Written by Initially, it may seem clear that an IT department is the ideal client for an enterprise software product. It seems obvious, right? Software and IT departments go hand-in-hand. But you need to stop only selling software to the IT department.
You’ve worked hard to craft a value proposition and are clear on every benefit that your software product brings to the table. You may have worked with a Business Value Consultant (BVC) to help identify these benefits and craft your sales messaging. And those benefits (and that value) affect far more people than just the IT department.
No matter what type of software you’ve developed, you’ll find success in selling to more than IT. Let’s look at a few benefits of selling across departments (and not only to IT):
- You’re selling to a person, not a department (and this is a good thing!)
- The key stakeholders are across departments, and you need to understand how the final decisions are made
- A trusted advisor can sell across departments
- Selling to multiple departments can help with product development and future sales
You aren’t selling to a department. You are selling to a person.
Think about what that specific individual would get from your software being implemented company-wide. Regardless of their department, people are making implementation decisions. How would they benefit?
Would they lose fewer prospects?
Would they tighten their budget and be able to show a financial win to their superiors?
Will projects become more streamlined, allowing them a higher level of predictability?
Would they streamline the onboarding process, saving themselves time and retaining employees at a higher rate?
And not only what would affect them within the office. Think about:
Will they get a promotion?
Will they have to work less?
Will they be able to work from home more to spend time with their family?
Consider what the PERSON would gain from implementation, not only the department or the company as a whole.
Identify the key stakeholders in each department, and then develop a strategy that can be executed within your sales process.
To find out who these people are, ask questions like:
- Who has the budget to solve this problem?
- Who makes decisions about how technology should be used?
- What departments are most affected by certain challenges or target markets?
- Are they aware of the software solution or do they need education?
- What problems does my software solve?
Ask as many specific questions as possible to identify all potential prospects. Once you do so, develop different messaging with which to speak directly to those groups.
Remember: you can communicate the same message in different ways so that the people you are speaking with can clearly apply it to their needs.
Understand the paper process.
Is the decision-making structure a board that needs to be presented to? Is there a single decision-maker? Are there multiple people within the company whose opinions are strongly regarded?
Who signs the final paperwork? What happens after that? And after that? Be clear on the entire process so you aren’t missing an area where you need to focus.
By understanding the process within the company, you can know which other departments or individuals to target as an opportunity. It might include IT, but it likely includes at least one other department (maybe more!).
Stop spending all of your time selling to IT, and then discovering a software implementation needs to be presented to the board or a group of decision-makers.
Isn’t it a better idea to spread your sales efforts to each of those decision-makers? You will be able to adjust your messaging appropriately, and control the narrative (instead of them hearing about your software for the first time in the frame of the IT department’s needs).
Selling to multiple departments will expand your network and improve your software.
Enterprise sales are built on relationships and the quality of your network. Expand your network and LEARN from these other departments.
Find out more about the problems they need solved. Understand what benefits they truly value (partnered with a Business Value Consultant, you could be unstoppable with this knowledge).
All of this information will not only inform and educate your sales and marketing teams, but can also help with product improvement and future updates.
The more you can understand the people who will be using your product, the better. The departments that use your software might not all be IT and it’s important to reach out to them when selling an enterprise-level solution. Understanding how they think is essential for developing a strategy that drives sales across different stakeholders within the company. If you want help understanding which department or individual make decisions on technology purchases, consider enlisting the help of a Business Value Consultant.