How Sales Teams Can Win More Deals

© Primary Intelligence, Inc. 2015

Connie SchlosbergDigital Marketing SpecialistPrimary Intelligence

Housekeeping• This session will be available on our

website

• All phone lines are muted

• Please ask questions using the Chat function

• #BuyerNeeds

Carolyn GalvinDirector of Industry InsightsPrimary Intelligence

John HollandCoauthor and CofounderCustomerCentric Selling®

Today’s Speakers

Today’s Agenda• Background• Importance of Understanding

Buyer Needs• Deep dives

1. Organization Size2. Decision Date3. Cultural Differences

• Q&A

Ken AllredPrimary Intelligence CEO & Founder

We analyze more than 3,000 deals and customer engagements annually

We evaluate more than $20 billion worth of purchase decisions annually

We manage 568 win loss and customer experience programs

We support more than 6,000 sales, marketing, product, CI & CX leaders globally

We work with 6 of the Fortune 20

Primary Intelligence

• Founded in 2002• Worldwide network of Business Partners• CCS® and Rethinking The Sales Cycle books published by M-H• Training Industry's list of Top Sales Training Companies every year

since 2009• Nearly 1,000 clients• Sales ready messaging® helps sellers have better conversations

with executives about business issues• A focus on product usage to empower buyers• Goal: Identify and share best practices to drive higher revenue and

improve sales forecast accuracy

CustomerCentric Selling®

Importance of

Understanding Buyer

Needs

Understanding Buyer Needs is #1

Concern Resolution

Presentation & Demonstration

Professionalism

Facilitating Ease of Purchase

Knowledge of your Industry

Product Knowledge

Relationship with Sales

Responsiveness

Understanding your Business Needs

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%

5%

12%

5%

3%

9%

15%

5%

13%

35%

Deep Dives

Organization Size

Research Findings

1-50 51-500 501-1K 1K-5K 5K-10K 10K-100K 100K+0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

4% 7% 8% 8% 11% 11% 7%7%13%

20%15% 17% 20%

29%

89%80%

72%77%

72% 69%64%

Understanding needs (0-6 Rating) Understanding needs (7-8 Rating)Understanding needs (9-10 Rating) n = 6,314

“Excellent” ratings decrease as organization size increases

“Average” ratings increase as organization size increases

Strategies for Selling into Different Organization Sizes

• 8.5% of sellers are “world class” • 13% of sellers generate 87% of revenues • “A Players” are easier for small companies to attract • As companies grow, under more pressure to codify way

they sell• When selling to large organizations, buying committees likely

bigger• People within committees have different agendas, posing

challenges to sellers (more difficult for sellers to be relevant to different stakeholders)

• Small percentage of sellers can provide enterprise-wide views of the value (costs vs. benefit) of their offerings

Decision Date

Research Findings

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 20150%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

17%20% 19% 18% 19% 19% 20% 21%

48%

40%37% 36% 35%

38% 38% 37%35%40%

44% 46% 45% 44% 42% 42%

Understanding needs (0-6 Rating) Understanding needs (7-8 Rating)Understanding needs (9-10 Rating) n = 10,584

“Excellent” and “average” ratings have reversed over time

Strategies for Selling to Buyers Over the Long Term

• Most sellers execute sales cycles starting with lower levels• Mid- to low-level buyers’ use Internet, social networking have

increased that trendo Knowledgeable buyers find sellers to be less helpful/competento 70% of buying activities are complete before sellers are involvedo “Parallel vs. serial” evaluations of offerings

• Ever-increasing reliance upon reactive “leads”• Proactive contact of key player levels allows:

• Targeting the right profile companies• Earlier qualification and disqualification• Top down rather than bottom up selling

Cultural Differences

Research Findings

Sales teams in North and Latin America had the highest percentages of “excellent” ratings

North America EMEA APAC LatAm0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

19%23%

50%

22%

37%

48%

34% 36%

44%

29%

16%

42%

Understanding needs (0-6 Rating) Understanding needs (7-8 Rating)n = 10,584

Strategies for Selling to Buyers in Different Cultures

• “Results” are the international language of business• Many non-US cultures are hierarchical, making access to

higher-level officials difficult• Leverage vendor executives to get access to higher levels and do

provocative selling regarding business variables that can be improved

• Rapport-building is different• Pace is often slower than in United States/North America• Continue to focus on need development, a universal

strategy once business goals/problems are shared

Conclusions & Recommendations• Recognize significance of

“understanding buyer needs”• Strategize when selling to large

organizations • Target key players in all new and

renewing sales opportunities • Fully understand the culture of firms

you’re selling to

Questions?

MORE INFORMATION

• Understanding Buyer Needs Reporthttp://bit.ly/1QJMUiQ

• Understanding Buyer Needs Infographichttp://bit.ly/1Wj1iT0

• Understanding Buyer Needs Videohttp://bit.ly/1L6yLhJ

• Industry Insights at Primary Intelligencehttp://bit.ly/1QG2uLB

• Primary Intelligencehttp://www.primary-intel.com/

• CustomerCentric Selling® Bloghttp://blog.customercentric.com/blog

• CustomerCentric Selling® Workshopshttp://www.customercentric.com/workshops

• CustomerCentric Selling® Coachinghttp://www.customercentric.com/coaching

• CustomerCentric Selling® Bookshttp://www.customercentric.com/thought-leadership

• CustomerCentric Selling®http://www.customercentric.com

Connect with us!linkedin.com/company/primary-intelligence

@PrimaryIntel primary-intel.com/blog

linkedin.com/company/customercentric-selling

@Official_CCS blog.customercentric.com/blog

Thank you!