© Solution Selling, Inc. •

Sales Tool Build Workshop
© Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 1985 - 2008
Credit, Copyright, and Contact Information Trademark Notice: The following trademarks and service marks are owned by Sales Performance Holding Company (DBA: Solution Selling, Inc.) and licensed by Sales Performance International, LLC. Any questions concerning the use of these trademarks or whether a name that does not appear on this list is in fact a trademark of Solution Selling, Inc. or comments concerning this manual, workshop or presentation should be referred to Sales Performance International, LLC in the United States at the following address: 4720 Piedmont Row Drive, Suite 400 Charlotte, North Carolina USA Phone: FAX Solution Selling® and Situational Fluency Prompter®, Pain Sheets®, 9 Block Vision Processing Model® and Pain Chains® are registered trademarks and service marks of Solution Selling, Inc. All other referenced marks are those of their respective owners. Copyright Notice: This manual is a copyrighted work of Solution Selling, Inc. This manual may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written consent of Solution Selling, Inc. Additionally, Sales Management and Coaching, Targeted Territory Selling, Major Account Selling, Strategic Opportunity Selling, and Executive-Level Selling are copyrighted materials of Solution Selling, Inc. © Solution Selling, Inc. • © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

MMTC Sales Process Map: (Draft 9/16/09)
Buying Process What HELP is available? Define needs/wants & requirements Evaluate options Select solutions and evaluate risk Resolve issues and finalize contracts Implement and evaluate success Sales Process Steps Plan Execute Implement Plan IM Analyze Develop Prove Negotiate Close Implement Sales Process Activities Conduct territory / account and/or opportunity planning Identify potential opportunity Conduct pre-call planning and research Participation and follow-up of Learn About & Seminars Develop Partner Relationships Lead Follow-up Identify potential beneficiary Establish trust and credibility Stimulate interest Identify perceived pain Conduct plant tour Confirm and prioritize pain Confirm dialogue and agree upon next steps Diagnose admitted pain of Sponsor Create or reengineer vision for sponsor Gain agreement to explore further Negotiate access to power Confirm dialogue and agree upon next steps Diagnose admit-ted pain of Power Create or reengineer vision for power sponsor Gain agreement to explore further Determine evaluation criteria Propose a plan of next steps Confirm dialogue and agree upon plan of next steps Begin execution of next steps Present preliminary solution Prove capabilities (Oper, Trans, Fin) Conduct review of proposal Issue proposal Ask for the business Receive verbal approval Prepare for final negotiations Reach final agreement Get necessary documents signed Implement solution Complete implementation approach Measure success criteria Identify potential new opportunities Obtain referrals Verifiable Outcomes Territory / Acct / Opportunity Plan developed Evaluations & Lead Tracking Lead Letter agreed upon Sponsor Letter agreed upon Evaluation Plan modified or agreed upon Verbal approval received Ts and Cs agreed upon Documents signed Implementation Plan completed Key Takeaways Definitions of Activities, Outcomes, Roles, sales tools and Probability will be provided later in the workshop, just highlight them for now Note that sales process includes activities outside of sales execution (planning & implementing) Sales aids are tools to help advance an opportunity (all sales aids are not used all the time) Transition Points Now that we’ve seen a sample of the workshop output, let’s review the benefits of a sales process Roles (examples) Sales Sales mgt. Sales support Sales Pre-sales Marketing Sales Pre-sales Sales mgt. Subj Expert Sales Pre-sales Sales mgt. Subj Expert Sales Pre-sales Sales mgt. Subj Expert Sales Sales mgt. Sales Sales mgt. Sales support Services Sales Sales Tools T/A/O Plan Account Profile Pain Chain® Key Players List S.A. Prompter Value Proposition Reference Story Bus. Dev. Letter Bus. Dev. Prompter Waste Walk Trans. Planner/BPS 9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® S. A. Prompter Sponsor Letter Trans. Planner/BPS 9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® S. A. Prompter Power S. Letter Evaluation Plan Evaluation Plan Transition Letter Implement. Plan Value Analysis Success Criteria /A3 Negotiating Worksheet Get-Give List Implementation Plan Success Criteria A3 Reference Story Post project debrief Sales Management System 10% 25% 50% 75% 90% 100% © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Defensible Differentiators: Template
Pain Linkage Defensibility

Core Capabilities: Template
Pain Linkage Key Selling Points

10 U N I Q E S Cool, Nice to have Differentiators Junk Core/ Commodity
Differentiation Grading Chart EXERCISE 3: DIFFERENTIATION 10 U N I Q E S Cool, Nice to have Differentiators Junk Core/ Commodity 10 VALUE © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Solution Messaging Card: Definitions
Pain One of the core pains Reasons for Pain Contributing factors or causes to the pain Organization Impact Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed Could be personal or organizational impact Trend Relevance Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3rd party research Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through increased situational knowledge Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation Capabilities What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation Solution Linkage Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain Differentiators Specific differentiators components included in the solution Metrics / Proof of Value Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented Key Players Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain Case Studies Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer Allow them to read the definitions Discuss with the audience – make sure they understand each line item Problem solution mapping as a concept is part of this tool – important to help the people make the connection or link from pain to reason to org impact to capabilities-solution linkage to metrics

The Training Application Breakdown
Business Results Training 100% 100% TOOLS PLAY MAJOR ROLE IN CLOSING THE APPLICATION GAP ~30% ~30% <10% THE GAP Training / HR Focus Sales Ops SPI Confidential

Three Key Audiences that Benefit
THOSE WHO BUILD THOSE WHO USE SALES TOOLS THOSE WHO INSPECT Marketing, Delivery and Sales Professionals Focus on supporting sales by building sales tools (interim and going forward) Sales Professionals Educate on when and how to use them and which ones to use Sales Management Educate on usage, role in opportunity management (inspection) and coaching SPI Confidential

Sales Process with Sales Tool and Verifiable Outcomes Emphasis
Sales Process Steps Plan IM Analyze & Develop Prove Finalize and Close Implement Sales Tools Account Profile Key Players List Messaging Cards Pain Chain® Value Proposition Reference Story Business Development Letter / Prompters Strategic Alignment Prompter (First Call Introduction) Reference Story 9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® for Sponsor (including Differentiators) Pain Chain® Sponsor Letter 9 Block Model® Pain Sheet® for Power Sponsor (including Differentiators) Power Sponsor Letter Success Criteria Evaluation Plan Evaluation Plan Transition Issue and Capabilities Implementation / Transition Plan Letter Implementation / Transition Plan Value Analysis / Justification Negotiating Worksheet Get-Give List Implementation Plan Success Criteria Reference Story Verifiable Outcomes Lead Letter agreed upon Sponsor Letter agreed upon Evaluation Plan modified or agreed upon Verbal approval received Ts and Cs agreed upon Documents signed Purpose: To introduce an alternative, corporate view of sales process Key Instructor Notes: The facilitator should take the time to emphasizing the following: The sales process is indeed aligned with the buying process (note: The middle stages of the buying process align with the “three buying phases” – Slide: Shifting Buyer Concerns) The PLAN step suggests other comprehensive planning methodologies that will be touched on but not covered during “sales execution” Verifiable outcomes are customer-facing forms of “evidence” that help a manager validate status and progress of an opportunity Definition of roles is important; however, that will not be an emphasis of this course Sales Tools are opportunity-specific tools and correspondence intended to improve the interaction with buyers and execution of the selling activities that lead to completion of a process step The sales management system seeks to track the progress of opportunities to improve forecasting accuracy. Milestones in the process may have win odds (%) or milestone codes associated with them to communicate progress Key Comment:  Customization  – The sales process may need to be customized for client-specific programs Transition: “We’ve completed the key concepts portion of the material and can now navigate the courseware within the context of the sales process…” Sales Management System (with Win Odds per Milestone) 10% 25% 50% 75% 90%-100% © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

20% 80% Eagles Journeypeople Talent Assessment Are intuitive
Have conversations Ask questions Eagles 20% Make presentations Make statements Process is key to success Purpose: To establish the characteristics of “eagle sellers” and “journeypeople sellers”, to highlight their differences, and to correlate how the use of process impacts each segment Key Instructor Notes: The “20-80” rule applies here. Often a sales force is made up of 20% Eagles and 80% Journeypeople Explore the characteristics of eagles (the bird). Conclude that successful sellers are called “Eagles” because they are perceptive but tend to be rare and act alone (not in flocks) Are intuitive – meaning If you asked an eagle, “How did you know to do that during the sell cycle” – they may not be able to exactly describe to you how they did it they are usually competent in their approach. They may say “it comes natural to me”. – we call this “unconscious competent” Process is key to success – They can be good salespeople who appreciate structure but are less intuitive. If they can emulate what eagles do via a replicable process that defines the eagle behavior, they can become more successful, consistent performers. If we can get eagles to see the value in using process they can become more consistent and really unbeatable.” Transition: “So what are the components of eagle behavior, that as journeypeople one may want to emulate… and as eagles, they would want to recognize and utilize more consistently? Answer: components of ‘situational fluency’ …” Additional Insight: Eagles can’t often make poor managers because they have difficulty coaching their sellers. They can’t always tell them what they are doing wrong because of their “unconscious competence”. They may say “just watch how I do it.” If you apply the theory of Geoffrey Moore’s “Technology Adoption Lifecycle” (from Crossing the Chasm). You can make the case that if the market is segmented into “innovators and early adopters” – they are “visionary” (20% of the market) and “majority and laggards” – they are “conservative” (80% of the market) then you often have a “journeyperson” selling to a late market buyer. So 64% of the time (80% x 80%) you have your less-intuitive seller interacting with a buyer who is not visionary and tends to be conservative. This is a tough “sell”. Process becomes key so that the journeyperson can better align with the conservative buyer. (Additionally, eagles selling to visionaries happens 4% of the time, eagles to conservatives and journeypeople to visionaries happen 16% of the time). Journeypeople 80% © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Situational Fluency What Buyers Should Expect from Salespeople
Situational Knowledge Capability Knowledge How Do We Integrate? People Skills Selling Skills Purpose: To define the four components of situational fluency and to position how the sales execution methodology helps integrate these disparate components Key Instructor Notes: The facilitator can better emphasize the purpose by verbalizing or flip-charting the following dialogue: People skills - These are the professional and personal characteristics. (e.g. likeable, easy to talk to, genuine) Selling skills - This is the ability to execute tactics for consistent performance. (e.g. Need definition, ability to close, establish customer loyalty, etc.) Situational knowledge - This is having an understanding of the issues facing specific job titles in a given industry. (e.g. Knowing the issues of VPs of Sales face in the manufacturing industry) Capability knowledge? … This is not only knowing your offering, but also how the capabilities of your offering help someone. (e.g. The ability to articulate how your offering can specifically help that VP of Sales with his/her issue) What two circles are sales managers looking for in sellers? (Answer: People and Selling Skills)…What two circles are customers looking for in sellers? (Answer: Situation and Capability Knowledge) We might be out of alignment with what our customers are demanding Through training and education, most organizations help salespeople in these four areas over time; however, most of this effort is usually disparate. This methodology attempts to integrate these four key components of “situational fluency” Transition: “The instruction team and class will introduce themselves in a moment but as part of that introduction I want to look at some specific challenges that face salespeople today. Here are some selling and managing difficulties that we’ve heard from other attendees.” Situational Fluency: Integration of knowledge and skills by the salesperson for “eagle” performance © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Key Selling Skills Sales Process Steps PLAN CREATE QUALIFY DEVELOP
PROVE NEGOTIATE CLOSE Prospecting Developing Needs Developing and Delivering Value Managing Proof Accessing Power Purpose: To define key terminology (used within the sales process) that will be referenced throughout the workshop Key Instructor Notes: Prospecting: The ability to stimulate interest where there is none Developing needs: The skill of developing needs comes in two categories…creating visions and reengineering visions Vision Creation – The ability to create a vision in the mind of the buyer of how they will be better in the future as a result of your capabilities before introducing your product or service Vision Reengineering – The ability to change or expand an existing customer vision biased toward your product or service, but the buyer retains ownership of the new vision Developing and delivering value: –The ability to establish quantifiable value with the buyer that provides him/her a compelling reason to take action and then provide capabilities that deliver the expected value Managing proof: – The skill of introducing the appropriate level of proof at the appropriate time in the sell cycle (e.g. don’t “waste” good proof on someone who can’t make a purchase decision or further the sell) Accessing power: – The discipline of always attempting to interact with the “decision maker(s)” even when out of one’s comfort zone or the buyer’s normal buying process Qualifying / Disqualifying: – Qualifying is the ability to bring an opportunity to your standard based on what a buyer does (not what they say). If not, then the ability to (disqualifying) disengage from the opportunity Controlling the process: – The ability to exert command (control) over the buying process NOT the buyer Negotiating: – When does negotiating take place in the sell cycle? When should it? – The ability to never give a concession without first getting something (quid pro quo). What’s the perceived value of something you get for free? Closing: – Often too much emphasis is placed on closing. Through adherence to process, closure can become less of an event. It can be managed as a series of mini-closes that is pervasive throughout a sell cycle not just at the end. Closing can also be viewed as the natural evolution of a sell cycle Aligning: What do you think of when you here the word aligning or alignment? (You may relate the definition to an automobile being out of alignment – i.e. only bad things happen) – Understanding where the buyer is in their buying cycle both behaviorally and procedurally and aligning your selling activities accordingly Transition: “Alignment is a dynamic where selling activities occur in conjunction with how buyers buy.” Qualifying / Disqualifying Controlling the Process Negotiating / Closing Aligning © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Shifting Buyer Concerns
Buying Phases Phase I: Determine Needs Phase II: Evaluate Alternatives Phase III: Evaluate Risk Level of Concern Risk Needs Price Cost Needs Solution Purpose: To describe how buyer concerns will change during the buying process based on three distinct phases. To recognize which phase buyers are in and align selling activities accordingly. Key Instructor Notes: Four main concerns for buyers include: (1) needs (2) cost (3) solution (4) risk These concerns change in importance as the buyer progresses across the three buying phases (over time) The facilitator might demonstrate this phenomenon by sharing an example and/or interacting with a participant to elaborate on how a sell might occur. The facilitator may want to use an example that most people can relate to such as buying a house: You recognize a “pain” (reason to make a change) in what we might call “Phase 0” Then determining the Needs and a range of Cost (or budget) are most important while in Phase I Solution becomes most important after Needs and initial Cost are determined: This is when Phase II begins. Because Needs and Cost have been established they drop off in Phase II In Phase II, Risk begins to elevate as the buyer begins to see themselves making a purchase and Cost is at the lowest point. This is often an opportune time to reveal potential cost to a buyer After a “solution” has been identified, the concern for Solution starts to drop off in Phase II and continues in Phase III. Risk continues to rise in Phase II and is the most important concern in Phase III. This is key for sellers to understand. Sellers should recognize Risk is a natural concern that occurs at the end of a sell cycle. It is actually a positive buying signal (and not a negative one). The goal of the seller should be to help the buyer through Risk Price or “Value” (which was “cost”) becomes an important issue in Phase III as the buyer is concluding their buying process. They are now analyzing the value of the solution and determining what they actually are going to have to invest Transition: “The next page shows specific selling skills and activities to be applied at the three different buying phases.” Risk Solution Time © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Purpose and/or Actions
Sales Tools for Completion Sales Tool Groups Purpose and/or Actions Group 1 Account Profile Key Players List Pain Chain® Brainstorm, analyze, discuss and agree upon key elements of a general opportunity upon which the development of all other sales tools will be based Group 2 Business Development Prompters and Letter Reference Story Initial Value Proposition First Call Introduction Develop sales tools that can be used to assist a sales professional in initiating a sales cycle by establishing credibility and targeting possible critical issues of the prospect Group 3 Pain Sheet® (Sponsor and Power Sponsor) Evaluation Plan Transition Issues & Capabilities Transition-Implementation Plan Value Analysis / Justification Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List Create sales tools to help control the sales cycle, qualify the buying process, and mitigate buyer’s risk through promoting value and offering proof Group 4 Sponsor and Power Sponsor Letters Situation Questions Go/No Go Step Completion Letter Sponsor Vision Reengineering Letter Transition Plan Letter Complete these sales tools based on input from Sales Tool Groups 1-3 © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Basic Principle BASIC PRINCIPLE NO PAIN, NO CHANGE
Purpose: To position one of the key basic principles within Solution Selling®. Key Instructor Notes: The principles “no pain, no change” is a play on words. Some people may recognize the old fitness adage “no pain, no gain!” Pain usually manifests itself as a business driver for change. Pain is at the individual level. Let’s look at specific criteria for pain that we will refer to during the rest of this workshop.” Potential missed opportunity” is also a pain. For example, a company may be profitable but not as profitable as it could be. There is a missed opportunity. One challenge with missed opportunities is that people are more likely to solve a negative than they are to improve an average situation Note: Pain is usually a word used during workshops for training purposes. The phrase “critical business issue” may be a more acceptable phrase to use in front of customers Transition: “Whether someone calls it a pain, a critical business issue, a business driver, etc… the most important thing is that sellers recognize the characteristics of what constitutes a pain...” Pain = Problem, Critical Business Issue or Potential Missed Opportunity © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Criteria for Pain Job specific How the prospect is: Measured Motivated
Recognized Rewarded Viewed by peers Personal Provides a compelling reason to act Purpose: To provide definition around the term “pain” Key Instructor Notes: Most employees of an organization are likely be concerned about key issues that impact the company’s performance; however that doesn’t mean they are “measured” or “motivated” by addressing it or are they compensated / rewards for addressing it. e.g. A VP of Human Resources may care about the revenue production of their company but they are likely chartered with addressing “effective hiring” or “employee retention” while a VP of Sales is more likely to be held responsible for attaining revenue targets Transition: “Pains usually fall into 1 of 3 categories...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

