Whale Hunting is a great strategy to grow your company fast. But even fast-growing companies make on average 80% of their revenue from existing clients. So it’s much more important to keep existing whales than to hunt for new ones. How do you find out if there is a high probability that existing whales will work with you next year, too?
We are all working at a frenetic pace and when we aren’t reaching sales goals, we panic and work from a place of fear, rather than from a place of power. Instead of focusing on the “target” we tend to toss darts all over the board hoping we land anything, anywhere. The result is a lot of tossing and not a lot of points. In reality we are staying in the same place (or losing ground) and not shifting our business forward. In either case, we are expending a lot of energy for little results. This is especially true in going after bigger deals because of the complexities of the sale and the nuances of the buying decision.
Sales in and of itself can often feel confusing. “What can I do to get my foot in the door at this company that I know (based on my research) is a perfect fit for my business offerings when I don’t have any connections there? Why won’t she return my calls to discuss the proposal she requested? Why didn’t they buy when they gave me all the right signals? How could they have possibly selected our biggest competitor when clearly we are the best fit to meet their stated objectives/needs?” I’m sure most of these sound familiar. So rather than sit at your desk ho-hum and ruminate on these questions, recognize these challenges during the sales process as opportunities to INNOVATE.
I can’t tell you how many owners and CEOs I talk to who are looking for a rock star with a rolodex to save their sales. But today’s complex B2B sales require thoughtful, analytic team players who can put ego aside and involve their company’s subject matter experts in the sales process.
Whether you are a die hard whale hunter or follow some other sales methodology, success in sales really comes down to following a defined sales process. I am not going to get into the specifics about any one process, but I would like to talk about the value in pairing your process with the right technology. I look at technology as a tool and not an end in and of itself. Like any tool, when it is used correctly, it can help you do great things.
Today’s guest post is by Larry Smith, Partner in The Whale Hunters, and CEO of GreenLyne, Inc. Thanks for posting, Larry! As the owner of a new start-up company that creates software to make manufacturing plant floors paperless, I have used The Whale Hunters Process™ to identify potential clients who can benefit from our […]
Last week I was talking with a VP of sales, who had just returned from a “big deal” sales pitch across the country. Expecting that his team was to present a multi-million dollar sales proposal to the senior executives of the prospect, he found instead a disjointed quasi-meeting. The meeting started 90 minutes late. The chief […]
From The Whale Hunters, we know it takes a strong team with a variety of skills to land a whale. You want women on your team. There are natural advantages Wonder Woman brings to the table that Superman and Underdog don’t have. And I’m not just talking about her magic Lasso of Truth.
You remember the old commercials – when you were asked to make a forced choice between two good options? In syncing up with your prospect, I say you need both – good rhythm and good timing. A successful sales person almost instinctively knows that a winning process includes getting into the customer’s sales cycle as early as possible and at a time when you can still prepare your team to deliver – especially, when hunting whales.
B2B buyers look for the least risky solution, not the best one. Gartner found that 74% of buying teams hit unhealthy conflict during the decision. This article names the four fears that turn up at the Buyers’ Table, explains what a Fear Buster actually is, and shows one step of a sales process with Fear Busters built in.
At the start each consulting engagement, the first piece of our process covered with clients is called the Brand Promise Audit. The goal of the exercise is to determine what parts of your brand promise are truly unique. We often find that the majority of brand promises fall into average or above average categories.
Interestingly, if I received this call a year ago, I would have politely listened for a minute; politely replied that I am not in need of his services; and politely ended the call. But I am not the same solopreneur sitting at my desk writing proposals as I was a year ago. Now, I am a partner with The Whale Hunters. I saw his call as a missed opportunity for him. I am not his prospect and his call to me kept him from connecting with someone who really could be a client and possibly a “whale-sized” client.