J
J

Juancallclose

Director

Catalyst
Opinionated
Valued Contributor
+3

The Ole ROI conversation---need it to win?

Sounds great. I can save you X in labor, help you grow X in revenue, and mitigate risk. Yet, I've won a lot of deals without it and find that most customers, even those interested in buying, don't really need it and rarely want to share that information with you. Maybe it's procurement coaching them in not providing the info or they know they need something.


I know a ton of former and current great AEs who say it's not necessary to win, but see these sales savants on LI say "its a must have"


To me, why are you changing and why are we the best partner to help you change

👑 Sales Strategy
14

22 comments

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Pachacuti
Politicker
9
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
If you don’t break it down and do the math for the customer, they will do their own math… and probably get it wrong.
antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
6
Bravado's Resident Asshole
5 out of 4 times they do everytime
DataCorrupter
Politicker
1
Account Executive
I wonder though, if this is as much a factor as we think from the outside? They probably know a lot more info for an accurate ROI than we do, and they don't share ALL of that info with us for our ROI, because if we knew how much it saved them, we'd turn a 100k deal into a 1m deal quickly...
GDO
Politicker
1
BDM
THis is what my first boss told me as well. And He even told me to do it like youre doing it with a 5yo
saaskicker
Celebrated Contributor
1
Enterprise AE
this + if you get their math wrong, and they correct you with the right metrics, you have an even stronger ROI case.
LambyCorn
Arsonist
1
A mfkn E
so its a must pretty much?
SaaSguy
Tycoon
3
Account Executive
Needed
jefe
Arsonist
3
🍁
This is unbelievably useful and pretty necessary for complex deals, but I've definitely won some without it.
Always try and break down ROI wherever you can.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Selling something that is fundamental and pretty much a must-have, but also something where we have more than a handful of competitors - ROI and value are a way we can separate ourselves from the competition. If we can demonstrate how the way our solution works is better for a customer's bottom line, we're providing a solid reason to consider our solution.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
‼🐈‼
DataCorrupter
Politicker
2
Account Executive
I'm totally in agreement with OP, haven't seen that as the most important need in getting deals closed over the last 5 years.

Gotta ask myself though, am I missing something or is it not as big of a deal as it used to be?
Juancallclose
Catalyst
1
Director
ROI used to be a big part of the playbook and definitely does help, but I've lately had people say "don't need all that, we know our situation is focked up and we need help." IDK, maybe my team needs to get better about this but we're doing well w/o it on most deals.
HVACexpert
Politicker
2
sales engineer
Depends on product or customer, but it certainly can be very beneficial if it’s puts you in a good light.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
Gotta give em a lil delicate push
FinanceEngineer
Politicker
1
Sr Director, sales and partnerships
The big ROI calculations are needed when they have a product or vendor and you need to show value for your champion’s boss.
Beans
Big Shot
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Super important when you get to the decision makers and budget holders, they tend to miss the majority of value/gap selling and see raw numbers.
Revenue_Rambo
Politicker
1
Director, Revenue Enablement
A few years ago ROI wasn’t required in most negotiations. Leaders were given a budget and trusted to spend it on whatever they felt necessary.

Now that same budget is being scrutinized on every dollar spent. If you’ve got a CFO involved that means ROI in terms of ⬆️ Revenue, ⬇️ Cost, and/or ⬇️ Risk.

Your job isn’t to define the ROI, but rather to get your buyer to articulate what they need to see and for you to then explain how well you can meet those needs and expected outcomes.
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
1
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
As a buyer - I'd want to understand the math behind whatever I am investing and whatever I am promised to see in the future.
A lot of companies still paint this picture, so I wouldn't want them to assume negatives about my company. Give a realistic picture.
And not just this, give a picture of what they might be losing out as well, if they don't take to this tool.
AnchorPoint
Politicker
1
Business Coach
The higher up in the organization you sell, the more important it is.
FormerStartupJobHopper
Tycoon
1
AE
I agree. Most of my deals are between $6k-$10k and I find when I try to go too deep into this I get the Heisman "I see what you're trying to do, that won't work on us" or just general reluctance to collaborate with sales on calculating ROI. They want to do it themselves if at all.
Juancallclose
Catalyst
0
Director
ok those are way too small to even go that path. In my world, it's "we need a data warehouse, we don't need to go here."
Juancallclose
Catalyst
0
Director
Wow, just saw this post on LI from a Mallory Lee:
Return on investment... keyword: Investment

If you buy a tool without a fully formed strategy, you're not really making an investment. And technology vendors, as much as they try, can't dictate your strategy or understand everything about your business. This is why I think vendor-created ROI calculators are hilarious. The answer is always 7,000% because it puts everything in a vacuum.

The reality is that ROI comes from the combination of:

💡 Strategy
💡 Process
💡 Team
💡 Tool

If you buy a tool without a fully formed strategy, you're not really making an investment.

Think about it from the buyers' POV. We use a million tools. They can't ALL have 7,000x return. And sometimes stringing a few tools together into a process will get you the best outcomes. TRUE ROI is a very complex calculation.

So, vendors, make sure you're killing pain 💊
Once you get above "nice to have" (or vitamins) you'll find that the ROI calculator isn't really so necessary to prove your value.


good post imo

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