engage workbook

This workbook belongs to: Name: Date: i engage-universe.com

For your personal use only. Seminar use or sale absolutely forbidden without legal agreement from engage universe limited. For further information regarding in-house and public workshops, conferences, seminars, facilitator accreditation, and corporate licensing contact engage universe at [email protected]. Trademark protected IoweU™ approaches are reproduced under license. Copyright © 2018 by engage universe limited. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced – mechanically, electronically or by any other means including photocopying – without written permission from engage universe limited. About engage universe A universe comprising a wealth of resources to enable the application of IoweU™ approaches. © engage universe limited ii

IoweU™ Understanding Partner Trust Pressures Social Motivation Technical Role Type Ad-hoc Your Power and Octagon™ Relationship Influence Behaviors Octagon™ Behaviors Yourself Your Buyer Bias Engaging The Bias Email Interest IoweU™ CC Notes Approach Following Up I We You Phone Uncovering Presenting Flexing Framing Opportunities Ideas Behaviors Face- to-Face and Need- Challenges Feature- Benefit Focus-5 SHAPE Storytelling Questioning Q&A Levels of LISTEN Thinking Value 3-Strikes Sheets Rule PEST Spicy Questions Skills iii engage-universe.com

contents 1—4 5 — 10 1 Introduction 11 — 24 2 The Engage Journey 25 — 28 3 Relationships 29 — 40 4 Trust and How to Build It 41 — 52 5 Buyers 53 — 58 6 Bias 59 — 74 7 I We You Framing 75 — 76 8 SHAPE Questioning 77 — 82 9 Focus-5 83 — 88 10 Value Sheets 89 — 96 11 Levels of Thinking 97 — 100 12 Spicy Questions 101 — 114 13 LISTEN 115 — 118 14 Presenting Ideas 119 — 152 15 CC Notes 153 — 158 16 Octagon™ Behavioral Questionnaire 159 — 172 17 Bringing It All Together 173 — 186 18 Action Planning 187 — 188 19 Worksheets and Progress 189 — 190 Developing Your Capability Workshop Evaluation © engage universe limited iv

introduction 1 explore apply understand Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin 1 engage-universe.com

workbook This workbook provides the content and resources to support a broad range of development activities. It can be used to support: • workshop sessions ranging in length from three hours to multiple days • coaching activities • self-learning If you would like more information on anything in this workbook, then please ask your coach / facilitator or contact [email protected]. Additional resources are available at engage-universe.com. © engage universe limited 2

Getting to know me Write 10 words or phrases to describe who you are or how you feel. What I want to get out of this Complete the grid below. Challenges Current situation Desired future Value to me of 1 achieving this 2 3 3 engage-universe.com

1 introduction A desired position Many consultants / salespeople recognize that they want to move from their current situation to a position where: “Buyers trust me and look for my opinion on matters other than my core area of expertise.” “Buyers want to talk to me. They suggest new products or services that I can develop which might help them.” “I am the natural provider of my offering. Price is a secondary concern.” “Value is more important than price. I write fewer proposals and work on more enjoyable and profitable assignments.” “I have fewer but deeper relationships where we enjoy working together.” “I have an ongoing relationship – there is no defining start or end to a project.” © engage universe limited 4

the engage journey 2 W•• h• a ANtTderiiwfusfsestirketeid?lnlstremlaintidosnesthips What is it about? • Helping vs ‘selling’ • Asking vs telling • People vs products • Opportunities vs solutions • Unbiased vs biased • Engaged vs separated • Commercial vs technical Much of what we believe about sales derives not from the inherent nature of selling but from the information asymmetry that long defined the context in which people sold. Once that asymmetry diminishes and the seesaw rebalances, everything gets upended. Whether you’re in traditional sales or non-sales selling, the low road is now harder to pass and the high road – honesty, directness and transparency – has become the better, more pragmatic, long-term route. Daniel Pink, author of To Sell is Human 5 engage-universe.com