? Basis of Pain Increasing Costs Competitive losses Errors
Customer complaints Returns Employee turnover Eroding Profits Market share Service quality Growth rate Customer care Compliance Government regulation Industry standard ? COMMON DENOMINATOR Purpose: To provide examples of “pain” Key Instructor Notes: Read the list Ask the question to the participants “What are some others?” (Record them on a flipchart) Referencing some of the examples of pain, ask the question “Using the criteria from the prior page, who might be responsible for this pain?... And this one?... And this one?” Ask the question, “What is the common denominator?” (answer: money) “Most pains can be tied to a financial impact.” Note: “Compliance” may sometimes tie more to pains associated with shrinking budgets or declining service levels and may be more difficult to financially equate. Transition: “Identifying a handful of the key critical business issues / pains for the typical customers (by job title) that you most likely interface with can provide a good starting point for conducting pre-call planning from opportunity to opportunity. The job aid on the next page is an example of this…?” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

YOU CAN’T SELL TO SOMEONE
Basic Principle BASIC PRINCIPLE YOU CAN’T SELL TO SOMEONE WHO CAN’T BUY Purpose: To position one of the key basic principles within Solution Selling®. Key Instructor Notes: You Can’t Sell To Someone Who Can’t Buy … (but oh how we try?)… How often do we spend time with someone who will listen to us, seems interested in what we have to say, but we know can’t really move the opportunity forward?” Why do we stay with someone who can’t make a purchasing decision? Comfort? They’ll listen to us? We don’t want to “go around them”? We aren’t comfortable talking at higher levels in an organization? Probably the quickest way to shorten a sell cycle is to minimize the time spent with people who can’t make purchasing decisions, instead interacting with people who have the ability to make or influence the buying decision. There will be key people other than decision makers who one will likely have to deal with during a sell cycle Transition: “Some of the people you may interact with in a sell cycle might include...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Approval Types and Roles
Informal: Opportunity Level Sponsor Cannot make the buying decision Provides information Conducts internal selling Provides access to power Power Sponsor (a.k.a. “VP of Change”) Enough influence (regardless of title) and authority to get it if they want it, even if unbudgeted Can and will take you anywhere in the organization you need to go Can and will negotiate the steps leading to a buying decision Beneficiary Adversary End user Formal: Account Level Legal / Technical / Administrative (Purchasing) Financial Ultimate Authority Purpose: To define key roles and approval types discussed within the methodology Key Instructor Notes: Sponsor: Read the four bullets while highlighting that “Provides access to Power” is probably the most defining characteristic of a Sponsor Power Sponsor: Read the three bullets while highlighting that “Can and will negotiate the steps leading to a buying decision” is probably the most defining characteristic of a Power Sponsor These two approval types are ones that we’ll refer to quite a bit throughout the workshop Beneficiary: Anyone who benefits from the use of your offering. This could be anyone on the Pain Chain® Adversary: Anyone who opposes you in an opportunity. They could be a sponsor for your competition. They could be someone who is responsible for implementing the capabilities you are promoting and is reluctant to change for a number of reasons. Adversaries are often NOT converted. The best way to handle them is to neutralize them – make them a non-factor in the buying process End user: These people are the ones who are “hands on”. They will be directly or indirectly using your offering. These people can’t buy BUT they can keep you from winning so don’t ignore them Formal vs. Informal means that the formal role will probably be the same key players from opportunity to opportunity. The informal is specific to the opportunity and can change from opportunity to opportunity Legal / Technical / Administrative: We call these people the “sales prevention department” (joke). Has anyone had a sale held up because one of these approvals was not resolved? If these functions are part of the sell cycle, they should be identified early and included in the process early. Don’t wait until the end of the process to get them involved. (“Administrative” often refers to getting on approved vendor lists) Financial: Someone is eventually going to have to sign-off on a purchase whether that is the Power Sponsor’s actual signature or not. Often financial approvers may be a beneficiary on the Pain Chain® or they may just need to justify that the return is acceptable Transition: “Not only can some of the roles change from opportunity to opportunity, but spending thresholds may exist within organizations…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Three Sales within a Sale
FINANCIAL SALE Operational Vision + Transition / Implementation Vision “What is the overall value to the organization?” LINE OF BUSINESS SALE Operational Vision “What capabilities do we need to meet our business goals?” TRANSITION SALE Transition / Implementation Vision “How do we get from where we are today to where the Line Vice Presidents want to be?” Purpose: To position the importance of positioning other critical components of a sale other than just focusing on the operational sale. Key Instructor Notes: Often we focus on, what we might call the operational sale… but there is also may be the transition sale to consider – helping the client visualize how they will transition from their current state of business to their desired state – this can be an opportunity to sell additional (post sale) services… All of these capabilities need to be justified in the way of the financial sale These are important elements that can be established during the evaluation plan Transition: “Let’s look at the operational sale…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Basic Principle: There are Four Levels of Buyer Need
Level Four: Active Evaluation Level Three: Vision of a Solution Level Two: Admitted Pain Purpose: To define four distinct states that sellers may find buyer in. Key Instructor Notes: The facilitator may chose to define the four levels on this page or on the next page Level Four: Active Evaluation Power person driving evaluation Business issues are defined Requirements are documented Evaluation team in place Level Three: Vision of a Solution Buyer accepts responsibility for solving problem Buyer can visualize when, who, and what will enable them to address the reasons for their pain Level Two: Admitted Pain Buyer is willing to discuss problems, difficulties or dissatisfaction with the existing situation Buyer admits the problem, but does not know how to solve it Level One: Latent Pain Buyer is not actively attempting to address a problem for which the salesperson can see a solution Buyer is unaware a solution exists or may have failed at previous attempts to solve the problem Buyer has rationalized solutions viewed so far as “too expensive,” “too complicated,” or “too risky,” Transition: “Why is it important to distinguish between these various levels?.” Level One: Latent Pain © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Four Levels of Buyer Need: Definitions
Level Four: Active Evaluation Power person driving evaluation Business issues are defined Requirements are documented Evaluation team in place Level Three: Vision of a Solution Buyer accepts responsibility for solving problem Buyer can visualize the when, who, and what that will enable them to address the reasons for their pain Level Two: Admitted Pain Buyer is willing to discuss problems, difficulties or dissatisfaction with the existing situation Buyer admits the problem, but does not know how to solve it Level One: Latent Pain Buyer is not actively attempting to address a problem for which the salesperson can see a solution Buyer is unaware a potential solution exists or may have failed at previous attempts to solve the problem Buyer has rationalized potential solutions viewed so far as “too expensive,” “too complicated,” or “too risky,” Purpose: To define four distinct states that sellers may find buyer in Key Instructor Notes: The facilitator may chose to define these four levels on the prior page and use this page to further clarify the attributes at each level Transition: “Let’s look at the levels of need in relation to your marketplace?.” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Conceptual Sales Territory
Of all the people who could benefit from your offering… What % are actively evaluating? Not Looking Active * Purpose: To stress the strategic importance of engaging in the “not active” portion of the market in order to exhibit more buying process control Key Instructor Notes: The instructor may find it effective to “play out” this teach point by charting the above graphic on a flipchart and filling in the pie portions based on participant feedback If this circle / pie represents your territory, of all the people in your territory who could benefit from your offering, what percentage are actively evaluating - looking to acquire those capabilities? The usual answer to this question tends to range from 1% to 20%. Large disparities in this answer may occur for organizations with great market/mind share or for a particular offering If (90)% could benefit from your capabilities, why are they NOT actively evaluating right now? Usually the answers range from “they don’t see the value” to “they don’t know they have a problem”. Which portion of the pie do you think most salespeople spend their time… and why? The usual answer is “Active” because it is “live” and buyers wants to take action. Why are these people looking?” (Pointing to the “Looking” portion of the pie chart) The usual answer is “because they have a problem or pain that they need to resolve” What about these people, do these people have problems? (Pointing to the “Not Looking” portion of the pie chart)... “Yes (they do have problems), so why don’t salespeople spend more time over in the ‘Not Looking’? The usual answers are “takes longer” and “it’s harder to get a buyer to want to look versus someone who already knows what they want.” The instructor can then position the concept that buyers who are “looking” were at one time “not looking” and that some selling organization likely helped them formulate their buying requirements. Then the buyer “shops” (Level 4) in the form of an active evaluation… Transition: “Let’s look at that due diligence process.” * Power person driving evaluation Business issues defined Requirements documented Evaluation team in place © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

How Organizations Evaluate and Buy
Not Looking Active Requirements Company A Company B Company C    Purpose: To depict how buyers buy and stress the disadvantage of coming in late to opportunities Key Instructor Notes: The instructor may find it effective to “play out” this teach point by charting the above graphic on a flipchart and filling in the pie portions based on participant feedback Usually a buying organization will develop a list of requirements for a potential purchase. That list can be developed internally or with a third party, but normally it is developed from vendor input. (Even an internal or third party’s list of requirements is usually vendor influenced, either consciously or unconsciously) Column A’s capabilities match “one-for-one” with the developed list of requirements. Why? The vendor who engages first gets a chance to mold / direct / influence the development of the requirements Then the buyer (usually) performs due diligence. They seek bids from other vendors. All things being fairly equal between vendors, the buyer tends to favor the Column A vendor. Why? It is due to the phenomenon of “the bond of joint discovery” – an inherent trust developed between the vendor and buyer as they jointly figured out how they can address an existing business issue of the buyer Note how Company B’s and C’s capabilities fall short of the requirements. These companies are being used to validate what the buyer really wants to do with Company A. We call these companies “column fodder”… much like cannon fodder Cannon fodder: Soldiers deemed expendable during battle. E.g. (US Civil War) Two sides lining up on a battlefield with one allowing the first few waves of troops to advance against the other’s cannon fire. Once the primary cannon fire is exhausted, the more-skilled troops engage in the battle Transition: “Now that we’ve looked at… (1) how buyers buy, (2) seller alignment and (3) the different levels of buyer need, we now have a foundation by which sales process can be architected…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Identify Opportunities through Planning
Territory Territory Planning Account Planning Existing Accounts New Accounts Account Account Account Account Account Opportunity Planning Purpose: To position that planning takes place at multiple levels leading to specific (potential) opportunities Key Instructor Notes: Whether someone conducts Territory Planning or Account Planning (or both) they are looking to identify potential opportunities that they can leverage to begin a sell cycle Transition: “The following shows the type of activities one might engage in for these different levels of planning…” Opp Opp Opp Opp Opp © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Account Pre-call Planning and Research Key Areas to Research
Company History Nature of the business Mission statement Annual reports / 10Ks Offerings Description Types Uniqueness Market analysis Size Location Trends Maturity Share Financials Balance sheet Income statement Track record Competition How positioned Strategies Comparisons Executive profiles Work history Education Competencies Potential critical business issues (pains) Purpose: To position that planning takes place at multiple levels leading to specific (potential) opportunities Key Instructor Notes: Research around the first six items (company, offerings, market analysis, financials, competition, and executive profiles) can help a salesperson start to identify past and future trends of an account and trends in the marketplace (competitors included) that might suggest existing business initiatives and critical business issues or even future issues the organization will be impacted by The graphic suggests that “planning is scalable”. The number of opportunities one has in their pipeline will impact the amount of time they can and will want to spend on planning Transition: “Bringing this information together in one brief view is what we call the Account Profile…” Opportunities in the Pipeline Planning © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Account Pre-call Planning and Research Information Sources
Review account’s website Access public information Annual Reports / 10-Ks Chairman’s Letter Financial highlights Dun & Bradstreet (contact Marketing Manager) * – company overviews: financials, key people in the organization, industry-related news, competitor profiles, business & financial rankings, and company subsidiaries. Google News Alert MSN Business Online ( Company information and news articles searchable at the world, national and local levels OneSource ( * – A single source for detailed company information for both public and private companies. Standard & Poor’s ( – Financial information about organizations around the world in multiple languages. Financial information includes credit ratings, equity research, global indices and articles pertaining to the financial impact associated with world events. US Securities Exchange Commission ( – Information on public filings from 1993 – present Yahoo Finance Contact account’s shareholder department ( ) with specific questions – become a shareholder Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Account Pre-call Planning and Research What to Do with the Information
Identify key players Identify potential areas for critical business issues (pains) Match up key players with critical business issues (pains) Align your capabilities to each key player and potential pain Create an Initial Pain Chain® for the potential opportunity Target most likely Power Sponsor Determine your business development strategy leveraging the specific information gathered Develop or select appropriate stimulating interest Sales Tools to support the strategy Account-level activities Opportunity-level activities Purpose: To provide a list of activities for sellers to engage in spanning account-level and opportunity-level Key Instructor Notes: Read the bulleted list The terms “critical business issue” (or “pain”), “Pain Chain®” and “business development strategy” are emphasized. Let the participants know that you will provide clear definitions and examples of these terms within the following modules The last two bullets are not emphasized (not in bold) – this slide will be revisited in the “Stimulating Interest” Module Transition: “We will explore these activities in depth over the next few modules. Let’s start by focusing on pain…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Account Profile – Titan Games Inc. (TGI): Example
Company: Titan Games Incorporated (TGI) is a 20 year old organization which manufactures and distributes educational and recreational games and toys throughout the world. Offerings: TGI manufactures a line of educational and recreational games and toys that are endorsed and approved by leading experts in the field, and are ergonomically designed. Market analysis: Loss of shelf space has created market erosion, hence a loss of sales while lessening the company’s competitive position. Financials: Sales have declined in direct proportion to market and shelf space loss. Earnings per share have had a disproportionately high decline as margins are squeezed, and costs cannot be reduced quickly enough to protect profits. Competition: There are five primary competitors, three of which are technologically in a position to take advantage of TGI’s inefficiencies. Executive profiles: The CEO, Susan Brown, was hired in the past year to turn the company around because earnings per share have declined. The VP Finance, Jim Smith, has been with TGI for the past 5 years. He is currently unable to positively affect profits due to missed revenue targets and the increasing cost of credit write-offs. The VP Sales & Marketing, Steve Jones, is chartered with increasing revenues for TGI. He has been hampered by technology limitations that cause his salespeople to spend too much time servicing existing accounts while not developing new ones. The CIO, John Watkins, has been chartered with finding a solution to the technology deficiencies. Potential critical business issues: CEO: Earning per share are declining; VP Finance: Eroding profits, VP Sales & Marketing: Missing new account revenue targets Purpose: To provide an example of the job aid: Account Profile and to introduce a sample storyline (“case” or “thread”) that will permeate the examples within the workbook Key Instructor Notes: Simply read the example while making the participants aware that you are also positioning a fictitious scenario for teach purposes that they will see throughout the workshop material This level of information (or components of it) may exist within corporate databases or CRM systems. In that case, the seller uses that available information as a starting point while supplementing new or missing information Key Comment:  Customization  – This page will need to be replaced with a customized version for client-specific material Transition: “There are multiple resources salespeople (and marketing) can access to find this type of information…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tool Description Account Profile
Overview: A brief overview of a target company that describes particular elements of the organization. The profile highlights challenges the organization is facing. Where / How used: The Account Profile serves as an ideal “quick information” resource for you to gain insight about an account into which you are about to make contact. The profile should include: Overview of the Company, Description of their Offerings, Analysis of their Markets, Summary of their Financial Status, Description of their Competition, Executive Biographies and Descriptions of Potential Pains. What you should achieve: The Account Profile should help you or your team to strategize on how to move forward with a potential opportunity by identifying specific pains the organization is likely to be facing. Additionally, identification of key players with the organization and their pains will start to formulate a picture of how the individuals’ pains are connected in a cause and effect relationship. Input required: Knowledge of the prospect’s organization, key players, and pains they are likely facing – a Key Players List for the industry will be useful. Note: Account Profiles can be supplemented by corporate information such as Account Plans or Customer Relationship Management data. There are also many third party organizations that can serve as a resource for researching and providing the latest information on accounts. A complete Account Profile represents the minimum amount of information that should be known before engaging with an opportunity. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Develop a Sample Account Profile
Purpose: To draft an Account Profile of a typical client to use as an example Activities: Record key information about a typical account that would benefit from the selected offering(s) Notes: You may model the profile after a real account, but reserve the right to change the information if necessary Split Into Groups Nominate a Spokesperson Answer Questions A-C as a Team Each Person Introduce Themselves Name Location/Role Spokesperson Introduces Themselves Last, Then Reports Out Team Work © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Account Profile: Template
Company: Offerings: Market analysis: Financials: Competition: Executive profiles: Potential critical business issues: © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Account Profile: Template
Company: Hillsdale Terminal, Inc. Manufactures and distributes electrical terminal products mostly in automotive and recreational vehicle industries. Current market is US. Company has been in business for Offerings: Manufacturer of Solderless crimp terminals and wiring accessories Market analysis: Customers are boat manufacturers and recreational and leisure manufacturers. Sell only to distributors, wholesalers, end users Financials: D&B says $3.4m annual sales Competition: Tyco, Terminal Supply, 3M Executive profiles: Frank Condon is President of company. Jim Condon is VP Potential critical business issues: Want to sell retail, build a capacity to sell on the web © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Key Players List: Manufacturing Industry (SME)
Key Players (Job Title) Potential Pains President/Owner Missing profit goals Growth goals not being achieved Lack of a future workforce Controller/CFO Increasing costs Inadequate cash flow Profit goals not being met VP Operations/ Plant Manager Increased production costs Excess Inventory Declining throughput Production Manager Declining first pass yield Decreased employee productivity Inefficient equipment/processes Quality Manager Increased defects Inadequate QMS to meet needs of new, larger customers Higher costs/less results implementing QMS VP Engineering Miss-alignment with sales on product specs Commoditized/mature products Risks associated with new product launch Sales/Marketing Mgr Declining sales revenue Missing new account targets Increased difficulties to differentiate Ineffective sales channels performance CI Manager Difficulty sustaining internal process improvement Declining employee productivity HR Manager Challenge attracting/retaining qualified labor Increasing average age of workforce © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007 Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved 35

