Strategic Selling: The Art of Complex Sales (Book Digest)

Miller and Heiman's "The New Strategic Selling" provides a systematic approach to selling to large organizations. The book argues that successful sales aren't about closing techniques; they're are the natural outcome of effective pre-call strategy that positions you with the right people at the right time.

This book is valuable because it will show you how to appeal to the different buying influences present in an account to create a coalition in favor of a purchase.

Understanding the Complex Sale

Complex sales involve multiple approvers, numerous options for both parties, and decision processes that aren't transparent to outsiders. Strategic selling addresses these challenges by focusing on positioning yourself with real decision-makers.

The Four Buying Influences

These four buying influences are present in almost every complex sale:

The Economic Buying Influence gives final approval to purchase and can release discretionary funds when value is demonstrated. This person is typically higher in the organization when the sale is large, economic conditions are difficult, or the impact on the organization is significant. When approaching economic buyers, focus on information related to long-term profitability rather than features, and always have a valid business reason for the meeting.

User Buying Influences judge how your product will affect their daily work. They focus on reliability, ease of use, downtime, and training requirements. Users deserve attention because they're critical for successful implementation and repeat business.

Technical Buying Influences screen proposals based on specifications. They aren't necessarily technical people—for example, in-house counsel can be a technical buyer. Be careful, as technical buyers sometimes pose as economic buyers, claiming more authority than they actually have.

Coaches guide you through the sale by providing information and advice. Develop coaches by finding people with whom you have credibility, who have credibility with other buying influences, and who want your solution to succeed. Always ask directly for coaching—people generally enjoy being coaches.

Win-Win and Win-Results

The foundation of strategic selling is creating win-win relationships. Sales should benefit both parties, avoiding win-lose situations that lead to short-term gains but damage reputations, or lose-win situations that create unrealistic customer expectations.

Successful salespeople identify both objective, corporate "results" and subjective, personal "wins" for each buying influence:

• Results are measurable impacts on a business process—for example, a 10% increase in sales or reduced downtime.

• Wins are based on individual values: enhanced reputation, increased influence, better self-esteem, or improved performance.

Different buying influences often prioritize different types of wins: Economic buyers typically care about ROI and profitability; users value reliability and ease of use; technical buyers focus on specifications and reliability; and coaches seek recognition and problem-solving opportunities. Create a win-results statement that connects the result to the personal win for each buying influence.

Getting to the Economic Buying Influence

It's hard to get access to the economic buyer: They're highly-placed in the organization and often prefer to delegate much of the buying process.

To get access, focus on what economic buyers care about: They are decision-makers paid to forecast trends and make judgments about organizational issues like profit and ROI. Focus on providing them information that helps them forecast and relates to long-term profitability

If someone blocks your access to an economic buyer, don't go around them—this creates an enemy. Instead, show them how they'll win by bringing you on board and demonstrate the value you'll provide to the economic buyer.

Useful techniques for getting access to economic buyers include like-rank selling (having your executive meet with theirs), executive briefings, bringing in industry experts, and maintaining periodic contact with valid business reasons.

Response Modes and Action Plans

People buy only when they perceive a gap between their current reality and desired state.

Each buying influence will be in one of four response modes:

• Growth: Wants to do more or better and sees your solution as helping

• Trouble: Needs to fix a problem quickly

• Even Keel: Sees no gap between current and desired state

• Overconfident: Believes they're exceeding goals

Focus your efforts on buyers in growth or trouble modes, and use them to influence even keel or overconfident colleagues.

Creating Effective Action Plans

An action plan outlines the steps you'll take to set the right strategy for an account. It should capitalize on strengths, reduce the impact of red flags, or both.

The plan includes:

1. Defining your sales objective (specific, measurable, with a clear timeframe)

2. Identifying all buying influences and ensuring they're covered

3. Understanding the response mode of each buying influence

4. Creating clear win-results statements for each buying influence

5. Assessing competition (including inaction or internal resources)

For important accounts (typically over $100,000), a full action plan takes about an hour.

For smaller opportunities, take 10 minutes to consider these questions: Do you know the buying influences? Do you understand their win-results? Can you deliver those win-results? Are you capitalizing on strengths and addressing red flags?

Managing Your Sales Pipeline

The sales funnel helps allocate time effectively among four stages:

• Prospecting: Finding potential customers who match your ideal customer profile

• Qualifying: Verifying the match and interest

• Covering the bases: Working with all buying influences

• End tasks: Closing deals that are 90% certain to close

For consistent results, prioritize closing your best opportunities first, then prospecting, qualifying, and covering the bases, while maintaining a balanced funnel.

Strategic selling is not a one-time event but a methodical, ongoing process of positioning yourself for success by understanding and aligning with the interests of all buying influences. Success comes from following a well-defined method and constant reassessment of your position.

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If you liked this article, check out P.S.I. Selling's thoughts on deal management here or have a look at our other book digests in our series Required Reading for Salespeople. You can also check out the P.S.I. Selling Content Page for more insights on sales communication, strategy, and leadership.

Want to build a sales process that proves value and a team that can execute? Get in touch.

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