Sales Hack: Midwife the Procurement Process

Navigating the Critical Post-Demo Phase

Once you’ve aced the demo, your product still has to go through procurement before the deal is actually closed. There’s a gap between the stage of getting people excited about your product and the point when it’s actually purchased. To bridge this gap, you need to stay on top of the procurement process.

Do the leg work to make it run as smoothly as possible.

For example, if a champion has a $100,000 threshold for buying the kind of software your company sells, you have to know that. Then you can price strategically at $99,950 and make it easy for an economic or executive buyer to sign off on the purchase, without having to run it up the chain, or put it to a vote—dragging the process out indefinitely.

Understand Company-Specific Procurement Processes

There are all sorts of different checks and balances that regulate procurement, and they differ from company to company. You need to find out the specific procurement process for the one you’re dealing with, and follow it to the letter each time. The more you know, the more control you have over the entire sales process.

"The more you know, the more control you have over the entire sales process."

Increase Internal Buy-In

The best way to work around the ambiguity of the procurement process is by increasing internal buy-in from the various decision makers and buyers involved in the deal. If you get these buyers invested in the product and vision, and willing to make the deal happen, it becomes that much easier to navigate the red tape.

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