Job Aid Description Key Players List
Overview: The Key Players List is a listing by industry of important job titles along with the likely critical business issues (pains) which that job title (key player) might face. Where / How used: The Key Players List helps you identify pains to probe for when marketing to, calling on or meeting with a particular buyer based on their job title and role. This is especially helpful when calling on a buyer or within an industry where you may less inexperience with or be unfamiliar with. The Key Players List can be used to initiate sales opportunities by identifying latent pains that buyers have not yet recognized. It also can be used to identify the underlying pain which have driven a buyer to commit to action in active sell cycles. What you should achieve: By using the Key Players List, you should be able to more quickly identify key players and their potential pains. It also can help develop your situational knowledgeable and experience in a given industry. Input required: To create a Key Players List, you must research the key players, their pains and job titles within your target industries. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Develop a Key Players List
Purpose: To draft a Key Players List to use as an example Activities: Identify 5-6 client key players (by title) typically involved in a sales cycle for your chosen offering(s) Record 5-6 potential pains faced by each key player. Ideally, your offering would directly or indirectly address one or more pains of the key players Notes: Choose key players that represent various approval types such as Sponsors, Power Sponsors, etc Remember a pain is personal and specific to the person and their role © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Key Players List Template
Key Players (Job Title) Potential Pains Purpose: To introduce a Solution Selling® job aid that can be valuable during pre-call planning Key Instructor Notes: Recognize that the sample Key Players List is only a partial list for a specific industry We recommend that marketing help build these for the verticals that your organization focuses on (the most) and the most relevant job titles Key Players List maintained and updated in an ideal situation: In the perfect world, companies would have a database that contained Key Players Lists for all industries they work with, those Key Players Lists would be updated periodically based on industry trends, market feedback and seller input Key Players List provide industry knowledge that might not be a part of a salesperson’s traditional background They help direct pre-call planning activities by helping salespeople focus on pains that key players in an account are likely facing or can relate to They help the seller to call on an individual (to start a sell cycle) by identifying a high-priority pain the person might want to address Key Comment:  Customization  – This page will need to be replaced with a customized version for client-specific material Transition: “If pain is personal does that mean that one person’s pain does NOT affect others in the organization?” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Key Players List Template (Continued)
Key Players (Job Title) Potential Pains Purpose: To introduce a Solution Selling® job aid that can be valuable during pre-call planning Key Instructor Notes: Recognize that the sample Key Players List is only a partial list for a specific industry We recommend that marketing help build these for the verticals that your organization focuses on (the most) and the most relevant job titles Key Players List maintained and updated in an ideal situation: In the perfect world, companies would have a database that contained Key Players Lists for all industries they work with, those Key Players Lists would be updated periodically based on industry trends, market feedback and seller input Key Players List provide industry knowledge that might not be a part of a salesperson’s traditional background They help direct pre-call planning activities by helping salespeople focus on pains that key players in an account are likely facing or can relate to They help the seller to call on an individual (to start a sell cycle) by identifying a high-priority pain the person might want to address Key Comment:  Customization  – This page will need to be replaced with a customized version for client-specific material Transition: “If pain is personal does that mean that one person’s pain does NOT affect others in the organization?” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

PAIN FLOWS THROUGH AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION
Basic Principle BASIC PRINCIPLE PAIN FLOWS THROUGH AN ENTIRE ORGANIZATION Purpose: To begin the discussion of how one person’s pain causes another pain for someone else Key Instructor Notes: What does that mean? What happens in one part of the organization will certainly impact others parts Additional Insight W. Edwards Deming (Ph. D.) was considered a “quality guru” in the automotive industry some years ago. He developed several theories around business. One of his theories was “organizational interdependence”. He described how certain relationships have higher interdependence than others do. For example, a bowling team has low interdependence. They are bowling together but if one member bowls a 100 that has little effect on an other’s ability to bowl a He said orchestras have an incredible amount of interdependence. If one brass player is off key, or the woodwinds are off tempo it will certainly affect the overall sound of the company. Deming claims that business is even more interdependent than an orchestra… what happens in production affects shipping, what happens in shipping affects customer service, what happens in customer service affect sales and so on.” Transition: “This business dynamic of ‘interdependence’ can be visually depicted in a job aid we call the Pain Chain®...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Pain Chain® - “Cause and Effect”
Job Title: President Pain: Inability to seize new market opportunity Reason: Lack of marketing knowledge Reason: Missing sales opportunities Job Title: Sales Manager Pain: Lack of marketing knowledge Reason: Lack of training Reason: Lack of resources Purpose: To provide a graphical representation of how pain at one level becomes a reason at a higher level Key Instructor Notes: The instructor may want to refer back to some of the participant input from earlier. (I.e. if the participants shared input about how they felt specific job titles related to the pains, then the instructor can link them together on a flipchart in order to assemble a Pain Chain® Diagram the evolution of the Pain Chain® by tracing the arrows from one end of the chain to the other Pain Chains® are not hierarchy charts. They may look similar to Organizational Charts but are intended to trace the flow of pain throughout an organization Generally “pains” at one level become “reasons” for another pain at a higher level. Usually this correlation is “word for word” but does not have to be the exact case Pains articulated on a Pain Chain® should adhere to the same criteria for pain described earlier Transition: “An example can be seen on the next page...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Pain Chain™: Manufacturing. Example
Job Title: President/Owner Pain: Missing profit goals Reason A: Increased production costs Reason B: Decrease in sales revenue Job Title: VP Operations Pain: Increased production costs Reason A: Declining first pass yield Reason B: Decreased employee productivity Job Title: Production Manager Pain: Declining first pass yield Reason A: Increased defects Reason B: Increased process waste Job Title: Quality Manager Pain: Increased defects Reason A: Inability to identify root causes Reason B: Lack of process controls Reason C: Lack of adherence to a QMS Reason D: Lack of a QMS Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007 42

Sales Tool Description Pain Chain®
Overview: The Pain Chain® is a graphical depiction of the cause and effect relationship of critical business issues (pains) inside an organization. It includes job title, pain, and the reasons for that pain. The graphic shows a pain as being a reason for someone else’s pain. Where / How Used: This job aid can be employed in multiple ways and in multiple points in a sell cycle. It can be used as a pre-call planning aid to understand potential interdependencies in an opportunity. After interviewing key players, a seller can re-craft an Initial Pain Chain® to reflect their new findings. It is also used when building a business case to identify sources of benefits across the organization. The Pain Chain® becomes an “organizational impact chart” when used to explain the benefits to the customer(s). It can then be viewed as a “Gain Chain.” What you should achieve: A completed Pain Chain® demonstrates to the client an insightful understanding of their business. In addition, as the seller’s understanding of the client’s overall situation is expanded so is the corresponding opportunity to build a broad base of support and justification for implementation of the solution. Input required: To create a Pain Chain®, you must understand the pain(s) of key players in the organization and the reasons for the pain(s). As many key players in an organization may have multiple pains, the Job Aid Build team must narrow the pains down to one per key player. The pains and the reasons for other key player’s pains should relate to one another with little confusion or misunderstanding in order to teach the concept of “organizational interdependency” with ease. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Create a Pain Chain®
Purpose: To create a Pain Chain® to use as an example for demonstrating how one pain in the organization affects other key players Activities: Using the Key Players List and Account Profile that have already been drafted: Identify (by title) at least 4 key players within your opportunity Identify the primary pain and reasons for each of these key players Using the key players and their pains, construct a Pain Chain® showing their organizational interdependency. Do this by tracing the flow of pain up and/or down the organization Each pain should have at least two reasons Split Into Groups Nominate a Spokesperson Answer Questions A-C as a Team Each Person Introduce Themselves Name Location/Role Spokesperson Introduces Themselves Last, Then Reports Out Team Work © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Pain Chain® Template Job Title: Pain: Reason A: Reason B: Job Title:
© Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Business Development: Messaging Considerations “Are You Curious?”
You have limited time to get attention and create curiosity Business-to-business vs. Business-to-consumer Put yourself in the mind of the buyer Target pains / critical business issues: describe how someone else has solved a problem target a peer in a potentially similar situation select a problem they might have or to which they can relate Communicate value The communication should NOT: focus on company history or new offerings ask them to buy anything or schedule a meeting ask the buyer to admit “pain” Purpose: To position a collection of best practices associated with the content in this module Key Instructor Notes: Limited time to get attention and create curiosity” -“If we were on the phone, how long do you think we have to get the prospect’s attention.” (About 20 seconds) Because of this it is important to quickly get to a topic that will interest the prospect. However, keep in mind… B2B vs. B2C …that we probably are perceived in a more positive manner when prospecting business-to-business unlike some of the negative perception of business-to-consumer telemarketing. We really need to earn the right to explore with the prospect. One way to earn that right is to target pains that are potentially important to them. We need to be invited by the prospect to continue. The best way to do that is to: describe how someone else has solved a problem, hopefully we can target a peer in a potentially similar situation who might have a problem they (prospect) might have or to which they can relate The communication should not focus on things such as asking the prospect to learn about our company history or new offerings. We certainly wouldn’t expect them to buy anything (we don’t know if they need anything) and there is no need at this point to schedule a meeting, we don’t even know if they have a problem, we also have not earned the right to ask them to admit pain These sound like pretty reasonable objectives. Think about when you are sitting home during dinner and you get that prospecting call. Do they follow these objectives? Or do they jump straight to product whether you have a need or not.” Have some conversation around bad prospecting calls that some participants have been involved in from the prospect perspective We are going to look at some call-oriented prompters, but as we do – think about all the things that you dislike about some of the bad prospecting calls that you have received. The odds are that you will not find those in the prompters that we are going to present. underlying message though is – target the message with the right content to the right audience and Internet marketing can work Transition: “Now that we’ve reviewed key messaging considerations, lets look at some templates.” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tool Description Business Development Prompters
Overview: This job aid provides a seller with a variety of dialogue prompters to help stimulate interest with prospective clients by focusing on critical issues (pains) typical of the client’s job title. It gives the seller an opportunity to establish credibility by demonstrating situational fluency while helping to differentiate himself/herself from other sellers through proven techniques and best practices. Where / How Used: It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “stimulating interest ” of the Solution Selling® process and can be used in a variety of settings including telephone calls, voice mail messages, and face to face communications at networking events, trade shows, etc. What you should achieve: When used successfully, the prospect’s curiosity will grow and they will want to know more about how who helped someone else with a situation they can relate to. The conversation could then continue further by the seller sharing a reference story. Input required: To create Business Development Prompters, you must know the key pains, and reasons for pains, of the individuals by job titles that can benefit from your offerings. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Business Development Prompters
Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity This is Ron Quinkert with the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center. You and I haven’t spoken before, our organization been working with Michigan manufacturers for more than 20 years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other JAMA members is their difficulty in finding new business. Despite the tough economy, we have been able to help other members identify new business prospects. Would you like to know how? Business Development Prompter: Menu Approach (See Business Development Letter) This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with Michigan manufacturers for the last 20 years. The top three concerns we are hearing from other Sales Managers are: decreasing sales, lack of new leads and lack of resources. We’ve helped companies like: JC Gibbons, Bolton Conductive and Integrity Steel address some of these issues. Would you like to know how? Business Development Prompter: Referral Approach This is Karen Seman with the MMTC. You and I haven’t spoken before, but Patricia Yulkowski , President of Total Door suggested that I give you a call. We were able to help her address her difficulty with developing their new web site. Would you like to know how? Business Development Prompter: Multiple Contact Approach This is Tim Ford with the MMTC. You might recall my last regarding the Learn-About you attended where we described how we have been working with Michigan manufacturers to find new customers. A common trend is frustration with declining sales due to the economy. We have been able to help our customers address this issue. Would you like to know how? Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Business Development Letter / e-mail: Template
Dear Mr. Smith, Our company is in the business of helping our clients find new business. We have been working with Michigan manufacturers for over 20 years. Our clients include Bolton Conductive, JC Gibbons and Integrity Steel. Some of the chief concerns we heard from them included: Decreasing sales Lack of new sales leads Lack of resources to generate new business We have been able to help our customers successfully deal with these and other issues. I would like an opportunity to share some examples with you. If you are interested in learning how we have helped other manufacturers solve some very challenging issues, please call me at and I will provide you with more information. In lieu of your call, I’ll plan a follow-up call on October 30th . Best Regards, Ron Quinkert, cBSP Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Reference Story: Format and Template
REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE Job title / industry: A customer job title and vertical industry Critical business issue: The pain of the above title One of the reasons: One of the reasons for the critical business issue biased to your product / service Capabilities (when, who, what): In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s) and specific capabilities needed to address the critical business issue (He / She / They told us they needed a way…) We provided: If the “solution” is described properly above, all we have to do here is say that we provided those capabilities Result: Specific measurement is best ($ or %) Situation: The Lean Champion Critical Business Issue: Increased production costs Reason(s): One of the key reasons was declining employee productivity. Capability(s): (when, who, what) He said he wanted a way that, when filling customer orders, his workforce would utilize standardized work processes and eliminate non-value added activity. We provided… that capability Result: Eliminated 510 hours per year of NVA activity · On-time machine deliveries improved to 97% (up from 92%) · Vendor performance improved to 98% on-time delivery (up from 92%) © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007 Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved 51