Businesses relationships are What’s in it What’s in it video often adversarial. Battles are for me? for you? journey fought between buyers and sellers, buyers and service $ ? providers, different internal departments, and even between $ ? different people in the same team. $ ? Each party in the battle is motivated by the desire to win and, while defeat $ ? for the other parties may not be a specific aim, the much talked about “win-win” scenario seldom materializes. $ ? The engage journey is different. Instead of battles there is $ ? dialogue and collaboration. The engage journey embraces the IoweU™ approach outlined in the best-selling book $$$ $$$$$ Smarter Selling. $$$ $$$$$ $$$$$ Starting with a different question - \"what's in it for you\" as opposed to \"what's in it for me\" - the IoweU™ framework delivers greater rewards for all parties - rewards that are often quite unexpected and all the sweeter as a result. IoweU™ is based on five principles: • People buy from people. Planning and processes are important, but ultimately people buy from people – and they buy from people they like. • Trust is the most valuable currency. Relationships based on trust work as well in business as they do in our personal lives. • Reciprocity. Learned in early childhood, and in every culture. Share your toys and the other children will share their toys with you. Aside from a small percentage of “takers”, this also applies in the business playground. Do something for another person and they will want to reciprocate. • Further and broader are the keys to unlocking value. Most people exist in the here and now, and have little time to consider the wider and the longer. New opportunities and new value exist in these unexplored areas. • Different is good. In a world of near-perfect competition, where differentiation of product, service or technical expertise is fleeting, the way that you, the consultant / salesperson, are different to others, is your best way to stand out. © engage universe limited 6

why adopt video the IoweU™ approach? Introduced initially in EK Strong’s 1922 book The Psychology of Selling Life Insurance, traditional approaches encompassing notions of open, closed and probing questions, ABC (always be closing), AIDA (attention, interest, desire, action), handling objections and others, are no longer fit for purpose. IoweU™ is a 21st century approach that reaches beyond traditional product-push, solution selling and consultative sales approaches and switches the focus from making a single ‘sale’, to building trusted relationships that deliver increased revenue, higher margins and increased personal fulfilment. IoweU™ contrasts with UoweME. For many consultants / salespeople their mindset when approaching prospects or buyers is UoweME. Driven by the requirement to schedule X calls and Y meetings in order to make Z revenue, they adopt a “push” oriented sales approach focused on gaining from every buyer interaction. They talk about their company, themselves, their brand, their product or service, but they ask predictable questions that fail to generate insights and they take little interest in the buyer. IoweU™ recognizes that in speaking to you, your buyers are making an investment. They’re investing their precious time in you; they may also provide you with useful information (some of which may be confidential or sensitive) and, if you do the right thing, they may do even more for you. Recognizing the investment made by buyers, leads to the requirement for some value to be delivered in return – for the other person’s investment to be reciprocated. Hence the consultant / salesperson owes the buyer. IoweU™. Adopting a helping mindset and employing tools and skills that actively demonstrate a clear focus on addressing the needs of buyers enables adopters of IoweU™ to differentiate themselves from more traditional consultants / salespeople. Through doing this they enhance the value of their offering, leading to fewer price discussions, increased opportunities and improved business development performance. If you’re looking for an edge and don’t want to turn to models that were created 40, 20 or even 10 years ago, this is most certainly for you. Nic Read, co-author of Selling to the C-Suite 7 engage-universe.com

2 the engage journey what makes IoweU™ different? IoweU™ goes beyond traditional ‘push’ selling and consultative selling approaches to build deeper, more trusted relationships. video Product-push Consultative Next generation IoweU™ Buyer is An adversary to be A target to be overcome persuaded An individual to be respected and trusted Consultant / The features of their The buyer's issues The buyer's goals and salesperson offering and how their ideas for how to move talks about offering provides forward a fix Consultant / Their own business The buyer's business The buyer's business salesperson and products prepares by and products and products; market understanding conditions and trends; personal goals; and preferred working style Consultant / A well-rehearsed A process for An intent to help and a toolkit to salesperson has pitch or presentation uncovering and develop rapport and understanding escalating needs Consultant's / Handling objections Escalating the need Understanding buyer's salesperson's Making assumptions for action priorities, opportunities energy is and challenges focused on Testing assumptions Avoiding assumptions Closing the sale Matching the offering Providing insights to the problem and and deepening the closing the sale relationship Indicators of Immediate sale Buyer’s statement of Continued dialogue success needs closely followed by sale Steps taken towards a trusted relationship Source: Adapted from Smarter Selling by Keith Dugdale and David Lambert © engage universe limited 8

