The buying process versus the opportunity-management process

At one of our public roundtables this morning (in Sydney), we discussed the relationship between the potential client’s buying process and the organisation’s opportunity-management process.

It’s an interesting insight, I think.

The potential client’s buying process could be characterised as follows:

1. The potential client suffers pain of some kind — but resolves (consciously
   or unconsciously) to live with it
2. The potential client is sufficiently disturbed by the pain to determine the
   specifications for the solution
3. The potential client asks organisations to bid (either formally or
   informally) to deliver the solution (to their specifications)

The traditional opportunity-management process starts from step three above.

The Ballistix opportunity-management process is synchronised with the potential client’s natural buying process as follows:

1. The organisation promotes an ideology (a new method) that promises to relieve
   the pain experienced by the potential client (without making reference to products or services). The potential client readily requests the free white paper offered in the promotional campaign — and subsequently attends a low-cost event.
2. The white paper and the event introduce the potential client to the optimal
   approach to eliminating the pain and present a compelling case for addressing
   the root causes of the symptoms now, rather than later. The potential client agrees to meet with a salesperson.
3. The organisation’s salesperson sells the potential client a feasibility study (or similar). Accordingly, the potential client outsources the specification of the solution to the organisation — placing the organisation in a strong position to win the ultimate job.

It should be obvious that our method identifies a sales opportunity much earlier in the potential client’s buying process.

However, our method actually places less load on the salesperson because:

1. Steps one and two above are delivered by resources other than the salesperson
2. The feasibility study is conducted by production people, not the salesperson

The benefit is that our method recognises sales opportunities before clients realise they have a requirement for a solution! It minimises the load on the salesperson. And it allows the salesperson to facilitate the specification of the solution — rather than having to roll up his sleeves and get up to his elbows in technical stuff.