wri
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wri.zipwri/1.pdf
wri/Chapter 4 WRI.docx
Chapter 4 – Account Planning Workshop
Becoming a Student of your territory
Now that you have an appointment set up, you proceed to try and find out everything you can about WRI. You also spend time doing some research on WRI and their key executives to better understand the company, culture and mission of the company.
WRI’s annual report and 10K and Linkedin Profiles http://finance.google.com/finance Other Links http://findarticles.com/ http://www.bizjournals.com/ http://www.activemedia-guide.com/ http://www.redherring.com/ http://www.technologyevaluation.com/
Tuesday is here and you are so excited because you get the chance to drive your brand new BMW X7 to the lunch meeting. Wow, this is a much nicer ride than the old Honda Accord you used to drive and the air conditioning works well and the 3.0-liter BMW TwinPowera Turbo inline 6-cylinder, 24-valve, 335-hp engine; combines a twin-scroll turbocharger with variable valve control (Double-VANOS and Valvetronic) and high-precision direct injection drives well.
You were considering the latest Ford F-150 Ecoboost 3.0L POWER STROKE® TURBO DIESEL with 11,500 lbs. towing and a payload of 1,940 lbs.; 250 horsepower at 3,250 rpm and 440 lb.-ft. of torque at just 1,750 rpm. Plus class-leading EPA-estimated 30 highway mpg fuel economy to go with all that muscle.
But at the end of the day you really like BMW X7 and given the fact you love to hit the ski resorts and mountain bike you can take this car with all your gear just about anywhere you want.
You decide to get to the lunch appointment a few minutes early just in case Mike Itbalance: Dir of Finance arrives early. You have looked up Mike’s picture that you found online via LinkedIn so you could know what he looks like but to make things easier for Mike you wait at the front of the sandwich shop with you Senco notebook in hand just in case. The Sandwich shop is busy and you are wearing business attire. Always best to dress one notch above what your customer will be wearing , just in case.
You are standing at the front of the sandwich shop when you see a man with dark black hair and a bearded get out of an older Toyota Camry in the parking lot. “Could that be Mike?” you think to yourself. As the man walks in the sandwich shop you recognize Mike from his online photo and you introduce yourself. He has an easy going style which you notice right away. The sandwich shop is a seat yourself type of lunch place and you find a table that is somewhat removed from the front of the busy sandwich shop hoping , to be able to talk a little more privately. Just in case there are other employees from WRI eating lunch at the same location. You picked this place because it’s close to the WRI offices and more convenient for Mike and they have a large menu in the event Mike has any certain dietary restrictions.
You quickly sit down and Mike asks you the first question. “Why did you try and call Jacob, Bob and Jaques, why didn’t you just try and call me first? Don’t you know that those guys would never return a call from a sales person? They probably get 50 calls like that a month,” Mike says.
Feeling a little embarrassed you replied that it was your job to try and reach the key executives in all your accounts and you tell Mike that you hoped that it didn’t create any confusion or cause any damage by placing those calls. Mike assures you that it was fine. He also tells you that the reason he went to lunch was to give you some background information on the company. The waiter comes to take our order for lunch. You order the tuna melt sandwich and Mike goes with the chicken salad.
Mike begins to explain, “ok now let me tell you why I invited you to meet for lunch.” Not wanting to spoil a perfect opportunity, You sit back and start to take notes and listen.
Mike proceeds to tell you that he has always been a big fan of Senco Software, in fact he used Senco Software at WRI for the past 25 years. Many people that work on the finance team have used Senco for the past 20 years.
Mike tells you that WRI has been a Senco customer for the past 25 years. Mike proceeds to tell you that WRI is at least 2 update/releases behind the most current version. He also explains that many of the users are not happy with the Senco solution because the user interface looks like an older system and is not user friendly.
“The Senco system is so old that only a hand full of people at WRI actually know how to make fixes to it. Also it was so highly customized to fit the needs of WRI 25 years ago that it is not possible for WRI to upgrade to the latest version of Senco. WRI is looking at an entirely new implementation project because of this issue,” he continues.
