The Flip Side
As a buyer, have you ever noticed how much effort sales teams put into the training, strategy, and education of their people? If you type "sales training" into Google, you get well over FOUR MILLION hits. In order to put that figure into perspective, typing "procurement training" into the same search engine pulls only 215,000 results.
So what does this mean? Does this mean that we as procurement professionals are such fearsome opponents that sales people need over 18 times as many programs to keep up with us? As hard as we have worked to get where we are, that's probably not the case. A more likely explanation is that it is easier for companies to see the connection between the success of their sales force and the bottom line than it is for them to make the same connection with procurement. And if they aren't making the connection, then they also aren't making the same investment in training us.
We think that the best answer to this imbalance is to arm ourselves with the best sales techniques by "flipping" them to a buyer's perspective. You can make use of the resources in this section of BMP to get started.
Forget the Dark Side - Welcome to the Flip Side.
The Sales Guy
"The Sales Guy" is a sales VP with 30 years and approximately $1B+ in sales under his belt. We are keeping his identity under wraps – for the same reason magicians never reveal their tricks, his colleagues might not like him giving us the inside scoop on sales’ view of procurement. TSG joins us to bring a two-sided perspective to the procurement process. Learn more.
Speaking Sales
In the sales and negotiation process, communication is key. So what is it that isn't being said? The following is a list of questions and topics to bring up with sales reps. Sometimes leverage is available to buyers who are able to be flexible in the right ways - not in leaving money on the table - but with timing and other deal structure elements that allow suppliers to offer a better deal. Learn more.
Posts From the Flip Side
Each Tuesday we feature a Flip Side related post on our blog, "The Point". We share Q&A with The Sales Guy, and review sales white papers and webinar notes. Sometimes the best way to get a fresh idea for dealing with a procurement problem is to listen to sales professionals talk about account management and negotiation from their perspective. Learn more.
Sales Blogs and Resources
As much as we all do our best to stay on top of the latest supply management white papers and blogs, we find it just as helpful to read the same information from the other side of the table. We have pulled together these blogs and resource centers because we find them helpful when we're trying to be prepared to collaborate and negotiate with our sales counterparts. Learn more.
Sales Webinars
Like the supply management webinars we attend each week, we find that attending sales webinars is an easy, dynamic way to learn. These events are included on our events calendar alongside the supply management ones, but this shortcut will take you directly to the sales webinars we recommend from sources we trust and respect. Learn more.