TennisandSales profile picture
TennisandSales profile picture

TennisandSales

Head Of Sales

Politicker
Acclaimed Answer
Executive
+9

“We need the full teams opinion”

when i was in ENT sales the fucking worst thing ever was when the committee or decision makers said they need all end users to give input on the system.....

this always takes for ever and never actually  works. 

i had an RFP with one of the largest health systems in the country and they told me they wanted to do a sandbox with over 100 ppl.....

I pushed back super hard and try to talk about how this was not going to  work. they didn't listen of course 

I've come to learn that if the leadership is pushing for this....it's not worth my teams effort.
what do y'all do when this situation happens?? 
😎 Sales Skills
👑 Sales Strategy
17

17 comments

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poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
7
☕️
“What is the sandbox going to accomplish that a well scoped demo will not?”

We used to get requests for sandboxes all the time. The product is easy to set up, so people would set it up and gain enough value in 7-14 days that they would try and pass that as full utility of the product.

We now run better specd demos that are tailored to the goals of the company rather than a generic environment. We even ask for data up front to mimic the real thing. Too early to say I’d close rates have increased, but I imagine they have.
RedLightning
Politicker
1
Mid-Market AE
I like that pushback. Have you tried a variation of that along the lines of "what exactly are you looking for in a sandbox, how would you measure success, etc." to basically get them to realize that it's a half baked idea with good intentions?
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
2
☕️
That is the second layer of defense. If they can create and agree to outcome metrics then we discuss a paid POC
detectivegibbles
Politicker
5
Sales Director
As much fun as it is winning big deals...the headache created by customers like this down the road isn't worth it most of the time.

This would be a reddish flag if they're unwilling to compromise and likely a customer we'd turn away.

While a customer is interviewing you as a vendor, you're interviewing them as well.
Maximas
Tycoon
1
Senior Sales Executive
Exactly, that what I was about to say!
ASalesCoach
4
National Director of Sales
Decision by committee. in the past when I used to do tons of demos, the sandbox request was big. I always pushed against it stating that giving a group of users a tool that is not configured for them and asking them to evaluate will lead only to failure. Purposeful demos that share the 'Art of the possible' for a specific customer is better way to go. Show them enough that they can envision it working for them and tell the right story.

too many people in the mix creates a power imbalance between those that can say Yes and all those that can through FUD at your product or solution. Working with leadership to stay focused on the "Why' they are going to purchase said solution is key.

To appease the situation, you can suggest that your team talks with a number of the users to gather insight into their needs, struggles, frustrations, and wants, which can all be addressed in the demo.
HVACexpert
Politicker
3
sales engineer
Yeah that’s a big hurdle/ask and a large amount of time and dollars spent basically for a free company wide demo. Don’t blame you on pushing back.

Is there a way you can release to a small department in the company as a purchase? Maybe they will be more receptive to a small paid trial, that way if they don’t like it there isn’t much loss, and for you, you don’t lose your ass on the job. And I’m sure it might be easier for you as well to work out the kinks and better implement company wide afterwards.

Just a thought, good luck.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
3
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
They're trying to establish user adoption before they've ever purchased and/or tooled the solution for their specific requirements. And that's a huge black hole for many reasons.

Any sandbox that doesn't have stated goals and a very tight time frame for the trial will be an exercise in futility. If the goal is "we just want to get our hands on it" the response should be "what do you hope to gain with a sandbox/trial? Let's talk about the goals for the two weeks" and then make sure they're doing it. There need to also be tangible steps after: is this the last step before commercials, etc?

We also do very much what pbc does - our demos are tailored to the company and their vertical and we'll get as much of their use cases we can during discovery and often during a first, more high-level, demo. Then we'll put together a specific deep dive that will tie off those important use cases. By the time they have gotten to the trial, they have specific ideas in mind and want to validate a few things, which we help with during the trial period. In fact, the best trials I've run is where we've taken something we built out for their deep dive and let them try it in their sandbox.

At any rate, avoid a free for all.
SoccerandSales
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
I have gotten this a ton and have been leaning on my VP for advice. The question "what are you hoping to accomplish by having this call" usually helps you to better understand their mentality and suggest alternatives that are actually in both parties best interest
Pachacuti
Politicker
1
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
I have set up sandboxes for people with varied results. Its tough. What if the alternative is a big RFP process were they make you and 2-3 other vendors provide them sandbox environments for 30-90days? That becomes a much higher risk scenario.

I like what @poweredbycaffeinesaid about a well scoped demo. Get a couple of their people involved in providing specs, etc.

100 people? That's basically a full deployment. I would push back by pointing that out and saying you have to charge for it. And I would ask if they have done the exact same thing with other vendors and I would ask for references from those other vendors (to help in setting up the sandbox parameters).
buckeyenation
Acclaimed Answer
1
AE
Without giving up too much - tennis and sales what do you sell?
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
hahah thats hard to do!
tomke
Big Shot
1
Strategic Account Manager
If you don't think it's worth the effort walk away and remember, there are two winners of every RFP. The guy who wins and the guy who learned he is not going to win and gets out first!
Red5
Praised Answer
1
Head of sales
The CIA wrote a manual in 1944 regarding how to sabotage organizations from the inside. That move is right out of the textbook:

“When possible, refer all matters to committees, for "further study and consideration." Attempt to make the committee as large as possible — never less than five.”

https://www.openculture.com/2022/01/read-the-cias-simple-sabotage-field-manual.html#google_vignette

But if you pursue then I’d get an agreement on a set timeline, expectations from each contributor, and reasonable successful exit criteria.
thetopperformer
Executive
0
Enterprise Account Executive
Also used in many countries under the guise of "color revolutions" including Ukraine. The CIA is great at overthrowing governments, that's for sure...
SalesinSeattle
Valued Contributor
0
Account Executive
My experience is that a proof of concept for five or so people can be valuable. Ten...maybe.

Anything beyond that is just going to generate noise and confusion.

You cannot get accurate and actionable feedback from a group that large, so I'd refuse. I will tell the client that's best practice for the poc, and if they want to demo you a hundred folks and ask feedback I'm here for that.
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
I KNEW the government was to blame for this!!!

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