You can hardly believe what you are hearing. You are having your first meeting and Mike is a huge fan of Senco but you see that this account may have significant customer satisfaction issues and it is clear they are not aware of some of the new features in the Senco new Cloud solution.
Mike gives you a high level view of the organization and the company. Who reports to who. Who has key influence with the project. How long people have been in their current roles etc., He also tells you that there are so many people at WRI who have their own opinion on what to do, that no one is in agreement on the next steps forward. In fact some of the people at WRI have been doing their own research on software solutions and this is causing a division of sorts within the company establishing factions and groups. Some in favor of Senco, some against.
Mike also tells you about why he feels WRI is looking to replace Senco for a new system. He summarizes a few key reasons why they are looking. He says their Key Business Requirements are to have an integrated system for finance, human resources, supply chain, sales and human resources.
He also says that the system must be able to help support WRI’s needs for a Global Market place. Since WRI works in so many different countries and also transacts in different currencies and languages, a Global solution is critical to them.
Mike also shares with you the growing needs of WRI and the demands for aid to these foreign countries in times of need. For example the recent Hurricane that hit the Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Haiti has had a large financial impact on WRI aid supplies.
WRI needs to have improved visibility on what aid supplies are in their multiple global warehouses and what they have in stock. This represents a Supply Chain visibility issues. He also explains since WRI also sends Doctors and nurses to these global hot spots., they need a logistics solution to get those goods and supplies into some of the most remote regions of the world.
In this case, the Hurricane victims have a big need for medical care and clean drinking water. This supply chain logistics challenge is something the CFO is very focused on trying to address.
He also explains to you that there are some people at WRI that feel the Senco Solution is too old and not as functionally robust enough to address the changing needs of their business. He also tells you that the WRI IT team has heavily customized their existing Senco solution to meet their needs and that is why they are not able to upgrade because of the cost and complexity of the customizations. There are some inside the WRI organization that believe that WRI should move off of the Senco platform to a new, modern Cloud based application and move off of the old Senco Solution. There is a lot of debate going on inside WRI on what to do next.
By now you have taken 3 pages of notes in your Senco notebook and Mike has done most of the talking. Noticing that you have finished your Tuna Melt Sandwich and Mike has barely touched his chicken salad, you ask Mike if you can share what Senco’s strategy is and how Senco Software has helped many companies address some of the same issues he raised in the lunch discussion.
He agrees and you walk Mike through the Benefits of Senco Software and some of the area’s you have seen personally in your experience with other customers and the benefits they have seen. Mike agrees that at the right time talking to those existing Senco customers would make a lot of sense.
You also ask Mike about the timing of making a decision to purchase a new system. Mike informs you that this time he feels the project really has momentum and that the CFO, Bob, is going to be the project sponsor and overall project leader. You mention to him that one of the ways you have helped customers with capital projects like this is to help build a business case to help better understand ROI.
Mike agrees that this must be part of the final deliverable to management. This document would also help the Board of Directors understand the value of a new system. You come back to this point again and stress the fact that you have seen other companies struggle after the presentations are completed in making a decision when they have not done a business case. Mike acknowledges your suggestions.You also ask if management has set aside budget dollars for the project. Mike says he is not sure but believes there are budget funds available for the project.
You look at your phone because you set an alarm for 50 minutes and notice it’s about 1 pm and ask Mike if he needs to run. Mike tells you have has to get back for a meeting and you ask him if he would make an introduction for you and set up a meeting with the CFO Bob.
Mike says, “Call me Friday and I will let you know.”
You pick up the check and with the tip the total comes to $24.50. Good value given all the information you just received and the Tuna melt wasn’t half bad either. As you leave the sandwich shop and of course you are excited and pumped up that you have found this great opportunity.
You don’t have all the details but this looks like a perfect opportunity for you and the Senco team to pursue this year. You can’t wait to tell your boss what you have found out. But you are also concerned about one thing that Mike mentioned, it was about WRI’s ability to invest in a new system given some of the other challenges going on in their business.
How do you prepare for the meeting with Bob?
What questions should you be ready to ask?
What research and analysis should you do before the meeting?
What Pains does WRI have?