who developed IoweU™? The approaches outlined in this workbook were developed by the book Keith Dugdale and David Lambert, co-authors of Smarter Selling (Financial Times, 2007 and 2011). Keith and David met, and worked together on a software implementation in London, in 1990. Since then, they have lived and worked in many cultures including the UK, China, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Africa, Hong Kong and Australia. Holding senior positions in consulting, sales, marketing and business development, and working with organizations of all sizes, they developed IoweU™, an approach to building sustainable, trust-based relationships that deliver better outcomes, higher profits and greater personal satisfaction. engage universe builds upon this approach. The book, in its second edition and available in five different languages, was originally titled I Owe U and was based on the premise that everyone sells themselves, every day. Every day, we influence those around us (in all aspects of our home and work lives) to listen to, and we hope, follow our ideas. The title Smarter Selling was the publisher’s decision and is misleading since the book is not just about selling. The IoweU™ approaches outlined within are equally effective for building solid, trusted relationships in any environment. Praise for Smarter Selling The tools covered in this book will help any person who is wanting to make the shift from a traditional to a consultative approach and ultimately towards becoming a trusted advisor. Charles H. Green, co-author of The Trusted Advisor Success is all about creating value from every meeting, but few people know how to do this. This book has many useful and practical ideas to help people improve their value-creating capabilities. Neil Rackham, author of SPIN Selling 9 engage-universe.com

2 the engage journey © engage universe limited 10

relationships 3 Partner Personal connection Social Ad-hoc Technical • Perceptions Business connection • Positives and negatives • IoweU™ aims for PARTNER No matter what our vertical specialty – sales, marketing, manufacturing, finance, administration, management, service, and on and on – achievement in the twenty-first century dramatically depends on our ability to thrive in a system of connections more vast, more varied, and more exposed than any before in the history of man. Success now requires new skills and habits, a new lens for seeing, and a new consciousness for relating. Dov Seidman, author of How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything 11 engage-universe.com

“It’s all about relationships” is an often video heard phrase. We intuitively recognize that relationships are critical in business. Learn Why After all, think about your own situation. Which buyers get more of your attention - the ones you toolbox like or the ones you don’t like? Similarly, think of your colleagues and consider why you like to work more with some than with others. Interestingly though, few organizations and few individuals have mechanisms for measuring the strength and security of the relationships described as “key”. Ask three people in your organization to describe their relationship with a key buyer and you might get responses like “Really good”, “OK” and “Not so good”. The challenge here is that each of these responses is subjective. What is needed is a more objective framework for evaluating relationship strength. Equipped with a framework you can then decide what steps to take to change any relationships that you want to move. Most consultants / salespeople over-estimate the strength of their relationships, so it pays to periodically review your key relationships to avoid nasty shocks. © engage universe limited 12

Social relationships video Characteristics Learn Explain • You like the buyer and share some common interests. • Conversation is primarily social and quite superficial. • You tend to meet in fairly public settings - not suited to in-depth business discussions. • You tend to initiate each contact. Advantages Disadvantages • Fun for you and for the buyer. • Little or no business buy-in. • Easy, maybe even an escape from the • Easy for someone to take your place by business element of your work. simply being more sociable. • You may also be providing the buyer • Imposes on personal time, in addition to with something they cannot get work time. elsewhere, such as tickets to a popular event, and they may be grateful for • The buyer may be inundated with social that. offers and attach little value to the “entertainment” offered. • Where work is given there is an expectation of discounts. • You may be tempted to “cut corners”, creating risks for your organization. • Because you “like” the person, you may assign too much weight and importance to the things they say (see section 6 – Bias) 13 engage-universe.com

3 relationships Ad-hoc relationships Characteristics video • The buyer initiates contact when they have an urgent need - they buy your ability to Learn react quickly. Explain • There is some work and it can be big projects, but work is not constant or predictable. • Both parties see the work as a distinct project with a start (signing the contract) and an end (issuing the invoice). Advantages Disadvantages • Little effort on an ongoing basis. • Typically projects are urgent and can put huge stress on your people. You cannot • Windfall revenue when the business plan budgets or resources for the work. comes as it has not been budgeted for. • You don’t get to know the ongoing strategy for their business or identify future needs. • No genuine loyalty and limited chance of referrals. • When not an urgent need, often need to go through a proposal process to secure specific pieces of business. • Risk to quality and reputation where resources are stretched. © engage universe limited 14

Technical relationships video Characteristics Learn Explain • The buyer purchases knowledge, expertise or quality of product. • Generally a reactive relationship. • There can be a steady flow of business, but there is no deep connection on a personal level. • Whilst the buyer values the fact that you “know your stuff”, at the extreme, your deeper technical expertise may cause them discomfort - experts often have the knack of making lesser mortals feel rather inferior! Advantages Disadvantages • Assuming that you have a technically • Unless you have a clear technical good offering, and you know it well, advantage over competitors then price then the relationship is easy for you. can be the main differentiator. • It is a relatively quick relationship to • You are likely to have to re-propose build - especially if your organization’s frequently, since limited loyalty exists. brand gives the buyer confidence. • Your offering is seen as a commodity. • Conversations tend to be narrow in scope and opportunities are missed. • It is relatively easy for a competitor to displace you: – if they take the time to better understand the buyer and the business relationship. – with a lower price (where they can match the technical aspects of your offering). • Mistakes tend to be punished. 15 engage-universe.com

