by Ian Altman
Remember, though: the sale is not the finish line.
The sale itself is not the goal. The sale is a necessary step toward the goal. Early in the sales process, you worked collaboratively with the buyer to Find Impact Together (FIT), and you defined the value of your solution. Now the goal is to deliver value and ensure that your client realizes the outcome or results you discussed. Whether your title includes “Sales,” “Operations,” or anything else, the point of selling is to deliver impact.
Delivery is the great payoff for your work in building the puzzle. After so much effort to Find Impact Together, you now get to realize the benefit of the impact. For a seller, delivering impact opens the gateway to repeat and referral business. But failing to deliver opens the gateway to Hell! OK, that’s overly dramatic, but while we’re on the subject:
A young man has a rare opportunity to visit Hell before he dies. In a tour guided by the Devil himself, the man sees people playing golf, eating gourmet dinners, and generally having a wonderful time. “This isn’t so bad,” he thinks to himself.
Many years later (after a sinful, selfish life), the man dies and returns to Hell, but this time the scene is quite different. People are sick, tortured, and miserable. The man tracks down the Devil and says, “Where are the golf courses? Where are the gourmet meals?” The Devil admits, “Oh, that was just our sales process. Now you’re in customer service.”
This old-time joke makes people laugh because the example hits home. Too often, companies fail to deliver what they promised. The fact that the term Caveat Emptor—Buyer Beware—has been used since the 1400s reflects the long, deep history of the adversarial trap.
To avoid under-delivering, we look at how to continue Same Side Selling after the sale itself, through the kickoff and implementation. We discuss how to handle conflicts and other problems that intrude during delivery. We also look at enjoying the benefit by celebrating the project’s success and encouraging referrals and repeat business.
Stay Involved
After a sale, there is often some sort of handoff from the salesperson to an account manager or project manager who takes responsibility for the customer relationship. This transition is delicate. It can lead directly to the adversarial trap if the buyer thinks the person with whom he has built a relationship was there only to win the sale.
Buyer’s Perspective: After we spent nearly two months making a buying decision, it blew my mind that Ed, the salesperson, didn’t come to our implementation meetings. His absence was hard for me to get over, and it didn’t help that we had to explain to someone else several things that Ed and I had spent hours discussing. I kept thinking, “If Ed were here, we wouldn’t have to review this again.”
The person who led the sales process should always be engaged throughout the project. If this isn’t your company’s policy, do it anyway.
An ongoing presence and communication will be natural in Same Side Selling. After investing effort and time to pursue a potential fit, and then finding that the offering does in fact provide value, most sellers will want to see that value become reality.
Staying in touch with the buyer does not have to mean a huge investment of time. Even when the salesperson has no formal role after the sale, it is simple to reach out and check in with the buyer. Here are a couple examples of how the salesperson can start a check-in conversation with the client:
“Bill, it’s been two months since we implemented. I’ve heard good things, but I wanted to hear it from you. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate how things have gone?”
“Louise, I know our operations team is taking good care of you, but I really enjoyed learning about your company and I miss our conversations. I would love to hear about whether our solution is turning out as well as we thought it would.”
Buyer’s Perspective: When we were just a prospect, the salesperson was calling me three times a day. Now that we’ve said yes, I can’t even get a return phone call. I understand that their primary job is to get new clients, but it would be great if they gave as much attention to current clients as they do to potential clients.
It’s also very worthwhile to stay in touch long after the client project has concluded. Ian makes it a policy to check in with all of his old clients at least twice a year. There is no agenda for these calls other than to maintain a relationship and see how things are going, but it’s surprising how many of them lead to more business. The important part is to ask about the clients’ results and the challenges they are facing, not to ask leading questions that sound like “Got any money lying around for us?”
Bringing Others to the Same Side
Implementation often means bringing new people onto the project, particularly if some stakeholders were not involved in the buying process. The result is that even after the sale, some of the key people on the buyer’s team might not yet be working from the same side. They might have an adversarial mindset toward you and your team, or have a habitual mistrust of vendors. They might even have preferred another vendor that was not selected. Whatever is going on, you need to work to get everyone up to speed and on the same side.
This continuation of the sales process is essential to delivering impact. Building consensus after the sale can be more challenging than reaching agreement on the purchase of your product or service. Each individual in the buyer’s organization faces competing priorities and demands. Yet for many of you—especially those in professional services—your project is destined to fail if you do not get the people in the buyer’s organization on the same side with you. So let’s discuss ways to get them there.
Seek Risks and Plan for Them
As you bring other people into the project, it is not a time for rosy optimism and the projection that everything will go perfectly. A far better way to disarm them and build teamwork is to be realistic about the effort required and the risks you might encounter.