Discuss and review the Call plan document
wri/Chapter 5 WRI Having an inside coach 1.docx
Chapter 5
Having an inside Coach at WRI
You finally reach Mike on Friday and he tells you that Bob is not quite ready to meet with software vendors yet as part of their “official process,” but Mike was able to convince Bob to take a brief 30 min meeting next Tuesday at 8 am at his office at WRI. Mike is really starting to step up and help you navigate the account. He is really becoming a trusted coach and possible Mobilizer.
You thank Mike for setting the meeting up. Mike tells you that no other vendors have yet met with Bob and you will be the first. You ask Mike for his direction on the key area’s that he believes Bob is concerned about.
Mike tells you that Bob is very concerned about how a system like this will impact the overall operations at WRI. He also tells you that Bob is very concerned about security. Given some of the recent, highly publicized security breaches at Equifax, Sony and others, Bob is worried that confidential information may be at risk. He also explains that Bob’s number one goal of this project is to improve on the logistics and supply chain operations for WRI.
As part of the conversation you ask about Bob’s background. You find out that Bob has been at WRI for 20 years in various roles and was promoted to CFO about 3 years ago. He also tells you that Bob really doesn’t like sales people and because of his training as a CPA, he is very detailed oriented. Bob is usually skeptical when he meets a sales person because he wonders if l they really know what they are talking about. So Mike’s advice is “Don’t come across like a sales person. Don’t be to salesy. ”
You are not too sure what to make of that comment but you thank Mike for the advice. You also find out that Bob has never led a project like this and is very concerned that a project of this size and scope could be a career maker or career breaker and given Bob is 5 years away from retirement he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his ability to retire to his home in Draper, Utah and continue to work on his hobby as a wildlife painter and artist.
wri/Chapter 6 The First Sales Call -1.docx
Chapter 6
The First Sales Call at WRI
Tuesday rolls around and you decide since you have never been to WRI’s office before you will get there 15 minutes early just in case Bob has a few extra minutes to invite you into his office early. You of course are in business attire even though you know that the WRI office is business casual. You don’t want to set the wrong impression on your first meeting with Bob the CFO.
You arrive at WRI’s office and go to the main reception area and sign in to the visitor book. As you are signing in you notice that the day before 3 people from LAZYDAY SOFTWARE had signed in and put they were meeting with Bob. This is interesting that the LAZYDAY SOFTWARE team was there meeting with Bob. Your view of the situation is the LAZYDAY SOFTWARE team must be there trying to convince Bob to switch from Senco to LAZYDAY SOFTWARE and implement their latest solution. It’s interesting that Mike said you were the first vendor Bob was meeting with.
You wonder if Mike even knew the LAZYDAY SOFTWARE team was meeting with Bob a few days before. You brush this off and sit in the reception area of the lobby. You notice all sorts of awards plaques that WRI has received on the wall of the waiting area. The awards are for product humanitarian service and reference letters from customers. Impressive you think to yourself.
As the minutes tick away you look at your phone and realize that Bob is now 10 minutes late for your meeting and you know he only has 20 minutes left on his calendar. You start to re-adjust your talking points of your elevator pitch, knowing you may not have the full 30 minutes you had planned on. Finally Bob’s assistant, Vanessa comes and greets you and leads you to Bob’s office. When you arrive Bob welcomes you with a smile and handshake and apologizes for the delay.
Knowing that time is short you say to Bob, “Not a problem, I understand how busy you are, do you still have a hard stop in 20 minutes?” Bob tells you he will take the time necessary to cover items you wish to discuss and will let you know when he needs to wrap up. “That’s good you say to yourself, the fact he will work with the allotted time is a plus.”
You have reviewed the call plan and the notes you took from your lunch meeting and phone call with Mike. All of this information you have committed to memory and a few notes in your Senco notebook. But you want to ask some of the same questions of Bob just to triangulate with what Mike told you.
You then start asking Bob about his background and time at WRI. Even though you have heard a lot of things from Mike and read online about Bob, you want to have him verify for you his background and get to know him a little bit. You are careful not to waste too much time on the “Meet and Greet” type discussion because you know that Bob is a busy executive and you also know he really doesn’t like sales people. You then ask him to share why WRI may be considering a new enterprise solution.
