Create the Perfect Pitch

Over the recent Easter long weekend, I took some time out to listen to some of my favorite music videos.  On the top of my list is the hugely popular Italian rocker called “Zucchero”. Little known outside of Europe, Zucchero brings a “Joe Cocker” like live performance to the stage.  Supporting both his live and studio performances are his vocally impressive backing singers. Their voices bring depth and harmony that compliments a song and brings something extra to the performance. Great stage artists know the importance of a strong backing performance and how best to leverage their talents on stage.

In the same way a good business development manager, knows how to leverage resources to make sure their pitch is perfect. There’s not much difference when selling technology. There’s the technical component, knowing how to configure the best solution or how the license agreement can be structured to meet customers’ needs, then fine tuning to ensure your proposal will resonate with a variety of decision makers i.e. technical, financial, procurement and, of course, getting into the meeting and pitching your deal.

As with artists, there are a variety of sales support resources available to BDM’s to help create a strong proposal. Chances are you’re already working closely with a technical sales engineer and inside rep’s; but what about the other heavy hitter available to you:

Team Leasing: Often I find BDM’s wait for customers to bring up the need for extended payment options or financing. Typically, it’s later in the sales process when the proposal is making its way to the financial decision maker. Proactively leveraging Team Leasing when you are creating your proposal (not after you presented it) allows you to address potential financial hurdles from the beginning and put together an extended payment option if needed.

Business Case: Especially for larger deals, the financial decision maker is going to want to understand both the technical and financial benefits of the technology. What is the cost of doing nothing? What is the relative values of differing structures? I find BDM’s who work multiple finance options into their proposals early, end up having more meaningful conversations around the deal and how it benefits the customer’s environment.

Credit Approval: Seems like an obvious one, but before you propose a particular finance structure, make sure your client has the ability to secure the credit approval at the price you are proposing. Also, if you’re proposing any of the structures available i.e. Rental, Lease, Software Funding or a combination, ask Team Leasing early so that the right structure is presented. The BDM's I interact with on a daily basis connect with me early and we work together on the finance solution.

In summary, you can play a gig as a soloist, but to create the best-selling pitch, you need to bring in all resources available to add richness and depth to your proposal.

Remember your backup singer…my job is to harmonize with you to make your proposals meaningful to the decision maker.

Always available

Brendan Kelly