Whiteboard Facilitation Playbook

Transcription

1 Prepared for Microsoft by Neural Impact AUTHOR: MARK STUYT Neural Impact Inc. Date: Thursday, September 17, 2015 Copyright 2014 Neural Impact Inc. All rights reserved. This document is for the use of client personnel only. No part of it may be circulated, quoted, or reproduced for distribution outside of the client organization without

2 Table of Contents WHITEBOARD OVERVIEW... 2 SOLUTION WHITEBOARD TELLING YOUR STORY...4 DISCOVERY WHITEBOARD DIFFERENTIATION VIA DISCOVERY... 8 BUSINESS PAIN WHITEBOARD DEFINING THE BUSINESS CASE CLOSING WHITEBOARD REMIND THEM OF THEIR PAIN APPENDIX A SOLUTION PROFILE MATRIX APPENDIX B INDUSTRY DRIVERS & MARKET FORCES APPENDIX C INDUSTRY DRIVERS & IMPACTS APPENDIX D - WHAT/HOW/WHY CORRESPONDING TRAINING: The on-demand training sessions associated with this guide can be found as follows: Link to full series Leverage the Power of Whiteboarding to Accelerate Your Remote Sales Process Leverage Remote Whiteboards to Increase Executive Engagement Leveraging Remote Whiteboards to Increase Prospect Disclosure in Discovery Telling Your Story Solution Overview via Whiteboarding Closing Whiteboard In addition to the sessions specific to whiteboarding you may also wish to view the following on demand sales training videos for the Accelerated Sales Process: Accelerated Sales Process Link to Full Training Series Sales Process Skill Refinement Link to Full Training Series P REPARED B Y: M ARK STUYT NEURAL IMPAC T

3 Whiteboard Overview Microsoft Dynamics sales professionals face a number of challenges today that simply did not exist just a few short years ago. Prospects are increasingly completing the majority of their research anonymously, and subsequently engaging with partners late in their buying cycle; a challenge that is compounded by the shift towards remote buying/selling cycles. Applying a traditional engagement approach to this new buying paradigm often results in limited discovery and sporadic business decision maker (BDM) access; which combined leads to increased partner risk and/or lower win rates. As prospect engagement is critical to creating emotional bias, sales professionals require new tactics to remain relevant to the buyer. Why Whiteboard? Whiteboarding increases prospect interaction and disclosure because it engages them in a collaborative process. Rather than passively responding to predictable sales conversations, prospects participate in a bidirectional dialogue that leverages both their auditory and visual cognitive systems. Beyond simply facilitating a more interactive experience, Whiteboarding engages the brain in a way that conversations (words) cannot. The human brain is wired to pay attention to and remember beginnings and endings, openings and closing; what is experienced first and last. Facilitating highly interactive whiteboard sessions early in the buying cycle significantly increases the likelihood that a sales professional will be remembered; especially if the experience results in a scope or business case change. Why it Works! The Picture Superiority Effect suggests that images are far more powerful than words for communicating messages, with visuals significantly enhancing recall and impact. Multiple studies have clearly demonstrated that recall drops dramatically after as little as a single week if communications is primarily auditory (words); which unfortunately represents the majority of current prospect interactions. The brain prefers to digest information in manageable, bite-sized chunks; put simply, it rewards simplicity and punishes complexity. Given that prospects business challenges (and ERP solutions) are inherently complicated, communicating both an understanding of the prospect s requirements and a corresponding solution set in a visual/simple way that is both logical and markedly different from competitors will inevitably be perceived as a less complex (risky) choice. What it takes. Facilitating effective whiteboard sessions requires two key ingredients: 1. Industry Content Facilitating interactive whiteboard sessions requires a deeper understanding of a prospect s industry than what is needed to direct a simpler canned discovery or closing presentation. Sales professionals require a strong working knowledge of industry business processes, common business challenges, key operating metrics and most importantly, the probable project trigger events that lead prospects to evaluate new ERP systems.

4 2. Facilitation Skills Industry content and product knowledge provide the foundation for whiteboard deliveries but facilitation skills make them memorable. Preparing engagement questions in advance and knowing when and how to leverage them is critical to ensuring the whiteboard experience remains interactive and engaging. When to Whiteboard? Four whiteboards have been developed to support the three phases (1. Qualify; 2. Proof; 3. Close) of the accelerated sales process: 1. The Solution Whiteboard is facilitated during the initial operational (Project Lead) discovery session. 2. The Business Pain Whiteboard is delivered to the project sponsor (BDM). 3. The Discovery Whiteboard replaces the functional discovery with the prospect s subject matter experts. 4. The Closing Whiteboard is presented to the BDM and Project Lead just prior to their decision making process.

