Unlocking Growth in Strategic Accounts: Understanding Strategic Sales

Hi there Reader,

This week, I'd like to explore the meaning of strategic sales, and highlight 6 common challenges when contrasted with simple, transactions and order taking.

In the dynamic landscape of B2B selling, truly strategic sales are not just transactions; they are strategic manoeuvres that secure new strategic accounts, large framework contracts and significant procurement wins.

It is a comprehensive approach to growth that goes beyond merely exchanging goods or services for money. It requires that the salesperson carefully plan, analyse, and execute activities to achieve long-term objectives.

Strategic sellers face different challenges to order-takers and anyone transacting in simple, commoditised solutions.

Specifically, the buying environment they are selling into is driven differently to one-call close deals. Including:

1. The intent behind the buyer's procurement project is to implement some sort of change in their business performance. It is not to maintain the status quo or to do the same thing, cheaper (like getting a new paperclip supplier)
2. The value of a strategic procurement activity is more significant—often in the hundreds of thousands or millions of $.
3. The procurements involve discretionary spending. Most buyers have different options for projects into which they can invest, and limited resources to spend/deliver. Therefore, they must make choices about which projects to progress and for a strategic seller this means you are competing for internal funds for your project. It is not enough for them to like your stuff, their business needs to all see the value of it when compared to other investment alternatives.
4. Multiple stakeholders will be involved in different roles across the buying team. Commonly, over 10 people, and in some situations well over 20, will be involved as decision-makers, users, influencers, budget holders, and evaluators. Multi-threaded engagement is necessary.
5. Complex and competing views on the decision criteria will be common across such a diverse group of stakeholders. If each person involved has a different point of view, reaching a consensus on what is required is more challenging. As a result, and as highlighted by the book “The Jolt Effect,” this means company procurements stall due to a FOMU (fear of messing up).
6. These opportunities will be competitive for the seller. With the value of the procurement and company procurement policies demanding competitive value, the project will rarely be sole-sourced. Expect to compete.

Did I miss anything? Please drop me an email with your thoughts.

In essence, strategic sales transcend conventional transactional sales models by prioritising mutual value creation and long-term relationship building.

If this is interesting, and you haven't already, subscribe to this short email series where I share the 10 guiding principles of strategic selling.

Thank you Reader for being with me on this exciting journey to winning more strategic accounts and deals. Until next time,

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