Keith Eades in Solution Selling defines what he calls "latent opportunities"as problems waiting to be solved that do not have known solutions. This is different from "active opportunities" where management is looking for ideas to fix known problems.
The book Selling is Dead introduces a different way to think about latent opportunities. The author believes that most sales organizations are not equipped to engage buyers who are satisfied but with the right help will adopt often disruptive new solutions.
It is critical, from their perspective, to build a business case showing the value change will deliver. Until that happens, even solutions that remove pain will not be adopted. Once this step is completed, risk mitigation strategies are needed. That is based on a full understanding of the potential for fear to derail the sales process.
I sold a large complex marketing solution to a major technology company. A manager was curious about my company and thought we could handle overflow work for an overburdened department. Because my questions were focused on larger organizational opportunities, she realized we could help enable a mission critical strategic growth initiative at the CEO level.
Before working for this company, I reported to a CEO whose perspective was limited to finding known opportunities. He wanted me to "get us on the RFP list" and stop wasting time talking to people who were not ready to buy from us. After selling a major product launch marketing solution to a corporation that was not looking for a vendor he changed his mind.
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