5 Solution Whiteboard Telling Your Story The Solution Whiteboard is designed to be delivered to project leads as early as possible in the engagement process. Its primary purpose is to clearly communicate a partner s prescriptive solution set and understanding of the operational/functional challenges that undermine prospect growth and profitability. Mechanically, sales professionals lead the project lead through a facilitated discussion focused on common industry drivers, business objectives and challenges/barriers, then bridging into the corresponding solution capabilities that address them, followed by a review of the anticipated impacts and benefits. Following is an example of a Solution Whiteboard which has been completed for the food processing industry: Based on what the prospect has shared during the discovery process, open the Solution Whiteboard discussion with a brief review of the Industry Drivers and Market Forces that exert the most pressure on the prospect. The four primary industry driver categories, which are consistent across all industries, are: 1. The Economy 2. Regulatory/Government Change 3. Competitive Behaviors 4. Customer Behaviors

6 It is critical that these are couched in industry specific language, then validated with the prospect to ensure engagement and clarity. Use interactive dialog to confirm the Industry Drivers are relevant to the prospect. Once this objective is met, move on to reviewing the most common business and project objectives. Ensure you include at least: One growth-related objective One cost reduction/profitability-related objective One risk-related objective An understanding of common industry business/project objectives enables sales professional to expand the business conversation and start to develop a trusted advisor perception.

7 Next, reveal the most common challenges and barriers that typically get in the way of organizations accomplishing their primary business objectives. This content can be pre-populated and revealed. It is important to validate that these challenges and barriers are relevant to the prospect. Engage prospects in the discussion by asking about additional challenges they are experiencing that led them to explore a new ERP solution. Use the whiteboard tools to cross out challenges that do not apply and documenting others that are shared by the prospect.

8 The next section of the whiteboard, What We Do focuses on the Dynamics Partner s prescribed solution. Outline the 4-6 primary CAPABILITIES (the how, not the what (see Appendix D) that overcome the stated challenges and barriers to prospect growth, profitability and risk reduction. These elements are aligned with the features, functionality and benefits typically shown during the buy-in demonstration; step of the Accelerated Sales Process. Lastly, document the specific impacts and benefits associated with your solution. Confirm they are in scope for the project, then draw the prospect into a conversation to uncover their current metrics. This is a natural place to transition the discussion to the prospect s business case and expected project outcomes. If the project lead cannot articulate the economic- or risk-related project objectives, request a follow-up session with other project stakeholders to secure them.

9 Discovery Whiteboard Differentiation via Discovery The primary objectives of this Discovery Whiteboard session, which is facilitated with the prospect s project lead and subject matter experts (SMEs) in advance of a solution demonstration, are to secure a deep understanding of the specific business process challenges driving the project and define a clear view of the prospect s future-state vision. Rather than asking a predictable series of what and how questions focused on functional requirements, the Discovery Whiteboard instead drives an interactive discovery process that bridges the why, with the how and what (see Appendix D). Begin the whiteboard session by establishing the meeting objectives and capturing those of the prospect stakeholders. These can potentially be prepopulated, as they seldom change from one opportunity to another.

10 Based on previous conversations with the prospect (primarily the Business Pain Whiteboard), list the high-level business opportunities and/or project objectives the prospect has shared with you. Validate these with the session participants and add others they feel are missing. Based on previous conversations with the project lead and your Discovery session with the BDM, confirm the prospect s current business situation/challenges. This should be a description of business issues (pains) that have tangible and quantifiable business impacts, not a description of technical issues.

11 Graphically depict a prospect s day in the life experience relative to the project scope. In the example above we have used an arc to depict a logical sequence of events, but it can also take the form of a business process review (order-to-cash, procure-to-pay). It is important to show the interconnections between the different challenges. Work through the arc/process to tease out the prospect s challenges and business process bottlenecks. Introduce common business process challenges to further stimulate disclosure and engagement. Use these examples to draw out other challenges/issues the prospect may find more urgent. Provoke discussion by saying things like Do you face this challenge?, or You had mentioned this problem in our earlier discussion Draw upon the information you collected during your Discovery whiteboard as well as the known business issues you have earlier identified (see Appendix A - Solution Profile Matrix).

12 Identify the primary business process challenges the prospect will have to address in order to achieve the business objectives driving the project. Try to limit the challenges to those that are impacting the prospect s growth and profitability, or are significantly increasing organizational risk. The objective is to have the prospect prioritize some solution elements and business processes above others (which drives the development of the demonstration plan and limits the demonstration scope to focus areas with a strong emotional charge).

