Complex sales

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Complex sales, also known as Enterprise sales, can refer to a method of trading
sometimes used by organizations when procuring large contracts for goods and/or
services where the customer takes control of the selling process by issuing a
Request for Proposal (RFP) and requiring a proposal response from previously
identified or interested suppliers. Complex sales involve long sales cycles with
multiple decision makers. Multiple stakeholders and stakeholder groups contribute
to every complex sale.

Contents [hide]
1 Description
2 Forms of complex sales
3 Example
4 Sales Controlling
5 Limitation of complex sales
6 See also
7 References
Description[edit]
Any product or service may become a complex sale. In some instances a complex sale
occurs when the market is mature and the stakes high enough to warrant attention
from a variety of stakeholders in the buying organization. In other instances a
complex sales process is needed when the buyer has never had experience with the
vendor, technology being sold, or if the solution is business critical or impacts
the buying organization on a strategic level. The series of filters, purchasing
steps, and stakeholders involved are designed to reduce the risks associated with
making the wrong buying decision.

Often the need to have multiple stakeholders or buyers involved relates to the
level of risk that is involved in the purchase or sale of goods and/or services. As
the buyer or buying organization if the purchase only impacts a small group of
people or component of the buying organization then often the decision is made by
one buyer and the process tends to be quite transactional.

If the purchase impacts the entire organization, affects the company strategically,
or can change the buyer business process then often the sales person is required to
have a set of skills that are more in line with a subject matter expert or
consultant than a traditional sales person. This type of sales person can often be
referred to as a Key Account Executive or Complex Sales Executive.

Large or complex sales opportunities that are international in nature require an

additional set of personal and sales skills. The need for cross-cultural awareness
may add an additional layer of complexity in the sales process.

The larger the purchase and the buyer risk the more trust and credibility required
from the Vendor. As a Key Account Executive or Complex Sales Executive in addition
to product knowledge and consultative selling skills top producing sales executives
also have the ability to build strong client relationships and navigate and avoid
the political pitfalls within client organizations.

Forms of complex sales[edit]

Selling consulting engineering services
Facility Management bids including provision of soft and hard FM services
Enterprise technology sales such as CRM or POS solutions
Private data networks such as MPLS
Commercial insurance sales
Real Estate development
Large fleet vehicle sales
Mining equipment sales (e.g. Caterpillar tractors and large tunnel boring machines)
Scientific Solution Sales (Data analysis and management)
Government acquisition such as for military hardware and services
Building management systems
Security systems
Example[edit]
Space X: Within a few years after Elon Musk started Space X, he was able to sign
billion-dollar contracts with NASA and he successfully persuaded NASA to use space
vessels made by Space X to replace old space shuttles. In this case, 'salesmen'
were not needed, as buyers would want speak to the CEO directly in a deal this
large. Apart from advanced technology and price, political hurdles were an
important issue for the deal. Space X and its 3,000 employees were mostly based in
California, in contrast to the traditional U.S. aerospace industry of 500,000
people spread all over 50 states. Therefore, Space X faced pressure from members of
Congress who did not want federal funds to leave their states. In order to overcome
political hurdles and satisfy different stakeholders of the American aerospace
industry, each deal took months or even longer to complete. As complex sales only
need a few deals each year, Elon Musk focused on the most crucial people, in this
case politicians. [1][2]

Sales Controlling[edit]
Due to the high costs of proposals in complex sales the hit rate i.e. the
percentage of successful offers is a valuable indicator of the performance of the
sales force.

Limitation of complex sales[edit]

By analysing the characteristics of 'stellar performers', Dixon and Adamson argued
that building strong personal and professional relationships and advocates among
customers was no longer the most important success factor for selling. On the
contrary, nearly 40% of 'stellar performer's were sellers who pushed their
thinking[clarification needed] and were not afraid to share even controversial
views with both their customers and bosses.[3]

See also[edit]
AIDA
Capture management
Contract of sale
Industrial marketing
List of marketing topics
Marketing
Promotion
Tendering
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Thull, J. (2010). Mastering the Complex Sale: How to Compete and Win When
the Stakes are High!. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Jump up ^ Hyams, R. M. and Eppler, M. J. (2014). Information Quality in Complex
Sales. In: International Conference on Information Quality. Ninth International
Conference on Information Quality (ICIQ-04). Cambridge, USA, Nov. 5-7, 2004.
Cambridge: MIT.
Jump up ^ Dixon, M and Adamson, B. (2011). Selling Is Not About Relationships.
Harvard Business Review. [online] Available at: https://hbr.org/2011/09/selling-is-
not-about-relatio [Accessed 1 May 2017].
Categories: Sales
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This page was last edited on 15 July 2017, at 00:41.
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