September 17, 2015 © SALES PERFORMANCE INTERNATIONAL Review of SPI Sales Training Project Discussion Document

April 21, 2023

© SALES PERFORMANCE INTERNATIONAL

Review of SPI Sales Training Project

Discussion Document

© Solution Selling, Inc. • 2009 PAGE 2www.solutionselling.com

Today’s Agenda

Progress Status Discussion

Review Linkages Between PSS and Solution Selling

Review Of Workshop Topical Agendas/Tools

Global/Major

TDM

Sales Management And Coaching


Project Overview

Conduct Assessment

Build Sales Process Maps (And Socialized)

Management Alignment Meeting

Build Sales Tools and Job Aids (Socializing With Sales Council)

Port eLearning To LMS (And Branding)

Recommend Configuration Changes To SOL

Tailor Training Materials Global/Major Seller Workshop (2 Day)

TDM Workshop (2 Day)

Sales Manager Workshop (2 Day)

Conduct Workshops

Re-Enforce and Measure

Train The Trainer


Current High Level Project Timeline

TASK 7/13 7/20 7/27 8/3 8/10 8/17 8/24 8/31 9/7 9/14 9/21 9/28

Configure Training Materials

Curriculum Review Charlotte

Socialize Training Materials

Conduct Pilots

Train Managers

Begin General Roll-Out ? ? ?

We will conduct two manager sessions in each region

Region Managers *

West 32

Southeast 33

Central 27

NE and Mid Atlantic 29

* Includes DSMs, RSDs, and RVPs


Today’s Agenda




Global/Major

TDM



Existing Achieve Global Tools Reside Within The New Sales Process

The Achieve Global Need Satisfaction

Model – and other existing Office Depot tools --

resides in the new Office Depot sales process. So do a

variety of new Solution Selling®

Tools.


Solution Selling® and Achieve Global Selling Methodologies Have Common Roots But Differences As Well

THE DIFFERENCES

Professional Selling Skills® Solution Selling®

Provides tools for executing a sales call Provides tools for executing activities through the entire sales process

Assumes customer knows what he or she needs

Assumes some customers may not know what they need

Provides techniques for resolving customer concerns (objections)

Provides techniques for avoiding objections

THE SIMILARITIES

Professional Selling Skills® And Solution Selling®

Encourages sellers to diagnose customer needs or pains before providing a solution

Focuses on product benefits and capabilities rather than pure features

Encourages the use of a mix of question or probe types when talking with customers


Using Solution Selling Tools To Take PSS® To The Next Level

PSS® Step Ways To Get To The Next Level

OPEN• Use a crisp positioning statement as part of the open• Use a reference story as part of the open to get the

customer talking about pain

PROBE

• Make sure pain is admitted early in the probing process

• Target questions and probes around the reasons for the customer’s pains

• Use ‘drill down’ questions and probes to get to value

SUPPORT

• Align Support Statements with the reason for the customer’s pain

• Craft Support Statements in a Capability Vision format

• Craft Support Statements with Office Depot differentiators in mind

CLOSE• Document next steps in a Next Steps

Communication

In addition to helping sellers conduct a conversation with the customer, Solution Selling provides a variety of tools to execute through the entire sales process.

The PSS Need Satisfaction Process resides within the

‘Engage and Diagnose’ step in the new Office Depot Sales Process


Use Solution Selling® Tools To Get To The Next Level When…

Overlay or multiple resources are needed on the opportunity

The opportunity is latent versus active

The customer doesn’t know what they need

The customer should know the monetary value of the Office Depot solution

The opportunity involves several people in the customer organization

The opportunity is large or strategic to Office Depot

Solution Selling tools should be used when any one of the following situations exist


Today’s Agenda




Global/Major

TDM



Major/Global/Public Workshop Overview

Topic Comments

Audience MBDM’s, MAM’s, GAM’s, GBDM’s, VMM’s, NAM’s

Audience Size 326

Duration 2 Days

Teaching MethodsInstructor led discussion, small groups exercises, individual exercises, role plays

Pre-Work Module 1 of Sales Execution eLearning

CommentsManagers will be trained before seller deployment and will serve as coaches in the sessions


Major/Global/Public Workshop Agenda (Day 1)

Module: Introduction and Key Concepts

Explain relationship between Achieve Global Sales Training Methodology and Solution Selling®

Describe the importance of utilizing an Office Depot sales process and describe the key components. Link the new sales process to the Sales On Line process