13 Review the prospect s primary process challenges then identify what they feel will be required in a new solution to address them. Stay focused on the CAPABILITY, i.e. the how, they require, not the specific features, i.e. the what (See Appendix D - What/How/Why). Capture the critical functional components that MUST be shown in the solution demonstration (using prospect language), then revisit the meeting objectives to ensure they have been met. Lastly, identify specific next steps required to prepare both parties for the solution demonstration.

14 Business Pain Whiteboard Defining the Business Case The Business Pain Whiteboard has a number of critical objectives, the most important of which is to credential the sales professional as an industry insider. This is accomplished by demonstrating an understanding of the prospect s primary business challenges and how to overcome them. The business decision maker (BDM) is led through a facilitated discussion focused on their stated project objectives, existing business challenges, operational bottlenecks and frustrations, all in an effort to ultimately uncover the Trigger Event that launched the project. Through this exercise it is critical to remain attentive to uncovering the business case elements and business benefits/impacts that ensure project funding. For demonstrative purposes, the following whiteboard example is based upon the food processing industry. Open the Business Pain Whiteboard with specific industry metrics that represent the most likely business issues or pain. These numbers will be the foundation of grabber statements, designed to peak interest and secure the prospect s attention. Do not reveal the meaning of the numbers yet. Most industry metrics can be identified through internet research and/or through information sources like First Research (

15 Reveal the meaning of your grabber metrics by building a story around the numbers and what they represent. In this example, they indicate that food processors experience: An average of 5 to 10 contamination incidents per year An average of 2 to 5 inspection failures per year, resulting in fines and shutdowns of varying durations An average revenue loss of 5 to 10% per year related to shifting consumer preferences that are not met due to inefficient new product development

16 Open a discussion focused on the prospect s specific project-related objectives with a new section dedicated to Project Objectives. The intent is to encourage the prospect to disclose their thinking, opinions and likely project drivers (trigger events) as well as uncover what the BDM feels are the primary business objectives driving this initiative. Next, discuss and document the prospect s current situation. Draw out their specific business pains, particularly ones that can be used to quantify the business impacts. Use your research to guide the discussion, but listen very carefully for what the prospect identifies as pressing business issues.

17 Use graphics and pictures to visually stimulate and maintain interest with your prospect. For example, draw a wall or barrier around or under the language you use next to capture what you have heard that represents the main OPERATIONAL challenges the prospect is experiencing that are contributing to the current state challenges and keeping them from achieving their over-arching business objectives. Based on knowledge of the industry and similar clients, elaborate on what others are currently experiencing. This approach differentiates you from competitors as you will be providing new and relevant information that should have a direct bearing on the project scope and anticipated business case (teaching moment). This approach also creates a sense of tension and urgency around solving these business issues. Complete the whiteboard experience with a story about how you worked through a similar set of challenges with an existing client, and the results/benefits they experienced as a by-product of implementing your solution. Use specific examples of companies you have worked with, and the impact your solution has had on tangible, measureable business outcomes. Avoid, at this stage, any deep discussion of your solution details. The intent is to trigger curiosity and motivate a prospect to want to learn more (which can be facilitated through the Solution Whiteboard). Validate that the whiteboard captures the essence of the overall project and that no significant business challenges have been overlooked. Ask, then circle, which of the benefits are most important to the Decision Maker. Ask if the BDM will be participating in the solution demonstration (they always are), and which specific functional elements are most important for them to see, given the challenges that were reviewed.

18 Closing Whiteboard Remind Them of Their Pain Given the increasing incidents of no decisions, and the relative functional parity of mainstream ERP solutions, it is important that sales professionals reinforce the value of their proposed solution as well as differentiate themselves from their competitors as close to the decision making process as possible. To effectively facilitate the Closing Whiteboard, it is critical that sales professionals position their recommended solutions as strategic to the business. The Closing Whiteboard communicates both the why us? and why now? messages, and further credentials the sales professional as an industry insider. Start the whiteboard session with a brief review of the industry and market forces you feel (and have validated) are the motivators behind the ERP initiative. While there are four primary industry drivers and two market forces categories, only some will be relevant to the prospect s unique ERP project (generally one or two). For illustrative purposes, the above example shows a variety of likely drivers behind a Food Processing opportunity. Always validate, clarify and modify your content based on feedback from the BDM/audience as they engage throughout the session.

