Deflect or discredit your value proposition: The aim of the procurement is frequently to undermine or disconnect the value you have worked so hard to create from the business unit buyer. The purpose of the procurement is to debunk your value proposition so that consumers can evaluate prices between vendors. In order to compare the least common denominator price and obtain the “best” offer, procurement would like to concentrate on discrete components rather than the total agreement.
Build deeper connections with the business unit purchaser early on as a countermeasure. Create strong customer coaches and make a convincing argument for your solution in the marketplace. Within the business unit, get an early start and sell broadly and deeply.
Commoditize and control responses: Procurement wants to be in complete control of the sale in order to prevent surprises and do an apples-to-apples comparison with your rivals. You must first persuade the business unit buyer that your apples are not the same if you want to move past the comparison spreadsheet since this is the difficulty.
Utilize a value-based marketing strategy to present a complete solution that cannot be broken down into individual parts and commoditized. This counter-tactic quantifies the overall value of your product. Inform the business stakeholders and procurement about the unique features of your solution and reiterate your value proposition frequently.
Limit access to the business: As we previously discussed, procurement wants to have complete control over the sale, including who you can interact with. They don’t want to be caught off guard if a business unit leader makes a choice that compromises or overrides the procurement process. Purchasing abhors surprises.
Create a strong network within the company as a counter-tactic. Utilize internal and external resources to aid in your reconnaissance before Procurement issues gag order to the vendors. You must weigh the benefits and dangers of adhering to the guidelines if you are instructed that you cannot contact anyone outside of the RFP process. These guidelines may not be understood or accepted by the majority of business decision-makers. Consider your prospects of success in this sale very carefully if you are responding to an RFP and you don’t already have any business connections within the company. Blind RFP answers rarely result in outcomes that the responding party is happy with.
Use past performance/history against you: Procurement wants to have as many weapons as they can to use against vendors in an effort to lower prices and negotiate a contract for a commodity. They are instructed to look into each vendor’s background to see whether there is any information that “can and will be utilized against” the vendor.
Be proactive as a countermove. Prepare your responses to potential challenges and worries in advance. Think about making a proactive disclosure of damaging facts to take command of the conversation. Bring back the deal at hand and the overall value your solution is bringing to the company into the sales pitch.
Good Cop/Bad Cop and mystery decision maker(s): Late in the process, procurement can introduce more decision-makers or hurdles to clear in order to maintain leverage and authority on their side. This keeps the vendor on their toes, and suppliers are frequently pushed to renegotiate the agreement in the closing stages when time is of the essence.
Put a lot of effort into figuring out who will make the decisions and how throughout your discovery phase. Create a schedule for the decision-making process and request the customer’s input. This helps you become ready for what is ahead and highlights any additional measures that might need to be taken. Consider their position and interests if a “Bad Cop” is added late in the game, and refer to the agreements and choices that have previously been made with the “Good Cop.” So bear in mind that procurement wants us there. Procurement wants to keep all of the suppliers in the game for as long as possible to give them influence over the competitors.
