Selling Procurement

Selling Procurement

Charlie Adams SCANA Services, SCE&G, VC Summer Nuclear

Station, Strategic Sourcing

Selling Procurement

• Objectives – Three Phases – Change your perspective – Learn basics of branding, traits, tactics, brain

stages, 4 I’s, buying motivators – Learn basic sale techniques – What do sales people think of procurement?

Selling Procurement

• Three phases – Selling procurement- internally (customers) – Selling procurement- agency (management) – Selling procurement- suppliers (how sales people

sell to you)

Branding • 4 keys to successful branding

– Authentic – Relevant – Consistent – Commitment

• Brand Benefits – Builds customer loyalty – Increases value – Allows higher prices – Builds market share – Easier to launch new products – Lower employee turnover – Helps in talent recruitment – Creates esteem – It is a strategic and financial asset

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The 7 Traits of TOP Procurement Professionals

• People Person • Likes KPI’s and metrics • Negotiator by nature • Unconventional thinker • Generates process and procedures • Curious • Tactical

http://www.coupa.com/blog/7-traits-of-top-procurement-professionals

The 7 Traits of TOP Procurement Professionals

Trait Exercise

5 Tactic used by Procurement

• Deflect or discredit your value proposition • Commoditize and control responses • Limit access to the business • Use past performance/history against them • Good cop/Bad Cop and mystery decision

maker(s)

https://www.salesreadinessgroup.com/blog/bid/377387/Sales-Negotiations-5-Tactics-to-Use-with-Procurement

Selling Procurement

• Common challenges (seen from the sale person) – Procurement is the gatekeeper – Selling value when procurement seems only to care

about price – Negotiating when it feels procurement has all the

leverage – Out to bid- managing procurements reliance on a RFx

process – Dealing with threats, staling, and other tough tactics

Selling Procurement

• Salespeople – Sales is …

… the art of influencing others.

• Most salespeople: – Fear of rejection – Afraid of failure – Concern about not hitting quota

• The number one job of any sales professional is…

… to solve the customer’s problem.

Selling Procurement

• Standard sales Training – Ask leading questions – Find opportunities to present fact, features, and

benefits

• Miss the mark due to lack of proper timing • Must build trust, connection and identify

need.

Selling Procurement

• The best sales professional display the 3 ‘S: – Have a servant’s mindset – Share your experience and knowledge – Solve problems

• The order matters. It build authentic trust upfront and

lead the customer to a place where the genuinely want your help to solve the problem because they trust you.

• Serving, sharing, and solving = a good sale person

Selling Procurement

• We know: – People buy from people they trust – They trust people they like – They like people they connect with

Selling Procurement

• The 6 buying brain stages: – Safety – avoids danger – Connection – seeks connection – Trust – determine trustworthiness – Understanding – if trusted opens to understanding – Opportunity – if trusted hears options – Credibility – validates all the above to determine if

the sales person and their company is credible.

Selling Procurement

• Connect through mutual beliefs (safety, connection, trust)

• Empathy (reinforce trust through understanding the situation/issues)

• Clear path (opportunity - results in customer’s success)

• Demonstrate Proof (credibility - have the ability to actually solve the problem)

Selling Procurement • 4 I’s

– Uncover the issue (prioritize) – Identify the impact (Quantify) – Determine invasiveness (how deep is the

problem?) – Uncover the iceberg

• Knowledge • Time • Budget • Money

Selling Procurement

• Buying Motivators – Price (is why I don’t or do purchase) – Value (benefit of the value over the price) – Quality(is the caliber of the product – iPad/Kindle) – Self-preservation (fear) – Social pressure (groupthink mentality – iPhone?)

Selling Procurement

• What we learned? – Three Phases – Change your perspective – Learn basics of branding, traits, tactics, brain

stages, 4 I’s, buying motivators – Learn basic sale techniques – What do sales people think of procurement?

Selling Procurement

Charlie Adams SCANA Services, SCE&G, VC Summer Nuclear

Station, Strategic Sourcing

References

• Lynda.com/sales fundamentals • https://www.salesreadinessgroup.com/blog/b

id/377387/Sales-Negotiations-5-Tactics-to-Use-with-Procurement

• http://www.coupa.com/blog/7-traits-of-top-procurement-professionals