WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:05.200 If you don't have a structured process to hold yourself accountable to, you're going 2 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:08.919 to miss things that can end up costing you the opportunity and cost you your 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:16.600 quarter. It can cost you your year. You're listening to the Audible Ready 4 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:21.359 Podcast, the show that helps you and your teams sell more faster. We'll 5 00:00:21.399 --> 00:00:25.120 feature sales leaders sharing their best insights on how to create a sales engine that 6 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:29.600 helps you fuel repeatable revenue growth. Presented by the team at Force Management, 7 00:00:29.879 --> 00:00:35.719 a leader in B to B sales effectiveness. Let's get started. Hello, 8 00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:39.920 I'm Rachel klet Miller. Welcome to the Audible Ready Sales Podcast. Today we 9 00:00:39.960 --> 00:00:46.520 are taking on commonly made mistakes reps make with medic and how to avoid them. 10 00:00:46.520 --> 00:00:51.880 I'm joined today by Antonella Oday. Hi Antonalala, Hi Rachel. Hello. 11 00:00:52.439 --> 00:00:56.840 So, Antonela just ran a working session on a Sender on this same 12 00:00:56.920 --> 00:01:00.840 topic. Now. A Cender is our subscription platform. Check it out my 13 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.960 center dot co the links in the show notes. You should be there. 14 00:01:03.079 --> 00:01:08.239 Everybody is, So I wanted to bring Antonella on to sort of continue the 15 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:12.799 conversation because it was a good one in our live session. So Antonella, 16 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:21.079 let's start first, with just an overarching opener here on medic I'm on LinkedIn 17 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:26.719 as a lot of us are, and people will often criticize medic. What 18 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:33.079 do you think when you see that criticism of medic I have to ask why, 19 00:01:33.239 --> 00:01:37.480 Like, why would anyone think that it really makes no sense? And 20 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.280 here's my data to back that up. Think about the most common reasons why 21 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:46.879 deal slipstall or fail. You have no real allies in the account, no 22 00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:52.359 business paying or compelling events, or their decision criteria favors the competition, there's 23 00:01:52.359 --> 00:01:53.799 no line of sight on how the decision is going to be made. There's 24 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:57.439 a handful of others. Those are the most common reasons why. We just 25 00:01:57.480 --> 00:02:04.480 consistently backed up the opportunity coaching sessions I'm involved in with clients, so I 26 00:02:04.519 --> 00:02:08.960 can make that connection and it exists today saying issues consistently come up. Each 27 00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:14.960 of those issues that commonly come up tied to one of those components in medic. 28 00:02:15.599 --> 00:02:19.120 So if we know that by strengthening those components, we can reduce the 29 00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:23.719 chances of an opportunity slipping, solving or failing. Explain to me how it's 30 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:28.840 not relevant. I'll also add this, many customer facing people out there are 31 00:02:28.919 --> 00:02:32.840 working in a really complex sales environment where each interaction needs to be strategic and 32 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:38.840 well thought out. If you don't have a structured process to hold yourself accountable 33 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:42.599 to, you're going to miss things that can end up costing you the opportunity 34 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:45.800 and cost you your quarter, it can cost you your year. So not 35 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:50.759 leveraging MEDIC can be detrimental to sales outcomes as So we are from the point 36 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:53.639 of view that MEDIC is relevant and if you don't think it is, you're 37 00:02:53.680 --> 00:02:58.400 probably not using it right. So let's talk about some common traps with MEDIC. 38 00:02:58.439 --> 00:03:02.439 We're going to run through just some common and challenges that Antonelys's reps have 39 00:03:02.680 --> 00:03:06.280 around metic. We're going to talk about what you can do about them. 40 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:08.479 So the first one is going to be around metrics, and it's not really 41 00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:13.520 getting specific enough with our metrics. Talk about what you mean by that and 42 00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:17.000 what can sellers do. So gathering metrics from our buyers is not always easy. 43 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:21.919 So we sometimes get data that resembles a metric and we sell the great 44 00:03:21.960 --> 00:03:23.840 a bit too soon. Its like, for example, you could be talking 45 00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:28.520 to a stakeholder who says, well, we want this initiative to drive revenue 46 00:03:28.520 --> 00:03:32.039 for the organization. Okay, that's a start, but if you're really looking 47 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:37.479 to strengthen the opportunity, it's not enough. We need to ask what those 48 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:40.039 revenue goals look like, because remember, we want to show proof of where 49 