Enterprise Sales Process

The enterprise sales process is built to match the enterprise buying process. For the principles discussed in previous chapters, the enterprise sales process is incremental in nature and over multiple meetings which most likely will include multiple people. The enterprise sales process begins with prioritizing your book of business and ends with the hand off to the ECP (introduction email/meeting).

There are marked differences between the transactional sales process and the complex sales process. This means that the pre-qualification, discovery, product, ROI, proposal, and closing meetings are separated into different meetings to allow incremental advancement on behalf of the client. This allows the client to build the business case for the solution in a coauthored manner.

ENTERPRISE SALES PROCESS

Account Prioritization

Vetting the Correct Point of Contact(s)

Outreach

Preparation

Pre-Qualification Call

The Discovery Call (DC)

The Product Call (PC) & Pricing

Coauthoring the ROI Model

The Proposal Call & Confirming KPIs/Attribution

Closing

Gathering Payment Information

Onboarding

The Client Partner & Reporting

High Level Enterprise Sales Process

OPEN SALES CYCLE - Call or set up a quick call or full fledged DC if possible

PRE QUALIFICATION CALL – pre-qualification to see if open to evaluating a solution or if we should table the conversation:

A. Biz as usual

B. Growth mode

C. Open to evaluating a solution to drive that growth

DC USE CASE & QUESTIONING PROCESS – Quantifying the Need, the characterization of the need and QBS to surface buying criteria:

A. How new customer acquisition process currently designed?

B. What vendors using?

C. Why using them?

D. How tracking (attribution)?

(The DC), DANTE, and forming the value concept of lower CPA/higher ROI by targeting bottom of funnel users (basis for the hypothesis test) in order to get agreement to evaluate us as a vendor for new customer acquisition.

COAUTHORED SOLUTION (CONSISTENT WITH NEED AND THE WHY OF CURRENT VENDORS) - Confirming buying criteria and demoing solution that satisfies the buying criteria (The PC aka pitch/demo) and translating the need.

COAUTHORED BUYING PARADIGM & PROPOSAL (GUIDEPOSTS) - Coauthor Buying Paradigm & Coauthored ROI model of pro-forma pilot in terms of KPIs and return multiple. Pricing in the context of ROI and need-based closing, if NDM with no decision making discretion get it approved first and then work within that approval amount. Present proposal that aligns with buying paradigm to build business case. Confirm pilot timing, payment method and PO process.

Closing & onboarding - get PO signed and gather payment method.

ENTERPRISE SALES PROCESS OVERVIEW

VETTING

OUTREACH TO INTRODUCE A NEW STRATEGIC PRIORITY GAP

PRE-QUALIFICATION CALL - To determine if in a position and willing to evaluate a solution for new customer acquisition

DC - surface buying criteria and form the value concept/agreement to evaluate us as a vendor via QBS structure (funnel)

Value concept: If we are able to focus your marketing dollars on undecided bottom of the funnel users, the effect that has is being able to drive a more competitive CPA/CPL or ROAS due to a better conversion rate (user view/lead conversion and lead/sale conversion).

PC - demonstrate satisfaction of buying criteria with coauthored solution by translating the need

COAUTHORED ROI MODEL - see pro forma pilot and return multiple and get agreement for pilot structure (coauthor the buying paradigm)

PROPOSAL - confirm pilot timing, payment method and PO signing process

CLOSING AND ONBOARDING – get PO signed and gather payment method

CLIENT PARTNER HANDOFF – Introduce the client partner and onboard

ENTERPRISE SALES PROCESS:

ACCOUNT PRIORITIZATION & VET POINT OF CONTACTS

SETTING THE DISCOVERY CALL & PRE-CALL PLANNING

PRE-DC OR SDR PRE-QUAL CALL

THE DISCOVERY CALL

THE PRODUCT CALL

COAUTHOR ROI MODEL CALL

THE PROPOSAL CALL

CLOSING & ONBOARDING

REPORTING & THE CLIENT PARTNER

I. ACCOUNT PRIORITIZATION & VETTING POCS

Account prioritization (A,B,C accounts)

Determine POC & perspective to introduce

Pull contact email & phone number

Outreach cadence (email & phone in coordination):

Are you the right person?

