Preparing sales to sell a new solution

Preparing Sales to Sell a New
Solution
An ISA Marketing & Sales Community Webinar
January 31, 2012
Presented By:
Matt Leary, Principal
Solutions Insights, Inc.
with
Dr. Peter Martin
Vice President
Invensys Operations Management

International Society of Automation
2
Setting the global standard in automation

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Transactions,

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Provide Education

And Training

Technical Conferences

And Symposia

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members

globally

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Theme: Innovation in Automation
•  September 11-13, 2013, The W Hotel, New Orleans, LA
Pre-conference workshops: $195
Two day conference registration: $445 member/$595 non-member
Early bird registration available until June 1st
•  New in 2013:
—  Social media: Special “no distractions” track
—  Unconference: Working group discussions on hot topics selected by attendees at
the beginning of the conference
•  Who attends: Marketing, Biz Dev, Sales, Product Managers, Business
Owners
•  Why Attend?
—  Learn new strategies and tactics that can be put to use right away
—  Collaborate and network with peers in the industry
—  Insider look at local manufacturing operation during group tour
8th Annual ISA Marketing & Sales Summit
http://marketingsalessummit.com

© 2012 Solutions Insights. All Rights Reserved. 4
Topics for Today
●  The concept of “launch”
●  The importance of involving sales
●  5 essentials for ensuring sales adoption and
action
●  Sales Launch Case Study:Getting Sales to
Focus on Business Value at Invensys
●  Closing thoughts
●  Q&A

What do we mean when we say
“launch”?
To set in motion
To float
To send forth, catapult,
or release
To start on a course
To burst out or plunge
boldly into action
To propel with force
To involve totally and
enthusiastically

Why do we launch a product or a
solution in the marketplace?
●  Generate interest
●  Educate the market
●  Create media “buzz”
●  Generate inquiries –
current and new
customers
●  Create brand awareness
●  Upstage competitors
●  Control the message
●  Others?

Why do we launch a product or a
solution to sales?
●  Generate interest
●  Inform and educate
●  Create internal “buzz”
●  Encourage customer re-
engagement
●  Reinforce competitive
positioning
●  Control the message
●  Create enthusiasm and
momentum
●  Others?

Because of their complexity, solutions
require even more attention be paid to
the sales launch
Solutions Definition
A combination of products, services, and intellectual property focused
on a customer business problem or opportunity that drives measurable
business value and can be significantly standardized.
Product Solution Implication for Sales
Easy to describe Difficult to describe
Comprehensive yet easy-to-
understand descriptions
required
Easy to demonstrate Difficult to demonstrate
Need for strong examples, use
cases, references, simulation
models
Few customer stakeholders
involved
Many customer stakeholders
involved
Preparation with new skills for
different conversations
Relatively short sales cycle Relatively longer sales cycle
Continuous coaching and
reinforcement
Differences Between Products and Solutions

Five elements are essential to ensuring
sales adoption and enthusiasm for a
new solution

Essential #1: Sales Ready Strategy
• Coordinate with sales
prior to formal launchGood
• Involve sales in the
testing and validation of
the solution
Better
• Top-to-bottom alignment
with sales around focus,
content and priorities
Best
•  Sales previews
•  Sales-only launch events
•  Sales council review
•  Sales-led top account
reviews
• Sales input into customer
research, solutions design
• Sales involvement at major
decision points in process

Essential #2: Content that matters
• Core information on
the offer and marketsGood
• Specific information
about buyers and
their needs
Better
• Detailed content that
walks sales through
the selling process
Best
•  Roadmaps, solution details
•  Market overview
•  Segment details
•  Typical decision-makers
•  Persona-based needs
analysis
•  Objections and answers
•  Descriptions and tactics for
each sales stage
•  Account planning tools

Essential #3: Assets that “wow”
• Materials and formats
that are easy to
consume
Good
• Cover all appropriate
markets, segments and
decision-makers
Better
• Targets and delivers
specific information and
support when it’s needed
Best
•  Customer-ready value props
•  ROI calculators
•  Customer references
•  If/then decision trees
•  Value props for specific
markets
•  Role-play tools by persona
•  Proposal templates
•  Playbooks
•  Selling tools and guides

Essential #4: Communication, Training
and Certification
• Build and
communicate a clear
solutions rollout plan
Good
• Train key players to
be advocates and
trainers
Better
• Create expertsBest
•  Clear goals and targets
•  References ,key contacts
and resources
•  Sales Manager/ Channel
Manager training
•  SE/SA sales training
•  Sales, SE, Channel and
Partner certification
•  Tools/expectations for ongoing
coaching and reinforcement

Essential #5: Support and Follow-up
• An easy-to-use way
for sales to give
feedback
Good
• Multiple feedback
channelsBetter
• Continuous two-way
communicationsBest
•  Email or web portal
•  Internal surveys
•  Feedback forwarding process
•  Interviews with early adopters
•  Frequent publication and follow
up via FAQs or “best practices”
•  “Hero” profiles and recognition
•  Presentations by early
adopters at sales meetings

© 2009 Invensys. All Rights Reserved.
The names, logos, and taglines identifying the products and services of Invensys are proprietary marks of Invensys or
its subsidiaries. All third party trademarks and service marks are the proprietary marks of their respective owners.
Getting Sales to Focus on Business
Value in a Commodity Business
Peter G. Martin PhD
Invensys Operations Management
January 2013

Background on organization
© Invensys, February 2011
• Invensys
• Combination of automation technology companies
• Traditionally focused on feature-function-benefit-proof
• Sales
• Product technology/project focused
• Target client – engineering and purchasing
• Automation market segments
• Aggressive commodity cycles
• High business value improvement potential

Background on Role of the Solution
$
Time
ROI
Measurable
Performance

Improvement

(BVS)

Reduce

Lifecycle Cost

(ECS)

Somewhat

Measured

Not

Measured

Invensys Internal Critical Challenges
• Overcoming technology-project-product focus
• Conservative Engineering Perspective
• Accepting multi-vendor solutions
• Delivery capability (IT infrastructure)
• Technology development
• Multiple company mindset & organization
• Leadership changes
• Selling – Channels

Different Buyers – Different Imperatives
Executive
Client
(profitability)
Technical Portfolio
Products
Technical
Client
(technology, risk, cost)
Measurable Business Value
Improvement Solution
Operational Excellence
Solutions
Technological Advantage,
Low Price
Enterprise
Control
System
RFQ (solution)

What we have learned
• Measure of value must align to accounting
•  KPIs are not well accepted by accounting
•  Must be auditable for validity
• Business solution selling requires consultative approach
•  Executive level relationship development
•  Consulting - identify, design and value solutions
•  Difficult for a single sales person to perform in both roles
•  Organizational behavior is difficult to overcome
•  Business value solutions – Corporate and Divisional Executives
•  Products/projects - Technologists

Closing thoughts…
●  Involve sales as early as possible in your solution
development process
●  Enable sales to sell business value, not products
●  Think beyond enablement – to “mastery”
●  Provide the content they need, when they need it
●  Understand how your tools are used and design them
accordingly
●  Be disciplined about certification, coaching and follow
up
●  Create ongoing two-way communication to improve not
only the solution but also the launch process and tools

Questions?

Thanks for joining us!
Check back at
marketingsalessummit.com/blog/
for a copy of the presentation
More information about ISA Sales & Marketing
at marketingsalessummit.com
Peter Martin - peter.g.martin@invensys.com
Matt Leary – mleary@solutionsinsights.com

Preparing sales to sell a new solution

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