subject: The Roadmap For Landing Big Sales [print this page] The current situation: The current situation:
There has been a change in business around the world during the past three decades. The impact of the IT revolution has been felt in all spheres of industrial activity, which has brought forth a host of new problems as well as opportunities for big companies. They have introduced new technologies such as just-in-time inventories, statistical quality control, etc. in manufacturing, selling, purchasing, and distribution.
The days of ridged thinking are gone and new innovations are being introduced almost day by day. In the 1910s and 1920s, old Henry Ford could get away with his famous Model T painted in any color so long as it is black. Today, cars come out in a multiplicity of hues and sheens that would make a rainbow blush.
Small-mid size businesses have generally managed to keep abreast of these changes except in one vital area, namely the selling department. While the big companies have made radical changes in their buying methods, the sellers, i.e. the small-mid size companies, still continue with their vintage sales approach. These need to be revised and brought on par with the new buying methods.
In big companies today major decisions like changing suppliers, or buying a new product or service, are not taken by an individual. Such matters are now entrusted to a team comprising the head of the purchase department and supported by experts from various other departments which can be affected as a consequence of the decision, e.g. finance, R&D, human relations, engineering, and so on. The team members will discuss thoroughly all the pros and cons of the matter and will arrive at a collective decision. The object of the exercise is not only to ensure that a correct decision is taken but also to eliminate the risks of taking a wrong decision.
Small-mid size companies, who are the service providers and suppliers involved, should also have a similar team consisting of key executives and the appropriate subject experts. The members of the deal team will work with their counterparts in the buying team and work through any all the issues. These discussions may be prolonged over several days, weeks or months and the final decision will be taken only after both the buyer and the seller are satisfied.
Big companies/Small-mid size companies:
It is observed that big companies generally prefer to deal with other big companies similar to them in size and stature. While small-mid size companies have many qualities in their favor, buyers from big companies have fears about the stability, capacity to deliver, and consistency in performance of the smaller companies. Above all, they worry about falling behind their competitors because they picked the wrong provider. The deal team from the small-mid size company should be in a position to allay all these fears of the prospective buyers if they are interested in landing big sales.
The road map:
Landing big sales is an important first step towards your target of improving the size and status of your company. However, it should be kept in mind that selling to big companies is tough and needs strong leadership committed to exponential growth and a dedicated executive team to start the process and bring it to a successful conclusion. You will need 6-12 months to train such a team. The immediate time and resource commitment may appear high but the results will be an exponential ROI that last for years!
