by Ian Altman
All this reminds the client that he made a good decision to hire you. It is a decision that he could make again if the fit was right. It is a decision that he could easily recommend to another company.
The celebration is a perfect time to remind the client that he is more than a paycheck to you. You might find yourself making statements like these:
“Since you were our first client in this segment, this was a great opportunity for us.”
“We learned so much about XX in this project; I know we will use that soon.”
“It’s been a great business partnership, and a great friendship.”
That last sentence about friendship might have seemed forced or strange when you first cracked the cover of Same Side Selling. Our sincere hope is that it now seems quite natural. Once you start selling from the same side, it’s easier to develop friendly relationships with your prospects and customers.
As we know, the best projects solve specific problems with specific solutions. There’s a big difference between a client saying, “They helped us increase our sales” and saying, “They helped us increase revenue by 18 percent in six months.” Not every circumstance is as easy to quantify as revenue, but the goal is to define results as specifically as possible. Doing so benefits not just your client but you, too, because you then—with the client’s permission—have material for a case study.
The Same Side Case Study
Case studies can become a valuable tool for sharing third-party stories with others. However, the typical case study follows a format that does not help the sales process:
20% Client background
60% Description of solution and what you did for the client
10% Benefits of the solution
10% About your company
The problem with the traditional approach is that it is focused on what you did, more than it is on why the client needed it. A reader of the traditional case study would know little about the problem and everything about your solution. But that formula is not aligned with the way buyers make decisions. Instead, consider the following Same Side Selling case study format:
10% Client background
50% Client issue, impact, and importance
40% Outcome of solution
This format aligns with the way buyers make decisions. You share the impact and importance so that a reader facing the same issue might realize the impact that it could have. Someone reading the case study who has a similar issue will be intrigued by the topic, discover the problem’s potential impact, and have a sense of how life could get better with your help.
Note, though, that the solution for the client in the case study might not be the right solution for other clients. Including the solution, instead of the outcome of the solution, might create confusion. If readers face similar challenges, and they want to learn about the solution, they’ll contact you. That is a good thing, right?
Within the outcome section, we recommend that you include ONE SENTENCE acknowledging your work.
Seek Referrals to Share the Results
Typical sellers ask for referrals in a way that rarely provides positive results. For example, sellers might ask, “Can you think of other people we should talk to about our product or service?” This type of question from the seller can immediately trigger an adversarial trap.
Buyer’s Perspective: When you ask me if I can refer you to others, what I hear is, “Can you give me the names, numbers, and email addresses of people I can contact twice a day for rest of their lives until they buy or go into hiding?” I’m not signing up for that.
Same Side Selling allows you to ask for referrals in a way that helps people feel comfortable, while setting the proper tone for an introduction. Once you have successfully delivered the promised outcome and resolved the issue that was causing impact, you are ready to proceed. The way you approach the client might sound like this:
“When we started this project, I know you were facing Issue X that was having Impact Y on the organization. On a scale of 0 to 10, how well did we address that challenge?”
You should already know what the answer will be, and probably do not want to ask for referrals if the client’s answer would be below an 8. Assuming that you get a favorable response to the question, then ask,
“Can you think of one or two other people inside or outside of your organization who might be facing a similar challenge? I don’t know if we can produce the same outcome for them, but I’d be happy to speak with them to see if we can help.”
You can offer to draft a referral email for the client that says,
“I want to introduce you to Pat. We were facing Issue X, and Pat’s company helped us overcome that challenge quickly and effectively. I recall that you may have been facing a similar issue. Pat said they can’t help everyone facing that issue, but they would be happy to speak with you to see if they can help.”
Notice that the focus is on helping to address an issue. The note did not say, “We bought XYZ from Pat. Get your checkbook. Maybe you can buy it, too.”
When your client agrees to the introduction, get a bit more specific:
“Is that an introduction you feel comfortable making within the next two weeks? Would you prefer to make the introduction in person, over the phone, or via email?
Once you get the introduction, you are at step 1 of Same Side Selling. The beauty of focusing on results is that you create a model of Find Impact—Deliver Results—Earn Referrals—Repeat.