Define key selling skills, terms and basic principles that underlie Solution Selling®

Describe how buyers buy procedurally and behaviorally

Exercise:

Conduct an exercise discussing selling challenges

Module: Plan

Employ best practices around pre-call planning

Leverage specific sources to conduct customer-research

Identify and define customer pain and depict how it flows throughout a buying organization

Use specific job aids including:

Key Players List and Pain Chain®

Exercise:

Depict the organizational interdependence within an account/opportunity


Major/Global/Public Workshop Agenda (Day 1 continued)

Module: Engage and Diagnose

Describe the keys to effective business development and elements to avoid when prospecting

Articulate tactics for aligning with prospective buyers leading to the admission of pain

Articulate the elements that comprise an effective customer-focused diagnostic questioning model

Explain the significance of creating customer buying visions around the capabilities of Office Depot offerings

Use specific job aids:

Business Development Prompters, Reference Stories, Value Propositions

9 Block Vision Processing Model® for Vision Creation and Pain Sheet®

Exercise(s):

Determine a business development strategy supported by building stimulating interest job aids

Develop questions that could be used to help have a customer-focused diagnostic conversation

Perform role plays on having customer-focused diagnostic conversations for customer scenarios


Major/Global/Public Workshop Agenda (Day 2)

Module: Engage and Diagnose (continued) Articulate a technique for helping buyers establish quantifiable value for the

salesperson’s offerings Articulate tactics that assist in determining a prospect’s ability to make a purchasing

decision and gaining access to “power” Write follow-up correspondence that effectively qualifies both a prospect’s ability to buy

and the opportunity Construct an evaluation-oriented plan that helps Office Depot influence and direct the

steps of the buyer’s evaluation approach


Sponsor Letter, Power Sponsor Letter, and Evaluation Plan

Exercise(s): Conduct an exercise focused on developing “drill down” questions that could be used to

help establish quantifiable value Perform role plays on having customer-focused diagnostic conversations for customer

scenarios

Module: Propose and Close Discuss how to effectively manage the evaluation process (implementing operational

capabilities, develop refined value proposition, measure client success, and prepare for negotiations)

Use specific job aids including: Transition Issues / Capabilities, Refined Value Proposition, Success Criteria, and

Negotiating Worksheet

Exercise: Conduct an exercise focused on focused on constructing an evaluation-oriented plan


Major/Global/Public Workshop Agenda (Day 2 continued)

Module: Active Opportunities

Objectively assess an active opportunity to determine whether it is qualified or not

Describe four specific competitive strategies Office Depot to consider when engaging in active opportunities

Reengineer existing customer buying visions biased around the capabilities of their offerings


Opportunity Assessment Worksheet

Competitive Strategy Selector

9 Block Vision Processing Model® for Vision Reengineering

Exercise:

Perform reengineering role play focused on conducting customer-focused diagnostic conversations

Module: Getting Started

Describe short term and long term actions that salespeople and sales managers should consider taking to help implement Solution Selling® in their organization

Exercise:

Create individual plan for adoption


TDM Workshop Overview

Topic Comments

Audience TDM’s and SC’s

Audience Size 611

Duration 2 Days



CommentsManagers will be trained before seller deployment and will serve as coaches in the sessions


Major Differences Between Major/Global and TDM Workshops

Plan

Focus on identifying criteria to help qualify multiple accounts instead of researching one specific account

No Pain Chain®

Conduct activity on contact strategy best practices

Engage and Diagnose

Simpler questioning model (does not include Organizational Impact column)

Simpler process for gaining access to “power”

Simpler follow-up communications (no Sponsor letter and no separate Evaluation Plan)

Do not teach Vision Reengineering. Teach and conduct a differentiation exercise instead

Implement

Conduct activity on best practices for turning accounts into “buying accounts”


Sales Management and Coaching Workshop Overview

Topic Comments

Audience Sales Managers, DSM’s, RSD’s, RVP’s

Audience Size 120 (Approximate)

Duration 2 Days



Comments1.5 Days seller content, .5 days management and coaching. Managers will also be taught how to coach during later seller workshops.


