Discover three secrets of dealing with Procurement, that will help you sell more in less time.
If you’re a B2B salesperson, you have probably bumped up against procurement departments a number of times. In this article, I am sharing insights about Procurement that will make those interactions a lot easier, and that will help you sell more in less time. Keep reading to uncover 3 new Procurement insights.
Frustrated by Procurement?
Procurement is often a source of frustration for salespeople. Have you ever had a deal blocked or delayed by Procurement? Have you ever had Procurement almost negotiate away your margin? If you are selling anything of significant value, I am guessing you’ve experienced that.
I am also guessing this is happening to you more often because Procurement is gaining more and more prominence in mid-sized and large companies. The more you know about Procurement – how they operate, how they think and what makes them tick – the better prepared you will be to deal with them. Therefore, the more confident and empowered you will feel.
So, based on my 20 years of experience in both procurement and sales – and based on 1,000s of conversations with salespeople – I will give you 3 key insights about Procurement which will help you sell more in less time.
Here are my 3 secrets from inside the Procurement black box.
First secret: Apples and oranges are actually comparable
The analogy of comparing apples to oranges is often used to describe situations where Procurement compares your product or service with a competitor’s very different product or service.
Contrary to what some sales blogs tell you, don’t waste your breath trying to convince Procurement not to compare apples to oranges. It won’t work. Procurement has always compared apples to oranges. They always will compare apples to oranges. And the best procurement professionals are actually quite good at it.
The reason they can do that with credibility is that it’s not the “fruits” themselves Procurement is comparing. It’s, in fact, the value these “fruits” bring to users and stakeholders that are being compared. So, rather than wasting energy pursuing a pointless argument, focus on influencing perceptions of how your offering adds value.
Second secret: Procurement is trained to bleed you dry, if you let them
One frustration I often hear from salespeople is that when they give a concession in a negotiation, Procurement asks for another concession, then another and another. And it just goes on and on and on.
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But you don’t have to continue giving and giving until the deal is barely worth having. Know this: The perpetual request for concessions is part of Procurement’s negotiation training. It’s one way for them to know that the “best deal” has been achieved. To stop this downward spiral, never give a concession without getting something in return. And when you do give a concession, move slowly in small increments.
Third secret: You don’t have to settle for winning less than 10% of your RFP bids
An RFP win rate of less than 10% is what suppliers can expect on average. But there is so much potential for doing better than average.
Some companies out there win more than 50% of the RFPs they bid on. How do they do that? They have realised that there is no single silver bullet when it comes to winning more RFPs. It’s the sum of the parts that matter. And there are 4 things, in particular, that you need to do:
- Only bid on RFPs where you have had an opportunity to influence the requirements before the RFP was sent out. You will be one step ahead, or even two steps ahead, of your competitors if you do this.
- Dig much deeper into the buying organisation’s requirements to discover needs they didn’t even know they had. Most of your competitors won’t do that.
- Proactively target more ideal clients to trigger RFPs that you are more likely to win
- Free up more time to focus on the first 3 points I mentioned by creating a database that allows you to reuse response segments. Over time, as you improve these segments, you will find that, not only will you save time, but your RFP responses will be more consistent and of a higher quality.
There you have it – 3 secrets revealed that will put you ahead of the game when dealing with Procurement. If you found these tips helpful, you need to download my free guide, Sell more in less time by taking control of your relationships with Procurement.
It covers what I have just talked about, and it’s packed with lots more secrets about the Procurement black box. And it gives you a six-step approach that will put you in the driver’s seat when dealing with Procurement. Just click here to get this valuable guide.
