The Situation
A large technology company with worldwide offices saw the size of its average deal fall. Also, its enterprise-wide licenses worth $1,000,000 or more had all gone away. Company morale was dropping, and its senior reps were starting to leave. The Sales VP knew the situation had to change, or the company would need to rightsize (i.e., downsize).
Analysis
We took a close look at the company’s value proposition, target audience, competition, sales process, and pricing strategy. The company had a best practices group that had put some tools together but had not rolled them out yet.
Changes Made
Working with the best practices group, we put together a three-day training workshop, which trainers delivered throughout North America. The workshop focused on three topics:
- How to talk with an executive,
- How to determine the value proposition, and
- Pricing effectiveness
The company rolled out the workshop in two phases. The sales managers went through the training first and the sales reps next. Also, everyone received a follow-up one-day training four months later.
The Result
The company’s average deal-size went up an additional 15% due to selling a total solution, which combined technology, professional services, and training. The number of enterprise-wide deals worth $1,000,000 or more went from zero to sixteen in 12 months.
The Common Mistake
The rule that applies here is “Inspect what you expect.” The company had a well-trained senior sales force. However, they had gotten away from the fundamentals, and their top line suffered from this miscue. The sales managers were assuming that their people were doing all the right things, but they weren’t inspecting to make sure. A lack of inspection leads to a situation we call “Senior reps doing junior things.”
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