Avoid slipped deals
And/or make sure you close on time by doing all the things you can control
Founders and any b2b software company has felt the pain of a slipped deal.
There of course can be scenarios where it’s out of your control but teams should only make that excuse after they’ve pulled all of the stops on a deal. Here are some resources to dig into based on given scenarios to make sure you have done the things in your control first:
Ensure you have the technical win (and confirmed it)
Build a mutual action plan without being awkward to clearly define the key stakeholders and steps to reduce risk in your deals (it should never feel like homework for either side)
Know the difference between the signer, budget owner, and buyer and that you have access to the right person (are you sure you know the difference?)
Devise a thorough internal security process to avoid failing security reviews (SOC 2 Type 2 is just a starting point)
Build a close plan (handling internal sales is as important as handling external sales)
Define a business case that will work when it lands on the CFOs desk (I also love this post on the topic and highly recommend)
Accurately forecast based on the deal size and the stakeholders involved to ensure you know how long the deal will take to close
Build a Partnership Onboarding Plan to avoid presenting pricing only to learn the prospect needed to spend a lot less to get started
Sell a roadmap but do not underdeliver – the best teams know how to position “what can we sell now, what can we prove, and what about our vision can we get the customer excited about post-purchase?”
Align the pricing proposal with expectations vs. pushing for the big-ticket deal upfront
Founders with sales teams should do the following:
Created a safe space for the team to share learnings and blockers to avoid getting caught by surprise on issues you should have known about sooner
Questions? Feedback? Let us know.