You begin to ask some of the “Challenger Questions” that you have prepared. Bob tells you he has been at WRI for 20 years and 3 years ago was promoted to CFO. He shares the fact that he has been significantly understaffed and that there is pressure on him to deliver on projects for the company.
Bob continues to share that some of the issues he is dealing with as the CFO. He explains he would like better visibility in the Supply Chain. Which aid products are in their 35 Global Warehouses. He also tells you the coordinating all of the Doctors, Nurses and medical supplies that need to arrive into a disaster site is the difference between life and death. He tells you that unlike other companies, WRI is performing a humanitarian service on the World Stage and much like the Red Cross, they are typically one of the first on the ground during a disaster or conflict. So you think to yourself that you need to find out a way to help address the CFO’s issues.
Bob also tells you that the CEO is the one that put him in charge of this project and that the CEO said, “Bob, you better get these issues fixed and fixed quickly.” So Bob is not really thrilled to be the project sponsor but knows that he is the only person that will accept the assignment from the CEO.
He also shares that the CEO, Jaques, is getting pressure from the Board of Directors to increase the ability that WRI has to help people on a world stage. WRI’s donations are not keeping up with the demand of the natural disasters. In fact, this week there was just a large earthquake in Mexico and a WRI rescue team was just deployed to help those injured and they almost ran out of supplies in the San Antonio Warehouse. Jaques asked Bob of a status report and when the Senco system couldn’t provide the information. Jaques proceeded to yell at Bob for 30 minutes because of the errors on the report.
Bob also tells you that in order for his IT team to get those reports it takes about 2 weeks to pull all the information together because the entire company uses spreadsheets to run each department and none of the information is in a single location. This is something you take a special note on knowing how important this is to WRI and the CEO. This is very helpful insight and you thank Bob for his candor.
You then start to ask questions about the organization at WRI. You are trying to understand the company and each of the departments inside the company and verify what Mike shared with you at the Sandwich shop.
Bob shares with you that he is putting together a cross functional team of people that will make up the evaluation committee and these people will come from all departments including, Finance, Human Resources, Supply Chain and IT.
You ask Bob about the decision process and he tells you that the evaluation team will make a recommendation to the executive steering committee for the project with a vendor of choice.
The executive steering committee will then take their recommendation to the Board but Bob’s influence will be key, from what you can tell from the conversation.
The CEO will then take the entire project cost to the Board of Directors for approval.
If the Board of directors approves the project, and if the BOD approves the budget. Then WRI will enter into a contract with the selected vendor.
You then ask Bob how long does he envision this entire process taking. He says, “I think 6-9 months.” We want to start this project Jan 1st of next year after we have closed the books for our previous fiscal year.
This is good information to have. You are sensitive to Bob’s time and you ask him if he has any additional advice for you as you begin to work with WRI and Bob’s team.
Bob sits back in his leather chain and folds his arms and pauses for a moment. He then takes a deep breath and warns you to work with his team and his team only and that if he catches any feedback that you or any other Senco Sales person is trying to go around him or Mike to the various business groups instead of working with his team, Senco Software will be excluded from the evaluation and you will no longer be welcome to call on WRI.
You let Bob know that you understand the rules and suggest that one of the ways you have helped other companies like WRI understand the benefits of a new solution is to talk to other customers who have been through a similar process that WRI is about to go through.
You also mention you have customers that might be willing to meet with Bob and members of his staff to review. You set this up on purpose knowing two things. First most of the Senco customers will have people from the business talk to WRI and given this, Bob and Mike will likely want their business users to be there as well for these reference calls.
This is a great way not to go around Bob and Mike directly but to get to know the business leaders at WRI through a reference visit. This is also a competitive trap because you know that LAZYDAY SOFTWARE has had some trouble with an end to end reference. You also know that an integrated solution for Finance, HR and Supply Chain is going to be key to beating LAZYDAY. You also make a note about security and know that since security is a big issue you must exploit this weakness in LAZYDAY.
Your proposal to meet with some of your happy Senco customers catches Bob a little off guard, you can tell by his body language and facial expression.