3 relationships Partner relationships Characteristics video • Whatever the buyer thinks you can do, they ask you to do. Learn Explain • You also get asked to help in areas outside your expertise – because they value your thoughts, ideas and contacts even though you may not have the answer to a particular question or challenge. • This is a personal, strategic relationship. They buy you. They trust you to help them. They trust you to tell them who is the best provider of any service or product. They do not make decisions without your input. It is a peer relationship. • You both get equal value out of the relationship. You are happy to refer other people to your buyer, either from within or outside your organization as your relationship is strong enough for you not to worry about any risks associated with such a referral. Advantages Disadvantages • Loyalty and trust. There are few or no • It can take time to build and maintain. It missed opportunities. takes personal energy. • You get involved early, when they are • Much of the time and energy you expend considering decisions. is not directly paid for. • You save time through bypassing • You may need to have knowledge and normal purchase and proposal skills outside your technical area in order processes. to be able to develop and maintain these relationships. • Having this relationship at one level with a buyer often makes it easy to move the relationship up the buyer’s hierarchy. • You get significant referrals. • Price is less important. © engage universe limited 16

Knowing where you are with a relationship The key to understanding where you are with a relationship, is not by thinking about how you feel about it, but how the buyer feels about it. You can get a sense of how the buyer views the relationship by reflecting on what happens on the occasions when you meet face-to-face. Think of a recent conversation and consider each of the questions below: Name of buyer: Who requested the conversation? Why did that person request the conversation? Think of five points of discussion that you initiated. Think of five points that the buyer initiated. What was said to wrap-up the conversation? - by both of you? What relationship do you think this conversation is indicative of? Ad-hoc Technical Social Partner You can complete the online meeting questionnaire accessed via the \"Toolbox\" tile at toolbox engage-universe.com and compare the results with your estimate above. You will also receive tailored tips on how to improve your relationship. 17 engage-universe.com

3 relationships Activity To help develop your ability to identify different relationship types, note below the type indicated: Why did that person call the meeting? The consultant / salesperson calls a meeting to Social Ad-hoc Technical Partner discuss a new offering. ❏ ❏❏❏ The consultant / salesperson calls a meeting to “catch-up”. ❏❏❏❏ The buyer calls you to ask if you have ever ❏❏❏❏ been on holiday to Thailand. ❏❏❏❏ The consultant / salesperson calls a meeting to tell you about some new best practice he has come across. What did you do at the meeting? You talked about what other companies are Social Ad-hoc Technical Partner doing to tackle the sort of challenges the buyer is facing. ❏❏❏❏ ❏❏❏❏ The conversation was about the local soccer ❏❏❏❏ team’s decline and the bad traffic situation. ❏❏❏❏ You talked mostly about your offering. ❏❏❏❏ You explained to the buyer about how good your offering is and how other buyers have found it very useful. You spent most of the time asking questions about what challenges the buyer is facing, and listening to their stories. © engage universe limited 18

What did the buyer say at the meeting? Social Ad-hoc Technical Partner The buyer talked about the weather, families, ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏being busy at work and about general news. The buyer asked you about any new offerings ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏you have. ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏The buyer told you about a need he has now. The buyer asked for your input on how to sell ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏your idea to their boss. The buyer said they were interested in your ❏ ❏ ❏ ❏offering and would get back to you later. 19 engage-universe.com

3 relationships Tips for moving relationships From Social to Partner Learn Challenge • Focus on more work-oriented topics in conversations • Invite them to business events • Send them technically oriented articles / weblinks (does not have to be about you / your organization) • Introduce them to colleagues – be the conduit • Meet in more formal locations From Ad-hoc to Partner • Dig deeper to find underlying causes vs addressing symptoms • Move from immediate challenges to medium to longer-term goals • Broaden the range of topics discussed • Introduce them to others – share your network • Meet socially From Technical to Partner • Focus more on the person versus their role or organization • Meet in less formal settings • Leave time for them to talk • Broaden the range of topics discussed • Focus on commercial topics versus technical • Discuss life outside work – theirs and yours • Introduce them to colleagues • Meet socially © engage universe limited 20