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:44.680 we've been able to meet those metrics before, and ultimately we need to deliver 50 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:49.520 on those metrics. So let's say your buyer expects a twenty five percent lift 51 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:54.080 in revenue. Maybe your best example for your organization is twelve percent. Now 52 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:58.840 we have an issue. You can drive revenue, you've done it for others, 53 00:03:58.879 --> 00:04:01.039 but the expectation of the buyer is out of the realm of what you 54 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:05.240 actually can deliver. Now you have twols, you can attempt to establish a 55 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:10.400 realistic baseline for them to use based on your track record, or you can 56 00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:14.439 make the decision that you can't deliver on those expectations and you step away from 57 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.399 the opportunity. Both outcomes are win. I know we may not look at 58 00:04:17.399 --> 00:04:21.079 it that way when we step away from an opportunity, but you either move 59 00:04:21.120 --> 00:04:26.199 forward or you don't waste time and resources. But if you don't get specifics 60 00:04:26.199 --> 00:04:29.079 early, you can end up waiting a lot of time, only to lose 61 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:32.279 the opportunity later on. Yeah, I think we've said before lose fast, 62 00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:38.319 right, loose fast. You can ring in other places. So let's move 63 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:41.720 to economic buyer. We have so much content on an academic buyer, and 64 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:46.199 I know, I mean, I could do a whole podcast series on economic 65 00:04:46.240 --> 00:04:48.920 buyers. And so there's a lot of challenges you may have with this particular 66 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:53.879 letter in medic But one I want to talk about is a common trap around 67 00:04:53.879 --> 00:04:57.040 the economic buyer, and it has to do with the budget holder. They're 68 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:00.800 not always the same person talk through that. That's when I see probably most 69 00:05:00.839 --> 00:05:05.040 often. I'll go as far as saying that the budget folder or project donor 70 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:10.959 is very rarely the economic buyer. When you think about the economic buyer, 71 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:15.079 it's true definition. There are people that have power and influence. They can 72 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.279 say no one others say yes, and vice versa. But there are also 73 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:23.160 people that have access to discretionary funds. So when I hear the word budget, 74 00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:27.959 that's a red flag. Don't convince yourself as a seller, Otherwise you 75 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:31.000 should see it as a red flag in question. If we as sellers are 76 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:35.399 not skeptical, this creates a lot of problems for us. First, we 77 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:40.519 end up not identifying the real economic buyer. We don't know who that person 78 00:05:40.560 --> 00:05:44.079 actually is that has the final say, and that person can come in at 79 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:46.519 the last minute and say no when you've worked so hard to get everybody else 80 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:49.639 to say yes, and they can still in and take the money from your 81 00:05:49.680 --> 00:05:54.519 project and move it somewhere else. The second problem it presents is that we 82 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:58.439 get no line of sight on what's most important to the economic buyer. What 83 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:01.480 are their metrics, what's their identified pain And if we don't understand what those 84 00:06:01.519 --> 00:06:05.560 are, what you bring to the table may not be compelling enough to move 85 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:10.680 forward. And then the last challenge it creates is you potentially open the door 86 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:15.600 to lose the deal to competitor because they are able to identify the economic fire 87 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:18.480 and if they get face to face with them and they get alignment with them, 88 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:23.720 they're more likely to win the deal. So in every interaction, ask 89 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:28.240 who is involved in the decision process, who is the final sign of set 90 00:06:28.279 --> 00:06:31.600 expectations that you will need to meet with the economic buyer. I will tell 91 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:36.720 stakeholders, this is our process, this is how we work with clients. 