THREE DEADLY CS


Compressed Selling Time What if we lived in a world where information had no value? Years ago, winning deals was based on proximity and responsive-


ness. If a prospect wanted to learn about a product or a solution, they had to contact the companies selling it to gather information.


Today that’s no longer the case. Prospects that enter the marketplace have all the information


they could ever want. Like anything, when the marketplace is flooded with a particular item, that item loses value.


Since the internet started to really work, information has lost


all value. Because of this, prospects do most of the buying without you.


They do the research. They name a solution. They contact three to five organizations they think can do what they want.


Is it possible that the prospect got it wrong? Absolutely! In fact,


when prospects buy with a trusted advisor (read: seller) at their side, from the very beginning, they report less remorse and higher satisfaction. But here’s the problem: Sellers that only offer infor- mation provide no value, so why bring them in?


It’s a wonder anything gets bought at all. As sellers, we often work against ourselves by trying


to meet the individual priorities of individual mem- bers. Unfortunately, making this work relies on the committee finding their own cohesion. It leaves too much to chance. Sellers that understand how to unite the committee around a shared priority will shorten cycle times and lose fewer deals.


Prepare And Equip Your Team You have certainly felt the “three deadly Cs.” If you want to stay relevant in today’s accelerating world, you must find a way to conquer them. If you have an- swers for any of the following questions, you’re off to a good start:


• What is the real reason prospects should choose you?


• What would you say to a high-level decision-mak- er to get a meeting with him/her next week?


• What group priority can you unite a committee around?


Every time the economy restricts, buying teams get larger. Every time the economy


expands, the size of those buying teams stays the same. It’s not unheard of today to deal with seven or more members of a buying committee.


If you want to take back some of that time, you have to show


up with something of value. Insights that help them understand emerging threats and explain why things are happening to them are the way to unlock access. They get you in, earlier on, so you have the time you need to find their priority and connect with it.


Consensus Decision-Making When was the last time the whole family wanted the same thing for dinner?


For most of us, planning something as predictable and repeat-


able as dinner can be a challenge. Here’s some bad news: Your prospect is trying to decide something way more complicated, with far more people, and even stronger competing priorities.


Every time the economy restricts, buying teams get larger. Ev-


ery time the economy expands, the size of those buying teams stays the same. It’s not unheard of today to deal with seven or more members of a buying committee.


•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Jesse Laffen is a co-author of The Priority Sale: How to Connect Your Real Impact to Your Prospects’ Top Priorities, and a partner in Revenue Path Group, where he helps B2B sales companies prepare and equip their teams to sell the way modern prospects buy.


If you can’t answer these, and you don’t take ac-


tion, you face a future of fulfillment. Your sales team will exist to produce quotes when asked and will win when they’re the lowest price.


The alternative is a future in which your team is


providing real value—one where you're helping pros- pects eliminate threats and solve emerging challenges. When you win back your access and influence, it’s a much happier and financially healthier place to be.


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October 2021


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