Polite reminder

EBR – Executive business review

Pre-call planning & the DC prep sheet

DC slide deck preparation

II. OUTREACH

Vet for the DM and the head of marketing - Pull FPS and emails for DM and head of marketing

Decide whether acct is MM (email) or quasi local (FPS outreach)

Rapport and then telling the Mloc pass up story to set up the DC

Email blueprint - 1. Are you the right person? 2. EBR email with pitch slides data

Outreach KQ1: Are you the right person to handle marketing conversations? KQ2: Do you have an open mind to taking a meeting with us?

Open call blueprint - Set the appt

Goal: Set the DC with the right person/people, get DM to agree to take a meeting

III. PRE-QUALIFICATION CALL – Prequalification in order to see if it is appropriate to have a discovery call (i.e. it is business as usual and they are in growth mode)

IV. THE DISCOVERY CALL

Rapport building for 30 seconds

DANTE (for DM process - Anyone else we need to loop in? for Platform XYZ familiarity - Have you used our platform in past? Branded vs. unbranded search, Ads - what doing? Why doing it? How tracking it?

Consumer intent concept - the ability to isolate undecided buying intent

Surface core objection and address not moving past it until completely addressed (schedule 2nd DC if necessary) - Question to see if have CI concept, if not then open ended questions to out and address objection

Biz & marketing goals (ie. Quantified need)

Solution concept - lead flow process (value in calls, walk ins, online form fills etc)

ROAS flow (data points) - CPA, LTV client inputs

Attribution method(s) - How currently tracking

Goal: Win the DC and get agreement to take a PC, Have DM see Platform XYZ as a place where they can isolate undecided buying intent and agree to evaluate Platform XYZ as a marketing vendor (take a PC), decide whether DM is a conceptual or quantitative buyer (ROAS model)

V. THE PRODUCT CALL

Recap info gathered from DC (set the context for a solution) - what you are looking to accomplish?

What we know (ROAS inputs)

Relate solutions/product back to their existing digital marketing strategy (from answers of what doing? Why doing it? How tracking it?)

KPI & attribution solutions and how they fit in with how they currently do attribution (access to website)

Begin to coauthor pilot and ROAS model (if not conceptual buyer or a tough deal, if conceptual keep conceptual)

How pricing works in general

End of PC get budget guideposts to coauthor proposal

If quantitative buyer, hop into ROAS model to coauthor

Goal: Relate our presentation back to what we learned on DC/co author a solution/get guideposts for budget, Get DM to agree to pilot Platform XYZ

VI. COAUTHOR ROI MODEL CALL – If new vendor evaluation process is quantitative in nature and requires an economic analysis to build the business case within the organization, the EAE should set up a meeting to coauthor an ROI/ROAS model with the client based upon the clients assumptions inputted into the model

VII. THE PROPOSAL CALL

EP or BP, run pricing calculator based upon guideposts

Recap info gathered from PC (set context for pilot)

Discuss KPIs and attribution method based upon PC learnings

Present proposal based upon guideposts or coauthored ROI/ROAS model pilot structure analyzed

Discuss PO and payment method process (anyone else need to loop in?)

Goal: Get verbal agreement on pilot and PO/payment method meeting, Get DM to agree to pilot terms & terms of the upgrade provided KPIs are hit

VIII. CLOSING & ONBOARDING

Get POs drafted and signed based upon agreed pilot structure (CS to create PO)

Gather payment method (CC and input into SFDC)

Lay foundation for upgrade based upon proving out ROAS model

Get creative for any customization needed and setup

Hand off to CP

Goal: Set up client for success long term and prepare them for upgrade

IX. REPORTING & THE CLIENT PARTNER

Set reporting expectations with client along with KPI, KPI goal and attribution methodology to get that data (terms of the upgrade)

Confirm time frame for reporting and evaluation of pilot

Track and optimize performance in Admin

Pull Time Range Report (TRR), put together pilot performance slide deck, and build the business case for an upgrade based upon ROAS generated (LTV applied to number of leads generated)

KEY QUESTIONS IN THE ENTERPRISE SALES PROCESS

Once you begin to run the enterprise sales process, you will begin to notice the key question associated with each step in the process:

