Influencing the decision criteria

Preamble:

Most of the sales content I share here will come from the Audible-Ready Sales podcast, because it’s the industry standard. These are the makers of the Force Management methodology, and they have a few anchoring principles for how to run a sales process:

• Identify negative business consequences.
• Uncover positive business outcomes.
• Surface the big business priorities.
• Understand, then influence, solution requirements.

This episode focuses on the last one, and it’s the skill I believe separates average reps from sellers.

Often in my career I’ve asked myself: what am I doing that’s repeatable, that will make me stand out against another rep? This skill set has become my holy grail.

Whatever methodology you’ve been taught, there’s certainly a portion where you try to uncover the prospect’s decision criteria. Questions like:

• “What are you prioritizing in this evaluation?”
• “Outside of price, what matters to you in your next vendor?”
• “What solution requirements do you have? How did you decide on them?”
• “What outcomes are you hoping to generate through x?”

Normally we ask these questions, hear whatever the prospect voices, and use that to update our forecast or DQ an oppty.

I’d say this traditional line of questioning is insidious twofold.

1. Most of the time, prospects actually don’t have decision criteria or solution requirements, and you have to be the one to challenge that. If the answer to any of the above is “we don’t,” you need to go on the offensive – ask how they’ll be able to make a decision, how they plan on choosing between vendors, and how they’ll justify a switch against the status quo.
   
2. If the decision criteria is NOT in your favor, you need to retool the conversation – questions that are both value-based and trap-setting – to see if you can unlock that interest.

I’m a big proponent of disqualifying companies that aren’t in your ICP or don’t have the motivation to move solutions. This is not me saying you should seek alignment with everyone.

It is me saying: if you get a company that’s a perfect fit for your solution, but they’re unaware of how other companies in their shoes pick vendors, or they’re holding a viewpoint that’s harmful to their own growth, you have to advise them. Talk some sense into this prospect.

This podcast is a fantastic summary of what questions to ask, how to design your discovery around this skill set, and why it’ll be a difference maker in winning deals faster, easier, and more consistently.