92 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:41.480 I want to meet with the stakeholders. I need to meet with the economic 93 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.720 buyer early and at the end we get what we ask for. If you 94 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.519 don't ask the who and set expectations around meeting with them, you don't get 95 00:06:48.519 --> 00:06:53.800 the information and you don't get the access, and there you go. Great 96 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:57.000 points in economic buyer are some good things to remember. Next, let's hit 97 00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:00.879 the decision criteria. Talk about this one a lot. We know we need 98 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:02.720 to influence it right. That's the correution of your deal. How you have 99 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:09.000 influenced the decision criteria. But reps commonly try to do this too late. 100 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:13.240 So how do we do this early? My best piece of advice here is 101 00:07:13.319 --> 00:07:16.160 have a strategy and a plan from the very first meeting. You should know 102 00:07:16.600 --> 00:07:23.839 from the very first interaction what are our strongest differentiators, Know which ones give 103 00:07:23.839 --> 00:07:28.319 you the biggest advantage, and once you've identified them, playing questions around those 104 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:32.759 differentiators to help better understand your buyer's pains, what their goals are, and 105 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:38.199 relate it to those and what they may need to solve them. Influencing the 106 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:43.959 decision criteria is nothing more than asking questions associated to that differentiator so that a 107 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.839 buyer can come to their own conclusion and articulate they want or need it. 108 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:50.560 Right. So my advice to you is not to try to sell your buyer 109 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:55.199 on the decision criteria. No one wants to be sold. Guide them through 110 00:07:55.199 --> 00:07:59.120 a well thought out series of open ended questions and have them come to their 111 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:03.079 own conclusion. The last thing I will say is don't stop influencing, keep 112 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:07.560 asking questions. Try to get as many things that favor you on that formal 113 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:13.519 list of decision criteria. Make sure you flushing out and validated with multiple stakeholders. 114 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.519 This then creates a really challenging scenario for any competitor. They may be 115 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:22.600 considering, Yeah, that's great. Okay, So the second D decision process 116 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:26.720 always becomes important, particularly as we hit end of the year. I've heard 117 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:31.439 you say that sellers really need to stay close to the decision process. What 118 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.840 do you mean by that and how do they do it? The decision process 119 00:08:33.879 --> 00:08:37.200 is what I consider a moving target, right, and you think about the 120 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:43.440 current economic climate, it's probably amplifying it even more. Let me provide some 121 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:46.080 context to what I mean. For some of us, our deals may take 122 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:50.679 a couple of months to close. Typically for others that can take two years, 123 00:08:50.039 --> 00:08:52.639 and weather it's a couple of months or it's two years. What we 124 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:56.440 know for certain is that things are going to change the political landscape. People 125 00:08:56.519 --> 00:09:01.120 be companies, people take out their roles, and if that happens, the 126 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:05.639 dynamics are likely to change in the buying cycle. You have to assume that 127 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.320 what you thought you knew is no longer valt People come in with different points 128 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:13.799 of view, people come in with different outcomes they want to achieve. You 129 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:16.960 need to get a handle on that asap. And today's climate also lends itself 130 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:20.759 to more scrutiny related to the paper process right, which we often talk under 131 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:26.200 the decision process. So maybe Legal and Finance needs more time to review contracts, 132 00:09:26.200 --> 00:09:30.399 so the process is longer. So when I say stay close to it, 133 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:33.960 I mean regularly checking in with the stakeholders you're in contact with and validate 134 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:37.639 what they know. I'm a bit of a stickler for like an ORG chart, 135 00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:41.679 because I need that visual to see what's happening, who's reporting to who, 136 00:09:41.720 --> 00:09:46.240 who's moving on. It's a great tool to come back to to stay 137 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.279 on top of the people that we need to get a yes front. But 138 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:52.799 on the paper process side, continue to validate the timeline around that you know, 139 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:58.399 has anything changed, adjust dates, adust time frames, maybe added steps 140 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.200 that come in. You don't want to be in a situation where there could 141 00:10:01.240 --> 00:10:03.720 be a surprise for your customers and being able to meet their target dates. 