Reference Story Format
Situation: A customer job title and vertical industry Critical Business Issue: The pain of the title above (Anxiety words and phrases are very powerful here). Reason(s): One of the reasons for the critical issue biased to your product or service Capability(s): (when, who, what) In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s) and specific capabilities needed to address the critical issue - “He/she/they told us when… who… what they needed” We provided… If the “solution” is described properly above, all we have to do here is say that we (our product / service / company) provided them those capabilities Result: Specific measurement is best, $ or % Purpose: To break down the components of the Reference Story Key Instructor Notes: You should notice that the capabilities described address the reason or reasons for the pain The results, the compelling portion of the story, should address (or tie back) the critical issue / pain If the solution is properly described in the capabilities statement than the seller only has to allude to the fact that “they provided those capabilities”. Now is not the time to discuss the specific offering. Content Highlights: Reference Stories, if designed and shared effectively, can quickly establish credibility in the mind of the prospect, stimulate interest with the prospect in working with that salesperson further and begin the discussion of critical business issues that the prospect is faced with within their organization They should be written for a specific person (key player) citing a specific pain. One successful implementation can result in several Reference Stories. They can be delivered to the prospect either face-to-face or over the phone When used successfully, the prospect will either admit pain, direct the salesperson to another part of the organization or the salesperson will discover that the prospect already has a vision of a solution. The conversation could then continue further by engaging in vision processing (creation or reengineering) When sharing Reference Stories is to not divulge the referenced company’s name. There are several reasons for this: Permission may not have been obtained to use the name. To do so without permission would unethical To hold the information back, may imply to the prospect a certain level of trust. That is to say, the prospect will hopefully think, “If I end up doing business with them they will keep my information in confidence too”. It can create further curiosity (“Who was that company?”) or it can become a bargaining tool later in the sell cycle (“If we get to a point where we might do business, I’ll be glad to share the company name with you then.”) Transition: “We will look at where in the sell cycle Reference Stories can be used later. I want to introduce you to another job aid that can also be very effective to stimulate interest …” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tool Description Reference Story
Overview: This job aid provides a seller with a dialogue prompter to help build credibility with a client by helping the client begin discussing their critical issues (pain). It gives the seller an opportunity to share situationally specific examples of how the prospect’s peers have been helped by implementing capabilities provided by the seller’s organization. Where / How Used: It is used as a prompter - not a script. This job aid is typically used as part of the “Stimulating Interest” step of the Solution Selling® process, but can be used effectively to assist in building credibility or getting pain admitted. What you should achieve: When used successfully, the prospect will either admit pain, or the seller will discover that the prospect already has a vision of a solution. The conversation could then continue further by vision processing (creation or reengineering). Input required: To create a Reference Story you must have specific examples from previous sales and know the measurable results that were achieved by implementing capabilities provided by your organization. Note: If measured results are not available, indicate (as a footnote) that the Reference Story results are for education purposes or that they are pending Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Craft a Reference Story
Purpose: To draft a Reference Story that could be used to establish credibility, stimulate interest and begin the discussion of pain with a prospect Activities: Using the Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® exercise: Fill in the Reference Story Template with the information already identified Create the measurable results achieved as the outcome of buying the solution Note: Although Reference Stories are traditionally developed at the end of a sales engagement, this sample will be used as if it was the basis for stimulating interest into the current opportunity (scenario) thus it should “map” to the existing scenario (i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® ) © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Reference Story: Format and Template
REFERENCE STORY TEMPLATE Job title / industry: A customer job title and vertical industry Critical business issue: The pain of the above title One of the reasons: One of the reasons for the critical business issue biased to your product / service Capabilities (when, who, what): In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s) and specific capabilities needed to address the critical business issue (He / She / They told us they needed a way…) We provided: If the “solution” is described properly above, all we have to do here is say that we provided those capabilities Result: Specific measurement is best ($ or %) Situation: Critical Business Issue: Reason(s): Capability(s): (when, who, what) We provided… …this capability Result: © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

The Value Cycle “Lead with Value”
Initial Value Proposition MEASURE VERIFY Purpose: To position how value can leveraged at multiple points in a sell cycle Key Instructor Notes: (Key Selling Skills) “demonstrating & delivering value” was defined as the ability to create and establish numeric value in the mind of the buyer that provides him/her a compelling reason to take action. And then providing capabilities that deliver the value and staying engaged in the post sell activities that ensure the delivery takes place This chart will reappear as the individual components present themselves during the process flow Have you ever used the results from a successful client with the intent to stimulate interest with a prospect? That’s the approach we are taking when we use an initial value proposition The purpose is to highlight the main areas where value can be driven throughout a sell cycle: LEAD – stimulate interest in a potential offering by conducting planning and research aimed at being able to deliver a confident and targeted value-based proposition VERIFY – diagnose the critical issue(s) behind the initial value proposition and quantifying the impact that your capabilities can deliver. In essence, verifying how your initial proposition compared to the buyer’s actual situation CLOSE – create a compelling return on investment that helps the buyer want to buy. It helps the seller minimize discounting during negotiating MEASURE – make sure the customer receives the value of the capabilities implemented… while measuring success to leverage positive results for future engagements. Transition: “Lead with value – through use of an initial value proposition. It seems like ‘value proposition’ may be one of those over-used industry phrases. It seems like everyone has some sort of ‘value proposition’ today. (We are no different, but…) Allow us to define exactly what we mean when we use the word value proposition.” CLOSE © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Building a Compelling Value Proposition
EXTRAPOLATE Your Offering Customer A Situation Your Offering Customer B Situation Key Instructor Notes: Building a Compelling Value Proposition Explain the graphic by relating how (as the seller) you are going to take existing, measured results of a successful customer (Customer A) and extrapolate the POTENTIAL benefits that a prospect company (Customer B) might hope to enjoy. “Let me describe the specific components.” Components of an Initial Value Proposition Read the bulleted items Most of the components are easy to grasp. It probably should be stressed (on this page) that there is probably a good degree of pre-call planning and research that would be required to be able to make an initial value proposition statement. It may be useful to have some dialogue with the participants about additional information sources Value Proposition or ‘Value-less’ Proposition Not much time should be spent on this page. Here we are attempting to accomplish two objectives One, Define “value” which will become increasingly important throughout the workshop Two, Distinguish what might be considered a “typical” value proposition (which does not really speak of value as we have defined it) vs. the Solution Selling® interpretation of an (initial) value proposition Again, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes. If I contacted you (phone or face-to-face) and I delivered the following statement, what would your reaction be… (good and bad)? Measured Results Projected Results Reference Story Initial Value Proposition © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template
“We believe that Morton Buildings should be able to Reduce production costs by 10%, or $6.6 million annually through the ability to streamline production and eliminate non-value added steps as a result of re-mapping your work processes, accurately allocating costs across product lines, and updating the skills of your personnel for an investment of $50,000 Value Proposition Assumptions: Fabrication Line not included Morton personnel available at requested times Assume gross margin of 40% on sales of $370m = COGs of $222m Assume project impacts 30% of COGs = $66m/10 = $6.6m © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007 Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved 58

Sales Tool Description Value Proposition
Overview: A statement which projects the potential quantified benefit (value) a client could realize through the implementation of a specific capability or solution. It is intended to create curiosity and serve as the catalyst to start a sales cycle. Where / How used: The projected quantified benefits are extrapolated from a previous successful implementation(s) or engagement(s) and then projected upon the prospective client. The primary use is to stimulate interest in what the seller may have to offer. If interest is generated, the (Initial) Value Proposition can and should be refined during the sell cycle eventually evolving to a more elaborate Value Analysis / ROI. What you should achieve: The Value Proposition should stimulate interest with the client (or prospect) and commence a sell cycle. Input required: To create a Value Proposition you must have knowledge of the specific value already achieved by a customer who is using your products / services. You will also need to know specific information about the prospect you are targeting. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Develop an Initial Value Proposition
Purpose: To draft an initial Value Proposition that could be used to lead with value and stimulate interest with a prospect Activities: Extrapolate the results and characteristics found in the Reference Story to create a Value Proposition for the targeted prospect (i.e. the Sponsor ) Notes: This should be built on well-known metrics that a successful account has experienced Much like the Reference Story, since the Value Proposition will be positioned as a method for stimulating interest into the current opportunity (scenario) it should “map” to the existing scenario (i.e. Sponsor from the Pain Chain® and Pain Sheet® ) © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Initial Value Proposition: Format and Template
“We believe that TC Sports should be able to increase sales by $500,000 through the ability to market effectively, drive new RFQ opportunities, and infiltrate new markets as a result of updating personnel skill sets and website enhancement, for an investment of $ 22,000” Value Proposition assumptions being made: Average sale amount = $20,000 Closing ratio = 15% 24 hour response to all quote opportunities Personnel available at requested times Value Proposition Format: We believe that [ Client name ] should be able to [ improve what ] by [ how much, what %? ] through the ability to [ do what? ] as a result of [ what enabling capabilities? ] for an investment of [ what relative cost? ] . © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)
Step 2: Introduce Call State call objective * What I’d like to do today is to: Introduce you to the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center Tell you about another Sales Manager in the injection molding business we have worked with I would then like to learn more about you and your situation… …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed any further.” Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme) “ The MMTC is in the business of helping Michigan Manufacturers identify new markets, generate new leads, and close more sales” Provide company / personal introduction * FACTS We are part of the national network of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, which makes our approach dramatically different. We are dedicated to helping small to medium sized Michigan manufacturers make operational improvements. A key point is that as part of the MEP network, we are measured on your results. Our approach to training and consulting is focused on knowledge transfer. We teach you how to fish, we don’t do the fishing for you. We also help you implement what you’ve learned, making you self sufficient. We helped a total of 1,250 Michigan manufacturers since our inception. Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date) “A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________ (job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________. What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).” Transition to “getting pain admitted” “But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.” * Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant Purpose: To provide some sample text and actions associated with “establish rapport” and “introduce call”. Key Instructor Notes: Describe that we do not expect this text to be used verbatim. The goal is to provide context around the outline. However, most of these words have been finely tuned over time and there is value in using them This “dialogue prompter” is for a first call with a prospect. Keep in mind, we have already met with the prospect and they said they would meet with you again - thus this call introduction. There are also cultural aspects that might have to be taken into consideration during business calls. Those things considered, let’s look at the example closer Step 1: Establish Rapport - We could teach an entire course on the dos and don’ts of rapport building, but one guideline is to conduct a conservative approach that is genuine and does not force rapport Let the prospect set the tone of the meeting: We may want to start the meeting by remaining silent. Why? To see if the buyer wants to engage in “small” or “business” talk. We don’t want to force rapport and seem insincere. Some sellers are taught to find something in the prospect’s office that they can connect with. If the seller is not genuine about the object they picked as a point of rapport it can seem insincere and begin the relationship on a negative basis Step 2: Introduce Call: State the call objective - Read the phrase and ask, “How does that sound?” We are being professional and stating our proposed agenda for the meeting. If the prospect has something else in mind then we want to know that also. The phrase “whether or not we should proceed any further” should tell the prospect that we are not going to try to continue selling to them if there is no benefit for the both of us - the prospect has an out Share positioning statement - Here we are making a high level statement about how we “help” companies. The message should be tailored to be specific to the person (and potential problems) that you intend to address Provide company / personal introduction - Here we are attempting to provide facts that will help the prospect draw desired conclusions about us and our organization. We are providing facts, not opinions Share relevant Reference Story – We want the prospect to talk about some problems that they are faced with. However, we have not earned the right to ask them what their problems are yet; therefore, relate a Reference Story. The goal is to establish credibility to the point that the prospect will share some of their problems. So here we are using the Reference Story that we prepared during the pre-call planning and research phase of the process Transition to getting pain admitted – Now we want to turn over ownership of the conversation to the buyer Transition: “Here we move to step 3 of the prompter…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Strategic Alignment Prompter (Steps 1 and 2)
Step 2: Introduce Call State call objective * What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to: Introduce you to IMEC Tell you about another OEM supplier we have worked with I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation… …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed any further.” Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme) IMEC is in the business of helping companies to be more productive and competitive. Provide company / personal introduction * FACTS IMEC has been in business since 1996 We’ve worked with nearly 2,000 Illinois manufacturers We have 10 offices statewide On average, our clients report a 10 to 1 return on their investment in our resources Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date) “A particular situation you might be interested in is another Caterpillar Supplier. Their VP of Operations was having difficulty with increasing production costs. The reason for his difficulty was a decline in employee productivity. What he said he needed was a way when filling customer orders, his production workers would have standardized work processes to follow with minimal non-value added activities. We provided them with those capabilities and as result his on-time delivery improved from 65% to more than 95%. Transition to “getting pain admitted” “But enough about IMEC. Tell me about you and your situation.” * Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant Purpose: To provide some sample text and actions associated with “establish rapport” and “introduce call”. Key Instructor Notes: Describe that we do not expect this text to be used verbatim. The goal is to provide context around the outline. However, most of these words have been finely tuned over time and there is value in using them This “dialogue prompter” is for a first call with a prospect. Keep in mind, we have already met with the prospect and they said they would meet with you again - thus this call introduction. There are also cultural aspects that might have to be taken into consideration during business calls. Those things considered, let’s look at the example closer Step 1: Establish Rapport - We could teach an entire course on the dos and don’ts of rapport building, but one guideline is to conduct a conservative approach that is genuine and does not force rapport Let the prospect set the tone of the meeting: We may want to start the meeting by remaining silent. Why? To see if the buyer wants to engage in “small” or “business” talk. We don’t want to force rapport and seem insincere. Some sellers are taught to find something in the prospect’s office that they can connect with. If the seller is not genuine about the object they picked as a point of rapport it can seem insincere and begin the relationship on a negative basis Step 2: Introduce Call: State the call objective - Read the phrase and ask, “How does that sound?” We are being professional and stating our proposed agenda for the meeting. If the prospect has something else in mind then we want to know that also. The phrase “whether or not we should proceed any further” should tell the prospect that we are not going to try to continue selling to them if there is no benefit for the both of us - the prospect has an out Share positioning statement - Here we are making a high level statement about how we “help” companies. The message should be tailored to be specific to the person (and potential problems) that you intend to address Provide company / personal introduction - Here we are attempting to provide facts that will help the prospect draw desired conclusions about us and our organization. We are providing facts, not opinions Share relevant Reference Story – We want the prospect to talk about some problems that they are faced with. However, we have not earned the right to ask them what their problems are yet; therefore, relate a Reference Story. The goal is to establish credibility to the point that the prospect will share some of their problems. So here we are using the Reference Story that we prepared during the pre-call planning and research phase of the process Transition to getting pain admitted – Now we want to turn over ownership of the conversation to the buyer Transition: “Here we move to step 3 of the prompter…” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007 63

Exercise: Create the First Call Introduction Information
Purpose: To draft specific elements of messaging during a first call to allow the sales professional to properly introduce themselves to a new prospect in order to establish the call agenda and credibility Activities: Create a positioning statement that describes how the company helps their clients Create this with the title and industry of the prospect in mind Provide 3-4 facts about the company and/or seller that will help the prospect draw desired conclusions © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

__________________________________________
First Call Introduction Template: Strategic Alignment Prompter (Step 2) Step 2: Introduce Call State call objective * What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to: Introduce you to __________ (my company) Tell you about another _________ (job title and industry) we have worked with I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation… …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed any further.” Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme) “__________________ (my company) is in the business of helping organizations / companies in the __________________ industry to… (provide brief statement of how organizations use our products and services) ____________________________________________________________________________________________.” Provide company / personal introduction * FACTS __________________________________________ Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date) “A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________ (job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________. What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).” Transition to “getting pain admitted” “But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.” * Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant Purpose: To provide some sample text and actions associated with “establish rapport” and “introduce call”. Key Instructor Notes: Describe that we do not expect this text to be used verbatim. The goal is to provide context around the outline. However, most of these words have been finely tuned over time and there is value in using them This “dialogue prompter” is for a first call with a prospect. Keep in mind, we have already met with the prospect and they said they would meet with you again - thus this call introduction. There are also cultural aspects that might have to be taken into consideration during business calls. Those things considered, let’s look at the example closer Step 1: Establish Rapport - We could teach an entire course on the dos and don’ts of rapport building, but one guideline is to conduct a conservative approach that is genuine and does not force rapport Let the prospect set the tone of the meeting: We may want to start the meeting by remaining silent. Why? To see if the buyer wants to engage in “small” or “business” talk. We don’t want to force rapport and seem insincere. Some sellers are taught to find something in the prospect’s office that they can connect with. If the seller is not genuine about the object they picked as a point of rapport it can seem insincere and begin the relationship on a negative basis Step 2: Introduce Call: State the call objective - Read the phrase and ask, “How does that sound?” We are being professional and stating our proposed agenda for the meeting. If the prospect has something else in mind then we want to know that also. The phrase “whether or not we should proceed any further” should tell the prospect that we are not going to try to continue selling to them if there is no benefit for the both of us - the prospect has an out Share positioning statement - Here we are making a high level statement about how we “help” companies. The message should be tailored to be specific to the person (and potential problems) that you intend to address Provide company / personal introduction - Here we are attempting to provide facts that will help the prospect draw desired conclusions about us and our organization. We are providing facts, not opinions Share relevant Reference Story – We want the prospect to talk about some problems that they are faced with. However, we have not earned the right to ask them what their problems are yet; therefore, relate a Reference Story. The goal is to establish credibility to the point that the prospect will share some of their problems. So here we are using the Reference Story that we prepared during the pre-call planning and research phase of the process Transition to getting pain admitted – Now we want to turn over ownership of the conversation to the buyer Transition: “Here we move to step 3 of the prompter…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

10 U N I Q E S Cool, Nice to have Differentiators Junk
Differentiation Grading Chart EXERCISE 3: DIFFERENTIATION 10 U N I Q E S Cool, Nice to have Differentiators Junk Core Capabilities 10 VALUE © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Solution Messaging Card: Definitions
Pain One of the core pains Reasons for Pain Contributing factors or causes to the pain Organization Impact Additional critical issues that could happen as a result of the pain not being addressed Could be personal or organizational impact Trend Relevance Additional talking points around this pain that are happening in the marketplace Could find information related to industry or issue specifically through 3rd party research Trends will be used to help improve messaging and enable sales to establish creditability through increased situational knowledge Ensures empathy for the customer and their situation Capabilities What the customer must do to address the pain and reasons Should be stated as “ability to” in non-solution and company specific way Should link to core capabilities and defensible differentiation Solution Linkage Name of solution and/ or components that address the pain Differentiators Specific differentiators components included in the solution Metrics / Proof of Value Specific points of measure/ KPI’s that will be impacted after solution is implemented Key Players Roles within the organization who typically experience this specific pain Case Studies Example case studies of where this pain was solved for another customer Allow them to read the definitions Discuss with the audience – make sure they understand each line item Problem solution mapping as a concept is part of this tool – important to help the people make the connection or link from pain to reason to org impact to capabilities-solution linkage to metrics

