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Using R.A.D.A.R. to succeed at complex sales

by Rick Baker
On Oct 6, 2010
If you sometimes feel your major sales efforts are a little out of control then an injection of organized sales process will help.
 
If you have any of the following symptoms then your major sales process could use a tune-up:
  • You have this feeling of discomfort about your overall sales...you know budgets are not being met or you worry they won't be met
  • While enough major deals are being done you believe money is being left on the negotiation table when your team works with major Clients
  • Your sales team is doing lots of deals but the deals are too small; you wonder if your sales people are afraid or unable to take on larger challenges...when you talk about this with your sales team you get the sense results could be much better
  • You do not have enough major 'Marquee Clients'...or, borrowing from the Heath brothers, you are not passing 'The Sinatra Test'
There are several ways to solve this problem.
 
One way is to use R.A.D.A.R.
 
For military applications, R.A.D.A.R. was developed to provide early information - early warning - and that allowed smaller forces to do the right things, at the right time, in the right place.
 
In his book 'Hope Is Not A Strategy, The 6 Keys to Winning the Complex Sale', Rick Page outlines the R.A.D.A.R. process he developed to help sales teams manage a portfolio of sales opportunities. Page presents his R.A.D.A.R. Sales process as: R.eading A.ccounts and D.eploying A.ppropriate R.esources™.
 
Concentration of force is Page's first principle of strategy. 'You must pick the battles you can win, then win the battles you pick.' That means sales people can not waste time on lower-quality prospects.
 
Page outlines 6 keys to winning a complex sale:
Challenges     R.A.D.A.R. Process
Value.   1. Link solutions to Pain (or Gain)
Resource Allocation.   2. Qualify the Prospect
Competition.   3. Build Competitive Preference
Strategy.   4. Determine the Decision-Making Process
Politics.   5. Sell To Power
Teamwork.   6 Communicate the Strategic Plan
The first 5 steps are inputs and the last step is the plan. The steps are performed simultaneously.
 
The sales team receives the following benefits when (Step 6) Communicate the Strategic Plan is fully performed:
 
• Increases competitive advantage from consistent, effective execution • Crystallizes your thinking and forces a decision • Provides early detection of blind spots and visibility into the future • Leads and empowers your team with a clear direction • Prioritizes the urgent from the important • Increases your ability to control and manage multiple accounts • Develops respect with peers and management
 
R.A.D.A.R. can be used on its own if your sales team presently has no defined major-sales process. Or, R.A.D.A.R. can be used to complement your existing major-sales process. And, small sales teams or even individual sales people will benefit from the injection of some discipline like that provided by R.A.D.A.R.

Tags:

Sales | Seeking Simple!

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Sales Tweet #58

by Rick Baker
On Oct 6, 2010
Sales Tweet #58 A Client yelled at Ernest Seller yesterday and Ernest said "If I wanted this abuse I could stay home".
 
The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet
Ernest's wife doesn't actually yell at him. His wife is a saint. [Some say she must be to tolerate him…but, that's more like a huge blog or a book than a Sales Tweet.] Anyhow, Ernest does get yelled at by Clients and other people during his work day. And, he likes to respond as he did here. Every once in a while this effort at humour causes the Client to laugh as the Client walks Ernest to the door...

Tags:

Thought Tweets | Ernest Seller

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