Business relationships can be very similar to personal relationships.  The more you share and trust in a relationship, the more you are likely to receive in return.

Often, I am asked by suppliers and vendors, to provide/share detailed and often sensitive information in order to help build a “strategic partnership” or “strategic alliance”.   Some common questions include:

• Who do you do business with today?
• Who are your largest suppliers?
• Can you help facilitate a meeting with your CEO?
• What is your annual budget?
• How much are you spending today?
• Can you give me the names and contact information for the decision-makers in your company?
• What is the purchasing process in your company?
• How much are you paying today?

Just like long-lasting personal relationships where friendships rely on bilateral trust and sharing of information, business relationships are also built over time and mutually beneficial terms.   That means that if a vendor truly wants to become a trusted strategic partner, that vendor will need to reciprocate the sharing of sensitive information and foster the business relationship over time.  As in the case of personal relationships, the amount of time required to develop a trusted business relationship can significantly vary, depending on the chemistry of personalities and the business fit of the value proposition(s) vs. need.

This type of approach can be very challenging and in many cases, impossible for some vendors to adopt because of either culture or business model.   For example, highly transactional vendors will tend to have a harder time differentiating themselves and will be less likely to share information.  On the other end of the spectrum, there is a likelihood of developing a strategic alliance with business partners who are looking to share (technology, market information, etc.), where there is less of buyer-seller relationship.

Most vendors will be able to move towards a strategic partnership by matching transparency.  For example, if a vendor wants to know how much a potential customer spends per year, the vendor may need to open up about how much the vendor sells to the industry.   If a vendor wants a prospective customer to share details about available spend and timing of spend, then that vendor will need to consider sharing the profit model.

From my experience, I have been the most willing to share information with vendors who have been transparent about their business and margin models.  Getting the secrecy of pricing out of the way, allows a shift in focus towards strategic discussions such as roadmaps and planning.   Like personal relationships, this model won’t work for everyone.  Open and strategic partnerships require the transparent and bilateral sharing of information.

I often get asked by senior sales executives and account managers how their respective companies can become strategic partners.   Potential vendors ask how they can become preferred suppliers and existing suppliers ask how they can become more tightly integrated with the customer’s strategic planning.

Common questions I get asked are:

• How can we help you?
• What challenges can we help you solve?
• What will it take to get your business?
• How can we become part of your organizations planning process?
• How can our smart people augment your smart people?
• What can we change to get a bigger part of your business?

If, as a sales professional, you are asking the above questions to your customers and prospective customers, you are missing the strategy in your sales.   Truly strategic sales professionals will have the above questions answered before approaching their customers.  A common concern with my previous statement is that sales professionals don’t have the insight or insider knowledge to properly answer the questions.   This is in part true, but it’s also an excuse to avoid the  homework necessary to initiate and close large and complex deals.

Having the ability to identify a customer’s issues and corresponding solutions will distinguish you from most other sales professionals.   If you do not have the answers to the above questions before meeting with a customer, you will not be able to demonstrate any strategic benefit.   This will often result in an inability to secure even an initial meeting.

It may sound impossible to prove strategic value before you’ve ever spoken to a customer, but it is not.  The most strategic sales professionals I have met have been able to look at customer challenges from the customer’s perspective.   Some questions you will want to answer (or at least guess) before meeting with any customer include:

• What is the mission statement for the customer?   What are the key focusses for the customer?
  • How do your products/services align to the above?
• What are the major priorities for the customer?
  • How do your products/services support the priorities?
• What are the customer’s competitors doing?
  • How can you help the customer gain competitive advantage over the customer’s competitors?
• Who are the decision makers and the influencers?  How are they compensated?  What are their personal performance objectives?

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg.   The key to putting strategy into sales, however, is getting away from questions like, “How can I help you?” and moving towards solution statements like, “This is what I believe to be the challenges and opportunities in your industry.  This is what I believe to be the challenges and priorities to your company and your professional objectives.  This is how I can help.”

In my next post, I will provide a real-world example.