Basic Principle BASIC PRINCIPLE DIAGNOSE BEFORE YOU PRESCRIBE
Purpose: To position one of the key basic principles within Solution Selling®. Key Instructor Notes: The instructor may want to suggest that they can share an illustration of this basic principle by discussing the chart on the page that follows “Sales Performance Over Time” The instructor may chose to further position this principle by sharing an example of “prescribing before diagnosing” E.g. Share an anecdote of being ill and going to see a doctor who was very diagnostic (describe the diagnosis) and then gave the prescription (“take 2 of these daily”) followed by another anecdote of again being ill but going to see a doctor who was NOT diagnostic but tended to jump to the “answer” quickly – even make the “prescription” sound different… ask the participants: Which experience was better? Why? Share the irony that the two prescriptions were the same but in the second anecdote we were not ready to accept the prescription because of the poor diagnosis Transition: “Let me share a study that will help illustrate this point...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Architecture of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™
PAIN 3 Question Types 3 Areas of Exploration Diagnose Reasons Explore Impact Visualize Capabilities R1 I1 C1 Open Customer’s Point of View R2 I2 C2 Control Salesperson’s Point of View Purpose: To expose the participants to the framework and construction of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™. Key Instructor Notes: The instructor may to use a teach technique of building the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ on a flipchart. Draw a box with individual 9 blocks inside of it on the flipchart and mimic the dialogue below… As you record “pain” and “buying vision” on the flipchart in their appropriate places, remind the participants, “We’ve got a pain admitted. Instead of jumping straight to the solution, we are going to help the buyer come to self conclusion about what they need in order to help them develop their buying vision Ask the participants what they would want to know about the buyer and record responses within the appropriate boxes They likely will answer “diagnose reasons” and “explore impact”. You may have to “coach” them to state “visualize capabilities” Some participants will “be ahead” of others and intuitively discuss “value”, “drilling down” or “sizing the pain”. Let them know it is a good answer, but that content will be covered shortly Once you have the three areas of exploration recorded (“diagnose reasons”, “explore impact” and “visual capabilities”) then ask, “We will pursue these three areas by asking questions that generally fall under three specific question types, what are they?” As the participants come up with the answers record them in their appropriate place on the flipchart (“open”, “control” and “confirming” questions) Once the model has been “built” on the flipchart, then show them this page Describe the lettering system (R, I, and C) and the numbers in the boxes. (i.e. The Rs are the Reason Column…and the numbers show the optimal sequence in which the questions would be asked) Why do we ask open questions before control questions?” Psychologically, asking open questions “earns” one the right to then engage in asking (a certain number of) control questions Why do we confirm at the end of each column?” Remember the definition of closing, a series of mini-closes. We are trying to get mini-closes along the way while making sure we don’t misunderstand something during the conversation You’ll recognize the Pain Chain™ icon. The conversation here is built around the initial Pain Chain™ If time permits, another technique is to have participants provide examples of the questions they would ask for each of the nine blocks. (E.g. “Someone give me an example of an open questions for diagnosing reasons.”) Transition: “If you turn to the next page you will see that we have a (numbered) suggested order for moving through the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ and we have included specific questions that you could ask in each block.” R3 I3 C3 Confirming Combined Point of View BUYING VISION Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

9 Block Vision Processing Model® - Vision Creation
PAIN $ Diagnose Reasons Explore Impact Visualize Capabilities R1 1 I1 4 C1 7 “Tell me about it, what is causing you to have this… (repeat pain)?” “Besides yourself, who in your organization is impacted by this (pain) and how are they impacted?” “What is it going to take for you to be able to (achieve your goal)?” “Could I try a few ideas on you?” Open R2 2 I2 5 C2 8 “Is it because… Reason A?… Reason B?... Reason C?... #?, %?, $? “Is this (pain) causing… (another pain)?” “If so, would (other job title) also be concerned?” #?, %?, $? “You mentioned (recall reason)… Would it help if … Capability Vision A?... Capability Vision B?... Capability Vision C?... Control Purpose: To add the value component to the architecture of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model®. Key Instructor Notes: This view of the model prompts the user to uncover value. Notice the “$” associated with: Pain Buying Vision Box R2 Box IC Transition: “The graphic on the next page shows a further break down of how and where value is established within use of the model...” R3 3 I3 6 C3 9 “So, the reasons for your (pain) are…? Is that correct?” “From what I just heard, (repeat the “who” and “how”) are impacted. It sounds like this is not just your problem, but a ______ problem! Is that correct?” “So, IF you had the ability to (summarize capability visions), THEN could you (achieve your goal)?” Confirming BUYING VISION $ © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Pain Sheet™ - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Example
Job Title & Industry: Offering: Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%) Production Manager Kiazen Events REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2) Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A you are experiencing unscheduled machine down time? What is the maximum hours of machine time availability per week/per year? (80)(4000) What percentage of time is loss due to unscheduled machine down time (4%) What is the market value of products produced per hour? ($2,300) So, the value of products lost due to unscheduled down time is approximately 160 hours or $368,000 per year, is that correct? (Yes) How much of that $368,000 could be eliminated if you could optimally schedule preventive maintenance? (50 % or $184,000) lost orders? Increased inventory costs? Increased production costs? Is the VP Manufacturing impacted? loss of (or threat of losing) customers? declining profits? poor cash flow? Is the President/Owner impacted? When: Who: What: equipment is not operating within spec (i.e. temp, lube, filters, etc.) your machine operator could apply minor preventive maintenance or notify a technician so that proper maintenance can be optimally scheduled B customer demands require an increasing number of setups? How many set ups per week/year? (6)(300) How does compare to last year? (up 10%) What about in the future? (10% higher) What is the average time per set up? (1.5 hour) That means that 450 hours per year is required today and 495 for future volume? (Yes) That means the value of products lost due to machine set up is approximately 1M per year, is that correct? (Yes) How much of that 1M could be saved with time saving setup techniques and standard procedures? (50% or $500,000) When set ups are required your set up team could apply time saving techniques, have easy access to required tools, and follow standard procedures so that set up time is reduced C your experiencing frequent out-of-raw materials at the point of use? How many hours per week/per year are lost due to raw material outage? (.5 hours)(25hours) That means that the value of products lost due to raw material outage is approximately $57,500 per year? (Yes) Shouldn’t that all be eliminated? (Yes) raw materials are approaching predetermined minimal levels your line workers could have inventory replenished automatically and before outage occur and production stops Purpose: To expose the participants to a job aid that can assist them in the control question portion of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™. Key Instructor Notes: Notice that this Pain Sheet™ addresses a specific pain of a specific key player (this information is at the top of the Pain Sheet™). Pain Sheets™ are constructed by anticipating likely reasons why someone would have a pain and then addressing reasons with the capabilities of your product or service. A capability is what an offering or an offering’s feature allows a prospect to do (that they aren’t doing today or not doing well).” One product feature may allow many different capabilities for different job titles. Capabilities are best articulated (not in technical terms but) in “visions” of what someone is going to be able to do differently in the future Pain Sheets™ have a correlation between each anticipated reason (left side of the Pain Sheet™) with each capability question (right side of the Pain Sheet™) Through the use of a Pain Sheet™, if the prospect said that reasons A, B and D were reasons for his/her pain, but said reason C was not, when it came time to state capability visions, the buyer would not bring up Capability C. The seller would not try to sell the buyer something that he/she didn’t indicate they need. The instructor should also note that there is NO correlation between the impact column with the reasons or capabilities. The impact column is a “stand alone” column Pain Sheets™ are prompters for dialogue, they are NOT intended to be scripts Pain Sheets™ can be thought of in two ways To be used to take on a call or to use to prepare for a call. This assumes the seller has a good idea of what the likely pain of the prospect is (and what capabilities he/she might need to introduce into the opportunity) Another way to utilize the Pain Sheet™ is more conceptual. The structure of the Pain Sheet™ provides a method of organization. That is to say, a seller can use the Pain Sheet™ framework (and the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ together) to help craft a conversation as the seller learns more about the prospect’s problems Pain Sheets™ maintained in an ideal situation - companies would have a database that contained Pain Sheets™ for all of their products and services. The organization of Pain Sheets™ may vary by vertical, horizontal, critical issues, etc. Pain Sheets™ would be updated or built periodically to reflect changes in current capabilities or addition of new ones. Transition: “The Pain Sheet™ fits in the middle row of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™.”

Job Title & Industry: Offering: Missing on time deliveries (Size-up pain – What is the goal? (98%) What is actual? (88%) Production Manager Kiazen Events REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2) Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? D You have an improper line balance? What percent of true capacity do you think you are operating at right now? (92%) How much of that 8% gap is due to improper flow i.e. bottlenecks, excess product travel, wait time, etc. (50%) What is your current annual output? (10M) That would mean a potential gain of $400,000 in sales. Is that a good estimate? (Yes) How much of that $400,000 could be realized if you could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow? (80% or $320,000) lost orders? Increased inventory costs? Increased production costs? Is the VP Manufacturing impacted? loss of (or threat of losing) customers? declining profits? poor cash flow? Is the President/Owner impacted? When: Who: What: product mix changes occur your production team could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow E When F Purpose: To expose the participants to a job aid that can assist them in the control question portion of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™. Key Instructor Notes: Notice that this Pain Sheet™ addresses a specific pain of a specific key player (this information is at the top of the Pain Sheet™). Pain Sheets™ are constructed by anticipating likely reasons why someone would have a pain and then addressing reasons with the capabilities of your product or service. A capability is what an offering or an offering’s feature allows a prospect to do (that they aren’t doing today or not doing well).” One product feature may allow many different capabilities for different job titles. Capabilities are best articulated (not in technical terms but) in “visions” of what someone is going to be able to do differently in the future Pain Sheets™ have a correlation between each anticipated reason (left side of the Pain Sheet™) with each capability question (right side of the Pain Sheet™) Through the use of a Pain Sheet™, if the prospect said that reasons A, B and D were reasons for his/her pain, but said reason C was not, when it came time to state capability visions, the buyer would not bring up Capability C. The seller would not try to sell the buyer something that he/she didn’t indicate they need. The instructor should also note that there is NO correlation between the impact column with the reasons or capabilities. The impact column is a “stand alone” column Pain Sheets™ are prompters for dialogue, they are NOT intended to be scripts Pain Sheets™ can be thought of in two ways To be used to take on a call or to use to prepare for a call. This assumes the seller has a good idea of what the likely pain of the prospect is (and what capabilities he/she might need to introduce into the opportunity) Another way to utilize the Pain Sheet™ is more conceptual. The structure of the Pain Sheet™ provides a method of organization. That is to say, a seller can use the Pain Sheet™ framework (and the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ together) to help craft a conversation as the seller learns more about the prospect’s problems Pain Sheets™ maintained in an ideal situation - companies would have a database that contained Pain Sheets™ for all of their products and services. The organization of Pain Sheets™ may vary by vertical, horizontal, critical issues, etc. Pain Sheets™ would be updated or built periodically to reflect changes in current capabilities or addition of new ones. Transition: “The Pain Sheet™ fits in the middle row of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™.”

Sales Tool Description Pain Sheet®
Overview: A Pain Sheet® is a questioning prompter used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model®. It provides a set of control questions to help diagnose a business issue (pain), identify the impacts of that pain on the rest of the organization, and describe the capabilities which could be provided to address the pain. It is an integral job aid to creating (or reengineering) visions biased to specific offerings / solutions of the seller’s organization. Where / How used: It is used with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® for creating (or reengineering) customer visions biased toward specific offerings / solutions of your organization. What you should achieve: The use of the Pain Sheet® with the 9 Block Vision Processing Model® will help bring the buyer to a vision of how he / she will be able to address their critical business issue (pain) as well as quantify the value to them and understand the impact their pain has across the organization. Input Required: To build a Pain Sheet® you will need understanding of potential Sponsor / Power Sponsor (likely) pains as well as associated reasons. Situational knowledge of how the capabilities of your product can address the client’s business initiatives and in turn solve their critical issues. A knowledge of your offering’s differentiators will be useful. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet®
Purpose: To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted business issue of a likely Sponsor –level buyer. To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated value that his/her offering can provide Activities: Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated: Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the capabilities in the future Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis Notes: Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Sponsor © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Pain Sheet® - Situational Fluency Prompter®: Template
Job Title & Industry: Offering: Loss of business and profits Owner, Manufacturing Market Diversification REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIES Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A You rely too much on one shrinking customer What’s the annual sales to this main customer? ($3M) What has the sales trend been over the last year? (Decreased 15%) So if my math is correct, you need to replace at least $345k to make up for the loss. How many new leads have been generated to replace lost business? (Two) What was the value of the two new customers? ($150K) So if my math is correct, that leaves a gap of $195k On a scale of 1 to 10, how confident are you that you can fill that gap? (2. In other words, we can probably get 20% using current resources) If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $156k (80% of the $195k) could you get? (100%) When: Who: What: Looking for new customers you could quickly and easily identify and qualify potential new prospects? B Lack of pricing power and declining profits Have your profit margins declined over the last two years? How much? (5% per year, now making only 6%) Have you ever investigated other higher profit markets to sell into? (Yes, we tried with no results) What were the revenue and margin expectations in those markets? (6 new customers with 15% margins) So if my math is correct, that represents $450k in revenue, with almost $68k in profits. (Yes) If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $450k could you get? (Maybe 30%) Selling your product You Had data to help choose target market segments with higher profit potential? C Fear of the unknown Have you missed opportunities because you were unsure if your core competencies aligned with new markets? (Yes) Is there an opportunity existing today that you have been considering but are unsure of the risk or market requirements? (Yes, $500k in vending machine manufacturing) faced with unknown risk You had Readily available market insights to help decide which new markets fit your core competencies? D Lack of Sales and Marketing Skills How many leads a month do you have? 10 How many of those leads result in a sale? Maybe 1 (If no leads, what was the historic closing rate? 5%) What is your average customer value? $100,000 So, if my math is correct, the value of having 20 new leads a month is approximately $1,200,000. Is this correct? Wow. Yes. If you had (repeat capability), how much of that $1.2M could you secure? (50%) Looking for new business You or your staff Had a repeatable process to identify and qualify the most likely prospects? © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Title & Industry: Offering: Lack of Resources to Attract New Customers Owner, Manufacturing Market Diversification REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIES Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A No dedicated sales or marketing staff Who does your sales and marketing now? Me How much time do you dedicate to sales and marketing efforts? What are the types of marketing activities that you do? How do you measure the success of those activities? Do you have anyone that could dedicate 4 hours per week to new marketing efforts? When: Who: What: Looking for new prospects you Could use current staff more effectively with an established process? B Ineffective website Do you receive leads from your website? How many of those leads result in a sale? Do you track the visitor traffic to your website? Looking for a new supplier Your prospective customer could more easily find your company instead of your competitors C Lack of communication tools D Lack of knowledge / skills © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Title & Industry: Offering: REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIES Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A XXX aaa When: Who: What: B C D YYY © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Gaining Access to Power A Second Vision Processing Conversation
Power Sponsor Pain Reason A Reason B Reason C I2 C2 RI R2 I1 C1 R3 I3 C3 Sponsor Pain Reason A Reason B Reason C I2 C2 RI R2 I1 C1 R3 I3 C3 Purpose: To visually depict the process for getting access to power and what takes place when engaging with power. Key Instructor Notes: This graphic is intended to help the participants make a “leap in time” by describing the process that takes place between sending a Sponsor Letter and following up a Power Sponsor conversation The dialogue may sound something like, “Keeping in mind we took the Sponsor through the nine blocks… (Pointing to the Sponsor block and corresponding 9 Block Model) … We then followed up with our proof step. They agreed that we proved our capabilities to their satisfaction and introduced us to power. We should provide a recap of the sponsor conversation, uncover or verify the Power Sponsor’s pain and then engage in vision processing with Power.” (Pointing to the Power Sponsor block and corresponding 9 Block Model) We would have had a similar conversation about some of the capabilities we might provide, but would have articulated those capabilities in a way that they help to address the reasons for power’s pain. We actually would use a different Pain Sheet® to help have a diagnostic conversation. That Pain Sheet® is on the following page.” Transition: “An example of a different Pain Sheet® (one for Power) is on the page that follows...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Title & Industry: Offering: Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders? ( ) VP Manufacturing Kiazen Events REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2) Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A You are missing on time deliveries Your Production Manager believes it is possible to recapture a little over $1Million related to missing on time deliveries. Do you agree? (Yes) loss of (or threat of losing) customers? declining profits? poor cash flow? Is the President/Owner impacted? When: Who: What: When What equipment is not operating within spec (i.e. temp, lube, filters, etc.) your machine operator could apply minor preventive maintenance or notify a technician so that proper maintenance can be optimally scheduled set ups are required set ups are required your set up team could apply time saving techniques, have easy access to required tools, and follow standard procedures so that set up time is reduced raw materials are approaching predetermined minimal levels your line workers could have inventory replenished automatically and before outage occur and production stops AND product mix changes occur your production team could quickly analyze line balance, identify bottlenecks, and reallocate resources to improve flow Purpose: To expose the participants to a job aid that can assist them in the control question portion of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™. Key Instructor Notes: Notice that this Pain Sheet™ addresses a specific pain of a specific key player (this information is at the top of the Pain Sheet™). Pain Sheets™ are constructed by anticipating likely reasons why someone would have a pain and then addressing reasons with the capabilities of your product or service. A capability is what an offering or an offering’s feature allows a prospect to do (that they aren’t doing today or not doing well).” One product feature may allow many different capabilities for different job titles. Capabilities are best articulated (not in technical terms but) in “visions” of what someone is going to be able to do differently in the future Pain Sheets™ have a correlation between each anticipated reason (left side of the Pain Sheet™) with each capability question (right side of the Pain Sheet™) Through the use of a Pain Sheet™, if the prospect said that reasons A, B and D were reasons for his/her pain, but said reason C was not, when it came time to state capability visions, the buyer would not bring up Capability C. The seller would not try to sell the buyer something that he/she didn’t indicate they need. The instructor should also note that there is NO correlation between the impact column with the reasons or capabilities. The impact column is a “stand alone” column Pain Sheets™ are prompters for dialogue, they are NOT intended to be scripts Pain Sheets™ can be thought of in two ways To be used to take on a call or to use to prepare for a call. This assumes the seller has a good idea of what the likely pain of the prospect is (and what capabilities he/she might need to introduce into the opportunity) Another way to utilize the Pain Sheet™ is more conceptual. The structure of the Pain Sheet™ provides a method of organization. That is to say, a seller can use the Pain Sheet™ framework (and the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ together) to help craft a conversation as the seller learns more about the prospect’s problems Pain Sheets™ maintained in an ideal situation - companies would have a database that contained Pain Sheets™ for all of their products and services. The organization of Pain Sheets™ may vary by vertical, horizontal, critical issues, etc. Pain Sheets™ would be updated or built periodically to reflect changes in current capabilities or addition of new ones. Transition: “The Pain Sheet™ fits in the middle row of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™.”

