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What is a complex sale?
A complex sale is characterized by multiple stakeholders directly and indirectly involved in the decision process. The sales process requires numerous interactions with stakeholders over a long period of time. This can result in a long buy/sell cycle and an impact on the seller’s revenue and cash flow. Stakeholders may be in various regional or country offices. There may not be a budget assigned for the product or service.
Common Issues Sellers Face in Complex Sales
These can be one or more of the following:
• Business drivers and related initiatives have not been accurately assessed
• Not all stakeholders in the decision process have been identified.
• Each stakeholder has not been contacted and/or interviewed
• Responsibility for the decision is assumed and based on the title of an interested party
• The financial decision maker is only directed
• Spending too much time with a stakeholder with limited power of influence
• Avoid approaching an interested party due to anxiety
• Failure to take advantage of past or present relationships
• A bloated sales pipeline
• Lack of knowledge or inability to adapt to complex sales
• The sales presentation is not in sync with the main interest of a stakeholder
• Lack of skills to adapt to the buying style of individual stakeholders.
To do?
1. If you have been used to selling in short daily or weekly cycles, then you need to develop new skills and attributes. Get specific advice on how to sell in a complex sales environment. Selling to four interested parties, for example, each with their own reason for buying, can make the sales process difficult, but far from impossible. Shift short-term past sales into measurable, accountable daily tasks that become stepping stones to a future sale.
2. Complex sales can be demanding with long hours, so be sure to recharge your energy regularly. This can be relaxing with family and friends, enjoying a hobby, or taking the dog for a walk.
3. View the buying cycle from a prospective customer’s point of view. There are potential risks, especially if your organization, product or service is not well known. They may fear losing credibility and possibly their job if they make the wrong decision. You take the time and care to develop trusting relationships in your personal life, why not in sales?
Complex sales are challenging, but the intrinsic rewards make it worth it.