Relationship Capital Terms such as human capital, knowledge or intellectual capital and social capital have become a part of the everyday corporate lexicon. Relationship Capital should be added to that lexicon. Relationship Capital is: The value of all relationships that all people within an organization bring to that organization. Further, Relationship Capital is calculated as: The sum of the strength of each individual’s relationships with other parties, with respect to each other party’s degree of power and influence. Weak Relationship Security Strong Relationship Security These can be any relationships. With suppliers, partners, ex-employees, nodes (people with high influence not necessarily associated with any organization), or other functions within your organization. Relationship Capital is easily confused with Social Capital, but it is not the same. When Social Capital is mentioned, networking is never far away. People who build their social capital take pride in the number of contacts they have. However, like the business cards that are collected at face-to-face networking functions, the drawback with social capital is that the quality of the connection is unclear. How many of us have accepted requests to connect on Linked-In and similar sites only because to connect means little and to refuse may cause offence? While Social Capital is often characterized Value ($) of Relationship Social by quantity, Relationship Capital focuses relationship Capital Capital on the quality of relationships. High Low When assessing Relationship Capital, Shallow consider the following factors: Depth Deep Low • power and influence of the other party Time and $ High • type of relationship invested by both Often not • strength of relationship parties • number of touch points on both sides Face-to-face Yes contact 21 engage-universe.com

3relationships Activity Before you can change a relationship you first need to understand where it is currently. toolbox Answer the questions below for either your last meeting with a specific person or for how your meetings with that person typically run. Your name: Buyer name: Sex: Male / Female *selection personalizes feedback, it does not affect the result Your email address (so we can send your scores to you) Which conversation? 3 2 1 23 1 Who did most of the talking? You The other person 2 Was the conversation mostly about: 32 1 23 1 Your organization/ Personal issues offering 23 3 Which of the following was discussed most? 32 Business issues Personal issues 4 Were any business discussions mostly about: 3 2 1 23 Your organization/ Their organization’s offering challenges or needs 5 Were any discussions about business mostly 32 1 23 regarding: Issues you may be Issues you may not be able to help with able to help with 6 Was the setting: 3 2 1 23 Informal Formal 7 Was the meeting convened: 32 1 23 When the other When the other person person's need was was not aware of imminent needing your help © engage universe limited 22

8 What was your main criteria for success for 32 1 23 the meeting? Acceptance of your Providing value to ideas / suggestions / them in the meeting offering 9 Who called the meeting? A. You B. The other person Go to Go to B10 and B11 A10 and A11 A10 Did you call about: 32 1 23 A11 Did you call about: A If you Something to do Something social called the with business meeting: 23 32 1 To find out how they are personally A way you might be able to help the other person's business B If the B10 Did the other person call about: 3 2 1 23 other person B11 To what extent were any Something to do Something social called the business discussions about: with business meeting: 1 23 32 Something that you Something they were already discussing need now Now tear out these pages and hand them to the facilitator who will score this relationship for you. You can access the online questionnaire via the \"Toolbox\" tile at engage-universe.com. 23 engage-universe.com

3 relationships © engage universe limited 24

trust and how to build it 4 Contrary to what most people believe, trust is not some soft, illusive quality that you either have or you don’t; rather trust is a pragmatic, tangible, actionable asset that you can create - much faster than you probably think possible. Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The Speed of Trust Trust = C + R + I S Where: C = Credibility R = Reliability I = Intimacy S = Self-orientation The most effective, as well as the most common, sources of differentiation in trustworthiness come from intimacy and self-orientation. Both of these are relatively scarce, compared to credibility and reliability. Maister et al, authors of The Trusted Advisor Trust equation reproduced with permission: David Maister et al, The Trusted Advisor 25 engage-universe.com

Trust underpins all relationships: business and personal. video David Maister et al in The Trusted Advisor define trust as toolbox shown in the formula on the previous page. Consider the contributing factors to each element of the equation. Credibility is typically a function of both the reputation of your organization and your personal reputation. • Does your organization have a strong brand; is it respected? • Are you presentable? • Do you know your “stuff”? • Are you comfortable admitting when you don’t know? • Do you have “executive presence”? Reliability is about keeping promises. • Does your organization have the right systems and processes to ensure reliability? • Do you respond quickly and with consistently high quality? • Do you keep your promises? • Do you keep to deadlines? Intimacy relates to how well you know the other person and their world. • Do you really understand their business? • Do you monitor trends in their industry, their markets and their competitors? • Do you know their personal preferences, ways of working and life aspirations? • Are you comfortable opening up and showing more of yourself? Self-orientation, which can relate to a person, business unit or entire organization, undermines credibility, reliability and intimacy. Self-orientation is evidenced by such behaviors as: • Talking excessively about yourself, your organization or your offering. • Showing off your technical knowledge or expertise. • Asking lots of questions to improve your own knowledge, but offering nothing in return. • Interrupting when others are speaking. • Always wanting to have the last word. © engage universe limited 26

