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Political Alignment"How To Align Yourself With The Right People To Close More Deals"Every sales opportunity has a political aspect to it. And using political alignment, you can gain a competitive advantage with the key stakeholders and sponsors. The political components of the sales process are often not comfortable. Many sales are not lost because you don't have the best solution or the best price or the best terms and conditions. Instead, you lose because you did not understand the political nature of the organization and individuals as they related to the opportunity. Put another way, the most powerful stakeholders in the opportunity didn't want you to win. Politics is being played whenever two or more people are trying to make their influence known in a business situation. You need to be aware of the factors that influence the political decision making process if you are going to control the winning of any opportunity, . This is not to suggest you engage in the politics within your account, but you should be aware that the game is being played and try to understand how it will impact your sales campaign. Organization Chart Vs Political Structure An organization chart is usually readily available, and maps out how work flows through an organization. However, an organization chart does not necessarily map out how the power is distributed and flows through an organization. The organizational chart represents the printed structure of the organization, but understanding the political structure will give you an understanding of how influence, respect, and power is distributed throughout the organization. The political structure is subtle, and no organization has a political map to its organization. It is up to you to create one for your sales opportunity. Each opportunity will have a different cast of stakeholders, wielding different levels of political influence depending on the specific solution your prospect is seeking. Your job in each sales opportunity is to uncover the nature of the political influences that will impact the decision process, and use that knowledge to your competitive advantage. Benefits of Political Alignment Understanding the political landscape as it relates to the sale of your solution, helps shorten your sales cycle by focusing your efforts on the right people at the right time. You find yourself discussing the issues they are most interested in. It also helps you avoid surprises during the sales campaign. With an understanding of the political alignment, you get accurate information from the individuals with power and don't waste your time with individuals who have no impact on your success or lack sufficient knowledge to valuable knowledge. Political alignment with the individuals who have political clout within your customer's organization also helps you build your relationship with the account and expand your presence into the account. Considerations of Political Alignment There are many things you need to know to learn who has the political power in any opportunity. Listed below are some of the things you may want to consider, regarding the individuals who are associated with an opportunity. These considerations will help you understand a person's impact on your opportunity.
Alignment with the Key Political Individuals Evaluation and analysis of the political structure for your prospect or customer's organization needs to be ongoing during the sales campaign. Once you have identified the key political structure, put together your strategy for dealing with those politically influential individuals (this is political alignment). The strategy should revolve around:
Building a Relationship Strategy All individuals are motivated by the reduction of pain, or activities that bring them pleasure and value. As you build a relationship strategy consistent with the political alignment, consider the removal of painful roadblocks and the delivery of value to them on both a personal and business level. Determine how individuals are measured, motivated, and rewarded within their organization. If your solution can be shown to align with the desired accomplishment of their business objectives, it will add value and enhance your relationship. An individual's personal agenda is more related to their motivations and purpose in life. Try to gain an understanding of what motivates an individual personally and support them in those directions. Personal agendas involve things such as:
Put together a specific relationship plan for key individuals you have identified as part of your overall political alignment. That plan should take into consideration linking individuals with like-minded personnel from your company, with the same functional role and similar personalities. Building the relationship can involve one-to-one, one to a few, and one to many activities. Build your relationships on purpose. This increases your political alignment. Do not leave these relationships to chance. Conclusion Political alignment involves understanding the business and personal attributes that motivate those individuals who can help you in your sales opportunity. It helps you create a solution that addresses each person's needs. Capture the information about the individuals that are part of the political decision making structure. This will help you win. Make an action item in your Opportunity Plan to find out what you need to know. Once you have this knowledge, pay special attention to aligning with the individuals that have the most power and influence. Design your strategy, objectives, and activities to support the business and personal agendas of each of these individuals. Understand that some people, no matter what you do, will not support you. Decide carefully how you want to engage with, and deal with these individuals. Related Articles | ||