Sales Management and Coaching Workshop (Day 1 and Day 2 AM)

Explain common management difficulties addressed by sales management methodology and define the components

Explain relationship between Achieve Global Sales Training Methodology and Solution Selling®

Review key Solution Selling® concepts

Review components of TDM and Major/Global processes:

Plan

Engage and Diagnose

Propose and Close

Implement

Conduct exercises in each sales stage

During the first day and one half of the Sales Management And Coaching

Workshops, managers will be exposed to the concepts and tools that will be taught to

their sales teams

SPI’s Sales Management And Coaching Methodology provides a number of tools for

identifying coaching opportunities at the pipeline, opportunity, and skill levels.

Professional Sales Coaching will continue to be used by managers to coach sellers once coaching opportunities have been

identified


Sales Management and Coaching Agenda (Day 2 Afternoon)

Module: Opportunity Analysis – Process and Strength of Sale Focused

Inspect specific opportunities to determine / verify milestone status

Assess the quality of opportunity execution in relation to milestone status

Inspect the quality of verifiable outcomes to ensure accuracy of milestone status

Use the Strength Of Sale Check to determine the strength of an opportunity

Exercise(s):

Performed exercises analyzing deficiencies in the quality of a sample Power Sponsor Letter/Evaluation Plan (Global/Major) or Next Steps Communications (TDM)

Perform an exercise analyzing the “strength of sale” for an opportunity

Module: Pipeline Analysis and Pipeline Management Determine if there is enough business in the pipeline to produce the revenue needed to meet goal Determine if opportunities are moving through the pipeline at a rate that will contribute to the

revenue needed to meet goal Link new Office Depot Sales Process to Sales On-Line

Module: Identify Skill Issues

Describe the common selling difficulties that occur frequently at specific steps in the sales process

Exercise(s):

Analyze a collection of opportunities to identify common trend(s) indicated a potential skill issue(s)


Sales Management and Coaching Agenda (Day 2 Afternoon Continued)

Module: Develop Adoption Plan

Describe the best practices for ensuring adoption of sales process within their organization

Exercise(s):

Perform an exercise constructing a plan to support the adoption and implementation of the sales process within one’s team

Module: Conduct Workshop Coaching

Review coaching guide on how to coach seller workshops


APPENDIX


Qualification Criteria: Example

Helps Identify an Ideal Customer Profile Allowing Sales Reps To Focus On

The New Business ‘Sweet Spot’

Criterion Measure Points

# of White Collar Workers 25-50 1

50-75 3

75-100 5

Chamber / Association Member Yes 5

No 1

Referrals Yes 5

No 1

Proximity to existing customer base Yes 5

No 1

Order method is on-line Yes 1

No 5

Currently under “Contract” or receiving customized pricing with competitor

25-50 WCW Yes = 1No = 3

50-75 WCW Yes = 1No = 5

75-100 WCW Yes = 1No = 7

3 to 6 criteria can typically define a sales

rep’s ‘sweet spot for new business. Most reps chase business outside of the ‘sweet

spot because it is easier to engage. High performing sales reps

know what types of potential clients will result in the longest lasting relationships.

The ‘sweet spot’ varies from territory to

territory. This is only an example and TDM

will customize for their territory in the

workshop.


Qualification Criteria Can Be Used to Segment and Prioritize New Business Accounts

Account Name # of WCWChamber / Association

MemberReferrals

Proximity to existing

customer base

Order method is

on-line

Currently under “Contract” or

receiving customized pricing with competitor

Total

Matchmakers, Inc. 5 5 5 5 1 1 22

United Way 3 5 5 5 5 3 26

Kwik Transport 5 5 5 1 1 3 20

Lifestyle Leasing 1 1 1 5 1 7 16

MSA Payroll Services 3 1 1 5 1 1 12

Fantasy Travel 3 5 5 1 1 3 18

4Square Entertainment 1 5 1 5 1 3 16

Baldrige Consultants 5 1 5 5 1 7 24

City Government 3 1 1 1 1 3 10

Able Bakers 1 5 1 1 1 5 14

By ranking new business prospects according to Qualification Criteria, sales rep time can be focused on those accounts that will yield the highest revenue with the least amount of sales effort.


Differentiators Are Only Important If The Customer Thinks They Are Important

100CUSTOMER VALUE

UNIQUENESS

Cool,

Nice to haveDifferentiators

CommodityJunk

Office Depot reps don’t have a clear understanding of what differentiators are important to customers.

Understanding of competitor vulnerabilities is one way to help customers see the value of switching to Office Depot from the

competition.


Tactics for Addressing Competition / Incumbents: Example

StaplesStaples

Key Vulnerabilities Response

1. Account management team

•How does your current vendor manage the account relationship? •How often do you see your representative? •What do you like about them? •If you could change 3 things about the current relationship, what would it be?

