Ep. 21: Special Edition Buyer & Seller Ep 7-figure deal at IBM with Ewing Gillaspy and Tito Bohrt
Jan 8, 2024
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Experienced buyer Ewing Gillaspy and AltiSales CEO Tito Bohrt discuss their 7-figure deal at IBM. They cover topics such as vendor competition, reducing risk in business deals, demonstrating product value, key moments in the buying process, and lessons on customer satisfaction and competition in business.
Reducing risk in enterprise sales involves creating vendor competition and demonstrating unique value.
Collaboration with external vendors and stress testing can lead to increased pipeline and revenue.
Deep dives
Reducing Risk and Gamifying the Sales Process
In this podcast episode, Ewing Gillespie and Tito Board discuss their experience in a deal at IBM. Ewing discusses the importance of reducing risk in enterprise sales, highlighting the need for vendors to compete and demonstrate their value. He shares how he set up a competition between Tito and another vendor, using a scoring mechanism based on the quality of attendees at lunch and learns. Tito shares how he initially declined due to the limited budget, but changed his mind to show his capabilities. The lunches went well, with Tito outperforming the other vendor in terms of attendees and their scores. After facing some obstacles, the deal eventually closed when the executive decision was made to allocate budget. Ewing emphasizes the value in gamifying the sales process and reducing procurement barriers for vendors.
Understanding the Buyer's Perspective and Moments of Decision
The podcast further delves into the buyer's perspective and moments of decision. Tito shares his perspective on these key moments in the buyer's journey, including the realization of a problem and the decision to allocate budget. His aim was to ensure that both of these moments had occurred in the buyer's organization. Tito mentions the importance of demonstrating value and differentiating oneself from other vendors. Ewing also highlights the significance of recognizing the two key moments and understanding the mindset of buyers during those stages. Both Ewing and Tito emphasize the importance of building trust and providing unique value during the buyer's journey.
The Value of External Testing and Collaboration
Ewing and Tito discuss the value of external testing and collaboration with vendors. They propose the idea of stress testing or competing different vendors to determine the most effective solution. Ewing suggests that organizations should not shy away from involving external vendors and consider working collaboratively to achieve better results. He shares the success of incorporating external vendors and how it led to increased pipeline and revenue. Tito adds that agreements with vendors should be made easy, allowing them to demonstrate their value and skillsets. Both speakers emphasize the benefits of incorporating external perspectives and methodologies into internal sales processes.
Lessons Learned and Closing Remarks
The podcast wraps up with Ewing reflecting on the lessons learned from this deal and his overall experience in enterprise sales. He mentions the importance of treating suppliers like partners and valuing collaboration. Ewing encourages organizations to constantly improve and learn from external vendors, rather than assuming internal capabilities are always superior. The podcast concludes with gratitude towards Tito for his valuable contributions and highlights the importance of customer satisfaction and understanding one's value in the sales process.
Want to hear a $7-figure deal story where the seller NEVER met anyone at VP or higher?
Ever wonder what happens with your slides that you prepare for the champion?
Want to learn how to buy something you’ve never bought before and de-risk the vendor race?
If so, this is a can’t miss episode about a buyer and seller that did multiple $7-figure enterprise deal to generate 8-FIGURES-WORTH-OF-REVENUE together!
This episode features the deal story for an enterprise-level transaction between AltiSales and IBM including both buyer and seller viewpoints. The episode introduces Ewing Gillapsy, a consultant and an experienced buyer with a background in software procurement and IBM, and Tito Bohrt, CEO of AltiSales.
Thank you to OrgChartHub for Sponsoring this episode. OrgChartHub helps HubSpot customers get big deals done since 2018. Learn more at OrgChartHub.com/podcast
