Checkmate: Product matters but Process Counts!

When I was a young boy, I was schooled in a progressive program where kids could do whatever they so desired (within reason-of course). I became enamored with playing chess instead of working on my math tables. By third grade, I was a pretty darn good chess player.

Fast forward to my adult life and I see many similarities between a chess board and moving a software deal from “deal origination” to “deal execution.” Often, this seems to be quite a painful process for everyone involved; from the sales reps, to the managers and upward to the C-suite.

Why is it so difficult? Well, one consistent reason is that sales people, and their support team, don’t start off talking to people who can actually make a purchasing decision. I know it’s hard to get to the “king” right out of the gate (chess analogy), but it’s really important that a clear set of steps is plotted from the onset. You need to visualize what pieces on the board you will move to gain a clear path to the king and then put them in a position so that the only move for the other player is to do business with you (Checkmate!)

The focus should be on "situational management."   This is a process, much like a chess game, where the sales person assesses the right move, which will be different depending on the situation.  In chess, a player has to decide whether to move a pawn, rook, bishop or queen.  There is a consequence to each move and the result of each move is either a benefit or downside.   In software sales, It goes without saying that many qualified deals sit in the dark for a while, often because the right moves have not been established from the beginning.

I restructured a revenue strategy for a company that had over ten deals sitting on the table, like pawns on a chess board with no alternative moves. My take-away was many of these deals sat on the board because the sales reps were raconteurs, schmoozing product knowledge with their worker-B level customer friends, but no steps planned to get to their friend's almighty king.

Process Counts! This is how you get to the king. You overcome inevitable obstacles, such as getting around the worker B team (the customer’s bishops, knights, rooks and queen-chess again) with a pair of your own set of fire power soldiers. Every move counts and needs to be plotted from origination to ensure deal execution, (Checkmate!)