I never had to pay for advice, insight or direction from the myriad players involved in selling my products or services, and sometimes the advice I got was exactly what I paid for it. I have received some shockingly dreadful information from well-meaning participants in my career.
For example, one of the sales training events I attended stressed the importance of triangulating your information (meaning you need to seek at least three opinions before making a decision). Like a child being lectured by my parents, I listened to the message and then did nothing with it. I had to make an ass of myself on a forecast call in front of a few of my company’s executives to get religion on triangulating information.
This Deal Is Closing
Twelve months was a pretty typical amount of time to get a significant opportunity over the line at the software company where I was employed. It was early July, and I was hustling to visit all the players who were affiliated with a particular deal. I wasn’t comfortable committing this deal for the quarter, but my VP made the decision for me. Now I had less than three months to get this license signed. The deadline of September 30 was already too close for comfort.
Unusual Sponsorship
Normally, a senior executive from the business unit where the software would be deployed funds the deal. Although this department had over 2,000 users for the software, the product was also planned for use in other departments across the organization. It was still unusual when the Chief Information Officer (CIO) claimed that he was actually the buyer and would fund the deal.
This particular arrangement really concerned me. Normally I don’t doubt people at this level, but I pushed the CIO pretty hard about why he was making the decision for the business.
Further complicating the plot was the fact that the senior executive mentioned above absolutely hated the CIO. A VP who reported to her (the senior executive) told me that she wouldn’t go with my company because of the hostile relationship with the CIO.
Holy crap, this meant that my deal had no business sponsor! This is why I didn’t want to commit this deal for the quarter.
More Negative Information
“Your deal isn’t going to happen, David,” Rahul, the executive from my client’s preferred global systems integrator (SI), said. “There’s absolutely no chance. I participate in all the client’s senior leadership team and board meetings,” he explained. “I know exactly what’s budgeted and what projects are happening this year,” he continued.
My expression reflected total defeat.
The client had recently signed a massive outsourcing contract with this SI. In fact, the SI stood to benefit handsomely from the years of delivery work after the software sale closed. The intelligence Rahul shared with me was genuine and accurate from his point of view.
He didn’t know that the CIO just introduced me to their head of procurement who would personally work on getting a contract in place, though. The more I spoke with Rahul, it was evident that he was oblivious to the politics in play right in front of him.
Things also weren’t adding up from another angle. Another global SI who worked at the company was pinging me about endorsing them for the pending services work. This SI told me their information source was from the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), who tipped his hand about using my company’s software.
After the Sale Closed
The client’s procurement chief masterfully dragged out the contract process until late in the afternoon of the last day of September, coincidentally, the same day my VP had committed it to close. Finally, the signed contract arrived in my inbox.
The extent of the political undercurrent didn’t get fully realized until months after the sale. The CIO had the support of the COO and CEO. The senior executive who loathed the CIO was moved to a special projects position and left the company a few months later.
This is an extreme example of the kind of games at play at large companies, but this stuff happens all the time. You don’t want to be on the wrong side of politics when trying to close a deal.
Three Sources of Information
Everything in this story shines a big spotlight on why triangulating information is critical. It’s highly recommended that you use this practice when determining whether or not to forecast a deal.
For example, take a situation where you’re selling software to a business unit at a prospective client. The typical players involved in getting a deal closed by a certain date are the business owner, the technology owner, and procurement. If all of these players aren’t in alignment on the close process, any one of them can delay that crucial final signature.
Gathering three sources of information isn’t something needed for most day-to-day sales activities. But, having at least two sources of feedback while navigating a sale can ensure the right actions and people are touched throughout the process.
It’s not always easy to do, but it’ll ensure precious time is spent on the right opportunities.
Above all else, be aware of the politics in play and know where your contacts stand and why. Who’s with them? Who’s against them? These conversations require a deeper relationship with your contacts. They’ll yield the proper insight where to align yourself and your company for more sales wins.