142 00:10:03.919 --> 00:10:07.960 And you definitely don't want any surprises to your pipeline or your forecast. So 143 00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:11.759 staying close to the people and the process reduces that risk. Oh I love 144 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:16.240 that. Okay, identified pain, it's a big one. We need big 145 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:20.600 pain. We know we needed business pain. What is the most common trap 146 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:22.960 with this letter? It's one of the tough one because there's a lot of 147 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:26.879 potential traps here, and so I'm going to give you three. I'm going 148 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:31.080 to keep it brief and concise. The first one is focusing on the wrong 149 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:35.159 pain. Not all pain is created equal, And what I often see here 150 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:39.960 is we hang our hat on a technical pain. And that's not to say 151 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:43.919 that the pain of a technical stakeholder doesn't matter. It matters on its own. 152 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:48.159 It just doesn't often carry enough weight to move things through the pipeline quickly 153 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:52.840 or to land those bigger deals. Those technical pains typically are not on the 154 00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:58.480 radar of the economic buyer, so it becomes easy for them to prioritize those 155 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:03.320 projects or move that money somewhere else. The big business problems can become in 156 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:07.519 essence, like a security blanket on raw opportunities. The second one is not 157 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:11.120 understanding that we would cause or the compelling events. If there is not something 158 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:16.120 that is driving buyers to connect with you, I get concerned that they're just 159 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:20.320 window shoppers. They're looking, but they're not potentially buying. Today's climate, 160 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:26.080 very few businesses are spending money on something without a driving orce or a compelling 161 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:31.080 event. So really understanding what's driving them to engage with you is really important. 162 00:11:31.600 --> 00:11:35.600 And the last one I'll say is not quantifying the pain. Yes, 163 00:11:35.840 --> 00:11:39.080 you connect the pain and a quantifiable way to revenue costs the risk. It 164 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:43.919 becomes really challenging for the buyer to have real urgency to move forward. Quantifying 165 00:11:43.919 --> 00:11:48.480 the pain really helps the buyer real life like the depth and breadth of the 166 00:11:48.519 --> 00:11:52.039 pain and helps create that urgency. Very awkwardly need from them to find that 167 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:56.720 solution. Correct great reminders there. So the next one is champions. We 168 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:01.159 have a ton of content on Champions. I would it's one of the most 169 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:05.919 popular topics on a center, and I know the common trap is confusing a 170 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:09.279 champion with a coach. I hear you all talk about that so often. 171 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:11.960 But another one I wanted to bring that you talked about in the live session 172 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:16.720 was single threading the champion concept. I thought that was an important one. 173 00:12:16.759 --> 00:12:20.919 Talk about what you mean by that. That whole concept of balls around the 174 00:12:20.960 --> 00:12:24.480 idea of relying on just having one champion within the account. And it's an 175 00:12:24.480 --> 00:12:30.720 interesting one because we know the work it takes to develop just one true champion. 176 00:12:30.879 --> 00:12:33.159 There's a lot that goes behind that. Right, But as I mentioned 177 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:37.080 earlier when we talked about decision process, that people in the decision process are 178 00:12:37.080 --> 00:12:41.440 moving targets, so having just one champion could really put you at risk. 179 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:46.960 They could leave the company, they can move into a different position, and 180 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:50.799 then they're left without any ally in the account. Right. So, another 181 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.320 area we don't often consider, I think is especially true in some of the 182 00:12:54.360 --> 00:12:58.720 more complex deals is the fact that you know, champion may be limited in 183 00:12:58.759 --> 00:13:05.279 their knowledge if the organization's needs are dynamics, so additional champions can help fill 184 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:09.080 in those gaps as well. The last thing I want to share around champion 185 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:11.720 is something we may not be thinking about. We can feel really good about 186 00:13:11.759 --> 00:13:15.960 our champion. They may be doing all the right things for us on our 187 00:13:16.039 --> 00:13:20.240 behalf, But what if the competition has multiple champions within the account, They're 188 00:13:20.279 --> 00:13:24.639 going to be in a stronger position to have more allies that are working to 189 00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:28.440 get consensus on their behalf. Now they're in a position to win the deal. 190 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:35.000 So it's not just for us and our ability to maneuver throughout the account. 