customer champions

Nele is één van de meest bijzondere én succesvolle ondernemers van Vlaanderen. Ze is medeoprichter van Upgrade Estate: een zeer florerend bedrijf met een unieke filosofie en bedrijfscultuur. Het bedrijf is doordrenkt van een filosofie van connectie, coaching en community. Iets dat je nergens anders ziet in de traditionele markt van vastgoed.

En dan Ilse. Zij leidt Smartphoto, één van de meest klantgerichte bedrijven van België. Smartphoto maakt gepersonaliseerde fotoproducten zoals fotoboeken, kaarten en cadeaus. Smartphoto heeft een zeer bewuste strategische keuze gemaakt: ze willen maar één ding: Happy Customers. En ALLE processen in het bedrijf zijn daarop ingericht.

Nele & Ilse zitten boordenvol voor inspirerende verhalen over wat er gebeurt als je de klant écht (maar dan ook echt) op de eerste plaats durft te zetten.

De hospitality-branche is de Champions League van het klantgericht werken. Dus laat je inspireren door de mindset en werkwijze van Soenil Bahadoer.

Soenil Bahadoer is chef-kok & eigenaar van ‘twee Michelinsterren restaurant De Lindehof’ in Nuenen. Hij is een expert pur sang als het gaat om gastvrijheid en klantgerichtheid. Soenil vindt overal inspiratie. Van muziek en films tot kunst en mode. Zonder moeite integreert hij deze inspiratie in zijn gerechten. 

Keno Helmi is a five-time CRO with a wealth of experience in the technology industry. He has held leadership positions at companies such as PTC, HP, Digby, Duetto, Platform 9, and Pegasus. Currently, he serves as the CRO at Espressive.

Keno discusses the importance of proof of value (POV) in the sales process. He explains that a POV is not just about validating the technology, but also about validating the business case. By setting clear success criteria and involving the economic buyer (EB) in the process, sales reps can increase the predictability of the outcome and improve their forecasting. Keno emphasizes the need for a champion to take the rep to the EB and highlights the importance of thorough qualification before engaging in a POV. He also shares best practices for running a successful POV, including defining objectives, setting clear success metrics, and involving the sales rep throughout the process. Keno concludes by discussing the importance of debriefing with the champion and presenting a comprehensive report or presentation to the EB after the POV.

HERE ARE SOME KEY SECTIONS TO CHECK OUT

[00:00:00] POC vs. POV: POC validates technology; POV validates both tech and business value.
[00:05:19] Meeting the Economic Buyer is critical for authority and budget.
[00:11:50] Don't do POCs too early; understand the customer's use case.
[00:14:11] Champions expedite sales by taking you to the Economic Buyer.
[00:18:17] POC should lead to a natural close, not put the customer in the market.
[00:25:11] The go, no-go meeting with the Economic Buyer is decisive.
[00:38:33] Share a comprehensive RFP or scoring template to guide the evaluation.
[00:41:45] Leverage serendipitous visits from stakeholders to build additional champions.
[00:43:29] Proactively bring in potential champions who may not be aware of the POV.
[00:46:13] Actively engage during the POV, troubleshoot discreetly, and showcase successes.
[00:48:16] Create a comprehensive report or presentation (Champion's Deck) summarizing technical and financial results.

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:10:28] "You want to do a P.O.V. to increase the predictability of the outcome, improve your forecasting, and potentially grow the business value of the deal."
[00:13:25] "That person has earned the right to be called a champion and not a prospective champion. You do not have the right to call that person a champion until that person takes you to the economic buyer."
[00:15:11] "You want to ensure that your test plan is going to be the scoring mechanism by which all vendors are evaluated."

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Connect with Keno: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keno-helmi-74779329/
More on Espressive: https://www.espressive.com/ 
Engineer Your Strongest SKO Yet: https://forc.mx/46BipZB 

Jeff Breunsbach is Director of Brand at Higher Logic, co-founder of the Gain Grow Retain community and co-host of the Gain Grow Retain podcast. Jeff stops by to discuss what scaled CS means (and doesn’t mean), sacrificing a meeting or action item in order to provide your customer some much-needed grace, and (I don’t know how we keep doing this) Jeff gives his take on yet another overused three-letter CS acronym. To top it off, we let Jeff tell us which customer from his past he would have liked to give the Office-Space-printer treatmeant (IYKYK).

Who is Jeff Breunsbach?

• LinkedIn
• Higher Logic
• Gain Grow Retain

Links:

• CS Player of the Week:
  • Daphne Costa Lopes
  • Greg Daines
• Referrals & Recommendations:
  • Chartr
  • The My First Million podcast

About this podcast:

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This podcast is written, produced, and edited by Dillon Young.  You can find him on LinkedIn.

Please direct all inquiries to dillon@lifetimevaluepodcast.com.

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