Job Title & Industry: Offering: Lost orders (Size-up pain- What is the $ revenue value of lost orders) VP Manufacturing Quality, Solution Selling REASONS (R2) IMPACT (I2) CAPABILITIES (C2) Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? B you are not able to meet potential customers quality requirements? How many opportunities were lost over the past 12 months? (5) What was the potential sales volume of those opportunities? ($800,000) What is the quality standard that is mostly commonly requested ? (ISO9000) If you were ISO 9000 Registered, how much of that $800,000 would have hit the sale line? (At least 50% or $400,000) loss of (or threat of losing) customers? declining profits? poor cash flow? Is the President/Owner impacted? When Who: What: potential customers require proof of quality you sales team could offer your status as an ISO 9000 registered company as proof that your organization adheres to the rigors of an internationally recognized quality standard C you are not competitive on short-run jobs? How many short-run opportunities did you bid during the past year? (15) How many were accepted? (0) How many opportunities were not bid on? (60) What would you estimate the revenue value of these 75 opportunities? ($1.5M) What % of these opportunities could you have won if you were more competitive on short-runs? (60%) If you could pass on cost savings from efficiency and productivity gains, how much of that $900,000 would have hit the sales line? (At least 1/3 or $300,000) bidding on short-run jobs your sales team could pass on cost savings realized with improved efficiencies and increased productivity D Purpose: To expose the participants to a job aid that can assist them in the control question portion of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™. Key Instructor Notes: Notice that this Pain Sheet™ addresses a specific pain of a specific key player (this information is at the top of the Pain Sheet™). Pain Sheets™ are constructed by anticipating likely reasons why someone would have a pain and then addressing reasons with the capabilities of your product or service. A capability is what an offering or an offering’s feature allows a prospect to do (that they aren’t doing today or not doing well).” One product feature may allow many different capabilities for different job titles. Capabilities are best articulated (not in technical terms but) in “visions” of what someone is going to be able to do differently in the future Pain Sheets™ have a correlation between each anticipated reason (left side of the Pain Sheet™) with each capability question (right side of the Pain Sheet™) Through the use of a Pain Sheet™, if the prospect said that reasons A, B and D were reasons for his/her pain, but said reason C was not, when it came time to state capability visions, the buyer would not bring up Capability C. The seller would not try to sell the buyer something that he/she didn’t indicate they need. The instructor should also note that there is NO correlation between the impact column with the reasons or capabilities. The impact column is a “stand alone” column Pain Sheets™ are prompters for dialogue, they are NOT intended to be scripts Pain Sheets™ can be thought of in two ways To be used to take on a call or to use to prepare for a call. This assumes the seller has a good idea of what the likely pain of the prospect is (and what capabilities he/she might need to introduce into the opportunity) Another way to utilize the Pain Sheet™ is more conceptual. The structure of the Pain Sheet™ provides a method of organization. That is to say, a seller can use the Pain Sheet™ framework (and the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™ together) to help craft a conversation as the seller learns more about the prospect’s problems Pain Sheets™ maintained in an ideal situation - companies would have a database that contained Pain Sheets™ for all of their products and services. The organization of Pain Sheets™ may vary by vertical, horizontal, critical issues, etc. Pain Sheets™ would be updated or built periodically to reflect changes in current capabilities or addition of new ones. Transition: “The Pain Sheet™ fits in the middle row of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™.”

Exercise: Develop a Pain Sheet® for a Power Sponsor
Purpose: To develop a Pain Sheet® that would used by a sales professional to diagnose an admitted business issue of a likely Power Sponsor –level buyer. To help assist the sales professional is addressing a business pain and articulate the differentiated value that his/her offering can provide Activities: Based on the differentiated capabilities that have already been articulated: Restate them in a “when, who, what” format focusing on how the client would be able to use the capabilities in the future Align the capabilities with the reasons they would address Be sure to include other key players affected by the pain in the impact column Add “drill down” questions to the reasons on the Pain Sheet® to help quantify diagnosis Notes: Ensure reasons are contributors to the (likely) pain of the Power Sponsor © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Title & Industry: Offering: REASONS IMPACT CAPABILITIES Is it because; Today…? Is this (pain) causing…? What if…; Would it help if…? A When: Who: What: B C D © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Draft Evaluation Plan: Example Attachment to Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail
Event Week of √ Responsible Go/No Go Billable Phone interview John Watkins (CIO) Feb 14 Us/TGI Phone interview Donna Moore (COO) Summarize findings to management team and agree to evaluation plan Feb 21 * Prove capabilities to management team Feb 28 Us Perform detailed survey of current systems (2 days) March 4 yes Present preliminary solution/design March 11 Implementation plan approval by IT department March 18 TGI Determine / present value justification Agree on preliminary success criteria Send our license agreement to legal Gain legal approval (Terms & Conditions) April 4 Visit Corporate HQ April 11 Pre-proposal review meeting April 18 Present proposal for approval April 25 Transition kickoff & finalize success criteria May 10 Measure success criteria Ongoing * Mutual decision to proceed Purpose: To provide an example of the attached plan that accompanies the Power Sponsor Letter. Key Instructor Notes: State, “Look at this example and tell me your observations.” The participants usually provide a range of feedback. Discuss their comments. Below is a list of topic points to cover if not brought up during the participants’ observations The plan is built on input from the buyer and seller Ask a participant to describe the “Go / No Go” column. The prospect can decide at each asterisk whether or not he or she wants to continue in the opportunity. This plan gives both the buyer and the seller chances to disengage Ask “If you sent this draft plan and followed up with a call, what response would you most like to hear?” The best answer from the buyer indicates some change to be made. If they change it, they own it. If they say “it looks fine” with little enthusiasm – it probably tells you they haven’t read it “The Evaluation Plan defines the sell cycle from this point forward Discuss the “completed” column. This provides a space to indicate that the event has been accomplished. In the example, this column is to the right of the “week of” column. The “week of” can also be listed as a specific “date” The “responsibility” column highlights who is the primary owner for the given event. This may be replaced by listing the specific names of people responsible The “billable” column shows fee-based events. These may be points of negotiation with the buyer The first few line items in the plan include others we want to interview. If these interviews can not be obtained, it may tell us that the “power sponsor” is actually not a Power Sponsor after all Participants should NOT confuse the delivery of the Evaluation Plan with the final delivery of a proposal Evaluation Plans are scalable. The number of steps in one will vary based on the sell cycle length Some plans may be handed over from the seller to an internal resource or business partner to execute Key Comment:  Customization  – This Evaluation Plan should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “Let’s look at some of the elements of the Evaluation Plan...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Aid Description Evaluation Plan
Overview: The Evaluation Plan is a key job aid used in conjunction with the Power Sponsor Letter. It outlines the suggested steps that should be followed during the rest of the sales process. Where / How used: The Evaluation Plan combines events that the seller wants to achieve with the events that the client wants to achieve. The client will “buy into” an Evaluation Plan as soon as he / she starts to change it. Dates are assigned to each event with the thought of closing the sale on an agreed upon date. This helps the seller shorten sales cycles and enhances forecasting abilities. What you should achieve: The Evaluation Plan should help the seller maintain control of the buying process by documenting all events that will take place during the course of the sale and the order in which those events will take place. By managing this plan with a client, the seller can feel secure about when resources will be needed and the hurdles to overcome leading to closure of the sale. Also highlighting some of the important events as “go / no go” points gives both parties the opportunity to “disengage” from the opportunity if it does not benefit them. Input required: To create the Evaluation Plan, the Job Aid Build team will need knowledge of the events included in a entire sale process, whether or not the events should be billable (i.e. proof steps that incur hard cost), the potential cost alternative events to those the client may request, the time involved in presenting or demonstrating each event as it relates to the specific offering being “sold” and the typical length of the sale cycle for that offering. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Create a Sample Evaluation Plan
Purpose: To create an Evaluation Plan as an example to help the seller communicate the steps necessary to provide all relevant proof steps and move the opportunity to closure while helping create a sense of ownership of the plan for the buyer Activities: Create an example Evaluation Plan that could be executed with the Power Sponsor to lead to the closure of the sales cycle Include typical proof steps required by the Power Sponsor to evaluate the chosen solution Include any type of legal, technical, or administrative reviews that may be necessary Be sure to think through the key Evaluation Plan components (date and sequence of events, go/no go steps, resources needed, which events are billable, etc.) Notes: Ensure this does not become an internal “to-do” list but requires action on the part of the prospect organization © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Draft Evaluation Plan: Template
Event Week of √ Responsible Go/No Go Billable * Mutual decision to proceed © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

