When they say talk to procurement
When a buyer sends you to procurement, it can mean a real process or a polite exit. Here's how to tell the difference and the reply to send.
3 min read
Blog
The Stage 1 blog Page 15
How services firms find accounts getting ready to buy, get in through people they know, and open conversations worth having. Written by Kevin French.
Follow-ups that add something
A follow-up should give the buyer something new, a fact, a sharper guess or a new angle. Bumping the thread just reminds them they didn't reply.
3 min readSelling to a chief data officer
Chief data officers own data quality, governance and AI readiness, and answer for value they can't always prove. Here's how to sell services to them.
3 min readExpansion pipeline from existing clients
Your best new pipeline sits inside accounts you already serve. Here's how to watch current clients for signals and pitch the next engagement early.
3 min readThe weekly pipeline meeting for small firms
A small services firm needs a thirty-minute weekly pipeline meeting built around accounts and next moves, not a forecast ritual. Here's how to run it.
3 min readBoard changes that move services budgets
A new director, a new committee or an activist seat can reset what a company spends on outside help. Here's how to read board changes as signals.
3 min readOne idea per message
A first message to a senior buyer should carry one idea. Two ideas split attention and the buyer answers neither. Here's how to pick the one.
3 min readSelling to utilities
How to sell services to utilities. Who buys, the regulatory and grid pressures they face, the signals that matter most and an example opener.
3 min readWhen they say we do this in-house
An in-house reply is rarely a final no. What the reply usually means, the response that keeps the conversation going, and the mistakes that end it.
3 min readWhy a new CTO rewrites the vendor list
A new CTO reviews every vendor early and usually changes some. Why that happens, how to read the moment, and how to get there before the list is set.
3 min readRe-engaging closed-lost accounts
A closed-lost account knows you, and that's an asset. How to tell when one is worth reopening and how to come back with something new.
3 min readSelling to logistics companies
How to sell services to logistics companies. Who buys, the margin and systems pressure they face, the signals worth watching and an example opener.
3 min readAsking a partner firm for an intro
Software vendors and other services firms can open doors at accounts you want. How to ask a partner for an intro so they say yes and come back for more.
3 min readWhen a job post names the platform you replace
A job post or 10-K that names the platform you migrate clients off isn't budget. It tells you who owns the platform and which work goes outside.
4 min readLead with a hypothesis, not a pitch
Why a specific guess about the buyer's problem beats a list of your capabilities, and how to build a four-part Hypothesis Opening.
4 min readSubject lines for senior buyers
Senior buyers decide whether to open an email from the subject line alone. Write it like a colleague would, short, plain and about their world.
3 min readThe difference between a backfill and a new program
A backfill replaces someone who left. A new program builds something new. How to tell them apart in job posts and why it changes your outreach.
3 min readSelling to a COO
How to sell services to a COO. What they own, what they're measured on, what they ignore, the signals that matter and an opener that gets read.
3 min read