Complex deal origination and closing: art or science?

"First study the science, and then practice the art which is born of that science." Leonardo da Vinci

You have been working on a large and complex opportunity for months, your solution best meets the client's needs, and you are ahead of your competition… But you lose the deal! What went wrong?

There is probably not a single answer. Maybe you targeted a prospect with already-clear requirements and an acknowledged need for change, hence you missed the opportunity to influence its agenda. Or maybe you engaged too late, talked to the wrong stakeholders, failed to attract and earn trust, or simply did not understand the C-suite decision-making style…

There is no silver bullet to magically enhance one's ability to close complex deals in today's convoluted business ecosystem, with its long sales cycles and multiple decision makers with numerous perspectives that cross territorial and cultural borders. Simply put, no matter how sophisticated your services or products, chances are that competitors offer the same thing—large, complex deals are always competitive. What is required is a systemic approach combined with hard work, collaboration, resilience and commitment, along with skill and savvy.

I have used the following framework for many years. It is more targeted to the consulting industry, but it can be applied in other verticals. It is not a guarantee of success on its own, but it has certainly paid off for me. It combines several approaches like Jeff Thull's Diagnostic Business Development Process, the RAIN Sales Conversation Framework, and the Valkyrie Consulting Group's Art of Winning.

The framework includes several phases that are not mutually exclusive, some of which will last as long as the relationship with the client exists. Not all of the phases are required, as some relationships with the C-suite could already be in place, or you might have positioned previously and established your credibility with the client's key players. Start with phase one when expanding your client portfolio with new logos. Phases three, four and five generally overlap.

There is a fundamental commonality across all the phases—do not be a lone wolf, but hunt in a pack! Teamwork is the fuel that allows individuals to attain extraordinary results and win large and complex deals. A team can accomplish what an individual alone cannot.

1.????Pre-qualify

Every firm has limited resources to devote to business development activities and delivery, hence it is paramount to focus efforts on clients with the greatest potential. This phase is concerned with the pre-qualification of target client organizations based on their size, the industry in which they operate, potential barriers (cultural or others) to engaging with them, etc. For example, some consulting firms do not work with tobacco product or gun manufacturers.

2.????Discover

The extent of this phase will depend very much on the level of pre-existing relationships with the target organization and access to inside knowledge.

The discovery phase is about gaining an in-depth understanding of companies; their customers, suppliers and competitors; their performance compared to peers; the inherent issues of their industry; and which key executives are the decision makers. Additional research should uncover potential challenges that the companies currently face or might face in the future.

You also have to identify your competitors and decide on an appropriate strategy. For example, you could use a frontal attack to win the opportunity with overwhelming force, dividing by driving a wedge between the competitors, flanking by setting the client's agenda, and moving the goalposts.

3.????Diagnose

At this point, these challenges should be qualified: Are they important enough to the target organization? Are they large enough to lead to sizable deals? Can we solve them?

Diagnosis is meant to achieve an in-depth determination of the existence of challenges as well as their extent and financial impact, and to answer two fundamental questions: Why change? And why now? It is also meant to maximize an organization's objective awareness of any challenges. The diagnosis will be reinforced during the Position phase, during which more information, sometimes confidential, will be collected and shared by the customer. A thorough diagnosis will resonate when engaging with the C-suite as it will drive conversations about objective observations and measurements of an unacceptable present compared to a reasoned vision of a desirable future.

Make sure that the conversations are about them, not about your firm or solution. Tell stories that relate to them, stories about return on investment (ROI); community engagement; net promoter score (NPS); environmental, social and governance (ESG); or diversity and inclusion.

This phase could have an unattractive outcome with the realization that you do not have the solution to your potential customer's most pressing challenges. However, this is not a dealbreaker, as creating awareness of the issue and working with them to design a solution, even one offered by a competitor, will create a lot of goodwill.

4.????Position

This phase is concerned with building relationships in the C-suite, gaining trust, and becoming someone executives can turn to for counsel. It requires learning about their world, their needs, how they think, and deciphering their decision-making style. Moreover, there is a mindset shift that needs to occur that Zig Ziglar summarized very well—"Stop selling, start helping."

In terms of trust, according to Dr. Yoram Solomon, founder of the Trust Building Institute and author of many books on developing trust in organizations, buyers will trust you 58.4% more if they think you are competent and 86% more if they believe you share similar values.

Early positioning is critical with the executives who wield the most power and influence within the client organization, certainly with the relevant stakeholders associated with an opportunity. The first fundamental tenet of building relationships and trust is to add value in every contact and to create quality conversations—the Diagnose phase will have equipped you to do so. The C-suite wants to work with experts in their field! The second fundamental tenet is to offer specific solutions to their challenges, not features or benefits compared to the competition. The third one is to be authentic, as people will sense insincerity or untruths. Then you will have the opportunity to influence their agenda, introducing ideas and bringing perspectives to bear.

A benefit of establishing rapport with the executive team is being referred to the right decision maker for the opportunity that you have identified. Starting too low is an uphill battle that is rarely won, as it is much more difficult to work your way up in an organization than it is to get referred down. ?