191 00:13:35.440 --> 00:13:39.399 We have to take into consideration what's happening on the outside with the competition 192 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.159 and what they're doing, and how they are networking politically within the account as 193 00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:48.200 well. Perfect and so on that topic of competition, that's our second se 194 00:13:48.360 --> 00:13:52.840 let's close with competition. We know we need to understand our competitors, but 195 00:13:52.960 --> 00:13:58.559 sometimes sellers don't really go wide enough with the competition concept. Yeah, part 196 00:13:58.559 --> 00:14:03.559 of us says the strength of a deal is acknowledging and exploring all possibilities, 197 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:07.879 and if you don't really know what you're up against, your game plan and 198 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:11.120 strategy is probably going to be very flawed. When I was selling and leading 199 00:14:11.159 --> 00:14:15.320 sales teams, my biggest fear related to the competition was that do nothing or 200 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:20.399 do it internally scenario. It's the toughest one to overcome because think about how 201 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:24.559 easy it is to do nothing specifically, but also do something in house. 202 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:30.799 People lean towards comfort what they know, lack of disruption, no additional costs, 203 00:14:31.080 --> 00:14:35.279 that's health decline. And if you don't understand that this is a potential 204 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.879 obstacle, no matter how good your product or services, you're going to face 205 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:45.000 some significant resistance. Ignoring it may cause you to ineffectively position your offering. 206 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:48.240 You may waste time and effort and resources thinking you're moving things forward, only 207 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:52.840 to find out they're keeping tires so to speak, and plan to do things 208 00:14:52.879 --> 00:14:58.519 themselves. And one of the things I like to ask from understanding their challenges 209 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:03.120 are how likely are you to do nothing to resolve this problem or how well 210 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:07.879 equipped are you to tackle this challenge internally and not seeking outside vendor at all? 211 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:11.320 Because I need to know what I'm up against the determine if I can 212 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:16.480 win or if I need to step away. Great things to remember, Antonella, 213 00:15:16.679 --> 00:15:20.200 thank you for this conversation today. I mean all this stuff. These 214 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:24.960 are good things to remember because every deal is different, and you may find 215 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:30.399 yourself succeeding in one deal and struggling in another and these reminders can be really 216 00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:33.159 important, especially when we're going to try to get those deals across the finish 217 00:15:33.240 --> 00:15:35.720 line at the end of the year. So wrap us up, let's give 218 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:41.799 us some final takeaways around medic. Medic provides really valuable structured approach to qualify 219 00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:46.159 your opportunities. The biggest piece of advice I'd like to give sellers is skepticism 220 00:15:46.480 --> 00:15:52.120 is your best friend. It's a safeguard against potential traps. You should be 221 00:15:52.159 --> 00:15:56.240 skeptical of not only what you are hearing, but also what you think you 222 00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:00.039 know. Taking that type of approach is going to provide you with a more 223 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:04.360 objective view of the deal, but also the ability to pivot more effectively when 224 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:08.919 you have to, and maintain a skeptical view throughout the process is going to 225 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:15.519 minimize surprises but also equate to confidence in your pipeline and your forecast. That's 226 00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:18.200 it. I love that skepticism is your friend. Thank you so much Atonella. 227 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.320 Thanks Rachel, all right, thank you to all of you for listening 228 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:27.200 to the Audible Ready Sales podcast. At Force Management, we're focused on transforming 229 00:16:27.200 --> 00:16:33.759 sales organizations into elite teams. Our proven methodologies deliver programs that build company alignment 230 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:38.919 and fuel repeatable revenue growth. Give your teams the ability to execute the growth 231 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:44.799 strategy at the point of sale. Our strength is our experience. The proof 232 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:49.120 is in our results. Let's get started. Visit us at forcemanagement dot com. 233 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:53.279 You've been listening to the Audible Ready podcast. To not miss an episode, 234 00:16:53.360 --> 00:16:57.000 subscribe to the show in your favorite podcast player Until next time.