Do they have an open mind to taking a meeting with us in general? Getting to DC

Do they have an open mind to evaluating us as a vendor? Getting to PC

Do they have an open mind to doing a pilot? Getting to Proposal Call

Do they have an open mind to upgrading provided that we hit their KPIs? Getting to Upgrade

So the goal of the outreach is to get them to take a meeting with us. The goal of the DC is to come to the conclusion that our platform can be a vendor for new client acquisition and to agree to evaluate us as a potential marketing vendor. The goal of the PC is to have the client conclude that we are indeed a marketing vendor to add to portfolio and agree to structuring a pilot in some capacity. The goal of the Proposal Call is to get them to commit to a specific budget amount and timeline for the pilot (i.e. making a buy). Finally, the goal of the Reporting Call is to get the client to commit to an upgrade or renewal.

DEALING WITH AN OBJECTION: If objection, DC turns into dealing with that objection, to pull the data to prove or disprove in DC2, DC2 to deal with the objection, then the rest of DC2 to have an actual DC with DANTE onward.

VETTING - High quality vetting can mean the difference between getting and not getting a meeting with a client. We need to do our research on the account to understand the organizational structure and who within the organization evaluates new vendors. Lastly, we need to decide the perspective to introduce to the contact to prompt a meeting.

Book of Business & Account Prioritization

Determining Point of Contact & Perspective to Introduce

Pulling Point of Contact Email & Phone Number

OUTREACH & OPEN SALES CYCLE – Proper outreach includes an introduction & context for the outreach. It also brings with it a perspective to communicate some value connected to the contact. Ideally the result of outreach would be a pre-qualification call on the fly or a meeting for a pre-qualification call.

Email & call with contextual introduction introducing a perspective that connects our platform to corporate & marketing goals stated by C-suite

Cadence of outreach that conveys urgency to the point of contact to increase responsiveness

Set up pre-qualification call over email/phone or do pre-qualification on the fly if possible

PRE-QUALIFICATION STEP - The pre-qualification call ensures that we check the boxes of DM, timeline, need, budget, and ultimately openness to evaluate a solution. This is typically performed by an SDR or by an AE that has full cycle responsibilities.

In this step which can be done on the open call, we find out if:

Business as usual?

Growth mode?

How tracking/quantifying success? (Business KPI)

What marketing KPI drives that success metric?

Open to evaluating a solution to drive that marketing KPI?

Set up discovery call

DISCOVERY STEP – Discovery is an ordered questioning process (qualification) in order to form the value concept and to determine need & buying criteria (the why). The questioning process is ordered in the following manner:

Business & Marketing Goals - Getting a business need and then quantifying the gap they need to close to achieve that goal. The marketing KPI that drives the business KPI.

Customer Acquisition Process Design & Vendors - How they have designed the customer acquisition process currently, what vendors are they using for it, and why they chose those vendors. The questions here are often derived from their existing marketing strategy and how they have structured it currently.

ROAS & Attribution - KPIs (success metrics), KPI goals & how they prove out the KPIs currently.

Solution Expectations - CPA & ROI thresholds we would need to meet in order to evaluate our platform as a potential vendor along with the process design on our platform. This shapes our product call.

DM Process & Timeline - How they typically evaluate new vendors within their organization and whether they can add vendors in real time.

PRODUCT STEP – Product demo/pitch based upon buying criteria (the why of current vendors) in order to coauthor a solution to hit their business & marketing goals. Relating everything back to what they are doing now and the why of what they are doing from the discovery step. Ultimately, the solution needs to be designed consistent with the customer acquisition process and the why of other vendors they are currently using. At the end of the product call, we begin to coauthor the buying paradigm.

● Confirm buying criteria from qualifying

● Demonstrate solution consistent with buying criteria

● Check in question that they agree that satisfies buying criteria

● Repeat the process for each buying criteria

COAUTHORED PROPOSAL & CLOSING STEP – From the nature of the need (aggressive, mid level or introductory goals) and budget guideposts , we shape the buying paradigm. We utilize need-based closing to coauthor the proposal with them rather than simply throwing numbers at them. You can coauthor an ROI model here if they would like to evaluate a pilot in the context of a pro-forma return.

Coauthor the Buying Paradigm

Align Proposal to Buying Paradigm

Coauthor ROI & Build Business Case

Get Final Approval