“Thanks for the offer, I will let you know if that is something we would like to pursue.” Bob responds. “Is there anything else?” he asks.
You glance at your phone and notice your 30 minutes is about up.
“Yes there is one final thing I would like to ask . Would you be willing to introduce me to the CIO at some point to better understand their issues and requirements?”
Bob explains that WRI has a specific process and that you need to follow that process on behalf of Senco but at the right time he will make that introduction. He also explains that this will NOT be an IT lead decision. Again, Bob is very protective of the business leaders and IT.
You thank Bob for the time and you make sure you have exchanged business cards so you have his vital contact information. On the way out you thank Vanessa for her help and ask for her business card for any future meetings with Bob. She seems surprised you asked for her contact info, but you realize any meeting with Bob will be through his assistant and knowing the assistant to a key executive is crucial when navigating a key pursuit like this one.
What new information did you learn from Bob?
Who do you want to try and meet next in the sales process from WRI’s business?
What other Challenger Questions should you have asked on that call?
What was your call to action or next step?
You now have enough information to start your account and opportunity plans
wri/Chapter 7 The Discovery Canvas 3.docx
Chapter 7
The Discovery
It’s been a week since your meeting with Bob and you get a call from Mike on your cell phone telling you that you should expect an email with a list of requirements from WRI. Those requirements will detail out what WRI needs in a new system. These requirements are being sent to all of the vendors that WRI plans to evaluate through their process. You thank Mike and ask,”Who is the list going to? What other vendors?” Mike explains he is not allowed to share that information with you at this time. You thank Mike and share with him that if you have any questions you will follow up with him. Later that day you get the email with the WRI requirements.
You now sit down in your office and review the requirements with your boss and he advises calling one of Senco’s top pre-sales consultants, Jody, to help organize the team of product experts to help you prepare to align the WRI requirements to the Senco solution .
You call Jody and she is happy to help you, especially given your boss has suggested you get her teams help and support. The first thing that Jody suggests a call with WRI to verify the list of requirements. Much of what WRI has sent you in the email appears pretty basic, but you do have a few questions about many of the key requirements. You want to be sure you don’t make any assumptions on what they are asking for.
Here are the key requirements that WRI has listed in their email to you.
1. Improve visibility across the Global Supply Chain
2. Insure WRI has the right amount of Inventory at each of the 35 Global Warehouses. Need to improve on Global Available to Promise functionality in their system
3. Improve the overall Logistics Network of getting products from one disaster to another
4. Improved coordination of Doctors and Nurses at the disaster sites
5. Increase donations to help meet the needs of the growing demand for disaster relief.
The email also states that WRI is requesting pricing for the Senco solution including your monthly subscription fees for the software and implementation costs for the new solution. WRI has scheduled a presentation date for the Senco team and it is scheduled in 2 weeks.
There will be no exceptions made to the schedule. This is due to the fact that WRI is flying in key business leaders from their various facilities from all over the US to be present for the presentations. Jody says preparing the team in that amount of time will require some extra work but she is confident she can make that date and time work for the team, “if” they have access to the right people at WRI.
Jody also tells you that her team is just coming off of a huge win against LAZYDAY SOFTWARE in another nonprofit company. The Red Cross. The Red Cross is a world recognized relief organization and in many ways works closely with WRI and its resources when they both respond to world disasters.
You decide to do some research by talking to your boss and other sales reps who have recently competed against LAZYDAY SOFTWARE and you start to compile a list of things you believe clearly differentiate Senco from the competition. You start to build your competitive Traps document.
Things are really heating up and you feel anxious about your presentation coming up in two weeks.
wri/Team Presentation to WRI.docx
Ben Luettgen
Team Presentations to WRI
1. Describe “Key Business Drivers” of why they started looking for a new solution in the first place.
2. Describe the "Key Pains" that WRI has.
3. Describe the challenges that WRI is facing and how your solution helped them address those issues
4. Describe a brief overview of the Senco solution. Remember to keep things simple
5. Benefits of your solution.
6. Summarize the Value of the Senco solution to the executives
7. Conclude by confirming next steps in the process
Add as much information to these questions below, flush them out so we can get a good grasp -
1.
