Improve Your Odds on Opportunity Development: In Horse Racing and with Sales Process

The 2018 Del Mar Thoroughbred Horse Racing Season held its Opening Day in Del Mar, on July 18th, with racing fans talking of “odds”,  “win, place or show”, “handicap”, “homestretch”, and ultimately, “winning the purse”.  Last year, Flannery Sales Systems held a round table discussion with 18 business people talking about making it through the backstretch of 2017 with Sales Process; looking at “handicaps”, avoiding getting “shut out”, and “winning the purse” more often, more quickly, and with better forecasting odds, to help them place bets on winning more deals to drive Q3 and Q4 revenue.

For serious racing fans, betting on the right thoroughbred requires an in depth understanding of the horse and the dynamics of the race; It’s more than just a gamble.  It’s a process.  For sellers, a formalized, documented, repeatable Sales Process can help take the “gamble” out of winning a deal. CSO Insights says that the win rate on forecasted deals in 2016 was 46.4%-less than HALF “came in”.

 

Our round-table discussion centered around four main topics with expert comments shared and bulleted beneath each topic.

  1. Establishing a Customer’s Buying Process Stages (Determining “Odds” Based on an Understanding of a Prospect’s Buying Process)
  • “A real Sales Process is based on how your customers buy; it is more than a few stages designated in your CRM.”
  • “Process keeps everyone in the office on the same page.”
  1. Understanding a Prospect’s Needs (Avoid getting “shut out” by selecting opportunities best suited to your solution)
  • “People think they understand my products, but they don’t really understand how to USE my product to help them reach their goals.  That is my job, but I have to understand their NEEDS first!”
  • “’Avoid show-up and throw-up’ and the ‘harbor tour’ by understanding the prospect’s needs BEFORE offering your solution.”
  1. Identifying, Developing and Enhancing Selling Skills Associated With Each Stage (Reducing “Handicaps”)
  • “Most managers are “deal coaches”. A true manager will help elevate the SKILLS of their reps.”
  • “We try to hire the skill set, but need to follow-up with training on specific skill deficits. We’re not sure what those deficits are.”
  1. Monitoring Progress from Stage to Stage with Prospect Verified Outcomes (Measuring “Furlongs” all the way to the “Homestretch” for the Win!)
  • “It’s hard to tell if opportunities are moving forward or stuck.”
  • “Confirm a prospect’s urgency and their time commitment to the project.”

Applying process, and supplementing it with a Sales Skills Coaching program (a trainer and a jockey?) increases win rates by 11%. Our customers have recognized these results, and are off to a winning season!  We welcome the opportunity to speak with you about where to get started. So let’s speak soon, as the horses are on the track!

 

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