As we spring full force into H2 of the 2025 selling year, we’re keenly focused on the activities we need to undertake to insure that Dec. 31 finds us in a very happy place. These activities and actions that we take in concert with our organization and our partners are critical and demanding of the intense attention we apply to them. But this focus must also include a constant awareness of what’s going on outside of the deals that we see as must-wins in these next six months. While we may not all bet on the ponies, we’ve all seen the blinders on the sides of racehorses’ harnesses. They help the horses focus while protecting their eyes from light, dramatically reducing vision from 180 degrees to often as little as 30 degrees. While blocking out light increases a thoroughbred’s chances of winning, the opposite is true in selling. Because in selling, the light that a deal’s blinders deflect can very well be the information that dictates whether the deal is won or lost. I love the Leona Lewis quote – “Be vigilant about what you’re doing but also aware of your surroundings”. For your surroundings, of course, can dictate your results.
In attacking a major pursuit with the vigilance Lewis suggests, we must also consider the broader picture of the prospect account’s industry – the surroundings, if you will. Given that large deals can span months and even years, there are certainly changes occurring in the account’s vertical that could be extremely impactful to your success.
So, in addition to your pursuit’s rightful focus on the 5 P’s, I suggest that you include concise team brainstorming events to review market issues that may have a bearing on your solution. Or for that matter, on your very Go/No-Go analysis of the pursuit. In reality, this vertical strategizing could actually create the competitive advantage require to close the deal. Knowledge is power. And power creates advantage.
What are the practical market areas that should be considered? Consider a simple framework that targets five significant areas for your vertical pursuit strategizing. Certainly, there are other areas as well. But in the interest of perfect not being the enemy of good, be certain to act on these:
- Account Base
- Economy
- Service Structure and Deployment
- Market Patterns
- Competition
In your strategizing, work on the most impactful questions in each of the five areas. For example, if the prospect account’s vertical is Financial Services, what’s the impact of changes in inflation and interest rates? What about Healthcare and Big Pharma? What shifts are occurring as a result of cutbacks in funding and research grants? What about the public sector and dramatic changes in direction based on new administrations? How about traditional retail? Where are bricks-and-mortar establishments headed? And what about commercial real estate and back-to-work mandates?
How about the economy? What factors are impacting the prospect account’s vertical in the midst of the pursuit? How is healthcare transitioning in the midst of all the upheaval? What about SMB accounts and their new pains and opportunities? And how will future government decisions about unemployment benefits and other entitlement programs affect the prospect account’s workforces and customers?
Regarding service structure and deployment, what changes have occurred that might dictate rethinking your soon-to-be-proposed solution? Can your organization deliver to the levels of quality required? And what changes might impact your alliance, channel and delivery partnering as well as your considered contract vehicles? How about your delivery assets – products, services and people? Have any changes occurred that dictate whether they will be difference-making advantages for you in winning the deal?
And market patterns. What changing demographics will potentially have impacts? Real estate, construction and transportation – do you know the questions as well as the answers? What about the media, advertising and of course, social platforms? The shifting cultural and political patterns – what changes must you reflect in your bid? And what about the vertical’s thought leaders who guide the market? Have you been tracking them? Be assured, your prospect account has been and your forward-thinking competitors as well.
And last, we consider the competition and remember the old Indian saying, “In the dark of the night, every cat’s a leopard”. Indeed. And as you ponder, know that many of your competitive leopards’ spots have likely changed significantly over the course of the long pursuit. Are they the devils you know or the devils that have changed so much that you don’t know them any longer? If you don’t know your current enemies versus their old selves, you’ll pay the price. Competitive propositions, people, partnerships and pricing. Know all the changes and react accordingly.
Use all the ammunition in your belt. Use your assets. Use your people – those truly invested in understanding the changes that impact your prospect’s market and as such, your pursuit. These people care and can make a difference in executing on the actions resulting from your strategizing. Face the changes, embrace the changes and make the changes. Then, go win the deal.
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