Maister and his colleagues assert that the Trust Equation explains why it is easier to win work from people that you have worked with before. In such cases you should already have a degree of Credibility, Reliability, and Intimacy and so Trust will be higher. Activity Consider the degree to which another person’s perception of your trustworthiness derives from your efforts as opposed to your organization’s: % derived from my % derived from my actions organization’s actions Credibility Reliability Intimacy Self-orientation 27 engage-universe.com

4 trust and how to build it Activity Consider three of your individual buyers. Calculate a Trust score for each based on the allocation of a score between 1 and 10 for each element of the Trust Equation, where 1 is Low and 10 is High. 1. Trust score: C + R + I = + + =0= S 0= 2. Trust score: C + R + I = + + = 0 = S 0= 3. Trust score: C + R + I = + + =0 = S 0= IoweU™ approaches primarily help to build and maintain trust through: • increasing Intimacy • reducing Self-orientation Achieving these two will also increase your Credibility. © engage universe limited 28

buyers 5 •••M VDoPaertliauicvlee--ah-bbutuuniyosteetnerrr The emerging best practice is to focus on what’s called the “Buyer’s Journey” in a way that leads the buyer down a cognitive journey of discovery and decision. Read & Bistritz, authors of Selling to the C-Suite Type • Economic • User • Technical Role •• • P SrIoEnecxtsietaesrlrnunaral el s • Anti-sponsor • Gatekeeper • Sponsor • Coach We know that buyers buy according to their buying patterns. Before now, there have been enough buyers who matched our selling patterns. But we can’t play those odds anymore. Now we must eschew our selling patterns and match their buying patterns. Sharon Drew Morgen, author of Dirty Little Secrets 29 engage-universe.com

When deciding to invest time and effort to change your buyer video relationships, our own preferences and biases inevitably play a part. We naturally prefer working with people we like, and we Learn have a tendency to ignore or play down the views and importance Why of people we do not like. See section 6 – Bias, for more on our natural biases and how these can affect our behavior. Learn Explain To mitigate the impact of bias and develop a more comprehensive, objective and balanced view of relationship opportunities, it pays toolbox to consider the following characteristics of individual buyers: • motivation • type • role • pressures Motivation Price and value are key drivers of behavior and impact the depth of relationship buyers' seek. Depth of relationship Price- Deal- Value- busters hunters buyers © engage universe limited 30

Characteristics Price-busters Deal-hunters Value-buyers • No loyalty • Limited loyalty • Strong loyalty • Price is the only • Price is a major criteria • Price is one of a number video or major criteria of important criteria • No face-to-face contact • Possible face-to-face, • Face-to-face important as – all contact by phone but not preferred need to establish personal and mail chemistry • Minimal attempt to • Some effort to • Undertake detailed understand providers’ understand providers’ analysis of providers’ product, service, track-record capabilities and background or history track-record • Minimal information • Information provided – • Lots of information – provided but on a need-to-know much of it strategic, basis for the specific job sensitive and confidential • Standard contract terms • Standard contract terms • Flexible contract terms or no contract • Mistakes punished • Mistakes remembered • Mistakes forgiven Examples: • Price-sensitive industries • Government bodies • High-value brands where margins are small • Public services and • Professional services e.g. retail; freight • Financial services utilities transport; construction • Large, risk-averse • Business-critical organizations with strong infrastructure e.g. internal control functions information technology • Procurement functions Where to invest energy • Streamlining processes • Exceeding expectations • Introducing new people, services or products to reduce cost and time on occasions when work commitment is undertaken 31 engage-universe.com

5 buyers Activity Consider: a) the number of buyers you Price-busters Deal-hunters Value-buyers have in each category □□ □□ □□ (# and %) b) the % allocation of revenue □ □ □ across each category c) the % allocation of profit □ □ □ across each category d) the % allocation of your □ □ □ business development time devoted to each category of buyer © engage universe limited 32

