1. 5 Trends and Best Practices in Sales Opportunity Management

2. 2© RAIN Group Introduction CollaborateConvinceConnect …we found sales winners are more likely to… B2B purchasesFrom buyers who represent What separated those who ultimately won their business from the sellers who came in second place? 731 Billion in purchasing power $3.1 …and asked… We studied…

3. 3© RAIN Group Introduction Improving ability to communicate value Improving sales opportunity approach and planning Optimizing the sales process 38% 31%42% Three of the four Top Sales Initiative Priorities for the next year include:

4. Dismantle Your Sales Process?

5. 5© RAIN Group Trend Against Sales Process We Disagree “Sales leaders have long fixated on process discipline...But recently sales has been caught off guard by a dramatic shift in customers’ buying behavior. Even as leadership has tightened compliance with the processes that have served so well, sales performance has grown increasingly erratic… “The sales machine is stalling…. Leaders must abandon their fixation on process compliance and embrace a flexible approach to selling driven by sales reps’ reliance on insight and judgment.”

6. 6© RAIN Group Sales Process Maturity Levels & Results Achieved Grew by 20% or more in last year

7. 7© RAIN Group Our Recommendation A Well-designed Sales Process Has: ChecklistsPlaysTemplates Common Tools and Checklists Sales Opportunity Planner Sales Conversation Planner Needs Discovery Guide Whiteboard Meeting Guide Idea and Insight Messaging Solution Crafting Checklist Negotiations / Objections Guide Win Lab Checklist A Strong Sales Process Guides Sellers and Enhances Judgement and Insight

8. “We’re Customer-focused.”

9. 9© RAIN Group Everyone Says They’re Customer-focused, Yet… Respondents did not agree that their sales organization focuses on driving maximum value for the customer Respondents did not agree that their sales process was customer-focused 35%53% Planners are Seller-centric  Seller’s Mission  Seller’s Sales Objectives  Seller’s Positioning & Standing  Seller’s Products and Services Planners need to be Customer-focused  Buyer’s Mission  Buyer’s Sales Objectives  Buyer’s Value Proposition  Buyer’s Impact In our research…

10. 10© RAIN Group Battle Plan

11. Influence Agendas, Define the Narrative, Communicate Value

12. 12© RAIN Group Develop a Rock-solid Value Case “Improve ability to communicate value” is a top priority Sales winners are more than twice as likely as second-place finisher to make the case for why they offer overall superior value 2X The surprising difference between sellers who win the sale and the second-place finishers. WHAT SALES WINNERS DO DIFFERENTL Y by Mike Schultz & John Doerr

13. 13© RAIN Group At the End of Every Buying Process…. The Four Whys Why Trust? 41 Why Act? 2 Why Now? 3 Why Us? Resonate Differentiate Substantiate

14. 14© RAIN Group Plan for Maximum Value Case Impact What do the buyers care about most ? How can we change the conversation with the buyer? How can we uncover the hidden need and deliver more impact ? What are the insights we can bring to the table ? How can we improve buyer decision making ? What do we need to do to decrease buyer perception of risk ? How do we communicate the value so that it’s most compelling and persuasive?

15. 15© RAIN Group Make The Value Case Internally Until your sellers can wow you, they can’t wow their buyers Build and strengthen the value case internally first

16. More Buyers are Involved in Every Sale

17. 17© RAIN Group Understanding the Buyers Economic Buyer Just selling to the economic buyer is no longer enough.

18. 18© RAIN Group The 5 Buyer Types The Business Driver  Primary interest: Return on Investment (ROI)  Change Agent who drives the agenda forward, finds, or creates budget The Evaluator  Primary interest: Evaluating the purchase from an operational or personal perspective  Asks “Will this work here?” or “Will this work for me?” The Champion  Primary interest: Getting the project approved or helping you succeed personally  Will support you on your quest and help you navigate organization The Approver  Primary interest: Allocation and best use of funds − get them involved early to learn decision criteria  Has the ultimate sign off The Domino  Primary interest: Influencing action and direction of their teams  Will allow the opportunity to move forward. Usually 1 or 2 people

19. 19© RAIN Group Buyer Personas COMMANDING OUTGOINGEXACTING COLLABORATIVE OBJECTIVEEASYGOING DECISIVE DANIELLE CONSENSUS CLAIRE RELATIONSHIP RENEE SKEPTICAL STEVE ANALYTICAL AL INNOVATOR IRENE

20. 20© RAIN Group Facilitating the Purchase Seller is Change Agent Create Change Champions Facilitate buyer agreement Equip with materials Shared experiences lead to: Reduce perception of risk Increase perception of personal reward Shared understanding Shared agenda 1 2

21. Passionate Pursuit of Winning

22. 22© RAIN Group Win Labbing “Let’s build an opportunity plan” “Let’s Win Lab it” vs. = flat, no energy, like a chore = energy, enthusiasm & focus Change the culture around pursuing top opportunities

23. © RAIN Group 23 A collaborative, rigorous process to generate the best ideas, strategies, and action plans to win a sales opportunity i WIN LABBING

24. 24© RAIN Group Lead Into Discussion With Questions If the answer is No, ask When it comes to the action plan for winning a big sale, do your sellers consistently do everything they can and should to bring it home? What was missed? Why?

25. © RAIN Group 25 Actions sellers take during the sales process to move the sale forward and maximize the probability of winning i PLAYS Bold, atypical action a seller might take to change buyer thinking, inspire buyer action, and set themselves apart from the competition BIG PLAYS

26. 26© RAIN Group Summary Success in sales opportunity management hinges on supporting tools and a culture that drives seller success. If you can do this you can achieve: Increased win rates Greater attainment of quota Shorter sales cycles Higher revenue growth Decreased discounting