BUSINESS STRATEGY
Once you have built up a relationship with a client , just bring it up – there ’ s no secret ‘ way in ’. Tell them you offer the possibility for multi-year deals and explain why they should consider it .
The multi-year deal switch , step 2 – hammer home the benefits of a multi-year deal
Sascha Ploebst , VP of Sales , Storyblok
In many cases , the buyer and procurement team won ’ t be used to multi-year deals . So you have to explain why it could work for them . One of the biggest benefits when we offer multi-year deals is price stability . You are locking in today ’ s price for the next three or even five years . Every other company they are dealing with will be adapting their pricing every year – and it ’ s going to go up . A multi-year customer isn ’ t affected by those price changes , which gives them valuable stability . This is especially important in times of recession , as many countries are in right now .
Your offer saves clients time and money
BUILDING TRUST WITH CLIENTS EARLY ON IN THE SALES PROCESS IS SUPER IMPORTANT . BUT YOU ALSO NEED TO BELIEVE IN YOUR PRODUCT .
A multi-year deal helps your buyer to plan costs and can also help them to save time , too . That ’ s because every buying decision at a large company takes time . If your product is coming up for renewal , you have to go through procurement again – but not if you ’ re signed up for a number of years . If your solution is important to your client ’ s core infrastructure – as ours is – it makes it easier for someone to sign off a multi-year deal . They don ’ t want to change suppliers every year , so if your solution is the right one , there should be less resistance to signing up for a longer term .
The multi-year deal switch , step 3 – anticipate the doomsayers
But if it is , and you believe in it , one way to get a longer deal over the line is to offer an exit clause . Depending on the company and the deal size , we occasionally offer these , offering a client a way out after eight months , say . We can only do that because we believe in our product and are absolutely confident that the client is too .
Get-out clauses are easier to swallow if you believe in your product
The biggest barrier is insecurity from the other side . The client might be asking themselves , “ Can this system really fulfil all of our requirements ?” They might only feel 70 % sure it ’ s right for them – and they ’ re worried about going through implementation and finding that your solution is not what they needed . This all comes back to openness and honesty . If your product isn ’ t right for them , you should back away from the sale .
If we identify that we ’ re not delivering on what we said we would after the designated period , the client has the possibility to hit the brakes . This shows the client that we have full trust in our product and that we are also respecting our relationship with them . It also shows we don ’ t just want to lock clients in at any cost – we want to build a relationship . Another option you have is discounting . You always want to win a deal because of your product , but equally , you can ’ t live
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