âItâs not personal; itâs strictly business.â
There are many things to love about The Godfather, and we could probably write a whole article about lessons gleaned from the Corleone âfamily business.â But when it comes to sales, Michael Corleone couldnât have been more wrong. Because, in fact, salesâand particularly enterprise salesâis all about nurturing personal relationships.
From the discovery stage to closing, enterprise selling relies on a sales repâs personal attention and customized solutions to close a deal. This level of care and curation helps sales teams close high-revenue deals with long-term corporate partners and clients. Â
But what exactly is enterprise sales, and how can you leverage the process to close more deals?
Letâs break it down.
Complex sales vs. transactional sales
There are two main types of sales: complex (or enterprise) and transactional (or SMB). Most people are familiar with transactional salesâthey are the everyday, straightforward buying and selling of products and services to an individual or small group of individuals (think Mom and Dad purchasing a lawnmower at Sears).
For the most part, these types of transactions are low risk with a short sales cycle. Many startups focus on transactional sales early on in their business. These sales typically have a sales cycle of 60 days or less with relatively few touches.
In contrast, enterprise sales represent months of communication between the sales rep and the prospect, resulting in larger-scale corporate solutions.
While there is some debate on the exact definition of a complex sale, there are a few key distinctions between the two.
An enterprise sale is marked by:
- High risk
- Many stakeholders
- A long sales cycle (6+ months)
- High investment
- Complexity
In contrast, a transactional deal:
- Is lower risk
- Has few stakeholders
- Has a short sales cycle
- Sells single products and services (or small bundles)
- Is driven by marketing and sales rather than by relationships
With higher investment comes higher risk and greater complexity. The sales rep must balance the needs of the organization with the capabilities of the product or service to deliver a custom large-scale solution. These sales take months to process as the client considers the proposed solutions and weighs their options against competitors.
Evolution of sales strategy
Because of this added complexity, enterprise sales reps take a different approach to sales strategy. But sales methodology isnât stagnant, and enterprise best practices have evolved. Â
Presentation
In the 1950s, enterprise sales relied on scripted presentation. The salesman researched the client, drafted a proposed solution and presented their pitch to the client. This strategy was product-focused, rather than client-focused. The salesperson would outline the productâs offerings and defend its ability to solve the clientâs problems.
Conversation
Through the â70s, this strategy fell out of favor for a more collaborative approach. Rather than telling the client what they needed, sales reps would take the time to listen to the client describe their pain points and use those conversations to develop solutions.
Process analysis
Today, the best enterprise salespeople have taken this approach one step further to act as business advisors to the client. While they continue to listen to the customer to gain insights into their business, they no longer assume the client fully understands what their problem is.
Often, clients miss the underlying problem for the negative symptoms it creates. The most successful sales reps act as business process analysts, learning the clientâs business and operational processes to provide solutions that address the root problems.
The stages of a complex sale
You can break down the sales process in a few ways, but the basic enterprise funnel comprises these four key steps.
Discovery
Discovery is the preliminary stage where the sales rep researches the prospectâs business, talks to them about their needs and requirements, validates the business case, and customizes it to the client.
The rep asks the client questions about their organization, pain points, and expectations to get a clearer picture of how they can address their problem and create a satisfying and enticing solution.
How can you find this information? Ask!
As you build your relationship, ask the client:
- What are the steps weâll have to take to close the deal?
- Who are the stakeholders that will be involved?
- What do we need to do to get buy-in from each team or leader?
Ask the client to guide you through a virtual roadmap to close and document that process in detail. By investing in the discovery stage, you can set your sales process up to succeed because the client gave you those answers. If you can nail down the companyâs buying cycle, you can map out a clear sales process from start to close.