Improve visibility across the Global Supply Chain
2.
Insure WRI has the right amount of Inventory at each of the 35 Global Warehouses. Need to
improve on Global Available to Promise functionality in their system
3.
Improve the overall Logistics Network of getting products from one disaster to another
4.
Improved coordination of Doctors and Nurses at the disaster sites
5.
Increase donations to help meet the needs of the growing demand for disaster relief
We can pick roles when we meet again after we have information on the company and problems -
Possible Roles:
· Implementation Consultant
· Senco Sales VP
· Logistics Consultant
· HR
· Finance Consultant
· International Relations Consultant
· Resources Manager (funds/donations)
· Inventory Manager/Consultant
Presentation -
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1HUNFDOf9cI8RGkzW2pKVhObY3dH3WAWh_6e76Y1Nmow/edit?usp=sharing
wri/Worldwide Relief International Chapters 1 and 2 fall 2019.docx
Chapter 1 – Personal Selling – Worldwide Relief International
Looking back over a great sales year at Senco Software
As an experienced Sales Rep for Senco Software Inc., you have just completed a successful year and finished with your best year ever at 150% of your quota. The good news is the success you had in the previous year will mean that your annual on target earnings (OTE) will be near $250,000, which is much needed since you have been looking at moving into a new house that has more space and the fact you might also need to purchase a new car to help get the family around town. Your 2002, Ford F150 Pickup truck is starting to wear down.
The good news for your career is the company you work for, Senco Software, has been growing steadily at 50% per year and is now reaching annual revenues of $ 2 BB and is listed on CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer as one of the hottest new companies to watch.
The Senco product line that you are selling includes business applications that helps companies modernize their business operations for financial accounting, supply chain management, sales and marketing and human resources and payroll. These solutions help automate a company’s business processes and helps them grow and expand their business with a complete suite of integrated business software solutions. Given that you had such a great year last year, you are excited to get your new compensation plan and your new list of accounts for the year and see if you have any new accounts you can focus on.
Chapter 2 – Personal Selling
The New Year Begins – You now start back at zero
The next day, your boss calls a meeting in the office for 8 am on the first day of the new fiscal year. During that meeting you receive your new compensation plan. Bad news is your quota has now increased by $1.5 MM to $3.5 MM. You can’t believe that your quota has gone up by $ 1.5 MM, from the previous year. You start to wonder what Senco senior management is thinking by giving you such an increase.
But you soon realize that since you sold $ 2.0 MM last year, you are not as worried about making your quota for this year. Given you are hitting your stride as a sales person and feeling strong and confident about your abilities to close business for yourself and Senco.
In that meeting your manager also gives you your new territory and account lists for the year. You start to review the account list in detail to see which accounts could become the best targets for the upcoming year. As you are reading through the account list, you start to gather information on some of the new accounts.
Many of these accounts are in a variety of industries. Some of the industries you are not very familiar with. But as you are looking through the list, one account catches your eye. The company is called Worldwide Relief International. Of course you know this company, WRI, has been a longtime Senco customer of over 25 years.
In fact you remember hearing stories that your boss actually sold this account years ago when he was a sales rep.
WRI, as they are known, provides relief services to people in need around the world. You have seen their commercials on T.V., asking for donations to help feed the children and provide services, such as medical care, clothes, food, hygiene kits as well as infant care kits. WRI, operates in over 200 countries around the globe and many times they are the first on the scene when there is a war or natural disaster.
You decide to set a time with your boss to discuss what he knows about WRI and how he would suggest you approach the account.
You also look through the rest of the accounts on your list and decide to do some research on Worldwide Relief International to see what additional information you can find out about the account.
wri/WRI case study Chapter 3.docx
Chapter 3 – Finding Opportunities
How are you going to make your quota?
