Developing a Win Strategy

Any prospect worth pursuing should have a win strategy as part of the sales process and the win strategy can’t be just “getting the numbers right”. You have to go through a discovery process to find out what the customer's hot buttons are; what their pain points are. What’s important to them? If the prospect won’t share their wants, desires and data with you, that’s a red flag from my perspective. Why would they not want to give you the information you need to design the best solution for them?

In the outsourcing facilities business, where I have spent my entire adult career, pain points might be people issues, risk mitigation, quality, and most certainly cost effectiveness. The list varies, but you really need to understand where the customer is coming from. Once you realize where and what their pain points are, then you can work with your team to customize the solution that aligns with their needs.

R Ledbetter developing a win strategy

The discovery process will surface win themes and those themes should be consistent throughout the sales process in every conversation, the proposal and presentations. If you believe in your win strategy, reinforce and repeat those win themes throughout and keep going back to them. 

Part of developing a win strategy is also considering the competition, accentuating your strengths and taking advantage of your understanding of the prospects needs to subtlety point out their weaknesses.

The win strategy should be a team effort; it should be a collaborative process with your win team (Operations/Subject Matter Experts/Suppliers/Alliances etc.) Use your resources!

To Chase or Not to Chase?

About chasing RFP’s: this is not the way to win business! In an RFP process where the customer has already pre-qualified everyone - it’s going to come down to price. The way to win business is to get there first and really get to know your customer as well as being a business resource. Then you can design a solution that meets their needs. If you get there first and customize the solution to fit their needs, then you can make it more of a qualitative decision versus a quantitative decision. 

This will separate the sales professional from the sales person and differentiate you and your company.  Selling is not something you do “to” someone, it’s what you do “for” them. I’m proud of my years in sales and sales leadership. We helped hundreds of customers improve their programs and operations by following this process. We can help you design your unique Win Strategy. Contact us today at randy@rledbetter.com or call 571-762-3347.