The Validated Sale
New technologies and innovations are changing defined processes some directly and some indirectly. Sales process has always been in a constant state of flux, especially in the Information Technology arena where it isn’t always “the big that eat the small it is often the fast that eat the slow”. I believe that the direct sales model has been changed for ever to become a validated sale controlled by back door references and referrals rather than referencing, case studies and analyst relations.
The dotcom bubble seems like a distant memory, almost 15 years ago. For some people they never experienced the craziness as it was before they joined the industry. I have heard the stories of the time before that: carrying a bag and knocking on doors; selling printers or copiers and the like; needing to find phone boxes so they could call the office; losing the piece of paper with your meeting list on it and ruining a whole day! The cycle continues and the process changes as new solutions provide answers to problems you never previously had.
As the years moved forwards email became the contact method of choice. For organisations it meant reaching a larger audience faster, and, at least for me now, I would much rather someone email me than cold call because I have the choice of when I look at the new information, if indeed I look at it at all.
The problem is, there are a great many like me and indeed this way of selling has all just become noise. So Salespeople try to get above the back ground hum. At conventions or seminars you are thrown information supporting the promises that these potential suppliers purport with references from current clients corroborating these declarations.
In my days as a sales person I used incentives for my clients so they would give us a reference, even if that become a private one. Most companies would give deep discounts in the early days for a case study or white paper with a named brand and that would in turn help carve out vertical and horizontal markets for them. Prospects felt safe in the knowledge that another named customer was using the technology or solution before they were.
Once again though, times have changed and I think this new "Social Era" has more than a small part to play in this. When I was a field sales rep I was primarily focused on very large Enterprise customers, normally Global 500, ideally in the top 100. When swimming in that sort of ocean you meet some very powerful and wilful people who know they are not only protecting their own brand but also their necks on the way! They can be hard negotiators, savvy interrogators and they spot a weakness a mile off, all in all quite terrifying prospects. These same people use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and many other platforms and they all at one point or another show the world how they feel by retweeting, liking etc. which would never have been an option even 7 or 8 years ago.
Most social media platforms allow you to like, fan, or support in some way statements, thoughts, feelings, brands, services and specific products and because many people now do this on a day to day basis on a variety of platforms accessible on a variety of devices, we get accustomed pre-programmed to that way of life; everything is referenced, multiple times. Once again, it is hard to hear anything in the noise.
So the time of the "Validated Sale" has arrived.
Validation is now "King of the Hill" and referencing is old hat. The difference is real and has dramatic impacts to the way we are starting to do business now and will certainly impact sales and marketing in the future.
A reference or case study is normally static, it will be in a PDF and it is signed off by legal multiple times. Sometimes that reference will take a call for you but other than knowing the name of the company, it is unlikely that they have any engagement with your prospect.
A validated sale requires a much higher level of involvement and collaboration from all parties. It normally begins with the validator introducing you to the prospect, this might be on email or via social media, a phone call or even face-to-face. As soon as this happens you are effectively in partnership with the introducer, without that positive influence the engagement would never have happened and it needs that to survive.
The positive aspects of this type of sale is that they tend to be much more honest on both sides, qualification can be reduced as you are communicating from a different starting point. Statements like "This is above my sign off", "This project would not be under my remit", "My boss is already talking too XYZ" all rise to the top quickly and can either help make a 'Go/No-Go' choice faster or can be combated sooner rather than later. Deals are more predictable, discounting can be minimised and value propositions are also clearer from the start.
Some negatives do exist and can be hard to work around. The biggest issue is scale and mass marketing as this is very much a one to one engagement especially to begin with. The channel is impacted and could lose some control over opportunities. Deal registration also becomes more complex but with a good PRM system in place and an effective Marketing automation solution which can track and nurture leads this impact should be minimal. Validated sales do translate well to social media platforms but not at the first port of call, empowering the validators with the right information, understanding and support is key for this to be successful.
The world of sales is evolving again and very few processes or strategies can be maintained for long without reviewing them and adapting to the latest trends, technologies and even some fads. Sales and the sales process is now adapting to the new stringent requirements that prospects and leads are enforcing on them. These frameworks are morphing day-to-day as technology and the industry moves forwards. The referenced sale had a lifecycle lasting 15-20 years, the validated sale will likely have a lifecycle of half of that.
Remember that your sales team now extends beyond your payroll your bonus may well depend on it.