There is a path to success for every project. Similarly, there are impediments that could derail just about any well-designed plan. Seek out the risks that could bring everything to a grinding halt. Develop a list of the specific steps that could spell trouble. Work together with the buyer to determine the best way to avoid those problems. In Chapter 8, we explained how to address potential objections to avoid last-minute disasters; you’ll use a similar process now to mention potential snags and decide in advance how to resolve them.
The first company Ian started earned a contract with a large insurance company. As part of the project kickoff meeting, Ian asked the room of more than twenty people, “How many of you have ever been involved in a perfect project?” The attendees chuckled. Of course, nobody raised their hand. Ian continued, “Me neither. So, before we get started, I’d like to lay out the process for how we’ll work together when one of us feels that something is wrong with the project or system.” Ian spelled out the process (including calling Ian at step 3) to resolve a potential problem. Ian gave each team member a laminated card that outlined the steps for resolving glitches in the project.
The pilot was launched, and about ten days later the system stopped working. The client, Jim, called Ian and, with a tone of concern and angst in his voice, said, “The system crashed. We’re freaking out. I’m at step 3, and I’m calling you.” Ian explained that as outlined in the document, he would get back to the client within two hours. As you might imagine, Ian’s company’s internal time requirement was much shorter (within one hour). About forty minutes later, after discovering that Jim’s own database engineers had caused the problem when they changed the structure of the database, Ian called and said, “We’ve uncovered the problem, and the system should be restored within an hour.” Jim said, “While waiting for your call, my team said it was our fault. Is that true?” Ian responded by saying, “Our goal is to deliver a working solution. There will be times when your team fixes our errors or vice versa. All that matters is that we work together to get it working. We don’t lose sleep over who made the mistake.” Years later, when giving a stellar
referral for Ian, Jim said to the potential client, “Not only do they do great work, but even when our own people messed up, they took responsibility.”
Because everyone knew the plan for handling problems, Ian’s client did not fly off the handle. Though he was concerned, he simply followed the plan and everyone was on the same page (or same side).
Practical Examples to Help the Buyer Avoid Pain
Suppose you sell technology solutions, and from experience you know that if the customer’s staff does not attend training, the project is likely to fail. You might emphasize this to the buyer by saying, “We are going to design a great training program and have fantastic support. However, if people do not attend the training, it could make the rollout problematic. What can we do together to avoid that situation?”
If you run an accounting firm, you know that clients with incomplete information end up paying more in fees than those who are well organized. You might say, “Our clients who get us complete information by the seventh day of the month spend about 40 percent less than the ones who send us information a piece at a time throughout the month and with numerous changes.”
When Jack led operations at an accounts-payable outsourcing company, one of the recurring sticky points of implementation was obtaining the interface file for the clients’ ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems. The buyers of the solution were typically finance executives with no direct reports in the information technology department—the group responsible for creating the interface. After experiencing delays with several clients due to this specific problem, Jack and his team started raising this issue at the kickoff meeting as a key to success that often needed executive oversight. After Jack gave visibility and priority to that one step, the interface file rarely became a problem again.
For whichever problems you anticipate, you want the client to be an integral part of finding the solution. To get the client involved, try asking questions like these:
“Given this schedule and these tasks, what risks do you see on your side?”
“We’ll be dependent on these specific individuals and groups at your company. Is there any reason to think that they might not be able to play their role well, and in the timeframe we have laid out?”
The process of identifying risks and addressing potential problems in advance is often that last “extra mile” that can make it much easier for your team to implement and deliver value. If you focus on your strengths, consistently qualify prospects, strive to find impact together, focus on value, and demonstrate restraint, you will grow revenue, lower operational costs, and stop wasting time chasing rainbows.
You will build a reputation for delivering value. Know that there will almost always be snags that get in the way of immediate success. Do not wait for the snags to happen. Instead, address the most common issues ahead of time.
The First Hundred Days
At the beginning of a project, you have an opportunity that you will never have again: the opportunity to make a first impression. Whether it’s fair or not, many people at the buyer’s organization will form their lasting opinion of you from the first few interactions.
Our friend Joey Coleman delivers a workshop called “The First 100 Days.” Joey explains that the reason banks tend to give gifts and incentives to customers after one hundred days is that most business relationships that fail will fail in the first hundred days. If you make it past that point, you are likely to have earned a client for many years. Think about what you could do in the first hundred days to make the buyer’s experience extraordinary. We’re not suggesting that you give everyone a new toaster, as banks used to do. Just remember that simple steps often produce a lasting impact.
For example, Ian’s wife, Deborah, took her car to an auto repair shop for routine service. Three days later, the service manager took the simple step of calling Deborah to ensure that she was 100 percent satisfied with their work. Deborah mentioned that the tire pressure was low, but she didn’t know if checking that was part of their service. The manager said, “It certainly should be. When are you going to be near our shop? Just call me from the car and we’ll take care of it without your needing to even get out of the vehicle.”