Type Typical characteristics: video • Look for price performance, value for money, return on investment Economic • Responsible for bottom line impact on the organization • Give final “Yes” or “ No” Typical position: • CEO • CFO • Business Unit or Department Head User Typical characteristics: • Look for impact on job performance and efficiency • Will work with service providers on a day-to-day basis • Personal success is linked to service, so they judge subjectively Typical position: • Anyone who benefits directly from what you have to offer Technical Typical characteristics: • Like to appear objective and dispassionate • Focus on the product or service itself - does it meet the detailed specifications • Screen out providers on the basis of technicalities; can give final “No” • Make recommendations Typical position: • IT / HR / Compliance • Procurement Further reading: Strategic Selling by Robert B. Miller, Stephen E. Heiman, Tad Tuleja 33 engage-universe.com

5 buyers Role Anti-sponsor Typical characteristics: video • Against your organization, products and services Who they are: • The person within the buying organization who should have thought of the idea • Prior employees of your competition • Ex-colleagues or buyers where a mistake was made Gatekeeper Typical characteristics: • Grant or deny access to the people and information you need Who they are: • Often secretaries and other administrative staff Sponsor Typical characteristics: • Supportive of your organization’s products and services Who they are: • Could be anyone at the buying organization Coach Typical characteristics: • Prepared to work to help you win the job Who they are: • People you have helped at the buyer organization • Your prior employees • Prior employees of the buyer organization • Staff seconded to work at the buyer’s work-site • Relatives of staff working for the target buyer © engage universe limited 34

Pressures Modern work is pressured. It pays to consider the pressures each buyer may face, then think about how you can help to relieve those pressures. External • Customers video • Pricing • Competition Learn • Regulation Challenge • Finance • Innovation Internal • Workload • Budgets • Balancing priorities • People: numbers; competence; teamwork • Politics Social • Family • Health • Age • Status • Culture 35 engage-universe.com

5 buyers Sources of value Equipped with an understanding of a person’s motivation, type, role and the pressures they face, we’re now in a position to start to identify potential sources of value for each individual buyer. Sources of value can be many and varied and can include: • Secure financial bonus • Gain personal recognition • Remain in a location Remain in a position • Promotion • Feel more secure or safe • Enhance career prospects • More power • Improve social status • Improve personal skills • Increase credibility • Be seen as a leader • Strengthen résumé / CV • Increase self-esteem • Get more freedom • Reduce stress • Increase job satisfaction • Pursue a lifestyle • Be seen as change-agent • Promote the team / • Achieve targets and • Be seen as a problem- department bonus solver © engage universe limited 36

Power and Influence video The power that an individual has within an organization is dictated by their position. For example, a CEO has higher power than the COO. The HR Manager has more power than the HR Assistant. The power remains the same regardless of who is in the position therefore understanding the power of the people with whom you have relationships is a fairly straightforward exercise. Less straightforward is the personal influence that each individual possesses. Influence is a personal attribute and is not always obvious. It therefore becomes harder to identify than power. Also, influence often operates without correlation to authority-derived power; we can all identify senior people with little influence and junior staff members with great influence. Influence is often a combination of someone’s credibility, intelligence, self-confidence, decisiveness, integrity, and self-motivation. Be aware that our subconscious (and sometimes wrong) interpretation of the above factors can lead us to place undue emphasis on certain people whilst ignoring others. For more on this cognitive bias, known as the Halo Effect, see section 6 - Bias. The ideal situation is to have strong relationships with people of high power and high influence. It is also useful to consider the degree of power and influence that attaches to each stakeholder. This gives an indication of the potential impact a person may have on a project, a decision, or on colleagues. Anti-sponsor Sleep Depriver Virus Killer Gatekeeper Irritant Pest Blocker Sponsor Source Active Supporter Advocate Coach Scout Advisor Trump Card Low Medium High 37 engage-universe.com

5 buyers Activity Select one of your buyers and run through the analysis below: Name: Organization: Motivation: Price-buster / Deal-hunter / Value-buyer Buyer type: Economic / User / Technical Role: Anti-sponsor / Gatekeeper / Sponsor / Coach Power and influence: Power = Influence = 5=very high; 4=high; 3=medium; 2=low; 1=very low; 0=none. External pressures: Internal pressures: Social pressures: Potential sources of value: © engage universe limited 38

Activity What should you do in order to improve the relationship with each of the buyer roles? Tactic Anti-sponsor Gatekeeper Sponsor Coach 39 engage-universe.com

5 buyers © engage universe limited 40

6bias What the human being is best at doing is interpreting all new information so that their prior conclusions remain intact. Warren Buffett ••••• • • C B STCoLiAehGaiomlkvesfrnai-onfbCmisiulglraeuipmnbror/tvdsiahlnieDintitsniiygoposbkolnfbbiiktaiKibaiannsissagoesw-sleTdhgeeHalo Effect Hundreds of studies confirm that human forecasts are flawed and biased. Human decision making is not so great either. Richard H. Thaler, Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness 41 engage-universe.com

