Procurement Is Killing Your Deals. Why?
There’s nothing more frustrating than seeing a deal get stuck in procurement. Beyond issues such as a champion unexpectedly departing or budgets getting slashed at the last minute, what didn’t your sales rep know that led to things going so wrong?
1. Bespoke Payment Structures
Some procurement departments have default terms that they expect new vendors to just know; in this case, perhaps your company just isn’t prepared to meet them.
2. Compliance Procedures
The last mile of selling often includes checking off a number of boxes that procurement teams are instructed to satisfy. If a sales rep doesn’t know what these boxes will be, they can plan to experience heavy deal delays.
3. The Squeeze vs. Business Value
Procurement teams are motivated (and sometimes compensated) on how much they can squeeze out of potential vendors in terms of concessions. Without having a strong business case for “why now” and a champion ready to go to bat for quick movement, procurement’s demands can quickly sink their teeth into any deal.
4. Inconspicuous Stakeholders
An important stakeholder outside of procurement, whom a sales rep should have involved months earlier had they known about the scope of the stakeholder’s role, may have been accidentally excluded. While this person may not have final sign-off, getting their buy-in may be the difference between a deal or no deal.
All of This Could Be Avoided
The key to overcoming any procurement-related challenge is gaining knowledge before challenges arise. Take a look at a few real examples of procurement-related insights that Emissary advisors have shared with our seller customers to avoid procurement mishaps:
Understand what level of decision maker to go through to have a better chance of getting to close more quickly:
♻️ Smaller IT purchases go through an automated process. Smaller purchases from pre-approved vendors simply go through a procurement site where buyers can get what they need without having to get higher approvals unless they hit certain spending thresholds.
Know how strong of a (and what) role procurement will play on a specific committee to avoid potential for stalls:
👥 Everything at the company is committee-based, and any new solutions need to be brought in front of these committees, which include people from procurement and infrastructure.
Be aware of who has the final say so you can direct your communications to the right people to get your deal over the line:
➡️ While procurement doesn’t have the final say on purchase decisions, it does run a strict and formal purchasing and vetting process. If the business or IT knows what type of solution is needed, then procurement will act as more of a process facilitator.
Emissary offers primary-sourced, platform-based insights and 1:1 deal coaching specifically tailored to help enterprise sales teams avoid procurement hiccups when selling to the world’s largest and most complex companies.
Talk to us today to learn how your reps can do a better job navigating procurement minefields.