The Transition Sale: Transition Issues & Capabilities - Example
Executives, Users and Beneficiaries Susan Brown – CEO, Jim Smith – VP Finance, Steve Jones – VP Sales & Marketing and Donna Moore - COO Person responsible for implementation of needed operational capabilities Name and Title: John Watkins – CIO Transition Issue: Delays implementing e-commerce application on schedule REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES Technical staff lacks time and resources to devote to a new system One week after agreement to proceed, our programmers will begin customizing the e-commerce application while supervised by your staff Available packages don’t integrate with existing applications 60 days prior to cut-over, our consultants will guide your programmers to create interfaces with existing applications Limited training resources Two weeks prior to cut-over, one of our business partners could be contracted for salesperson training so your IT staff could concentrate on integrating the application Purpose: To describe the process of the transition sale and provide examples of transition-oriented Sales Tools Key Instructor Notes: It may be effective to get the person responsibility for the implementation to discuss their issues and concerns by describing similar concerns that a client of yours had (i.e. Transition Reference Story) Most people responsible for the transition likely have a full slate of projects and may see your “operational sale” as additional work for them. It is likely imperative that you demonstrate your understanding of their situation and be empathetic Often the full slate of projects (as described above) cause either a lack of time ,available resources or skill sets to focus on new projects. This is where the seller can attempt to bridge the gap by offering transition services Graphically, the page depicts anticipated reasons (for an anticipated transition pain) and the service capabilities that can help. This visual looks similar to a Pain Sheet® Key Comment:  Customization  – The Transitions Issues and Capabilities example should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “This becomes the basis for a deeper conversation that can be aided by the use of a Transition Pain Sheet®...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Job Aid Description (Documentation of) Transition Issues and Capabilities
Overview: A document that outlines the primary issues as well as the associated reasons, of the person within the client organization tasked with implementing the seller’s product / service. It also presents the seller’s capabilities that correspond with the reasons for the primary issue. Where / How used: Transition issues normally come up when trying to convince the person tasked with implementation to implement a potential solution that the lines of business needs to solve their business problems. They usually center around the fact that although they are interested in helping the business, he / she (responsible for implementation) doesn’t see how they can make it happen given their challenges which usually revolve around an extensive list of tasks already in place and/or deficiencies in staff and/or skills. What you should achieve: This provides another opportunity for the seller to create a transition vision with the buyer. You should also have an aid that helps minimize the risk associated with implementing the line-of-business capabilities. Input Required: To “document” the Transition Issues & Capabilities you will need an understanding of the buyers potential concerns with the implementation as well as the steps the implementation team will need to take in order to ensure a successful implementation into the buyer’s organization. A knowledge of your company’s services may be useful. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Identify Transition Issues and Capabilities
Purpose: Identify potential transition issues that could be roadblocks for closing the opportunity so that sellers can anticipate them and use them as the basis for a diagnostic conversation with one responsible for implementation Activities: Describe at least two reasons why someone in the buying organization (for your opportunity) might face a technical / transition issue when implementing the operational capabilities. Describe the corresponding capabilities (services) that could resolve the reasons for the transition issue Note: This framework can be leveraged to create a Transition Issues Pain Sheet® © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet
Executives, Users and Beneficiaries Person responsible for implementation of needed operational capabilities Name and Title: Transition Issue: REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES Purpose: To describe the process of the transition sale and provide examples of transition-oriented Sales Tools Key Instructor Notes: It may be effective to get the person responsibility for the implementation to discuss their issues and concerns by describing similar concerns that a client of yours had (i.e. Transition Reference Story) Most people responsible for the transition likely have a full slate of projects and may see your “operational sale” as additional work for them. It is likely imperative that you demonstrate your understanding of their situation and be empathetic Often the full slate of projects (as described above) cause either a lack of time ,available resources or skill sets to focus on new projects. This is where the seller can attempt to bridge the gap by offering transition services Graphically, the page depicts anticipated reasons (for an anticipated transition pain) and the service capabilities that can help. This visual looks similar to a Pain Sheet® Key Comment:  Customization  – The Transitions Issues and Capabilities example should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “This becomes the basis for a deeper conversation that can be aided by the use of a Transition Pain Sheet®...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Value Analysis Total Benefits (ABC Manufacturing Example)
Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE Retained annual sales revenues resulting from reduced defects $500K (1) New annual sales revenue resulting from improved throughput $500K (1) Profit margin is 32% (1) $1M sales revenue increase X 0.32 (profit margin) = $320K profit increase Reduced COSTS Rework (1) Avoided COSTS Recruiting and new hire training costs (2) = $560,000 cost decrease = $100,000 cost avoided INTANGIBLES Improved morale by the sales staff (1)(3) Increased throughput for greater capacity (1) Improved cash flow (2) (1) VP Operations (2) Controller (3) HR Manager Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: The seller uncovered metrics related to annual revenues and new account revenue from the vision processing (and “drill down” questions) conversation had with the Sponsor (VP Sales & Marketing) The seller uncovered metrics related to profit margins, reduced costs and avoided costs from the vision processing (and “drill down” questions) conversation had with the Power Sponsor (VP Finance) Transition: “The Value Analysis wouldn’t be complete without a projection of the investment...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Value Analysis Total Investment (ABC Manufacturing Example)
One time INVESTMENT Professional (1) $10K in Q2, $25K in Q3, 15K in Q4 $50,000 Selling Organization Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: The one time investment is made up of the operational and transition capabilities The investment included a payment schedule indicating which quarter in the year certain items will be paid Transition: “A comparison of the benefits against the investment might yield a view such the one on the next page...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Value Analysis ABC Manufacturing Example
Phased over time (in 000s) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 BENEFITS Increased profits (1) 200 120 Reduced costs (1) 60 300 Avoided costs (2) 10 45 Quarterly total 70 445 465 Cumulative value 515 980 INVESTMENTS One time investment 25 15 Cumulative investment 35 50 NET VALUE 420 450 Cumulative total 480 930 VP Operations Controller 1st year net return: $930,000 Breakeven point: 2th quarter ROI: 19.6X Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services The 1st year net return is the same as the Q4 cumulative total The breakeven point is defined as the point when the net value’s cumulative total turns from a negative to a positive number The first year ROI is calculated by dividing the Q4 cumulative total by the Q4 cumulative investment Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: A “ramp up” period (recognition of full benefits) has been applied to the example (e.g. increased profits from increased revenue don’t show any trend until Q2 – the assumption is that the sellers are going through a learning curve with the new ecommerce capabilities Transition: “While presenting the value justification, it is an opportune time to identify the success criteria you and your organization (solution) will be measured on...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Sales Tool Description Value Analysis / Value Justification
Overview: The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used to document the projected benefits (revenue increase and cost decrease) associated with the used of the seller’s product / service after implementation. The cost or investment of the overall offering (“solution”) should be documented as well (including maintenance and services). Where / How used: The Value Analysis / Value Justification Model is used early in phase II of the sale (as the prospect is evaluating alternatives). It is used to present a detailed breakdown of the potential costs decreases and revenue increases within the buyer’s organization associated with the implementation of the seller’s product and services. This job aid enables a seller to present the value of their offering in relation to presenting the costs in terms of an investment. The strength in using this model is that the numbers for the analysis come from the prospect. This financial data is derived from the seller’s conversation with the buyer(s) during the vision processing conversation(s). What you should achieve: Using the Value Analysis / Value Justification Model will help sellers be able to project the “return on investment (%)”, the First Year Net Return ($), and the Breakeven Point (Qtr) using the numbers provided by the prospect. Note: Be careful using the term “ROI” vs. “Value Analysis” since most clients have different definitions and parameters around the phrase “ROI”. Input Required: Completion of the model requires the cost / customer investment of the entire project, projected increased revenue and decreased costs associated with the use of the implemented offering, and the return over a specific time period. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Create a Sample Value Analysis
Purpose: Create a draft of an example Value Analysis / Value Justification (spreadsheet) formulating the information that would be uncovered during the diagnostic conversations (vision processing) Activities: Prepare a Value Analysis / Value Justification that demonstrates how the projected benefits of your capabilities compare against the investment to be made on the part of the customer Notes: You may want to describe the individual benefits (increase profit from increased revenue, reduced cost and avoided costs) and investments (one-time and on-going) on separate pages and then have the final page show the comparative analysis in the form of a spreadsheet Regarding expected benefits, consider the ramp up time associated with implementing and fully utilizing capabilities © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Value Analysis: Benefits
Increased PROFITS from additional sales REVENUE Reduced COSTS Avoided COSTS INTANGIBLES (1) (2) (3) (4) Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: The seller uncovered metrics related to annual revenues and new account revenue from the vision processing (and “drill down” questions) conversation had with the Sponsor (VP Sales & Marketing) The seller uncovered metrics related to profit margins, reduced costs and avoided costs from the vision processing (and “drill down” questions) conversation had with the Power Sponsor (VP Finance) Transition: “The Value Analysis wouldn’t be complete without a projection of the investment...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Value Analysis: Investment
One time INVESTMENT On-going INVESTMENT Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: The one time investment is made up of the operational and transition capabilities The investment included a payment schedule indicating which quarter in the year certain items will be paid Transition: “A comparison of the benefits against the investment might yield a view such the one on the next page...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Value Analysis (Comparison)
Phased over time (in 000s) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 BENEFITS Increased profits Reduced costs Avoided costs Quarterly total Cumulative value INVESTMENTS One time investment On-going investment Cumulative investment NET VALUE Cumulative total 1st year net return: $ _____________ Breakeven point: Quarter _____ ROI (first year): _________% Purpose: To show a example of how the benefits and investment were derived and then formulated into the value analysis “spreadsheet”. Key Instructor Notes: Cover each page while describing where each benefit and investment component came from The metrics for the Value Analysis were derived from the vision processing conversations that took place with both the Sponsor and Power Sponsor. The meeting with the Person Responsible for Implementation also helped determine the investment for implementation services The 1st year net return is the same as the Q4 cumulative total The breakeven point is defined as the point when the net value’s cumulative total turns from a negative to a positive number The first year ROI is calculated by dividing the Q4 cumulative total by the Q4 cumulative investment Key Comment:  Customization  – This portion of the Value Analysis should be customized for client-specific examples SPI Generic Example: A “ramp up” period (recognition of full benefits) has been applied to the example (e.g. increased profits from increased revenue don’t show any trend until Q2 – the assumption is that the sellers are going through a learning curve with the new ecommerce capabilities Transition: “While presenting the value justification, it is an opportune time to identify the success criteria you and your organization (solution) will be measured on...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Success Criteria: Leveraging Success
Reference Story Situation: Critical issue: Reasons: Capabilities: We provided: Results: Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 RI I1 C1 R2 I2 C2 R3 I3 C3 Business Development Prompter: New Opportunity This is __________ (salesperson name) with __________ (your company). You and I haven’t spoken before, but we have been working with __________ (specific industry) organizations for the last ___ (#) years. A common trend we are hearing lately from other __________ (job title) is their frustration (difficulty) with _______________ (job title’s likely critical issue / pain) [resulting from ______ (articulate common reasons)]. We have been able to help our customers address this issue. Would you like to know how? Purpose: To visually depict how success criteria metrics can be leveraged to develop stimulating interest Sales Tools Key Instructor Notes: This graphic represents how measuring the metrics (most likely uncovered during the vision processing conversations) periodically can help provide the results for future Reference Stories to be built. This can also provide results to help construct Initial Value Propositions The Business Development Prompter (graphic) indicates that a new sell cycle can be begun by prospecting into a potential opportunity with the intent to leverage the metrics from a successful engagement Note: Measuring the success after implementation can also lead to other opportunities. A seller might realize that one item (of criteria) is not proceeding the way it should. If it is the selling organization’s responsibility to fix it, then they should feel obligated to do so. If it is the customer’s responsibility, then the seller might have an additional opportunity to provide additional offerings or services. It also can serve as a mechanism to stay in front of a regular basis (not just when they call with a potential opportunity) Transition: “As we progress through the execution of the Evaluation Plan, we begin to near that point where we will be conducting the pre-proposal review and delivery of the proposal. …” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tool Description Success Criteria
Overview: Measuring Success Criteria helps track the effectiveness of implementation. Where / How used: Establishing what criteria will be measured should be done with the Power Sponsor. The measurement of realized value compared to projected value is post sale activity. What you should achieve: Success Criteria tracks information that can be used to open new sales opportunities within an existing customer, provide guidelines for maintaining a strong customer relationship, and also provide quantifiable results that can be used in future Reference Stories. A major benefit of setting the criteria to be measured with the prospect is that is helps to reduce the risk the prospect starts to feel as they began to see themselves implementing the seller’s offering. Note: Risk is a dire concern to a buyer at this phase in their buying process. Input Required: To create the Success Criteria, actual customer results are required. In order to complete the template, specific, measurable elements of the Value Analysis / ROI that the seller’s products / services have influence over must be determined with the prospect. You also must determine the length of time to be engaged with the client in this activity. Note: Make sure that the criteria (when measured) can be attributed to your offerings. E.g. Often times stock price is a not a good element to track because too many things affect its value outside of your control. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Create Sample Success Criteria
Purpose: To create a sample list of Success Criteria that your sellers could use as a starting point for recommendation Activities: List some of the Success Criteria that would me measured after implementation (i.e. those things that will change in the business as a result of implementing your offering) Establish a baseline metric that would demonstrate that the seller should work with the buyer to agree on baseline metrics by which to measure against Note: Ensure the items listed are controllable by the capabilities of your offering. Be cautious of using items that could be affected by numerous outside variables © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Success Criteria Template
Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Purpose: To discuss a method for staying engaged with a customer post-implementation in order to track success of the current opportunity and look for the next opportunity. Key Instructor Notes: Success Criteria looks at specific elements that the buyer and seller agree are criteria that should be measured on-going once the capabilities have been implemented Success Criteria helps in two major ways: It helps sell. It tells the buyer that we are not going away, that we are interested in their success It allows us to put a stake in the ground to measure against post-sell. It often is hard to go back and get those baseline metrics after the sell is complete. This provides a mechanism to capture them during the sell The criteria is footnoted to indicate the person who agreed on the criteria, helped establish the baseline (where they are today) and may measure the criteria going forward The criteria should be tangible items that we both can measure and reasonably be held responsible for Once the baseline is determined, the seller and/or the customer would periodically (monthly, quarterly, yearly) track the actual results to see how well they measure against the projected value justification analysis. Note: It is conceivable that the first quarter metrics may be flat or even worse as the buying organization may still be adjusting to the new capabilities. Key Comment:  Customization  – This Success Criteria should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “Success Criteria (measured) provides us the key data we need to stimulate interest in other opportunities...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Negotiating Knowledge is power Plan before you begin
Is it closeable during this meeting? Know what you will accept Know what you are willing to give Seek to understand the true interests underlying buying positions taken Give reluctantly and slowly (if necessary) Withstand up to three “squeezes” by the buyer Don’t give without getting Be willing to walk away today Salesperson must overcome emotional hurdle first Buyer must believe he/she is getting the best price Use a mutual win approach If less than 100% of quota, do not negotiate alone Purpose: To provide key considerations when preparing for and conducting negotiations with buyers. Key Instructor Notes: Knowledge is power - The more you know about your customer, how they like to buy and negotiate, what concessions are important to them, etc. – the more likely you will be successful in negotiating Plan before you begin - Buyers prepare ahead of time to determine what they want to accomplish in the negotiation, if you don’t prepare (as well) you can find the negotiation to be daunting experience Is it closeable during this meeting? - We’ll show you a short checklist of items that should be accomplished prior to closing Know what you will accept - In your preparation, create a “get-give” list that details the things you would like to get from the buyer (high value to you but low cost to the buyer) Know what you are willing to give - In your preparation of the “get-give” list, anticipate the things the buyer would like to get from you (high value to the customer but low cost to you and your organization) Seek to understand the true interests… – Often the buyer can have an underlying reason for asking for a concession. By identifying this true interest, the seller may be able to address it without having to make major concessions. E.g. The buyer asks for a discount but is really most concerned about implementation. In that instance, additional resources may be more valuable than a discount to them Give reluctantly and slowly (if necessary) - If you have to give at all, don’t just provide a concession but let the buyer visualize that giving is not easy for you to do. Resisting “squeezes” is one way to do this… Withstand up to three “squeezes” by the buyer - These “squeezes” consist of logic-based reasons why you shouldn’t have to make concessions Don’t give without getting - If you do prepare to give a concession, make sure you get something first. This is the quickest way to let the buyer know you value your resources and the deal already offered Be willing to walk away today - Going back to the basic principle, you have to believe you bring enough value to the buyer (that the situation is a good deal) that you are willing to walk than give anymore Seller must overcome emotional hurdle first - The emotional hurdle that the seller must overcome is the recognition that they might have to walk from the opportunity, forsaking the work that led up to this point Buyer must believe he/she is getting the best price - This is the buyer’s emotional hurdle. Let’s help them believe they are getting the best price… or value… early on Use a mutual win approach - Both the buyer and the seller should have the goal of doing future business together, a one sided win does not help for future relations If less than 100% of quota, do not negotiate alone - Sometimes sellers will give a way too much in order to get the revenue needed to make quota. It may be useful to take a manager along as a safety net Transition: “On the next page is a Negotiating Worksheet. It helps prepare for final negotiations...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Negotiating Worksheet: Example
Is it closeable today? Power to buy? Payback agreed to? VP Finance L/T/A approvals? VP Finance Plan completed? Known cost since: 4 months Stand 1 (Plan): “Our published plan shows an implementation starting on Monday. Is this issue worth the delay?” Stand 2 (Value): “When we calculated the payback, you told me that even with all of the costs included the return was higher than you expected and the project would pay for itself in 10 months.” Stand 3 (Pain): “The reasons we have spend the last four months together is because you are not meeting your new account revenue targets. That issue is not going to go away until you gain these new capabilities.” Salesperson: “The only way I could do something for you is if you could do something for me.” Buyer (should ask): “Like what?” GET “Is it possible for you to… move phases I and II together and take delivery of the hardware shipment this quarter? Is that possible?” If the buyer indicates a concession, present your “give” GIVE “If you can… move phases I and II together, then we are prepared to offer __________ which is worth $__________. Can we go forward on that basis?” Purpose: To provide an example of a job aid that can help a seller prepare prior to negotiations with the customer. Key Instructor Notes: This Negotiation Worksheet serves to address several of the key considerations suggested on the prior pages One question posed on the prior page was “Is it closeable during this meeting?” - As you’ll notice at the top of the worksheet, we have several key elements that must be completed if we are truly ready to close the opportunity One item on the prior page suggested that a seller “Give reluctantly and slowly (if necessary)” - You’ll notice in the middle of the worksheet that we have prepared logical reason why we shouldn’t have to make concessions. This is how one withstands “squeezes” by the buyer. This doesn’t mean that the buyer won’t continue to press for concessions but it sends a signal to the buyer that giving is not easy for you to do Another item on the prior page suggested that a seller “Doesn’t give without getting” – If you do prepare to give a concession, ask for something in return. The bottom portion of the Negotiating Worksheet provides the prompting text for the “give-get” The instructor may conduct a “quasi-role play” with one of the participants or another member of the instruction team to demonstrate how the worksheet is used Ask “How were we able to develop the logic for these stands?” The Pain and Value Stand are results from the vision processing conversation(s) had. The Value Stand also may be a result of the agreed upon Value Analysis The Plan Stand is a result of having an agreed upon Evaluation Plan Key Comment:  Customization  – This Negotiating Worksheet should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “The stands on this example are not the only ones you could develop...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tool Description Negotiating Worksheet
Overview: The Negotiating Worksheet is used as a pre-negotiation preparation tool. It helps you resist requests for concessions likely to be made by the buyer. Where / How used: The Negotiating Worksheet should be completed prior to discussions to finalize the terms of the sale. It provides guidelines to making stands against buyer concessions. The stands should be based on logical information you developed during the buying process. Key “stands” may include (in no particular order of importance): 1. Pain Stand – recall the buyer’s pain driving the opportunity 2. Vision Stand – recall the vision established to address the critical business issue 3. Value Stand – recall the quantifiable value associated with addressing the pain 4. Plan Stand – recall the Evaluation Plan indicating the timeline to realize benefits What you should achieve: Reduced stress by minimizing the pressure on you to discount price or give in on terms Higher margins Fewer concessions Improved negotiations Better business terms and conditions Input required: To create the Negotiating Worksheet, pain must have been uncovered, a buying vision created, a Value Justification Model completed, and an Evaluation Plan with a planned implementation date agreed upon. Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Exercise: Develop a Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List
Purpose: Create a sample Negotiating Worksheet in order to depict how key information established during the sales cycle can assist sellers in preparing for a final negotiation Prepare a Get-Give List in anticipation of having to satisfy a concession Activities: Develop 3-4 logic-based stands that serve to undermine potential concessions asked of by your buyer. The logic inherent in these stands should be based on the business case developed throughout the sales cycle Prepare for the negotiation by creating a Get-Give List: Developing a list of potential concessions (“gives”) Developing a list of potential requests (“gets”) Developing a list of non negotiable items © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Negotiating Worksheet
Is it closeable today? __ Power to buy? __ Payback agreed to? VP Finance __ L/T/A approvals? VP Finance __ Plan completed? __ Known cost since: 4 months Stand 1 Stand 2 Stand 3 Salesperson: “The only way I could do something for you is if you could do something for me.” Buyer (should ask): “Like what?” GET “Is it possible for you to… _____________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________? Is that possible?” Silence! Only if buyer accepts your condition GIVE “If you can… ______________________, then we are prepared to offer _________________ _____________________ which is worth $__________. Can we go forward on that basis?” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Projected customer priority
Get-Give List Your priority GET Value GIVE Projected customer priority   1 2 3 4 5 NOT NEGOTIABLE © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Sales Tools for Completion Sales Tool Groups Purpose and/or Actions Group 1 Account Profile Key Players List Pain Chain® Pain Sheet® (for Sponsor) Brainstorm, analyze, discuss and agree upon key elements of a general opportunity upon which the development of all other sales tools will be based Group 2 Business Development Prompters and Letter Reference Story Initial Value Proposition First Call Introduction Develop sales tools that can be used to assist a sales professional in initiating a sales cycle by establishing credibility and targeting possible critical issues of the prospect Group 3 Pain Sheet® (for Power Sponsor) Evaluation Plan Transition Issues & Capabilities Transition-Implementation Plan Value Analysis / Justification Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet and Get-Give List Create sales tools to help control the sales cycle, qualify the buying process, and mitigate buyer’s risk through promoting value and offering proof Group 4 Sponsor and Power Sponsor Letters Situation Questions Go/No Go Step Completion Letter Sponsor Vision Reengineering Letter Transition Plan Letter Complete these sales tools based on input from Sales Tool Groups 1-3 © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

