, SQC, etc. To hold purchase negotiations in this kind of a situation, the ambitious executives of a small company should develop his own team, maybe smaller in size, of dedicated subject experts to support their leader. During negotiations, the subject experts of both teams will face each other and sort out the issues. The final decision on the big sales will be more informed and beneficial to both the seller and the buyer.

Many people in my seminars have asked me the question “What does it take to land big sales?” My answer to them and to you is simple: landing big sales requires involvement from the entire c-level team, the desire to grow at double the industry average, a powerful process that is good for all parties and outside the box thinking. With that said only about 10% of companies are ready, willing and able to do what is necessary to land big sales successfully.

In today’s business culture, many small to midsize companies that are constantly on the lookout for big sales and willing to work our process correctly are sure to land one. You may be surprised, but many large companies are interested and some are required to do business with smaller companies. The advantages of small to midsize companies seeking to land big deals are that they are flexible, highly responsive and easily accessible. Large companies expect to establish a relationship with the executives of small to midsize companies and want assurances that small to midsize companies can deliver goods and services better, faster and more reliably than larger ones. What small to midsize companies often misjudge are the success factors that help in landing big sales. Here are 4 things a small to midsize company must have/do to land big deals:

1. A highly motivated and dedicated leader who is relentless in growing the company at double the industry average. He recognizes that landing big sales is the way to make that happen and knows that change is needed to close the whale. He is the captain of the boat, powerful enough to orchestrate the entire team members with different roles and responsibilities and wise enough to know when to get involved and when to stay out of the way. They think strategically and know that preparation, people and process can make all the difference in closing the whale.

2. Next, they must learn the ins and outs of the large company. Understand why they embrace and fear change, identify “superior fit”, be able to read the signs and determine how to make this happen. This intelligence gathering is typically done as a team effort that includes sales or business development people, c-level executives and internal and external experts as appropriate.

3. You need to have an extensively prepared team that knows the large company from every angle. The team must have the knowledge, tools, expertise and talk whale language. They must be able to handle all complicated questions and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to every decision maker and influencer why and how you can exceed their expectations. This aspect of landing big sales is often neglected or underestimated by small to mid size companies.

4. Having superior product, system, or service, is a must but the success lies in navigating the account. So, the right process is critical. In landing big deals there is no one decision maker but instead, many decision makers and you have to know them all from the CEO to the guy cleaning the floors. No matter how good you are at what you do, if you can’t navigate your way through the rough waters, differentiate yourself from the competition and prove you can exceed expectations to everyone you won’t land big deals.

Let me use a fishing analogy to stress the importance of the 4 points above. If you want minnows one person can scoop them up with a net, if you go deep sea fishing you need one guy with a boat and the proper equipment, if you hunt whales you need a whole team with many different types of equipment and skill sets. Unfortunately many companies don’t use the proper boat, equipment or team for the job.

Conclusion:

In my years of observation the most successful companies have included a way to land big sales as part of their growth strategy. Getting some sales training and hiring a couple sales superstars (if you can find them) can help grow your company. In my experience the best way to get double the industry growth in half the time is by landing whales or big sales. Those companies who intentionally and properly go after and land big deals are industry leaders or become industry leaders and they realize massive growth for years!

For years I have heard sales people tell me they want to learn how to qualify better. It is every salesperson’s dream. Even though it is a common aim, as odd as this may sound, there is a danger to wanting to qualify better. You might be surprised at this thought but it sets you up to have the wrong mindset and starts a tug of war between you and the prospect. You see there is little or no relationship and prospects are mistrusting of sales people from the start. Such a scenario may not be much help. We need a situation where a good relationship has been established between you and the prospect. So you start asking qualifying questions and what happens…they give you the “short answer”. You can feel the tension and resistance but we don’t want to push too hard because this has some potential and we can keep “hope” alive. From my perspective hope is no good!

Hope lets you fill your pipeline or sales forecast with junk (sometimes called deals) that are never going to close. Hope lets you lie to yourself that you have a lot going on and helps you procrastinate from making real sales calls. It keeps you in a fantasy world which is far from reality. You loose your concentration and start believing in what is favourable to you although it might be far away from reality. This is definitely not a healthy environment.

Here is one example of how hope could be misleading. I once worked with a fortune 500 company who didn’t want to get real. They preferred to live in the land of hope even after I warned them that they were setting themselves up for a shortfall. Sadly as I predicted the last week in the quarter $10 million in deals evaporated… not moved into next quarter but actually evaporated into thin air never to be seen again. Painfully they were $10 million short of what they told Wall Street and their stock was punished severely for it. Hoping that everything will turn out to be fine may be a positive way to think but will definitely not help in the long run in the commercial world. Action needs to be taken in time. The right act at the right moment will help you build a good relationship with your prospect.

