Assessing sales opportunities
Fools Rush In: Assess Your Sales Opportunities Before Rushing In
American businesses waste millions of dollars annually chasing after “mirage” sales opportunities that they have no chance of winning. Valuable resources are often tied up for months responding to bids that will never be won or trying unsuccessfully to open a major account. How can you ensure that this won’t happen in your organization? How can you reap a better return on your sales effort investment?
The secret of winning strategists is that they determine their odds of triumph prior to ever seeking a challenge! Losing strategists pursue an opportunity before planning a strategy for success or before considering the possibility that the opportunity may not even be worthwhile to pursue.
In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said, “The excellent general weighs the situation before he moves. He is prudent, but not hesitant. He realizes that there are “some roads not to be followed, some armies not to be attacked, some cities not to be besieged, some positions not to be contested… When a decision is made to attack, this should be done with the gravest of considerations, as the costs will be great.”
Therefore, prior to attacking any sales “opportunity,” serious consideration should be made regarding the cost of going after the business and the odds of actually winning.
Sun Tzu instructed leaders to calculate a plan utilizing the following Five Fundamentals of Strategy. These can be translated and applied to developing a powerful strategic sales plan. They address the What, When, Where, Who and How of your plan.
Moral Influence – What is the mission and higher cause that will unite your forces in harmony with your leaders? What is your objective? Is it worthwhile? Is it aligned with the larger trends and interests of your organization? Will all members of the organization support it? Can it be achieved without compromising the basic principles of the organization? Is your organization prepared to support the expense required to win?
Weather/Environment – Is it the appropriate season? When should you attack? Is the timing correct? What is the political climate? Can you influence it? Are the economic factors in place (i.e. what is the value for the customer and your organization)? Do you have strength in this vertical market?
Terrain/Situation – Is the path easy or difficult? Open or obstructed? Is the opportunity near or distant? Where do you plan to attack? Is there a competitor that is well entrenched? Do they hold the high ground? How politically well connected are they? Is the prospect willing to consider other vendors? Do they limit their business to one or two strategic suppliers? What are the strengths of your troops? Do you have enough to win? If you pursue the business, how long will it take?
Command/Leadership – Team leaders. Who is leading your team? What types of leadership do you have in place? What are the strengths and vulnerabilities of this leadership? Will they fit well within the prospect’s culture? Do they match well against the opponent?
Art/Doctrine – The flexible system used for organization, control, appropriate assignments of leaders and utilization of resources. How will you support the team’s effort? What systems do you have in place to streamline team communication, track progress and enhance effectiveness and productivity? What tools can you provide that will allow the team to remain focused on the attack, while providing your generals with the information they need to manage the resources required?
Although it may appear that it would take a lot of time and effort to go through this process, most of these questions can be answered in a single meeting with some additional intelligence gathering required beforehand. By comparison, the cost and time that it takes to qualify and plan for the opportunity pales in comparison to the time and expenses usually incurred when a team runs blindly after a “mirage” opportunity. If – and only if – the data supports moving forward with an attack, then you can take the next step of developing your plan for attacking the opportunity.
Contributed by Pat Whitney from Maximum Performance Partners