Put Same Side Selling to Work
It would be a shame to follow Same Side Selling to the end and not deliver results for the client. By staying involved, seeking risks that could jeopardize a successful outcome, and ensuring that you deliver a great experience in the first hundred days, you will earn the opportunity for repeat and referral business. You can also capture your client’s success in a Same Side Selling case study that will help other prospects realize how important it is to solve a problem similar to the one you solved for a client.
Set an organizational requirement to have the salesperson present at the kick-off meeting.
Once a project begins, be sure to call the client and confirm progress, or uncover anything that may not be going according to plan.
Make a list of the challenges that can get in the way of success, and plan how to handle them with the buyer.
Define six things you will do in the first hundred days to create a remarkable experience.
Once your project is complete, work with your client to document the tangible results.
Consider submitting your client’s company for an award in their industry (especially if your solution may have played a part in increasing their eligibility for the award).
Draft a case study, following the Same Side Selling case study format and focusing primarily on the client’s issue and impact. (Remember to get the client’s permission to distribute the case study.)
Contact a prior client who had a successful project and see if she can identify one or two other companies that might be facing a similar challenge.
CHAPTER 10
Recap and
Learning Points
Our goal in writing Same Side Selling was to provide a framework to improve the relationship between buyers and sellers so both parties can reach a better outcome. We hope you can see how Same Side Selling provides an integrity-based approach for buyers and sellers to avoid playing games and to work collaboratively to put puzzles together where there is a good fit.
When you take the time to appreciate your unique value, focus on the right opportunities, uncover the truth, and then share your wisdom, you will find yourself on the same side of the table as the buyer. The buyer will appreciate your solution’s fit and will better understand your value. When you achieve results, the client will be happy to guide you to other people or companies who can benefit from your help.
Chapter Summaries
We included this chapter as a way to help you find the sections you want to review. Let’s start
with the big picture:
The goal of Same Side Selling is to efficiently build long-term client relationships that are highly profitable for the seller and highly valuable for the buyer.
The approach to the goal is to stay in a cooperative, collaborative posture with the client throughout the sales process and to avoid the adversarial trap.
Now on to the chapter summaries:
Chapter 1: Stop Playing Games
The problem: People approach buying and selling with an adversarial mindset.
Key insight: The us-versus-them mentality that’s the hallmark of the adversarial trap weakens negotiation strength, leads to longer sales cycles, and adds pricing pressure.
Key takeaways:
• Solving a puzzle is a better—more collaborative—metaphor than playing a game.
• Use the reminders “solving, not selling” and “FIT: Finding Impact Together” to stay focused on the buyer’s problems.
Chapter 2: Be Unique
The problem: Too many companies try to be all things to all buyers rather than embracing their unique qualities and abilities.
Key insight: The most successful sellers prize depth rather than breadth by limiting themselves to the clients and situations for which they can deliver the most impact.
Key takeaways:
• A narrow focus builds credibility and speeds the selling process, whereas offering too wide a scope of services can erode trust.
• To find out where your business can have the most impact, find out what your customers are sick and tired of. (What’s their elevator rant?)
• Use the Same Side pitch format to describe whom you help, what you help them with, and why they need your help.
• Define where you want your prospects to allocate their hundred pennies of trust in an initial client meeting.
Chapter 3: Narrow Your Market
The problem: Sellers waste time and money investing in unsuitable prospects who might be interested in what the seller offers but might not be sufficiently motivated to invest in a solution.
Key insight: The most important question is not what a prospect needs but why she would buy. Pursuing prospects without understanding why they buy is extremely costly.
Key takeaways:
• To avoid chasing unsuitable opportunities and wasting time, embrace the second-best outcome of a quick disqualification of the prospect.
• Use the “Entice, Disarm, and Discover” process to shift a conversation from what buyers want to why they are interested in it.
• With your help, buyers can qualify themselves through self-evaluation and assignment selling.
Chapter 4: Get to the Truth
The problem: After finding a prospect that seems to have a problem they can solve, sellers often jump to a prescription of what to sell without a sufficient understanding of two essential buyer qualities: urgency and readiness.
Key insight: A thorough diagnosis is required to reduce risk, increase the chances of a successful outcome, and ensure that you deliver value.
Key takeaways:
• It’s perilous to move forward with a faulty understanding of the buyer’s needs.
• Use the issue/impact/importance framework to assess a prospect’s urgency.
