Smart Lemming Diary: Creating Sales Development Prompters
August 10, 2005
One of the tools in my toolkit is my repeatable process in creating and maintaining Solution Development Prompters (SDPs) sales tools that’s included Sales Reference Guides. In January of 2004, my former VP told me that our CEO was into a new book called CustomerCentric Selling
Customer Centric Selling: Solution Development Prompters
It turns out this was an excellent read for Product Marketers and Product Managers. I read it, figured out a process to collect the information to develop the SDPs for each of our products. I worked as the lead with fellow product managers, getting the target audiences, business needs of each title, and value statements/benefits for each business need for each target audience. We mapped to their product features (I used Visio’s org chart functionality).
After this step, I dropped this information from the Business Goals, Values and Features Map into the SDP template, so we could determine the diagnostic questions, events, questions, action (within the product), and the goals. Before we knew it, we had at least 40-50 org charts, SDPs, and targeted conversation lists ready for the sales meeting. The real benefit was establishing another tool and repeatable process for my toolkit. Yesterday, I was able to use this process again for my new job.
Sales Reference Guide Prototype by Friday
I was excited to get to work yesterday, because I was going to identify each title in the target audience, their business needs, feature, feature description, and benefits/value statements for each. I call this template the Business Goals, Values, and Features Map. In this template, I completed the targeted conversation (which is just a table or summary of the title, their business needs, and their role. I completed the matrix for the target audience with features. Today, I’m constructing the Business Goals, Values, and Features Maps for each title with their business needs mapped value statements and feature set.
From there I’ll create one set of SDPs for our key decision maker for my prototype Sales Reference Guide for Friday’s meeting with Tom, VP of Engineering, and Amanda. We’re reviewing my 100-Day plan and Needs Assessment, but I wanted to throw this in.
Stock Options Update
Tom assured me today that my all my stock options will vest if we are acquired, “So our interests are aligned. You won’t have to worry about your stock options and any vesting schedule.” That was nice of him to follow-up on, but even nicer in having that part of his stock option policy. This is for any employee, not just directors or VPs.
Recruiting Update: Poaching Former Colleagues
We’re getting somewhere. My former colleague in Sales is coming in for an interview loop with Tom and the rest of us next Monday. Jonathan is scheduled to come in on Friday afternoon. Tom travels for one week starting next Wednesday, so he’s hoping to get these two on board by then.
Resources: Free Templates Available for Download
- Business Goals, Values, and Features Map template, download by clicking here
- Needs Assessment template, download by clicking here.
- 90-Day Plan template, download by clicking here.
The Smart Lemming Diary is a series that chronicles a journey of laid-off worker, who becomes a Vice President of Sales Operations & Marketing for a small entrepreneurial healthcare technology company.
Similar Posts:
- How to Create a Business Goals, Value, and Features Map
- Smart Lemming Diary: Acquisition Talks and Marketing Deliverables Progress
- Smart Lemming Diary: Preparing for My First Sales Training
- How to: Easily Identify Your Value Proposition
- Creating a Competitive Intelligence (CI) Process - Process and Responsibility Matrix