5.????Qualify

Early qualification is key to avoid spending limited resources on the wrong opportunities, even on the wrong clients. Equally as important is to qualify often because needs are changing, the environment is changing, and stakeholders are changing.

Since time and resources are limited, it is essential to assert that the opportunity being assessed is real and represents a worthwhile investment. Opportunity qualification must be a rigorous and objective process, so rushing a response to a request for proposal (RFP) is a recipe for disaster. There are many qualifying questions that fall into three buckets:

1.?Should we pursue this opportunity?

Typical qualifying questions include: Is the opportunity aligned to our business focus? Is it large enough to devote resources to? Is it strategic for the client? Has funding been approved? Do we understand the true business drivers?

2.?Can we effectively compete for this opportunity?

Do we have a solution that will address the client's needs? Can we articulate a compelling value proposition? Can we differentiate from our competitors? Do we have enough resources available to compete successfully? Do we have an established relationship with the client?

3.?Can we reasonably expect to win this opportunity?

While an opportunity can be lost even when offering the best solution, first-class delivery and attractive terms and conditions, many others are missed because the provider put them in the "too hard" basket. If the overall answer to the qualifying questions about the chance to win the opportunity is "no," then the subsequent question should be "what can we do to win it?"

Winning a complex deal requires internal support, that is, buyers who want you to win because they are convinced that you would bring the most value, even if your solution is not the best. So, qualifying questions should include: Do we have an established relationship with the client? Do we have the inside support necessary to win the deal? What is our relationship with the key executives associated with the opportunity?

As previously stated, these three compelling questions should be asked multiple times during the pursuit of an opportunity, especially when changes are detected in the client's environment or the competitive landscape.

6.????Close

Closing a complex deal is an arduous task. As the deal strategist, you have to ensure that the right solution is offered to the client, drive the pursuit cadence, choreograph the transaction, and be part of the negotiations once awarded the contract. In addition, the many contributors to crafting a solution all have different imperatives—technical, legal, commercial—and levels of risk tolerance that need to be carefully managed.

There are a number of key considerations:

1.?Collaborate with the client

You will have experts working with you to prepare a compelling response, but ensuring that the client is involved in designing the solution and calculating the benefits will ensure their ownership.

2.?Understand what value means to the client and illustrate what matters

To effectively prepare a proposal and deliver a presentation to C-level executives and other decision makers, understanding what value means to them is paramount—and money is not everything. You need to cover the non-financial and emotional impacts to illustrate the complete impact case beyond financials. For example, a local government will be interested in economic development in their area.

3.?Decipher the C-suite executives' decision-making style

When preparing the offer and certainly when presenting to the C-suite, you must appreciate how they make decisions, their rationale, what risks they are willing to take, and how much input they seek from others.

4.?Develop compelling value propositions

A compelling, provocative value proposition must demonstrate that it addresses an unacceptable present (the why) and brings a clear ROI. While it is often difficult to differentiate your solution from that of your competitors, it is a key to success—be creative, be courageous, be bold. Differentiation resides in the clear understanding of what value means to the client, of what makes the C-suite tick. When at Fujitsu, we won a very large and complex managed services deal with a local government organization because we committed to creating one hundred jobs in the local market.

If you cannot articulate financial and non-financial benefits to the client, do not expect them to buy them.

5.?Make the solution clear

The proposed solution must reveal a clear path for change: what needs to happen, their contribution, how much effort will be required, and how long it will take.

6.?Show that you understand the risks

All projects have risks. You have to be transparent in communicating these risks and unequivocally demonstrate to the client executives that you have the ability to mitigate them while implementing a value-driven solution.

7.?Help buyers see and feel the need to change

You need to take the audience on an emotional journey by weaving back and forth between the unacceptable present and a desirable new reality. This article outlines that journey: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/sell-like-consultant-close-deals-philippe-rosiere/.

8.?Negotiations

You have been told that you are the preferred supplier. However, this is not the time to celebrate, as deals can collapse or you can lose most of your margin during the negotiation step. Achieving a win-win is also a rigorous process that needs to be approached strategically:

• Establish your negotiation strategy. You have to plan your win and prepare for your client's arguments and negotiation tactics.
• No deal is better than a bad deal. You have to be willing to walk away from a deal if it would be detrimental to the client or your firm.
• Do not cave on price, trade. Buyers will certainly ask you for a discount, often arguing that your price is over their budget. While this is occasionally true, it is usually just a basic negotiation tactic. Propose reducing the price by removing a component from your solution, but appeal to their emotions by showing the value that they will miss out on.
• Lead the negotiations. You will be more successful if you go first and avoid letting your client take control of the negotiation process.

In summary, closing complex deals is an art that requires scientific rigor—as Leonardo da Vinci said, "To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science."

It requires teamwork and a genuine willingness to help clients. You will need to understand their business and its challenges; position early, preferably before they have identified the need to change; win their trust by consistently adding value in every conversation; thoroughly qualify the opportunity; understand what value means to the clients; articulate clear value propositions; and be creative and bold to differentiate from competitors.