We human beings are not as rational as we like to video think we are. Our brains do not always pay attention as learn closely as we think they do, and do not always make the toolbox right choices and decisions. The brain is a biological machine that seeks to reduce energy consumption through creating shortcuts for similar thought processes. When these shortcuts are successful, the brain is more inclined to follow the same thinking sequence in future. This is known as cognitive ease and is illustrated in the chart below, taken from Nobel Prize Laureate, Daniel Kahneman’s 2011 book, Think, Fast and Slow: Encountering this... ...leads to this... ...because of this. Repeated experience Feels familiar Clear display EASE Feels true (e.g. font, spoken word) Feels good Primed idea Feels effortless Good mood Causes and Consequences of Cognitive Ease, Thinking, Fast and Slow, D Kahneman (2011). Unfortunately, our brains’ disposition to cognitive ease sometimes leads to cognitive bias where we make decisions because they feel familiar, true, good and effortless, but are wrong! © engage universe limited 42

Cognitive ease Cognitive bias The brain’s tendency to short-cut Mental errors caused by our simplified thinking processes. Sometimes called information processing strategies. “heuristics”. This is natural, and was immensely useful to our ancestors when faced with dangers where quick action was critical, such as “fight or flight” situations. In today’s environment, where people are busy and situations complex, these shortcuts in thinking, although not always negative, can result in poor decisions and missed opportunities. How to address our natural biases? Recent research and the resulting books by two Nobel Prize Laureates: Richard Thaler (Misbehaving, 2015 and Nudge, 2008), Daniel Kahneman (Think, Fast and Slow, 2011), and Professor Dan Ariely of Duke University (Predictably Irrational, 2008) suggest that an important first step in beginning to address the subconscious influence of cognitive bias is to be aware of your biases and face up to them. Equally, a host of psychologists and social scientists agree that even if we are aware of our biases, it may still be impossible to set them all aside and act and listen in a truly open way. In our business relationships and conversations cognitive bias impacts multiple aspects of our approach: from account planning to questioning; analyzing buyers to listening; and presenting ideas to pricing and other decision making. There are many biases that have been identified, so the focus here is on understanding and attempting to manage seven of the most significant. 43 engage-universe.com

Groupthink Me too! I agree 6 bias Humans are social animals, and broadly- We need to speaking we like to fit in. This desire to hear some assimilate can cloud our judgement and opposing views affect our conversations with others. And me! When we are in a group, we sometimes 100%! defer to others, especially those who are “expert” or more senior, without questioning underlying assumptions or views (theirs and ours). This Groupthink can lead to poor decisions. For an example of how this can affect a business, look no further than Kodak. Despite inventing the digital camera, and investigating the market potential on multiple occasions, senior management continually convinced themselves that film was superior to digital and that they should focus on film. After 128 years, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in January 2012, a victim of Groupthink. What you can do • Be sensitive to decisions that are the result of a homogenous group with no dissenting voices. • Respectfully challenge the views of others, and consider getting someone outside of your team to give their honest opinions. • Ask buyers about broader opportunities and challenges, and seek ways to discover hidden value through asking better questions (see section 8 – SHAPE Questioning and section 12 – Spicy Questions). • Avoid prematurely narrowing conversations to familiar topics. © engage universe limited 44

Availability bias Our brain’s desire for cognitive ease means that the busier our cognitive resources are, the more vulnerable we are to cognitive bias. Whenever possible, our overloaded critical- thinking skills take a break and let our intuition do the work. We reach for the easiest available answer, or examples of things that come readily to mind. The media, political movements and governments have been known to take advantage of Availability Bias. For example, if a coordinated and repeated story is presented about a particular individual or minority behaving in a certain way, the consistent repetition turns the thought into a reassuring lie when perhaps we should be searching for an inconvenient truth. Readily available and often quoted information may not necessarily be the most comprehensive or accurate, and can cloud our judgment. A more personal example would be where we base a view on a specific example when the total weight of evidence and probability point in a different direction e.g. not skiing because we know someone who had an accident or continuing to smoke because we know someone who did and lived to 100. What you can do • Don't automatically believe information from news outlets, forums, even colleagues and friends. Do your own research. • Speak to different people to get a range of opinions and information. • Ask broader questions to get a better picture of a situation (see section 8 – SHAPE Questioning). 45 engage-universe.com