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<v Speaker 1>Sit in the customer's moment of pain, and if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't understand the pain, find someone in your own company

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<v Speaker 1>who can explain it to you. Sit with it for

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<v Speaker 1>a moment, and ask yourself, so, what if that happens

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<v Speaker 1>to the customer.

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<v Speaker 2>You're listening to the audible Ready Podcast, the show that

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<v Speaker 2>helps you and your teams sell more faster. We'll feature

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<v Speaker 2>sales leaders sharing their best insights on how to create

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<v Speaker 2>a sales engine that helps you fuel repeatable revenue growth.

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<v Speaker 2>Presented by the team at Force Management, a leader in

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<v Speaker 2>B to B sales effectiveness. Let's get started.

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<v Speaker 3>Hello and welcome to the Audible Ready Sales Podcast. I'm

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<v Speaker 3>Rachel klet Millard, joined by John Kaplan.

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<v Speaker 2>Hi.

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<v Speaker 1>John, Hi, Rachel.

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<v Speaker 3>So today we are going to talk about aligning your

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<v Speaker 3>solution to the right part of the company. We've all

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<v Speaker 3>been in those situations where we are aligned to a

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<v Speaker 3>departmental initiative and not a corporate one.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, if you're selling a premium solution, you need to

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<v Speaker 1>be talking to the people who have access to discretionary funds.

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<v Speaker 1>The people release those discretionary funds. Those people that have

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<v Speaker 1>the power and influence release those discretionary funds when the

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<v Speaker 1>problem has a large enough business implication.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, there's the golden ticket, right, a large enough business implication,

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<v Speaker 3>and that requires us to align with these corporate initiatives,

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<v Speaker 3>not just departmental one offs. So the first step to

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<v Speaker 3>do that is to really look at the outcomes you're

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<v Speaker 3>trying to drive.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think you always begin by asking yourself, what

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<v Speaker 1>problem am I trying to solve? What problem is the

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<v Speaker 1>customer trying to solve? And then you've always got to

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<v Speaker 1>ask yourself how big is the problem? I find that

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<v Speaker 1>sellers just don't do that. They don't think about the

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<v Speaker 1>negative consequences of the problem. They just look at the

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<v Speaker 1>surface level of the problem and say, Okay, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>problem I relate to, and therefore I can switch and

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<v Speaker 1>talk about my solutions. Go deeper, Go deeper. Always ask

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<v Speaker 1>yourself how big the problem is, Like what are the

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<v Speaker 1>implications of the problem? Are they technical problems or do

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<v Speaker 1>they impact the corporate landscape as a whole. And even

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<v Speaker 1>if you only know the departmental impact, that doesn't mean

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't have higher level implications. You need to go

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<v Speaker 1>find them.

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<v Speaker 3>Right, it's looking at the outcomes that pain. But the

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<v Speaker 3>other piece of this is really getting to the economic buyer.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, your economic buyer is the person who has the

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<v Speaker 1>influence as it relates to this business issue. They have

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<v Speaker 1>power and authority in the organization. They can say yes

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<v Speaker 1>when others can say no. They can say no when

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<v Speaker 1>others can say yes. They have direct access to money,

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<v Speaker 1>discretionary use of funds, profit and loss responsibilities. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>whenever I have trouble identifying the economic buyer, it's typically

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<v Speaker 1>because I'm dealing with a technical buyer or a budget

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<v Speaker 1>holder who is kind of masquerading as the economic buyer.

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<v Speaker 1>So when we speak about a corporate initiative, this is

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<v Speaker 1>who you have to align with. In addition to knowing

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<v Speaker 1>who the person actually is, you need to understand the

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<v Speaker 1>strategic priorities that they care about the corporate initiatives.

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<v Speaker 3>Right. I love giving some examples of questions when we

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<v Speaker 3>give those types of tips, John, So let's talk about

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<v Speaker 3>what questions am I asking that helps me find out

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<v Speaker 3>about those corporate initiatives that an economic buyer cares about.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Rachel, I think people make this like much harder

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<v Speaker 1>than it is, and I want to break I do.