• Move forward with only those prospects who rate the importance of the issue as an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale. Rarely do prospects succeed in securing funding for projects where importance is rated at less than 8.
• Make sure you assess a prospect’s readiness to implement your solution and capture value.
Chapter 5: Be an Educator
The problem: Sellers’ reluctance to share expertise and information feeds the us-versus-them mentality and makes the sale less likely.
Key insight: By embracing the role of the teacher with your client and sharing information freely and effectively, you get on the same side.
Key takeaways:
• A strategy of trying to protect secrets will not work in today’s world.
• You can use a third-party story to demonstrate expertise in a highly effective way.
• Your credentials and qualifications matter only in the context of the client’s problem.
• Develop guidelines so you know where the line is between education and free consulting.
Chapter 6: Focus on the Fit
The problem: Buyers can get distracted or repelled by small details and lose sight of the true value the seller brings.
Key insight: The seller must keep buyers focused on the overall fit and value more than on features or attributes of the solution.
Key takeaways:
• Present your solution as results-based, not resource-based.
• Define the boundaries of expertise early in the relationship.
• When you’re working with a buyer who is fixated on a specific technology or person, re-focus on the fit.
Chapter 7: Don’t Force the Fit
The problem: Too often sellers force-fit their solution in an effort to make the sale; this hurts the buyer and the seller.
Key insight: It seems like a paradox, but one of the most powerful sales techniques is stepping back and admitting that the buyer may be better off with someone else’s solution.
Key takeaways:
• Forcing the fit is a toxic shortcut that causes short-term and long-term problems.
• You can step back from the sale in a way that enhances authority and trust.
• By providing referrals, you can keep solving problems for buyers even when you don’t sell to them.
• Refer correctly to avoid pitfalls and build your stature.
Chapter 8: Sell Value, Not Price
The problem: After a successful sales process, buyers apply pricing pressure that can threaten margins and kill deals.
Key insight: By framing value in the right way, sellers can avoid being commoditized or pushed out by the low-price bidder.
Key takeaways:
• Price matters most when the seller thinks price matters most. Your greatest differentiation will often come when clients see that you are looking out for their best interests.
• When your client is fixated on price, ensure that you have demonstrated your unique value as it applies to the client’s situation.
• Embrace the difference between the lowest bid and the lowest long-term total cost. The initial purchase price is just one piece in the larger puzzle of cost.
• Provide buyers with the context they need to appreciate where you bring unique capabilities to solving their problem. Buyers may need to make the case for your products or services when you are not there.
• Define the most common objections, and address them on your terms, instead of waiting until clients bring them up. If you wait, you’ll likely sound defensive no matter how deftly you handle the conversation.
Chapter 9: Deliver Results
The problem: Too many sellers think that the job is over when the sale is made.
Key insight: Success is measured not by sales, but by the impact the client achieves.
Key takeaways:
• The most critical “selling” may come after the deal is done as you implement your solution with the buyer’s team.
• Prepare to navigate surprises that could threaten the success of the project.
• Keeping in touch with a client after the sale and engagement can present great opportunities for more impact and more sales.
A Message from Ian and Jack
Ian and Jack are in agreement with everything within Same Side Selling. We do not discuss persuasion, coercion, or deception. Everything we share is in the mutual interest of the buyer and seller. We believe that buyers and sellers alike can benefit from Same Side Selling—so much so that you should feel comfortable sharing the book with a buyer and explaining that this is the process you would like to follow. Buyers may decide to share this book with sellers and suggest, “This is how we would like to work with you.”
Pl
ease share your successes and challenges so that we can continue to offer value. We would love to share your success stories with others, and we have set aside some space on SameSideSelling.com where we will publish stories of success for those who follow Same Side Selling. We especially like the stories in which there is feedback from both the seller and the buyer.
Wishing you happy solving and Same Side success!
—Ian and Jack
Table of Contents
Same Side Selling
Copyright
Introduction
Chapter 1: Stop Playing Games
Chapter 2: Be Unique
Chapter 3: Narrow Your Market
Chapter 4: Get to the Truth
Chapter 5: Be An Educator
Chapter 6: Focus on the Fit
Chapter 7: Don’t Force the Fit
Chapter 8: Sell Value, Not Price
Chapter 9: Deliver Impact
Chapter 10: Recap and Learning Points