Trust Triangle Selling September 2010 Newsletter

September 2010

Issue: 44

PILOTS & TRIALS

Thank you to Joanna from Phoenix, AZ, whose question inspired this month's newsletter.

Hello Dan,

Our company offers a software solution to help companies improve their productivity. It comes in two "flavors": installed at the customer's site or accessed via web or cloud.

The problem my sales team is having is that we have several deals where the sales cycle is expanding due to the trials we conduct for the customer. These trials allow the customer to feel more comfortable with the sizable cost of our solution and help us to close the deals. We are also experiencing quite a few instances where the customer does not buy after we invest heavily in the trial.

Any thoughts on how we can improve?

Sincerely,

Joanna

Thanks for your question, Joanna. This is a familiar challenge for many reps and a useful opportunity to share some ideas about trials and pilot programs.

I do have a suggestion which will hopefully reap benefits for you and your team.

I like to say to myself: "Pilots are for airplanes.Trials are for court rooms." Your company is not an airplane or courtroom, so you should really offer neither. This could be a new best practice at your company for all reps to implement.

You may be worrying that you will lose business if you adopt this approach. However, there are other ways to satisfy your customers' requests. What do I mean? First, you will not call it a "pilot". It should be called exactly what it will be, which is a Contingent Order Evaluation Program. In other words, you will offer to spend a significant amount of your company's and personal scarce resources to assist your client in the evaluation of your offering. In return for that, you will seek a contingent order. (This approach is what we call a quid pro quo.) The contingencies will be mutually agreed upon and included on the purchase order prior to the commencement of the evaluation. You will only approve a Contingent Order Evaluation Program for a properly qualified client who meets very specific criteria.

In order to establish your new Contingent Order Evaluation Program policy at your company, you will need the following:

The specific criteria necessary to qualify your client for this program. For example, do you understand the "BMPCC" account qualification criteria? Are all the answers acceptable to you? For more information on the Trust Triangle Selling BMPCC account qualification criteria please access a previous TTS newsletter on the topic HERE.
The exact performance criteria that can be used as the contingencies and listed directly on the customer's purchase order.
The specified duration of the Contingent Order Evaluation Program. In other words, the program must have a clearly defined "end date" ("Critical Event Date") which must be listed on the purchase order.
The purchase order must include a phrase which states something like: "If the software meets or exceeds all of the specific criteria described herein, the contingencies will be removed and this order shall become binding".

The benefits of this approach are:

Achieving customer buy-in. Typically a customer will not apply the necessary resources to something that she does not own. The Contingent Order Evaluation Program forces them to have "skin in the game" and they begin to take ownership which increase your chances of success.
Weeding out the "tire kickers" and poorly qualified clients.
Pinpointing the specific performance requirements of the software PRIOR to the trial versus after the trial.
Allowing you to control the where, who, how and duration of the evaluation.
Involving the client's Finance and Procurement departments. Given that the purchase order will contain specific legal contingencies, early participation by the Finance & Purchasing Department will prevent delays or sabotage of the sale at a later date.
Forces a discussion of the investment and ROI before the evaluation. This prevents surprises and delays occurring at the completion of the evaluation.
Driving a strong process (3-D) to the evaluation with a "Critical Event" date.
Establishing the criteria for success up front, avoiding subsequent surprises and delays.

The criteria that are placed on the purchase order serve as a white picket fence of sorts, adding structure and process. You will clearly define exactly what both your company and client expect during the evaluation of your offering. This will prevent the chaos you described in your question and will help you for close more deals, in less time, with greater forecasting accuracy and at higher margins.

Good Luck, and Close 'Em!

Dan Adams, Adams and Associates

p.s. For a preview of the other strategies, be sure to visit www.salesstrategizer.com for the new Selling Power Sales Strategizer iPhone app. The Sales Strategizer "Pro":

Analyzes data input to provide intelligence in the form of recommendations for the proper major account sales strategy (strategies) to employ
Consolidates user inputs to illustrate the chances of winning with an indicator gauge and digital readout
Submits "red flag" coaching feedback with action items to improve chances of winning
Coaches and explains why inputs are critical by providing hyperlinks in each question
Presents a simple and concise summary report to facilitate coaching & major account review
Provides summary report e-mail capability for sharing and printing
Creates a database to store account Strategizer results for subsequent updates and modifications