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's I think they just get a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit intimidated buy it. Let me see if we can

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<v Speaker 1>break it down a little bit. So first, as I

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<v Speaker 1>often talk about the difference between stress and pressure, is

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<v Speaker 1>prepared now, It is preparedness. And so sit in the

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<v Speaker 1>customer's moment of pain. And if you don't understand the pain,

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<v Speaker 1>find someone in your own company who can explain it

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<v Speaker 1>to you. Sit with it for a moment and ask yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>so what if that happens to the customer, So what

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<v Speaker 1>what's the impact to the business. So I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>about first getting your mind right too, before you even

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<v Speaker 1>come up with questions. First understand the problem. The questions

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<v Speaker 1>become easier. So many times I'll reverse engineer the problem.

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<v Speaker 1>And let me just give you kind of an example.

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<v Speaker 1>So I draw a bullseye on my piece of paper,

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<v Speaker 1>often just to get started in my pre preparation, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>with outside circles leaning into inside circles to a bullseye.

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<v Speaker 1>And what I mean by reverse engineering is I start with, like, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on in the industry. Okay, those are industry pressures. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>those industry pressures are creating company pressures. So how are

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<v Speaker 1>those industry pressures creating company pressures, and then those company

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<v Speaker 1>pressures are creating departmental pressures, and then I earn the

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<v Speaker 1>right to ask about personal pressure and personal impact. And Rachel,

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<v Speaker 1>I think one of the fundamental mistakes that I see

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<v Speaker 1>young sellers do today, or inexperienced sellers, what they wind

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<v Speaker 1>up doing is they reverse that. They try to start

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<v Speaker 1>with the personal, and they haven't earned the right think

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<v Speaker 1>about industry pressures, and the industry pressures creating company pressures,

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<v Speaker 1>the company pressures creating departmental pressures, and then you earn

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<v Speaker 1>the right on the personal. So questions like what feedback

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<v Speaker 1>are you getting from So if I'm talking, let's say

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<v Speaker 1>I'm talking to like a technical buyer in software, and

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<v Speaker 1>let's say that that technical buyer is creating technical solutions

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<v Speaker 1>that are impacting other departments like sales and finance and

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<v Speaker 1>then outside like customer, And so I just ask questions like, Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>what feedback are you getting from the sales organization or

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<v Speaker 1>from the finance organization, or from the customers or from

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<v Speaker 1>your customers. What's the voice of the customers saying what

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<v Speaker 1>do they like most about what you're doing? A lot

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<v Speaker 1>of times I'll start with a positive question and then

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<v Speaker 1>they'll tell me the negative about So what is your

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<v Speaker 1>sales organization like most about the technical solutions that you're

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<v Speaker 1>providing for them? They kind of tell me something and

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<v Speaker 1>then they immediately go to the negative, and I wind

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<v Speaker 1>up realizing that when I'm asking people to tell me

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<v Speaker 1>about positive situations, whatever it is about human nature, they

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<v Speaker 1>wind up telling me the negative things. And so give

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<v Speaker 1>that a try. But sit with it first and ask yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>so what if this doesn't work out? So what if

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<v Speaker 1>there are problems? What are the implications to those around them?

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<v Speaker 1>The questions are easy. The mindset is first, Oh.

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<v Speaker 3>That's great, And I know we've talked about this and

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<v Speaker 3>other podcast episodes, but I just want to hit it

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<v Speaker 3>here at the end. Having the questions is great, right,

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<v Speaker 3>we need to know what the question is to ask,

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<v Speaker 3>But we can't ask them if we don't have the

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<v Speaker 3>right access to the person. So how am I making

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<v Speaker 3>sure I have the right access? John just hit that

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<v Speaker 3>real quick for us.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I mean best access is from someone inside the company.

