Who can really help you close the deal?

To win complex sales, you usually need a “champion” within the organization who will advocate for you.

But research published in the Harvard Business Review suggests that there’s something about the sales process itself that leads most salespeople to align themselves with the wrong champion — one who can’t help you get the deal done.

So how can you identify and win over effective champions?  To find out, let’s look at the three main types of stakeholders identified in the research.

Talkers

The researchers, who interviewed several thousand sales reps and several hundred business buyers, concluded that one kind of stakeholder — the kind with whom sellers are most likely to interact — can be termed Talkers.

These are people who, as the researchers put it, “are personable and accessible and … share company information freely, all of which makes them very appealing.” But, the researchers warn, “If your goal is to close a deal, not just have a chat, Talkers won’t get you very far.”

The thing is, the characteristics that make Talkers so accessible — and that naturally lead sellers to concentrate on them — often make them ineffective at building consensus. They tend to put a higher value on their relationships than on results. So they don’t like to push or challenge their colleagues.

Talkers can help you get into an organization. But once you’re in, you need to find a different kind of stakeholder – a type the researchers called Mobilizers.

Mobilizers

Mobilizers don’t want to be your friend; they want to get things done.  According to the researchers, Mobilizers are “focused … on driving productive change for their company.”

Some Mobilizers are easy to spot; they may hold executive jobs that put them in a position to spur action  — although not everyone in an executive position is a Mobilizer. But to identify others, you need to look deeper. The researchers suggest that also among the Mobilizers are people they term Skeptics and Go-Getters.

Skeptics push back and ask hard questions, but that’s not because they’re against change. They just want to make sure the change will benefit their organization. Go-Getters, the researchers say, are “motivated by organizational improvement and constantly looking for good ideas.” If they think your solution is such a good idea, they will champion it.

(There is a third group of stakeholders, which the researchers call Blockers. As their label suggests, they will oppose almost anything you — or any vendor — propose. Once you’ve identified a Blocker, the only thing you can do is work around them.)

A case for change

All of this leads to a question:  How do you engage Mobilizers once you’ve found them? The best way, the researchers found, is to create a compelling case for change.

Mobilizers aren’t that interested in hearing your sales pitch or your credentials. They want to talk about their company, not yours. Your job is to help them sell change – which means you must come armed with ideas, insights and deep knowledge about their business.

Talk about what change will look like for this organization, what it will achieve, and the likely consequences if it doesn’t happen. Don’t gloss over the challenges; acknowledge them and show you’re prepared to meet them. Invite tough questions, and be prepared to answer them.

It’s not just about showing why change is important – it’s about understanding the cost of not doing anything today and the gains that will come from making these changes immediately.

If you can make that case to a Mobilizer, the researchers found, there’s a good chance that you can win over a champion who not only likes the change you’re selling, but knows how to make it happen.

This blog entry is adapted from the BTS Total Access micro video “Winning complex sales: Finding your champion.” If you’re a Total Access customer, you can watch the video here. If you’re not, but would like to see this video (or any of our other programs), request a demo and we’ll get you access.

The blog post and BTS Total Access micro video are based on the following research article: Adamson, B., et al. (2012). The End of Solution Sales, Harvard Business Review, July-August 2012.