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B2B Sales Best Practices

Selling Above and Below the Line (book summary)

Selling Above and Below the Line: Convince the C-Suite. WinOver Management. Secure the Sale. by William Miller

Summary

  • To be successful, you must manage the stage-to-stage progression of two types of buyers
    • “Above the line” (ATL) executive buyer(s} focused on past problems (rectifying challenges; “away from pain”) & future business outcomes (investing in opportunities; “towards pleasure”).
    • “Below the line” (BTL) user buyer(s) focused on present, technical outcomes.
  • ATL buyers
    • Their language centers on:
      • Advancing corporate initiatives – aka their “trains”(incl. through “leverage” = building value across multiple projects)
      • Saving time
      • Lowering risk
      • Generating Good ROI
      • Building competitive advantage incl. brand/image
    • Should be engaged as early as possible in the sale (esp. because the BTL will rarely act as a gatekeeper this early)
    • Have their goals and initiative planned out and in process reflecting the past 3 to 6 months and the next 3 to 6 months
    • Are the source of energy in the deal
    • Look at your offering as a piece of the overall solution that is big and complex
    • Will find budget
    • Talk in numbers. A general rule is that numbers must come from the customer.
    • Operate on a predictable calendar:
      • Q1: Launching new initiatives
      • Q2: Investing in good initiatives and killing bad ones
      • Q3: Making last minute adjustments forend-of-year success
      • Q4: Make the number & prepare (for next year)
    • Early on in an ATL sales effort, you need to establish a quid-pro-quo relationship.
    • Want you to come to the table with ideas and a problem-solving mentality
    • Energy-Heavy on Change, Energy-Light onSelection
    • Ask:
      • What is causing the ATL to change what he is doing?
      • What are the results the exec expects?
      • What are the timing and risks associated with the change?
      • What if he doesn’t change right now? What will happen and what will be lost?
  • BTL buyers
    • Their language centers on (5Ps):
      • Product features
      • Perceived quality of fit (i.e. integration with whatI’m currently working on/with)
      • Professional support/Ease of use
      • Price to value ratio (within budget)
      • Personal win (i.e. looking good)
    • Energy-Light on Change, Energy-Heavy onSelection
  • CSP — Customers Solve Problems. No problem, no cause; no cause, no energy.
  • Asking: “How can I help you?” if you’re not careful, is a great way for the prospect to gain control of the sale.
  • The most useful next step is to ask, “Should we both continue in this process?” You both choose if you should continue with the process. Just make sure that you: 1. Put the buyer’s step first. 2. Make sure there is something for them to do too. 3. Stay in control.
  • Next steps need to be mutual, not you doing everything.
    • I’ll send you a sample agenda tomorrow, so you can highlight the key areas that you want to cover.
    • Lightweight homework assignments might include asking the prospect to:
      • Review and prioritize the agenda the day before the meeting.
      • Fill out a pre-on-site visit questionnaire.
  • Good subject lines are important. An easy reminder is RAN.
    • Relevant
    • Address concerns / problems
    • Name — Not your name! The name of a mutual friend, someone the exec works with or who works for them, someone in their industry they would know, or one of your more popular customers, by name or company name. This name needs to be someone you know as well.
  • Three Qs
    • The Quantified Problem (QP)
    • The Quantified Cause (QC) = Goals + Gaps +Options
    • The Quantified Solution (QS)
  • The Law of 2X says that most salespeople give their buyer twice as long as they really need between steps in the sales process. As a ProActive salesperson, you have a map. You know that buyers follow the sales process step by step. Control the process, and you can control the energy.
  • A trumpet update alerts executives of the company that some work has been done; you are giving them updated information. To do this effectively, you must keep it short, factual, and, again, nothing about you yet.
  • BBB Remember That Buyers Buy Backward. Go backward from their implementation dates (I-dates) and see what you can help tighten up, or what you can add value to or eliminate.
  • You can also generate energy with special offers— discounts, end-of-the-month deals, special packaging, and certain promotions.
  • Companies are no longer buying products or solutions; they are buying a better outcome.
  • To close is to get a decision, either yes or no, without delay. Having the prospect make a decision at every step ensures that each stage is being considered and that there is mutual effort involved in getting to the decision.
  • Give your buyers choice, but not too much choice.
  • Journey Maps:
    • Many deals have been lost because Journey Maps were done by the salesperson with no input from the ATL or BTL prospect. Always make sure your customer is working with you on this effort.
    • You’ll find that the ATL part gets ahead of the BTL part and vice versa, and that’s normal; they’re traveling at different rates, on different paths.
    • All great sales calls start with the end in mind. You go into a sales call with the attitude, “If all goes well, this is the nextstep we should take, and by this date.” Also, “Here is what each of us needs todo before the next meeting.”

Review

Overall, this book offers useful insights albeit in an inefficient package.

The Good

  • The book builds nicely on the User Buyer and Economic Buyer concepts introduced 7 years earlier in the Miller Heiman book The New Strategic Selling
  • The concept of managing parallel ATL and BTL buying tracks is novel and feels “right”
  • I appreciated the thoughts that:
    • Sellers give buyers too much time between steps
    • Sellers should work with customers on journey maps

The Bad

  • The author did not give proper attribution to Miller Heiman for the User Buyer and Economic Buyer concept
  • The book is highly repetitive either saying the same thing different ways and even, at times, the same way.
  • Several chapters toward the end felt like random filler – just general stuff you’d find in any sales book; it did not add to the ATL/BTL concept
  • As with many books written by sales consultants, there are many attempts to re-brand ubiquitous concepts with “new”/proprietary jargon

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