Replicating deals and scaling success

1. Replicating landmark deals

The largest and most lucrative deals often become folklore. But how can we effectively replicate these deals regularly?

In another article, we highlighted the importance of measuring value to provide a platform to initiate and develop relationships. Alongside developing a clear understanding of the value we provide clients, another vital step is to reflect on the process behind winning the opportunities we wish to replicate – Landmark Deals. 

By mapping the process of winning such opportunities, from our perspective and our clients, we provide a track to run on to replicate them in the future. Measuring the value to the client is a key component here, along with several other factors:

2. Value to the client

As mentioned before, this is a crucial consideration. What value did the customer achieve from working with us on this project? Often, this is the toughest question to answer. If you can’t clearly articulate it in some detail, then talk to your clients and find out!

3. Business issue

As mentioned before, this is a crucial consideration. What value did the customer achieve from working with us on this project? Often, this is the toughest question to answer. If you can’t clearly articulate it in some detail, then talk to your clients and find out!

4. Solution

What solution did you provide to achieve the desired results?

5. Buying team

Who was involved on the client’s side, what was their role and what objectives did they have? In complex deals, understanding the different stakeholders you’re selling to can be the difference between a win and a loss. Research by Gartner shows that, on average, 6.8 stakeholders are involved in every B2B buying decision, so bear in mind that it probably wasn’t a question of just 1 or 2 individuals.

6. Competition

What competition did you face? Apart from other suppliers, this may include internal competition and/or inertia – the client simply doing nothing.

7. Unique value proposition

What were the differentiating reasons that the client chose to work with you?

When you first adopt this 7-step exercise as part of your regular project close, there may well be many blanks. This can be evidence of a typical short-sighted approach to sales. When we apply our conscious understanding to clarifying the win process, we can find new ways to add value to our client interactions.

Use these answers to plan your questions

By completing this exercise for several landmark deals, you will be able to identify a few key themes associated with each area. These themes, specifically around the business issue and value to the customer, will then help you plan relevant questions that you can ask these clients and others to uncover opportunities. Above all, they will provide credibility regarding how you will help achieve the set objectives and add value.

To discover more about what good looks like and how best to scale success, let’s talk growth.