If you sell to large companies you will quickly realize how politics play a factor in the success of your sale. In our business we generally talk to PMs (product managers) and division heads. Rarely they can push you through and close a deal with their sign off only. In a smaller manufacturer this may fly…but the larger the company, the more divisions you need to please.

Marketing teams, testing, VPs and lawyers all need to sign-off. This is why creating an inside champion for your product is important

How can you help them help you?

Product managers and directors propose an add-on or addition to their products are generally met with skepticism and general grilling. “Why should we add this?” Properly training your champion on your pluses will help to deliver the sale.

First, does the product work properly? Get all of your ducks in a row for the big opportunity. A team of engineers will test for any errors. These days multi-lingual support is important. Make sure that translations have been done properly.

Second, who are you? Big companies want to trust that you will be around, that you won’t make them look bad and won’t cause any lawsuits. In the tech field Professional Liability / Errors & Omissions insurance goes a long way. A strong indemnity clause in the agreement is a given, expect this. A similar successful deal with another large OEM will offer a huge boost in the confidence of working with your company.

Third, help me sell you! Provide a pitch deck for your product or company. Provide a competitive chart, what is your place in the market? What awards have you won?

Nailing these questions will give you a leg up on the competition. Good luck, these deals can be a boon for your company!

This entry was posted on Friday, June 11th, 2010 at 5:52 pmand is filed under Guide. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.