19 After validating the accuracy of the industry drivers, move on to documenting and reviewing the impacts they are having on the business at a METRIC level. Be as specific as possible, referencing conversations that took place and information that was collected throughout the buying cycle. Ask the BDM to identify the metrics that he/she feels are linked directly to the ERP initiative. Place a checkmark beside, or circle/underline the metrics that the BDM calls out as most aligned with the project.

20 Next, review the current state operational challenges that are the tied to or impacted by the changing operating metrics. It is very important to leverage what the prospect stakeholders shared throughout their buying journey to ensure this brief overview accurately captures the prospect s most frustrating/broken business processes. Now move on to reviewing your understanding of the specific trigger event that led to the formation of the project. Companies don t replace their ERP systems to remove irritations, they replace their ERP systems either to avoid (or avoid repeating) a significant negative event, or because their existing system is impeding growth. Validate your understanding of the trigger event and ask which of the preceding operational challenges is primarily responsible for or impacted by that specific event. Do not dwell on the trigger event for more than 2-3 minutes. Name it, validate it and clarify the responsible business processes.

21 Next, describe your solution recommendation and highlight the elements that address the operational challenges that led to the trigger event. Use the whiteboard tools to either circle, underline or checkmark the primary solution elements that you feel deliver the most benefit to the prospect. Next, review the anticipated project benefits the prospect has confirmed throughout the discovery process. The more measurable the result the more meaningful the impact. Always present the benefits as closely to the price/investment as possible so that the prospect measures one against the other. There

22 should be a high correlation between the Benefits and the Impacts. Engage the BDM to confirm that the benefits are both valid and accurate. Lastly, share the solution pricing and implementation approach/options, bearing in mind that a single solution is preferable to multiple options. Limit the amount of pricing detail you provide, as the more information you provide the more questions the prospect will ask; which is critical, given that at the end of the pricing discussion we want to focus on the closing sequence and objection handling.

23 Appendix A Solution Profile Matrix To drive the most effective whiteboard sessions (and mitigate the risk of being surprised/exposed by prospects), sales professionals must complete a Solution Profile Matrix for each Focal Point industry they will be proactively pursuing. All whiteboarding begins with an understanding of industry-specific business issues, their measureable impacts, the trigger events that compel prospects to explore new solutions, and the specific functionality tied to all of the above. Below is a sample Solution Profile Matrix for the Food Processing industry that shows the information required to intelligently facilitate each of the whiteboard models. Business Issues are the high-level challenges that undermine an organization s ability to grow revenue and profitability. Business Impacts are the specific economic or emotional impacts the business issues have at an operational level. Trigger Events are emotionally charged discrete moments (failed inspection) that compels an organization to start researching new business systems. Relevant Functionality describes the capabilities the organization will require to address the business issue and avoid any additional trigger events.

24 Whiteboard Facilitation Playbook

25 Appendix B Industry Drivers & Market Forces For an ERP solution to be viewed as strategic, it must address a business challenge that originates in one of six industry driver/market forces categories. These categories are: Changes in the Economy Consolidation within their Industry Changing Competitive Behavior Changing Customer Behavior or Demand Drivers The Commoditization of their Product/Service Offering New Regulatory Requirements Most ERP initiatives are a downstream by-product of a major shift or change in one of the above. The goal is to identify that alignment through the selling cycle and then use it to open the Closing Whiteboard session.

26 Appendix C Industry Drivers & Impacts Each of the four primary Industry Drivers (economy, regulatory, competition/customers) and two Market Forces (commoditization and consolidation) typically have 3-5 meaningful elements in play at any given time that will materially impact prospects. Impact metrics include both traditional operating metrics (EBITDA/profitability, revenue, margins), as well as softer measurements like customer loyalty, customer satisfaction sales costs, which are seldom measured. For clarity, the industry drivers and market forces are always external pressures that prospects cannot control, whereas Impacts are where those forces show up in their business. The following example reflects the current state of the Food Processing industry:

27 Appendix D - What/How/Why External industry drivers and market forces inevitably result in some form of trigger event, both positive and negative, that lead an organization to believe it requires a new ERP system. Understanding and documenting the most likely trigger events (why change) and the corresponding functionality that is required to address the trigger events, is critical to creating a linkage between what the new ERP system can DO, and the business challenges it addresses. For clarity, What elements will largely be specific features, How elements are largely functional areas or business processes and Why elements are predominantly trigger events or primary change drivers. It is important to demonstrate the linkage between the three columns, as trigger events highlight operational challenges that will drive specific functional requirements. The following example reflects the differences between strategic why content; which primarily revolve around a negative trigger event, operational how content focused on functionality and tactical what content; which are typically features.