We are in the middle of a huge transformation, one that is changing the way our customers view their IT infrastructure, what it needs to deliver, and what it’s expected to solve. The shift in expectation has shifted the budget too – no longer is IT spend the sole domain of technical ‘experts’. The influencers and decision makers of IT purchases are moving to Line of Business owners, C-suite executives, even the dreaded marketing department! This shift means we need to change the way we prepare for the sale.

What’s needed is Outside-In thinking. A deep understanding of the customer and their goals. The sale needs to be driven by a value proposition that delivers a true business outcome. This means the right preparation for the right conversation with the right people.

Outside-In thinking is all about ‘walking a mile in the customers’ shoes. We need to understand:

  • What is the client organisation vision/mission?
  • What are the strategic initiatives they are working on to achieve their vision?
  • What are the specific projects currently being planned to achieve their strategic initiatives?
  • What is the current organisational tone of their business? Are they in a growth phase, actively pursuing mergers or acquisitions? Are they focussed on operational efficiencies, innovation, customer experience, etc?
  • What are the external influencers that could enhance/disrupt their vision & priorities?
  • What other risks could potentially affect their projects, initiatives or vision?

This gives us a real understanding of the customers’ frame of reference for their buying decisions. From here we can look at:

  • What value proposition can we offer that aligns with the customers’ strategic initiatives?
  • What projects within that initiative can we align ourselves to?
  • Who are the project sponsors?
  • What is the ‘Alpha’ function for that project?
  • Who, at the board level, owns that ‘Alpha’ function?

Now we are able to tailor our value proposition to the specific strategy, structure and challenges that our customer faces.

What’s the Alpha function you ask? Well each strategic initiative, and the projects aligned with it will have a key executive sponsor. Initiatives to drive operational efficiency will likely sit with – you guessed it, the COO. Enhancing the customer experience will probably be with the Marketing Director. Address government data compliance and regulation requirements, probably the CISO or CFO. Part of the preparation is to identify what is the Alpha function, and who owns it.

Don’t forget though that what we don’t know might be the most relevant information of all. We may only get down to the level of identifying the strategic initiatives, likely found in the Chairman’s Statement in the published Annual Report. Even if we can identify what projects are underway or planned, we may not know what the priority is, and what other outcomes are our customers looking to deliver from the project. But that’s great! All the upfront research and preparation means that when we sit with the CxO, all our questions are far more relevant.

When talking to senior executives, preparation is key! Understanding their organisation, its goals, its strategic initiatives, is one thing (well actually that’s 3 things…) As important is understanding the exec his or her self:

  • Who are they?
  • What’s their background?
  • What is their personal agenda?
  • What are their specific challenges?

The C-level executive is thinking: Who needs my help? What can I contribute? What is the right thing for my function? Who do I need to influence? Who do I need to work with? What is right for the business? Our role is to make sure the value proposition addresses a specific business challenge and aligns to the CxO’s personal agenda too! The keys to success when selling at board level will be our professional performance, our ability to collaborate, our credibility and arguably most important our personal engagement.

All the above preparation is about making sure we address the 5 barriers to making a sale:

  • No need – well we know what we offer aligns with a stated business objective
  • No budget – where a project has been identified, there’s usually a budget
  • No hurry – this could be a factor, but we need to find out what the priorities are, and if need be assist the ‘Alpha’ with elevating their business case
  • No desire – surely if there’s a need there’s a desire?
  • No trust – tough one. Good preparation for the engagement will get us off on the right foot, and by leveraging case studies and references, we build our credibility, which in turn increases trust

So what are the key takeaways from all this? Well I would suggest we need to re-learn our customers. Outside-In thinking. Use the framework above to find out: what is the vision, what are the strategic initiatives and associated projects? We need to make sure as we talk to C-level execs, we keep the conversation relevant. Articulate what initiatives we align to, what business outcomes we deliver, which of their challenges we address. Don’t jump to solutions! Once the board is on board, everything else should be smooth sailing.