Potential Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Example
Qualification Components: 1 2 3 4 5 6 John Smith (Quality Manager), Thank you for your interest in our company. The purpose of this letter is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan. We discussed the following: (1) Your primary critical issue is increased defects which has added $600,000 this year to production costs. (2) Reasons your defects are increasing: the inability to identify the root cause of the defects lack of process controls lack of adherence to your quality management system (3) Capabilities you said you needed: that when parts or products are rejected, your quality personnel could apply effective data collection, defect analysis, and problem solving tools to identify the root cause and to implement corrective actions when manufacturing a part or product, all your machine operators could eliminate variances by knowing exactly what to do and how to do it when processing an order, all personnel involved would follow required work instruction and procedures. You said if you had these capabilities, you would be able to reduce then number of existing defects and help reduce and address future defects, allowing you to recapture $560,000 of production costs. Our next steps (4) You agreed to move forward with our company (5) and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities, you will introduce me to Eric Jones, your VP Operation. You mentioned Eric is not happy with the increased production costs and its impact on profits. (6) I would like to propose that we arrange a meeting with another Quality Manager who has implemented QMS tools and practices with our help. I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you Monday to discuss it further. Sincerely, Steve Parsons Purpose: To provide an example of the follow up correspondence that should be sent to the prospect upon completion of the vision processing conversation. Key Instructor Notes: Focus on the content of the letter / instead of the tone of it which is a little direct. You would certainly put your own words around this. Let’s look at the specific components The letter has six key components. The instructor should engage the participants by asking, “What is the first component of the letter?” (Answer: Pain) Note: The word “pain” is not used in the letter, it is only a “training word” What is the second component of the letter? (Answer: Reasons for the pain) “Where did we find out the reasons?” (Answer: Boxes R1 and R2 of the 9 Block Vision Processing Model™) What is the third component? (Answer: Vision - it consists of the capabilities needed to address the reasons) What is the fourth component? (Answer: Agreement to explore) What is the fifth component? Answer: The bargain for access to Power) What is the last component? (Answer: The proof step - proof should consume a minimum amount of your company’s time and resources while still satisfying the sponsor. Recall the seller is not at “power” yet The letter can also help with internal selling. i.e. its easy to forward an to the decision maker Discussion point: “As a buyer, if you received this letter, how would you perceive the seller?” Note: Some cultures will shy away from the use of documenting conversations, be aware of this especially in some Asian countries Key Comment:  Customization  – This Sponsor Letter should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “Acceptance of the Sponsor Letter by the sponsor marks a major milestone in the sales process...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Potential Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template
Name-of-Sponsor, Thank you for your interest in your-company-name. The purpose of this letter ( ) is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan. We discussed the following: Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-sponsor’s-pain. The reasons you are having this critical business issue are: Describe-Reason-A Describe-Reason-B Describe-Reason-C The capabilities you said you needed to resolve this situation are: Describe-Capability-A Describe-Capability-B Describe-Capability-C Our next steps You agreed to move forward with our company and said if we succeed in proving we can give you these capabilities, you will introduce me to power-sponsor’s-name-and-title. You mentioned he/she is not happy with the impact that your critical business issue is having upon his/her ability to describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain-or-goal. I would like to propose that describe-proof-step. I am confident you will like what you see and introduce our company to the rest of your organization. I’ll call you on date to discuss it further. Sincerely, Salesperson’s-name © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Potential Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Example
Qualification Components: 1 Pain 2 Reasons for the Pain 3 Buying Vision 4 Organizational Impact 5 Agreement to Explore 6 Evaluation Plan Set-up Jim (VP Finance), Thank you for meeting with Steve Jones and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both TGI and our company. We discussed the following: (1) Your primary critical issue is declining profits due to the revenue shortfall. You said you were about $8 million below plan. (2) Reasons for declining profits: Missing new account revenue targets Rising operational costs Increasing credit write-offs (3) Capabilities you said you needed: when visiting your web-site, your customers could place and confirm orders via the internet, get questions answered through a FAQ menu, be notified of promotions, and be prompted to submit referrals for customers to be able to click on a FAQ web menu to get their answers and only require a CSR for extraordinary situations prior to accepting an order, your web-site could alert your customer to outstanding credit issues needing to be resolved with the ability to speak to someone in your accounting department (4) You said if you had these capabilities, Steve could meet his revenue targets, Donna Moore could reduce operating expenses, your Controller could reduce the average age of his receivables and you would be able to increase profits by at least $4.5 M. Our next steps (5) When I told you I was confident our company could help you integrate an e-Commerce application with your existing internal accounting and inventory system, you agreed to commit the resources needed to evaluate our ability to do so. (6) Based on my knowledge to date, I am attaching a suggested evaluation plan for your further exploration of our company. Look it over with Steve, and I will call you on February 7, to get your thoughts. Sincerely, Bill Hart Attachment: Draft Evaluation Plan Purpose: To provide an example of the follow up correspondence that should be sent to the Power Sponsor upon completion of the vision processing conversation. Key Instructor Notes: This letter / is similar to the Sponsor Letter but with a few exceptions You will notice that the Power Sponsor Letter also recalls the (1) pain, (2) reasons for pain, (3) his or her buying vision and the component, agreement to explore. Components 4 and 6 are what make it different from the Sponsor Letter Organizational Impact attempts to expand the scope of the problem (as well as list potential beneficiaries) by tying in others impacted Evaluation Plan set-up helps describe the attached plan that suggests how the buyer and seller’s organizations might process through the rest of the sell cycle Notes: Note: Some cultures will shy away from the use of documenting conversations, be aware of this especially in some Asian countries Key Comment:  Customization  – This Power Sponsor Letter should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “You’ll find the attached (draft) Evaluation Plan on the next page…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Potential Power Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template
Name-of-Power-Sponsor, Thank you for meeting with Name-of-Sponsor and me earlier today. I believe it was time well spent for both organizations. We discussed the following: Your primary critical business issue is describe-the-power-sponsor’s-pain. The reasons you are having this critical business issue are: Describe-Reason-A Describe-Reason-B Describe-Reason-C The capabilities you said you needed to resolve this situation are: Describe-Capability-A Describe-Capability-B Describe-Capability-C You said if you had these capabilities that describe-how-others-impacted-will-reach-their-goals. Our next steps When I told you I was confident that our organization can help you describe-goal-of-power-sponsor, you agreed to take a serious look at our ability to do so. Based on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an evaluation plan for your further exploration of our organization’s capabilities. Look over the plan with _______________ Name-of-Sponsor and I will call you on date to get your thoughts. Sincerely, Salesperson’s-name Attachment: Draft Evaluation Plan © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Potential Vision Reengineering Sponsor Letter / e-mail: Template
Name-of-Sponsor, Thank you for your interest in your-company-name. The purpose of this letter ( ) is to summarize my understanding of our meeting and our action plan. We discussed the following: The capabilities you said you needed: Describe-Capability-A Describe-Capability-B Describe-Capability-C You said if you have these capabilities you would be able to address your primary critical business issue of describe-the-sponsor’s-pain. The reasons you are having this critical business issue are: Describe-Reason-A Describe-Reason-B Describe-Reason-C Our next steps You mentioned your current situation impacts others including power-sponsor’s-name-and-title-and-others. At the close of our conversation, you suggested you would schedule a meeting with them so we can discuss the organizational impact of this issue. At that meeting we can mutually agree upon next steps. As we discussed, I will be required to provide proof that we can give you these capabilities and you will require that same proof from all other potential vendors. I am available for our next meeting this on date-range-and-time-range . I will call you on date to schedule the appointment, it should take about number minutes. Sincerely, Salesperson’s-name © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Getting Pain Admitted – Flowchart (Step 3)
Transition to Getting Pain Admitted (End of Step 2) “But enough about (my company). Tell me about you and your situation.” Pain? Yes No Talking freely? No Yes ASK SITUATION QUESTIONS No Pain? Yes No Purpose: To establish a fuller understanding of “how to get pain admitted” by providing a graphical representation of the content discussed. Key Instructor Notes: Walk the participants through the flowchart, reminding them that we are leaving step 2 (Strategic Alignment Prompter) when we ask the prospect to tell us about their situation. Step 3 is represented by the majority of the “Getting Pain Admitted” flowchart. Once pain is admitted, we would then go to Step 4 – Vision processing, which has been defined but has yet to be covered Be sure to point out the “qualify out” point may mean to disqualify the buyer not the opportunity Transition: “Let’s look at examples of situation questions and menu-of-pain questions...” ASK MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS Pain? Yes No Qualify Out Prioritize Pain Step 4 Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Getting Pain Admitted Question Examples
SITUATION QUESTIONS “Today, when a part or product is rejected, what steps are taken to identify the root cause?” “Today, if a machine operator has a question regarding a particular work procedure what do they do?” “What type of customer complaints are you hearing recently?” “What bad thing happens because of the situation you described?” MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS “The top three difficulties we are hearing from Quality Managers these days include: Increased defects Inadequate QMS to meet the needs of new, larger customers Higher costs/less results implementing QMS …are you facing any of these issues today?” OR …are you curious how we have helped our customers deal with these issues?” Purpose: To establish a fuller understanding of “how to get pain admitted” by providing some questioning examples of the content discussed. Key Instructor Notes: If pain is not admitted but the buyer is openly talking, the next approach is to get the conversation focused around something that you know you can help the prospect with. Sometimes Situation Questions can help “funnel” responses from a buyer down to a topic that has them either admitting their pain or providing information that can help the seller predict the pain If pain is still not admitted and it appears the conversation is going nowhere it may be time to be direct with your questions. This is where a menu of pains approach might take place.” Read the example of Multiple Choice “Menu” of Pain Situation Questions tend to be “open” questions. (E.g. “Today, how do your customers get notified of new products or promotions?”) It may be necessary to intertwine (what we call) “Information Questions” with your Situation Questions. Information Questions tend to be “control” questions that help bring clarity to buyer dialogue. (E.g. “How many products do you sell?”) “Menu of Pain” Questions tend to be “closed” questions. Transition: “It becomes very important when having dialogue to ensure that your questioning leads to uncovering the actual pain and not symptoms of it...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

“Go/No Go” Step Completion Letter / e-mail: Example
To: cc: Subject: Evaluation Plan - step completion Attachment: Updated Evaluation Plan v2.doc Eric and team, I am pleased to report that another milestone has been completed. On February 21 your team approved the evaluation plan. The changes you requested are reflected in the attached copy. Our next milestone is the week of February 28 when the entire management team is scheduled to visit our client and meet with their senior executives. Thank you again for your continued support of this project. Sincerely, Steve Parsons Purpose: To provide an example of the follow up correspondence that would be sent to the customer upon completion of (an Evaluation Plan’s) a “mutual decision to proceed” event. Key Instructor Notes: Although the content of this letter ( ) may seem straight-forward, it can be an effective way to gently remind the customer of the progress being made. It also becomes an effective job aid for staying engaged with the customer on a regular basis during the execution of the plan Completion Letters are generally used to communicate the accomplishment of a “Go / No Go” event. That does not mean they can’t be used to communicate every event completed Some sellers find it effective to attach an Updated Evaluation Plan (showing the events marked as “complete”) to each of the Completion Letter transmissions. This explains the attachment found as part of the letter Copied on the letter are key players in the seller and buyer’s organizations This example has the seller sending the letter to the Power Sponsor. Sometimes the Power Sponsor may turn over the ownership of the plan to an internal resource. In this case, the letters / s would be directed to that person while copying the Power Sponsor on any correspondence or updates Key Comment:  Customization  – This Go/No Go Step Completion Letter should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “As we begin to execute the events of the Evaluation Plan, let’s track along with the Evaluation Plan that the seller sent to the Power Sponsor…” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet
Executives, Users and Beneficiaries Person responsible for implementation of needed operational capabilities Name and Title: Transition Issue: REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES Purpose: To describe the process of the transition sale and provide examples of transition-oriented Sales Tools Key Instructor Notes: It may be effective to get the person responsibility for the implementation to discuss their issues and concerns by describing similar concerns that a client of yours had (i.e. Transition Reference Story) Most people responsible for the transition likely have a full slate of projects and may see your “operational sale” as additional work for them. It is likely imperative that you demonstrate your understanding of their situation and be empathetic Often the full slate of projects (as described above) cause either a lack of time ,available resources or skill sets to focus on new projects. This is where the seller can attempt to bridge the gap by offering transition services Graphically, the page depicts anticipated reasons (for an anticipated transition pain) and the service capabilities that can help. This visual looks similar to a Pain Sheet® Key Comment:  Customization  – The Transitions Issues and Capabilities example should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “This becomes the basis for a deeper conversation that can be aided by the use of a Transition Pain Sheet®...” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Transition / Implementation Plan Letter (e-mail): Example
Thank you… summarize my understanding of our meeting and propose some scheduling assistance for you. We discussed the following: Concern about…. Your specific areas of concern as they relate to the schedule are: - Proposed Transition Capabilities You said if you had these capabilities, you could support the proposed QMS/Process Improvement initiative. Our next steps Based on my knowledge to date, I am suggesting an implementation plan for your consideration. Sincerely, Steve Parsons Attachment: ImplementationPlan.doc Purpose: To provide an example of a Transition Plan Letter that can be used to confirm the conversation had with the person responsible for the transition, agree upon next steps and provide an attached Implementation Plan. Key Instructor Notes: This example is similar to the Power Sponsor Letter. It contains confirmation of the IT person’s pain, reasons, and (transition) capabilities. It also suggests next steps including review of recommendations and the suggestion of an Implementation Plan, which would be attached Key Comment:  Customization  – This Transition Plan Letter should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “The next page shows an example of the attached Implementation Plan...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Proposed Transition / Implementation Plan: Example Attachment to Transition / Implementation Plan Letter / Implementation Plan Week of Event Us TGI Billable Purpose: To provide an example of a Transition / Implementation Plan that can be used to help the person responsible for the transition visualize a plan of action for making the transition vision a reality Key Instructor Notes: The (Proposed) Implementation Plan is similar to the Evaluation Plan in the sense that it suggests dates, events, responsibilities and a billable column The first event, the kickoff date, should somewhat coincide with where the Evaluation Plan left off The last event on a Transition Plan may coincide with actual dates when the success criteria will be measured The billable column should account for the cost of the services rendered. This cost (estimated at the time) should have been included in the Value Analysis If proof of transition capabilities is necessary, the salesperson may include a Transition Reference Story with the plan and the appropriate contact information for the reference-able client (if applicable) Key Comment:  Customization  – This Transition / Implementation Plan should be customized for client-specific examples Transition: “With the transition services agreed upon, the seller is now able to develop a more formal projection of the potential value to the customer...” Solution Selling® 2007 © Solution Selling, Inc. All rights reserved

Agenda Day 1 Day 2 Positioning of Sales Tool Build Workshop
Overview MMTC Sales Process and Messaging Solution Selling® Review Sales Tool Development Key Player List Account Profile Pain Chain® Messaging Cards (Core/Differentiating) Business Development Prompters Reference Story Initial Value Proposition First Call Introduction Pain Sheet® (Sponsor) Day 2 Sales Tool Development (continued) Pain Sheet® (Power Sponsor ) Sponsor / Power Sponsor Letters Evaluation Plan Transition Issues & Capabilities Value Analysis / Justification Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet Introduction to Future Sales Tools Sponsor and Power Sponsor Letters Situation Questions Go/No Go Step Completion Letter Sponsor Vision Reengineering Letter Transition Plan Letter Purpose: To provide a list of resources that participants can leverage to construct Account Profiles Key Instructor Notes: Review account websites: Often corporate websites have a “what’s new” or “news” section on their website that can provide valuable information Note: Letting a prospect know that you’ve recently visited their website is a huge compliment that shows you’ve taken the time to conduct some due diligence before contacting them Access public information: There is more client information available now than ever before. The challenge is finding accurate and effective information. Read the bulleted list Ask participants to add to the list of public information sources that they use Note: some of these resources might require a subscription Contact account’s shareholder department: Becoming a shareholder puts one on a mailing list where they receive insightful information Contact salespeople and account managers within the prospect organization: Generally, salespeople like to have conversations. They can be a great source of internal, client information before making official contact with the targeted individual Transition: “So, once we have this information what do we do with it?…” © Solution Selling, Inc. • 2007

Workshop Objectives and Approach
To create sales tools to support the Solution Selling® sales methodology at MMTC Steps Overview key elements of the Solution Selling® sales methodology Review the specific offering(s) for which the sales tools will be developed Communicate key sales tool inputs, output formats and provide illustrative examples Build draft set of sales tools (first version) Agree upon a plan of next steps (timeline) for finalizing the set of sales tools Outcome Completed set of sales tools Inputs for material customization for Sales Execution © Solution Selling, Inc. •2008

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