2. Lack of technology resources

•How do they provide for your technology needs? •How do you receive support on technology? •Do you have a dedicated account based resource for technology?

Regional Regional ProviderProvider

Key Vulnerabilities Response

1. Inconsistent pricing structure

•How long have you been with them? •What is their pricing philosophy? •How does it affect your budgeting process? •Have you audited the pricing? •Have you found it consistent?

2. Expertise•How do they support your current business initiatives?


Key Players List: Example

Title

PainsChief

Executive Officer

Chief Operating

Officer

Chief Financial

Officer

Chief Information

Officer

VP Sales

VP Customer Service

Declining stock price XDecreasing EPS / shareholder value XRising operational costs XDeclining margins XDeclining ROI and ROA X XEroding profits X XTrouble keeping up with technology change XInability to meet users' technology demands XMissing revenue goals / new account sales targets XInability to accurately predict sales revenue XDeclining customer satisfaction X XInability to get new products to market on timely basis X


Reference Story: Example

FORMAT REFERENCE STORY

Job title / industry: A customer job title and

vertical industry

Critical business issue:

The pain of the above title

One of the reasons: One of the reasons for

the critical business issue biased to your

product / service

Capabilities (when, who, what):

In the words of your customer, the business event, the player(s) and

specific capabilities needed to address the critical business issue

(He / She / They told us they needed a way…)

We provided:If the “solution” is

described properly above, all we have to do

here is say that we provided those

capabilities

Result:Specific measurement is

best ($ or %)

Situation: Office Manager in a 50 person organization

Critical Business Issue:

Unable to complete workload

Reason(s): Spending too much administrative time on office supplies

Capability(s):

(when, who, what)

They needed a way when ordering office supplies the administrative professional could access frequently ordered items from a pre-populated list and select appropriate items and volume

We provided… …this capability

Result: They were able to gain back 25% of time spent on office supplies and reallocate it to other areas of the business.


Initial Value Proposition: Example for Office Manager

INITIAL VALUE PROPOSITION

“We have worked with similar companies and have demonstrated up to 15% on

costs associated with procuring office supplies by helping them improve some

critical processes savings by improving their sourcing, procurement and

payment processes around office supplies. Would you be interested in

exploring the potential savings for your organization?”

Value Proposition Assumptions:

General statistics associated with non-automated processes

50-60 WCW


First Call Introduction

Step 2: Introduce Call

State call objective *

What I’d like to do today (or… during the next ___ minutes) is to:• Introduce you to __________ (my company)• Tell you about another _________ (job title and industry) we have worked with• I would then like to learn (more) about you and your situation…• …at that point, the two of us will be able to make a mutual decision as to whether or not we should proceed

any further.”

Share positioning statement (Use “we help” theme)

“Office Depot’s Business Solutions Division focuses on 3 areas: sourcing, procurement, and payment for

anything office related, and we help you do that effectively and efficiently. ”

Provide company / personal introduction *

FACTS

□ Have X# of employees in your area□ Office Depot won the “Outstanding environmental leadership” award from Office Products International

□ Recognized as one of the top organizations for multi-cultural business opportunities by Diversity Business.com

Share relevant Reference Story (or progress-to-date)

“A particular situation you might be interested in is another __________ (organization type). Their __________ (job title) was having difficulty with __________ (pain). The reasons for his/her difficulty were __________. What he/she needed was some way to (describe capabilities) __________. We provided them with those capabilities and the result was __________ (specific result).”

Transition to “getting pain admitted”

“But enough about __________ (my company). Tell me (more) about you and your situation.”

* Alter steps for existing vs. new relationships as relevant


Anxiety: Example for SMB Customer Using Local Competitor

1. Anxiety Question:

“How would you feel if you received a damaged product, but you had to go through a dispute process while the order was being investigated and you did not receive credit for it immediately?”

2. Capability Question:

“What if there were a way…when there is something wrong with the order you automatically received the appropriate credit while the process is being investigated… would that help?”

3. Feature Statement (Feature Becomes a Benefit):

“With our customer service team, disputed orders are automatically credited back to you while we investigate. Our assumption is that the customer is right. We will replace or redo the order so that your productivity does not suffer while we come to a final resolution.”


Anxiety: Example for another competitor

1. Anxiety Question:

“How would you feel if….?”

2. Capability Question:

“What if there were a would that help?”

