Flip the Funnel Guide - Sales Benchmark Index · Web viewBuyers have 4 major risk areas: Talent, Operational, Execution and Financial. Addressing all 4 of these risks in late stage

Flip the Funnel Guide

FLIP THE FUNNEL GUIDE DETAILSQuota

Increase % and Actual

Dollars:

Date: Version:

 Flip the Funnel Guide

AssessmentYes No

Guidance

Do you have 2.5x pipeline volume to increased quota in Stages 3, 4 or 5?

 Without a minimum of 2.5X, you have less than 35% probability to make the new number. Increasing opportunities in Stages 3, 4 and 5 will require diligent work on the other two proven ways: Early Stage Big Deal Reviews and Focus on the Sales Process Buyer Driven Exit Criteria

Does each sales rep have enough ‘Big’ deals in those late stages?

  Not having enough volume in each sales rep’s late stage funnel will lead to missing the new number. Prevent this by increasing the Pipeline to quota ratio. Guard against fake opportunities though just to make the pipeline to quota ratio.

Have you identified the most common trigger events for these accounts?

 Trigger events get opportunities moving in the buying process. A board meeting occurs. The quarter ends and ‘now it’s time to start without any distractions’ is significant. Even the next quarter’s budget is available speeds things up. Train your sales reps to look for these events.

Does our offering include unique differentiators in their eyes?

 Buying decisions are emotional justified with logic. Understand in these deal reviews if we have unique differentiators. This is past value-added solutions. Differentiating yourself from the competition, especially ‘do nothing’, is the key.

Have we connected our solution to the buying criteria?  Deals get stalled late stage because we haven’t done our homework in the early stages. Understanding the

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Flip the Funnel Guidebuying criteria can be missed. When this happens, we try and link our solutions to buying criteria that is not important or just unknown.

Have we gained access to the Economic Buyer and/or the Buying Decision Team (BDT)?

 Many deals get stalled in Stages 3, 4 and 5 because we are not at the right level in the organization. Influencers can only get a deal so far and then it stalls. And we don’t meet the entire BDT relying on one member to get the deal done. Do you want the influencer selling the deal for you internally?

Have we reduced the risk of doing business with us?

 Buyers have 4 major risk areas: Talent, Operational, Execution and Financial. Addressing all 4 of these risks in late stage deals is critical to be successful. Too many times sales people want to handle objections. This is an inward-out approach. Think like a buyer and understand their concerns and risks first.

Did we name the resistance and taken measures to mitigate it?

 Resistance happens in every deal. The most common form of resistance is silence. To overcome it, you must first identify and name it with the buyer. Saying to the client that ‘your silence could indicate that something’s wrong’ gets to the resistance quicker and it’s easier to overcome.

Has the buyer indicated their key ‘must-haves’ from the negotiation?

 The final stages of a deal can be where you give up the most. Savvy buyers wait until late in the buying process before the real negotiation begins. Prepare your ‘give-get’ list well before this occurs. It cuts down negotiation time and allows for fair negotiation to occur. Most sales reps negotiate point by point which extends the deal length.

Are your all your sale territories filled?

Too many times we miss extra quota because we have open sales territories. You can’t win a baseball game with only 8 players on the field. Even if you could have made the number with open positions, the odds are against you with an increased quota. Don’t ever stop filling your virtual bench.

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