What Does It Take to Land Big Sales?

Many people in my seminars have asked me the question “What does it take to land big sales?” My answer to them and to you is simple: landing big sales requires involvement from the entire c-level team, the desire to grow at double the industry average, a powerful process that is good for all parties and outside the box thinking. With that said only about 10% of companies are ready, willing and able to do what is necessary to land big sales successfully.

In today’s business culture, many small to midsize companies that are constantly on the lookout for big sales and willing to work our process correctly are sure to land one. You may be surprised, but many large companies are interested and some are required to do business with smaller companies. The advantages of small to midsize companies seeking to land big deals are that they are flexible, highly responsive and easily accessible. Large companies expect to establish a relationship with the executives of small to midsize companies and want assurances that small to midsize companies can deliver goods and services better, faster and more reliably than larger ones. What small to midsize companies often misjudge are the success factors that help in landing big sales. Here are 4 things a small to midsize company must have/do to land big deals:

1. A highly motivated and dedicated leader who is relentless in growing the company at double the industry average. He recognizes that landing big sales is the way to make that happen and knows that change is needed to close the whale. He is the captain of the boat, powerful enough to orchestrate the entire team members with different roles and responsibilities and wise enough to know when to get involved and when to stay out of the way. They think strategically and know that preparation, people and process can make all the difference in closing the whale.

2. Next, they must learn the ins and outs of the large company. Understand why they embrace and fear change, identify “superior fit”, be able to read the signs and determine how to make this happen. This intelligence gathering is typically done as a team effort that includes sales or business development people, c-level executives and internal and external experts as appropriate.

3. You need to have an extensively prepared team that knows the large company from every angle. The team must have the knowledge, tools, expertise and talk whale language. They must be able to handle all complicated questions and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt to every decision maker and influencer why and how you can exceed their expectations. This aspect of landing big sales is often neglected or underestimated by small to mid size companies.

4. Having superior product, system, or service, is a must but the success lies in navigating the account. So, the right process is critical. In landing big deals there is no one decision maker but instead, many decision makers and you have to know them all from the CEO to the guy cleaning the floors. No matter how good you are at what you do, if you can’t navigate your way through the rough waters, differentiate yourself from the competition and prove you can exceed expectations to everyone you won’t land big deals.

Let me use a fishing analogy to stress the importance of the 4 points above. If you want minnows one person can scoop them up with a net, if you go deep sea fishing you need one guy with a boat and the proper equipment, if you hunt whales you need a whole team with many different types of equipment and skill sets. Unfortunately many companies don’t use the proper boat, equipment or team for the job.

Conclusion:

In my years of observation the most successful companies have included a way to land big sales as part of their growth strategy. Getting some sales training and hiring a couple sales superstars (if you can find them) can help grow your company. In my experience the best way to get double the industry growth in half the time is by landing whales or big sales. Those companies who intentionally and properly go after and land big deals are industry leaders or become industry leaders and they realize massive growth for years!