So I am going to be a contrarian. I am going to suggest that instead of qualifying, you strive to disqualify. Do not be surprised. This is a totally different perspective to sales. By trying to disqualify you will ask tougher questions and the prospect has to sell you instead of you selling them. The process is reversed here. Your quality will automatically improve. Your mindset should be positive but slightly sceptical. So it sounds something like, “That sounds great but I am little sceptical because…” The prospect either has to get real and honest or they quickly disqualify themselves. This will take a little practice because it feels unnatural but once you master it, it will serve you well. This will give you a clear picture of where you stand in a deal. It will avoid unnecessary hope and help you believe in facts which are more realistic in helping you to achieve your goals.

Thanks!

Andy Miller

What do I pay attention to if the prospect wants to move through the sales process in a normal vs. abnormal way? Because when something falls outside of the norm my radar detector goes up and starts flashing warning signs. I am not saying everyone has to conform but usually if something is outside the norm then typically you are loosing the deal. That makes me slow down and dig deeper so that I understand what is going on. Fortunately many times you can save yourself from losing the deal if you acknowledge that there is something abnormal with the deal and act in a proactive manner before problems arise.

So what are some common warning signs that you may be losing the deal and what do they signify?

1)     They withhold relevant information. Is a sign of manipulation, control or fear of sharing. Typically indicates they may not be ready, they aren’t willing or not able (for many reasons).

2)     They want too much information for where they are at in the
sales process. Some possible reasons are: they want your knowledge and expertise, they are doing a competitive analysis or they have made up their mind to go a different direction but don’t want to tell you in case they need more free consulting.

3)     They want price quote or proposal prematurely.  This again indicates they are not serious about doing business with you but will most likely us the information as leverage against their current or preferred provider.

4)     They tell you there is an opportunity here but don’t let you
develop a relationship. This happens when they have to talk with several companies and only one will get the business. It is hard for them to tell people they like they won’t get the business. So they typically form a relationship with the preferred provider and keep the others at a distance.

5)     The deal moves way too slowly. They aren’t willing, ready or able to move forward and don’t want to admit it usually due to embarrassment or changing circumstances.

6)     Typical decision makers are not involved. The deal may have been delegated to underlings but 99% of the time is without proper instructions. The other scenario is the people you are interacting with are trying to gather facts and make a business case to the boss but that presentation will typically be without you!

7)     You don’t have access to decision makers and influencers. This is a clear sign of keeping you away for a reason. Be aware that if you offer a solution it will most likely be wrong and you only have a 4% chance of winning the business.

8)     Your competition has met with the boss but you are blocked from
meeting the boss. This shows a strong preference for your competitor and if you don’t find a way to meet the boss or counter the relationship they built you will lose the deal.

9)     When they dictate and demand vs. collaborate. Current business practices are for companies to partner with each other. Dictate and demand behavior indicates they are going a direction that doesn’t include you.

Many times we know that these red flags are there but we are too worried or scared to acknowledge them and thus continue on our normal process with our fingers crossed that these flags will disappear. The more you ignore the warning signs and not take the action needed the more deals fall through the cracks.  In summary – work proactively instead of reactively.  If you have any more warning signs that you are losing a deal I would love to hear them!

Thanks!

Andy Miller

Times have certainly changed in the business world in many complicated ways – the economy is tight, customers have less money to spend and you have more competition than ever (I am sure you have heard and experienced it all). You would think that companies would invest in making sure their people are more prepared than ever to meet these new challenges. Unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.

Back in the 1980′s companies used to send their sales reps through yearlong trainings to prepare them to be the best they can be in sales. New hires were sent to classrooms to learn sales skills and product knowledge, they were sent on ride-alongs and sales calls and they were constantly supervised and supported by their managers.

Fast forward to today’s new hires. Many are given the product information binder – told to memorize it and after one week, and a quick test they are thrown out into the field unarmed with not even the simplest sales skills needed to be effective. Their managers wonder why their reps are not performing and then they reprimand and pressure instead of coaching and mentoring. (Now, I am being a little harsh to get the point across, but I think you get my gist.)

If you are a Sales Rep in today’s world it is now your responsibility to arm yourself with the necessary sales training and skills needed to be successful. So do what you can – grab all the books you can, read blogs and attend seminars – anything that will set you apart from the 90% of sales reps that are no doubt out complaining about being unsupported or unprepared. Although I believe companies should take a more vested interest in training their reps, the truth of the matter is that you cannot sit around and wait for that change to happen.

All my best,

Andy