3. Feature Statement (Feature Becomes a Benefit):

“”


Getting Pain Admitted

Question Examples

SITUATION QUESTIONS

MENU OF PAIN QUESTIONS

“The top three difficulties we are hearing from other Office Managers these days include:

•Unable to complete workload•Increased pressure / responsibility with less resources •Inefficient office management processes and procedures

…are you facing any of these issues today?” OR…are you curious how we have helped our customers deal with these issues?”

“How do you currently source, procure, and pay for office supplies?”

“What sources do you use to order?”

“What is the process for placing an order?”

“After the supplies are received how does the invoice get paid?”

“If you could change one thing about this process what would it be?”

“What problems does this cause and how is it affecting you?”


Vision Processing: Example


Three Sales within a Sale

LINE OF BUSINESS SALE

Operational Vision

“What capabilities do we need to meet our business goals?”

LINE OF BUSINESS SALE

Operational Vision

“What capabilities do we need to meet our business goals?”

TRANSITION SALE

Transition / Implementation Vision

“How do we get from where we are today to where the Line Vice

Presidents want to be?”

TRANSITION SALE


“How do we get from where we are today to where the Line Vice

Presidents want to be?”

FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+


“What is the overall value to the organization?”

FINANCIAL SALE

Operational Vision+


“What is the overall value to the organization?”


Transition Issues & Capabilities Worksheet

Person responsible: Administrative Professional

Transition issue: Fear of changing the ordering process

REASONS OUR TRANSITION CAPABILITIES

A Confusion of ordering A After account is set-up, Office Depot will provide training on how to place orders and create a customized shopping list with the new SKU numbers on most purchased items

B Changing mindset of going to a different website for ordering

B After account is set-up, a mutually agreed upon cutover date will be established, and Office Depot will provide a transition incentive and all orders place in the first 30 days over $200 will receive a 10% rebate


Refined Value Proposition: Example for Office Manager

REFINED VALUE PROPOSITION

“Based upon our discussions we believe you should be able to save 25

hours per month or $7,000 / year

through the ability to source, procure, and pay for office supplies more

efficiently.”

REFINED VALUE PROPOSITION

“Based upon our discussions we believe you should be able to save 25

hours per month or $7,000 / year

through the ability to source, procure, and pay for office supplies more

efficiently.”

Value Proposition assumptions being made: Save 3 hours per week on ordering process Reconciliation of invoices takes 12 hours/year 50 employees save 3 hours/week on finding products they need ordered FTE fully burdened is $50K/year Save 25 hours/month = $7,211/year


Success Criteria: Example

Criteria Baseline Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

# orders placed 1 2/week

Reconciliation of invoices (#) 2 2/week

Errors in invoice reconciliation 2 1/month

Time to place orders 14 hours/

week

Core spend / non-core spend 1,3 30% / 70%

(1) Office Manager(2) Accounting(3) Finance / Purchasing


Office Depot Sales Process for TDM’s

Customer Buying Process

Define problems and opportunities

Determine needs / requirements

Select solutions & evaluate risk Resolve issues Evaluate success

Sales Activities

Plan Engage and Diagnose Propose and Close Implement Fulfill

New Business Conduct research on

prospective accounts Identify contacts

Retain and Grow Monitor client satisfaction Research buying trends Identify new opportunities

across SKU’s and categories

Create interest Get appointment with Power

Sponsor Get pain admitted Diagnose admitted pain and

create or reengineer a buying vision

Agree upon next steps

Engage appropriate overlay

Present solution Develop value and

refine value proposition Identify success

criteria Respond to RFP or bid

(if appropriate) Gain agreement to buy

Set-up account Upload prices Show and train on

website

Measure success criteria

Resolve customer problems

Conduct business review

Monitor client satisfaction

Verifiable Outcome

Plan Completed Gain agreement with Power Sponsor to next steps

Gain verbal agreement to buy

First order is placed

Sales Tools and Resources

Dun & Bradstreet lists Hoovers Qualification Criteria Key Players List Contact Strategy

Business Development Prompter

Reference Story Initial Value Proposition Call Planner Vision Processing Model Next steps communication

Bid Builder Success Criteria Negotiating Worksheet Get-Give List

Implementation plan Success Criteria Reference Stories Get-Give List

Yield Percentages

25% 75% 100%

Documents

September 17, 2015 © SALES PERFORMANCE INTERNATIONAL Review of SPI Sales Training Project Discussion Document