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<v Speaker 1>And what I mean by that A lot of times

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<v Speaker 1>people are saying, Okay, I need to get higher inside

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<v Speaker 1>of an organization, and they're looking for ways to like

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<v Speaker 1>you know, Hopscott jump over people like I don't know

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<v Speaker 1>if it's frogger or whatever that thing is when we

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<v Speaker 1>were kids. You're not as old as I am, Rachel,

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<v Speaker 1>but you know you leap frog these things, and people

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<v Speaker 1>think about leap frogging people. I got to get over

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<v Speaker 1>that person. I got to get above that person. And

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<v Speaker 1>I've always thought that the best way to get people

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<v Speaker 1>to get somewhere is from somebody who already knows the way,

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<v Speaker 1>and to get them to take me there. So what

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<v Speaker 1>I like to think about is getting people connect. Did

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<v Speaker 1>emostally connected to what they do for a living matters,

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<v Speaker 1>For example, the example I just gave you getting them connected.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to talk to the VP of sales, but

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<v Speaker 1>yet I'm talking to a technical buyer in it, let's say,

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<v Speaker 1>but I want them to set up the conversation for me.

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<v Speaker 1>Not just set up the conversation for me with a

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<v Speaker 1>warm intro, but I'd like them to be on the

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<v Speaker 1>call because I want this new person I'm talking to

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<v Speaker 1>in sales to know that I am connected to others

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<v Speaker 1>inside the account. And it's this concept of always making

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<v Speaker 1>it warm, always making it warm. I'm more likely to

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<v Speaker 1>receive if somebody calls me at Force Management, you tell

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<v Speaker 1>me that Rachel suggested that you give me a call,

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<v Speaker 1>and not only that Rachel's on the call. When we

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<v Speaker 1>are going to have the conversation or the meeting, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to spend more time being prepared. Probably reach

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<v Speaker 1>out to Rachel and say, hey, what's this meeting about.

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<v Speaker 1>Always bring people along your journey. So think about connecting

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<v Speaker 1>those lower life people to bigger business issues, helping them

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<v Speaker 1>be seen as a hero to the organization. Give them

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<v Speaker 1>ownership and empowerment. You don't need the credit, you need

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<v Speaker 1>the money.

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<v Speaker 3>Amen. So John, wrap it up. That's a great way

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<v Speaker 3>to end it. But I'm sure that you have a

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<v Speaker 3>final thought for us here, and.

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<v Speaker 1>I always you gotta you have time limits here, Rachel.

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<v Speaker 1>You know I always have finnal thought. But all right,

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<v Speaker 1>let's let's just think about a bottom line here. So

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<v Speaker 1>for me, it's always understand the problem you're solving. Ask yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>how big is the problem. Don't hang on the surface

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<v Speaker 1>of the problem. Go deeper, Go deeper, implicate the problem

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<v Speaker 1>with big business issues. Follow the money, follow the money

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<v Speaker 1>of the problem, and it will It will not only

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<v Speaker 1>take you to the business issue, but it will take

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<v Speaker 1>you to the people with the power and influence and

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<v Speaker 1>responsibility to solve it. Lastly, prepare in everything you do.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not always about can you get a meeting, It's

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<v Speaker 1>about whether or not you'll be welcomed back. You get

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<v Speaker 1>delegated to those that you sound like. That takes preparation

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure you're messaging to people with the right messages,

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<v Speaker 1>with the right problems and the right expectations. You do

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<v Speaker 1>those things, and I think you'll have no problem linking

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<v Speaker 1>yourself to corporate initiatives.

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<v Speaker 3>That's great.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you, John, my pleasure go get them.

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<v Speaker 3>Go get them. Thank you to all of you for

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<v Speaker 3>listening to the Audible Ready Sales podcast.

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<v Speaker 4>At Force Management, we're focused on transforming sales organizations into

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<v Speaker 4>elite teams. Our proven methodologies deliver programs that build company

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<v Speaker 4>alignment and fuel repeatable revenue growth. Give your teams the

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<v Speaker 4>ability to execute the growth strategy at the point of sale.

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<v Speaker 4>Our strength is our experience. The proof is in our results.

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<v Speaker 4>Let's get started. Visit a stet forest management dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>You've been listening to the Audible Ready podcast. To not

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<v Speaker 2>miss an episode, subscribe to the show in your favorite

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<v Speaker 2>podcast player until next time