Prior to their call, Deborah had thought, “I just had my car serviced and they didn’t check the tire pressure.” After the call, she said, “I love how they follow up.” Deborah went from being a negative to a positive reference as the result of a 60-second phone call.
Responding to the Adversarial Trap
A great start can set the tone for a solid long-term relationship, but it is no guarantee that things won’t change. Over the course of a customer relationship, the adversarial trap threatens in various ways. When it does, you’ll need to watch your step because the wrong move could make things much worse. Each time a shadow of the us-versus-them mentality creeps in, you can choose to respond in a way that either pushes the situation farther on the path to an adversarial minefield or gets everyone back on the same side. Here are a few examples:
Someone Tries to Sabotage the Project
Situation: Shortly after the project begins, a department manager named Chris, inside your client’s organization, begins holding back information you need in order to succeed.
Adversarial response [to one or more of Chris’s coworkers]: “Chris has not provided us with this information, and without it, we are stuck.”
Same Side response [to Chris]: “Chris, I’m guessing that we have done something that has caused you to mistrust us. Rest assured that our goal, just like yours, is the success of this project. What can we do to make you and your team comfortable working with us?”
Explanation: In the adversarial response, you throw Chris under the bus. You assign blame, accurately in this case, to Chris. The problem is that your response draws attention to the adversarial trap and is likely to escalate the situation. Chris will likely never be on your side. In the Same Side response, you take responsibility, assuming that you or your team did something that caused his reluctance. You then ask Chris for the explanation and solution.
A Minor Snag Gets Blown out of Proportion
Situation: Six months into the project, someone discovers an error. Quickly, the internal department that wanted to do the project without your help has suggested that your work is substandard and that nothing you do can be trusted.
Adversarial response: “This issue is not a big deal. We did everything else correctly, and the other group is just trying to latch onto a trivial issue to derail the project.”
Same Side response: “After so many accomplishments on this project, we are embarrassed to have made a mistake like this. No matter how insignificant some people might think it is, each mistake is an indication that we might need to make adjustments in order to meet your goals. We have drafted a plan to ensure that this does not happen again. We want to get your input to ensure that we have not overlooked anything important. But I have to ask: The fact that we had this one mistake, does that mean we cannot earn your trust going forward?”
Explanation: In the adversarial response, you defend your position and sound threatened. In the Same Side response, you own up to the mistakes, engage the client team so they accept your solution, ask if this misstep prevents them from earning your trust going forward, and give them a chance to resolve their concerns. Remember, your goal is to simply get to the truth. Better to know now, rather than later, if the relationship is beyond repair.
If the relationship began from the same side as you applied the principles and tactics explained in the previous chapters, these occasions at the brink of the adversarial trap will be rare. You will have established the practice of Finding Impact Together. The maintenance work is easier than the initial work, but it still requires care.
The Client Wants to Expand the Scope Without Raising the Price
Too often, when faced with confrontation from buyers, sellers can inadvertently focus on their own situation instead of on the customer. This is especially common when it sou
nds like the client is asking you to do more for the same money: “We assume that this other component is also included. We’re going to need that.” Worried about a change in scope, you might respond with statements like:
“We agreed to do X in the contract. Now you are asking us to do something different.”
If you find yourself being pulled into an adversarial stance, remember to focus on the client’s outcome instead of on your own issues. A Same Side response to the buyer’s request for new products or services might be:
“I know that originally we determined that your goal was to accomplish Z. I want to be sure we are all pursuing the same goal. Can we take a moment to define what we hope to accomplish and how we will measure success in this specific area?”
In this example, you focus on the outcome and the client’s needs first. The idea here is to get both parties on the same page to understand a) the original scope, b) the change in scope, and c) the impact and goals associated with the new scope, so that together you and the client can determine the value of that change. If it is important enough, then both parties can agree to a plan moving forward. Sometimes after a brief discussion, together you realize that someone fabricated a need that is not really important, and the client decides that he doesn’t need the additional component after all. If it turns out that he does need it, though, the discussion helps him better understand its value. Either way, you remain on the same side, rather than sliding into the adversarial trap.
Finishing Strong
We believe that practicing Same Side Selling will help you achieve more success with your clients than ever before. As you approach the conclusion of a project or client engagement and you see that you have delivered impact, this is a time for recognition, appreciation, and celebration. This is more than just feel-good-ism or a hollow trophy ceremony. It is strategic.
Celebration provides a time to tell a story with a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning was the problem that was causing the client pain, difficulty, or loss of some kind. That problem also led the client to you, and you mutually discovered a good fit. The middle was your working together. The ending is the outcome, where the problem is solved.