After you have reviewed your comp plan and territory, your boss surprises the team with a yearend celebration party catered by one of your favorite places, Crown Burger. A nice touch to help bring the team together. You finish up your research on your account list for the day and it’s late so you decide pick up some take out for dinner on your way home. For some reason you have a hard time sleeping that night, you can’t figure out if it was the takeout food or your lack of being able to sleep because you have been thinking over and over again about how you are going to make your quota. In fact you didn’t get much sleep at all and you’re feeling a little stressed. The problem is, you know that you have mentally already spent the commission check from last year on a new house in a neighborhood you have always wanted to live in and a better car. The make, model and color you have already picked out in your mind. So now the pressure is really on to make sure you can reach your goals and make those car and condo payments.
Part of the process is to do more analysis on your account list. But for some reason you can’t seem to get your mind off of Worldwide Relief International.
Earlier that day, you were able to set an appointment with your boss to get all of the information on WRI, seeing that they are an existing customer, he should have some good information for you.
As you meet with your boss he asks you if you know anything about WRI? You tell him all you know is they are a huge existing account and are spending over $ 5 MM per year on annual support of Senco and running their worldwide operations on the Senco solution.
Your thoughts start to bounce back and forth, you have 25 other accounts on your list that you need to better understand. In your way of thinking you are torn between with how much time do you actually spend chasing a company like WRI who hasn’t bought anything, that you are aware of, in 25 years and spending that time finding a new target that might be ready to buy this year. Remember you have a $ 2.5 MM quota to retire this year and time is your biggest constraint. The clock is ticking, what do you do?
You can’t invest sales cycles in a sales cycle that will not have a high probability to close. This is what makes your job so challenging, trying to decide where to spend your time and which companies to invest in. You also remember the sales training you took that helped you become aware of trying to find the “Mobilizer,” in your accounts. Since you have never worked with WRI you start to wonder who in the account will be the change agent that you are looking for. Who will be the business leader at WRI that will be able to build consensus across the company to help make this dramatic change in their business.
You have to build a strong pipeline of prospects, but you also don’t want to waste time with companies that are not going to buy from you. In addition to all of this analysis, your boss keeps pushing you to get more pipeline because he is telling you that you need to have over $7.5 MM in pipeline to cover you $2.5MM quote adequately. He has also been telling you that the VP for the region is pushing him for this ratio of 3 times his quota in his pipeline. So the pressure is starting to build on you.
Also don’t forget, since Senco is growing so fast, internal resources for people who can effectively demonstrate and present the products are scarce and in high demand so you have to use your resources wisely. Remember you have to use your resources on the right deals, if you don’t, you will get a reputation as a sales rep that will chase any sales pursuit without properly qualifying the opportunity and ultimately not make your quota. No success, no new condo, no new car.
But at the end of the day you are intrigued by the idea that you could sell the first Senco Software products into this account. WRI uses the Senco products for Financial Accounting, Human Resources and Payroll. But the challenge is WRI runs all of those products in their data center on their hardware.
Given Senco has all of its new products in the Cloud you have to come up with a strategy to approach an existing you know that your boss and VP will be amazed if you are able to break into this account given they are located very close to the Senco office. You also like the idea of a personal challenge and the idea of being the first to establish a business relationship with WRI. But you have to find the “Mobilizer” at WRI that can help guide you through this vast company and the politics that exist.
Finally you decide the opportunity to target WRI is just too good to not investigate further and you decide to put some time in finding out what they are all about.
Exercise:
What do you do about the other accounts that you have been assigned? How would you suggest you cover them?
Who at WRI should you call on first?
How do you establish a relationship at WRI, what type of opening would you use?
Discussion
Jacob Overtishead: CIO
Bob Buster: CFO
Mike Itbalance: Dir of Finance
Jaques Merlo: CEO
Jacob Overtishead: CIO
You reach out to Jacob’s assistant and she informs you that Jacob is traveling and will get back to you when he returns. Sorry try again later.
Bob Buster: CFO
You reach out to Bob, the CFO and his assistant explains that Bob doesn’t usually meet with Vendors and she suggests you call Mike the Dir of Finance.
Mike Itbalance: Dir of Finance
You are surprised when Mike actually answers his phone, he tells you he got an email from Bob, the CFO asking him to meet with you.
Jaques Merlo: CEO
Jaques is traveling globally for the next 30 days and suggests you meet with the Finance group to discuss any needs that WRI has.
