The Reverse RFI - Aditya Yadav
1 like291 views
This document discusses running an agile Fortune 500 company with many divisions and employees globally. It advocates putting the customer at the center of the sales strategy rather than focusing internally on targets and incentives. The author argues for understanding the customer's needs, issues and desires first before determining how to provide long-term value through the sales process. A "reverse RFI" is suggested where the vendor asks the customer open-ended questions to understand their current and future business priorities better. The goal is establishing long-term, mutually beneficial relationships by solving the customer's problems rather than taking a short-sighted, myopic view of sales.
The Reverse RFI - Aditya Yadav
- 1. * “Running an Agile Fortune 500 Company” Aditya Yadav, aditya.yadav@gmail.com in.linkedin.com/in/adityayadav76
- 2. * A Typical Global Company * Fortune 500/1000 * 200 Divisions * 40 Countries * 25000 Employees *
- 3. * @ Acme Inc.
- 4. * Original Question “How do we incentivize and increase Sales?” * The Correct Question - “Are we solving the wrong problem here? The Worst approach to Sales is to put yourself/your-company at the focal point of your sales strategy. Shall we relook from a different perspective.” *
- 5. * And The Philosophy Behind The Answer
- 6. * Completely Inward Looking Process * What‟s our Sales Target? * Push more Incentives and Bonuses! * Set Higher Targets * Establish Metrics and Measures * Focus on your (Vendors) Success! *
- 7. * Golden Rule: Its not about „You‟ * Sales Leaders who approach sales with an inward focusing process e.g. Qualification, Sales Funnel, Conversion Ratio‟s, Generating Maximum Leads, Heavy Sales Incentives, Targets and Stretch Goals will never understand and succeed in the Current Sales Environment. * Either you can take that from me or I can send you a Ph.D. Thesis on it in 4 years if you are willing to wait * R‟ber Game Theory? * It is about them The Customers!!!! And maximizing your Revenues/Profits within that context. * Traditionally Sales has turned into a Game (Game Theory!!!) where Vendors try to maximize their wins irrespective of everything else in the world. * Both winning is another scenario (In a Game) so is The Customer Winning scenario. If the Customer doesn‟t win there is no Long Term Vendor Profitability. * If Both don‟t win then there is no Long Term Vendor Viability * Put the Customer at the Center of your Sales Strategy. * The Game then becomes a midway path between (i) The Customer Winning and (ii) Both Winning * At an optimum of Long Vendor Viability and Feasibility and Customer Winning. * Golden Rule: In the Long Run The Customer and The Vendor Interests Should-be/Are Aligned * Golden Rule: Short Term Myopic Perspective is the worst for everyone in the Long Run. Which is exactly how Traditional Sales are. (R‟ber Monthly and Quarterly Targets??? That‟s what I‟m talking about) * Ref: my Deck on “The Truth About Employee Engagement” which is Post Sales * Lets talk about Pre-Sales *
- 8. * Typical Sales Process is (i) Lead, …(ii) RFI (Request for Information), (iii) RFP (Request for Proposal), etc. etc. * Somewhere around the time the Vendor is RFI‟d * The vendor needs to ask for a Reverse RFI * Just One Question: Mention the Top 10 (One line each) Issues, Impediments, Wants, Needs, Desires… * One set of 10 (One Line Answers) for each Vertical and Horizontal in the Customers Business * Two sets for the Customers Business as a Whole (i) Focusing on their Current, and (ii) Focusing on their future * Sounds difficult? But that‟s what you need to know. Get it somehow. Over the phone, email, fax, verbal, meeting, forms, excel, paper, whiteboard…. Doesn‟t matter!!! * That will form the basis for establishing (or not) a long term relationship. * Understanding the Long Term value you can deliver to the Customer * Understanding your Profitability, Positioning, Value Proposition, Compete ability… in that context * The Customer is at the Center of your Sales Strategy!!!!! Not you!!!! * Go from there (The Reverse RFI) *
- 9. Aditya!!! *