One of the things I enjoy most is working with my clients to develop new businesses.
It’s thrilling and exciting!
It’s also one of the most complex parts of the sales process.
The more I work with my clients who want to break into major accounts—meaning big logos and 6-7 figure deals—the more I realise that you work through it through the lens of your target client’s strategy and positioning.
We had a successful meeting with one of my client’s prospects. I want to share how we successfully turned the first meeting into an opportunity.
It was a 30-minute Teams meeting. We met the new head of innovation for a large infrastructure provider in ANZ (Australia and New Zealand).
We built rapport, collaborated, and agreed on the next steps. Our prospect suggested we signed an NDA and accepted our offer to set up a workshop to identify initiatives to explore working together.
Sounds easy.
It was not.
There was a lot of background work before the actual meeting. This is where the B2B Sales Maturity Framework plays a crucial role—nailing your foundations from the beginning, having a strategy, process, and the right behaviours.
We turned the first meeting into an opportunity because we had a business hypothesis.
Business case-based selling or working with a business hypothesis is incredibly effective and gives you thought leadership positioning.
Making a valid business hypothesis for an engagement makes the meeting move forward reasonable, collaborative, and aligned.
⚠️ Just a warning: We are not talking solutions here. We are in the ideation and collaboration phase. Don’t pitch.
How do you build a business hypothesis?
Research, understand and analyse your client’s business by finding the answers to the following 9 questions.
What are your client’s goals? Their number one goal?
What is your client’s business and industry?
What are your client’s current revenue, profit, and financial backgrounds?
Who are your client’s major clients?
Who are your client’s major competitors?
What is your client’s territory and market position?
Have there been any recent mergers and acquisitions involving your client?
What are your client’s regulatory undertakings?
What issues and trends are affecting your client’s industry? Their number one issue?
💡🤖Tip. If your prospective account is a publicly listed company, it publishes annual reports. Run these questions using Gemini, Perplexity, ChatGPT (or any AI tools) and attach the annual report. This will concisely summarise your prospects’ business and help you analyse their strategy and positioning (or lack thereof).
During the meeting, confirm your understanding and confirm the primary goal your client wants to address.
Then, summarise their answer and develop a clear, concise statement outlining how to structure your next steps to address your client’s challenges or capitalise on opportunities.
In our case, we offered a 2-hour workshop to help the clients identify the right initiatives.
Remember you’re a co-buyer seeking to help clients find the right solution that meets their business objectives. Understand their needs and wants, leverage your expertise and knowledge of the market, and help make informed decisions that drive their business forward.
What do you think of this week’s newsletter?
Thank you for being here, I appreciate you.
Ren
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