Project Management 411

The Simplest Sales Approach to Expand a Project

by Bob Turek on March 21st, 2008

I’m reading Rick Page’s excellent sales book “Hope is Not a Strategy”. It is full of very good advice for those selling complex technology and/or business process projects. One of the simplest pieces of advice with tremendous payback is to simply ask “why”.

The idea is to be in front of a C-level executive armed with knowledge about their business and industry so you quickly steer the conversation from a tactical need to a strategic need.

One salesman met with a VP of finance and VP of IT of a European bank. Starting with “what can we do for you” the VP IT answered “we have a $50,000 engagement for technical architecture consulting…”. The salesman simply asked “why?” several times:

VP IT: “We have an application to develop by January.”

Sales: “Why January?”

VP IT: “It’s a government regulation.”

Sales: “What government regulation?”

VP IT: “Derivates control.”

The prepared salesman shared how poor derivatives control could expose, and had exposed, the bank. He got the attention of the VP Finance:

VP Finance: “Precisely.”

Sales: “So, this is a survival issue…”

VP Finance: “Exactly.”

The salesman went on to tie the control of derivatives to the bank’s goal of having the best derivatives control system in Europe.

Bottom line- asking “why”, and being prepared with industry and company information enabled the salesman to tune into a five million dollar project that was only the beginning of several years of projects with this bank.

Do you think that this advice and approach only can be used by sales people? What about project managers? Share a similar situation where you were able to ask “why” and expand a project for the benefit of your company.

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