PwC's New Approach to Sales Effectiveness

14 December 2004—Professional services firms traditionally hire experts to deliver services and pay little attention to selling skills. Yet the importance of selling new business has grown enormously in recent years amid regulatory pressures and changing client behavior. For PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the tax and audit giant that has long relied on word of mouth and informal relationships to generate business, the recent changes have inspired a major investment in formal sales methodology, processes, and procedures to dramatically improve sales effectiveness.

PwC’s sales initiative is focused on providing a structured framework for team selling, thereby helping individuals to think more broadly about the firm's commercial objectives while they are working on a specific opportunity. The new sales methodology, which was piloted in the U.K. and then adopted globally, includes three essential elements:

• Defining the strategy
• Structuring the sales team
• Creating the tactics for progressing an opportunity.

A focused strategy gives direction to teams involved in identifying and qualifying sales opportunities. It also provides a foundation upon which to develop appropriate sales tactics. PwC’s strategy definition stage comprises these phases:

• Stop/go decision. A prerequisite of business development, this phase requires people to clarify their objectives. A decision to pursue an opportunity must reflect the firm’s strategic priorities by weighing the risks, attractiveness, and potential returns. Whether the motive is to win a specific piece of work or broaden relationships to create opportunities for other work, the objectives need to be explicit and measurable.
• Investment (pricing) decision. Professionals must think in broader terms about what they are trying to achieve commercially for the firm in the long term. This involves assessing the overall investment position, considering both revenue and costs, before pursuing an opportunity.
• Delivering the best. Ultimately, professionals must create the highest-quality sales process possible. Integral to this goal is clarifying the prospect’s needs and expectations from the start and gaining regular feedback throughout the process. PwC introduced an independent performance checking and challenging mechanism to assist this process.

Focusing on creating the right teams to progress sales opportunities has led to a new sales structure. First, the firm created two entirely new roles: a driver responsible for managing the process and a team chairman (senior partner) to help establish commitment internally and to the client. Giving PwC leadership a larger and more formal role in large business development opportunities was a radical step for the firm, but it has achieved senior-level buy-in and clarity and more appropriate involvement.

Second, selection of team members for individual sales pursuits is based on what the prospect’s ideal team might look like, with special attention to industry knowledge, specialist and technical skills, and softer issues such as personality types.

Finally, the firm has highlighted those types of behaviors proven to be most successful in a professional services sales situation: creativity, listening, empathy, courage, discipline, energy, enthusiasm, hunger, integrity, teamwork, understanding, and vision. PwC has refined its professional development agenda to emphasize precisely the behaviors that convince clients that you understand them, you want their business, and you will deliver what you promise.

According to PwC, the most important sales tactics will establish "who are we selling to; what are we selling them; and why is it better than the competition." These tactics include:

• Building strong relationships. The methodology includes disciplined techniques to help professionals analyze and engage key buyers and influencers. The focus is on creating a sales approach that is intellectual and personalized to the buyer.

• Developing compelling, tailored, value propositions . The sales team must emphasize innovative solutions based on a detailed understanding of the business, the key decision makers and their needs, and a clear view of the competition. Developed early in the process, propositions can then be refined and proved throughout.

• Beating the competition . Competitor intelligence is obviously vital, but it is useful only when acted upon. PwC professionals now work to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each of their competitors and then adapt their tactics accordingly to counteract any competitor advantage and to highlight their own team’s strengths.

The development of this simple methodology for team selling has proved powerful in building the confidence, behavior, and skills of PwC's professionals. The methodology is now strongly embedded within the firm’s culture globally. Most important, its principles can be applied not only to winning business in the short term but also to developing sustainable longer-term relationships so critical to professional services.

Philip Drew is Marketing & Business Development Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP; this article is adapted from a presentation to ITSMA’s 2004 Annual European Forum.

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About ITSMA
ITSMA specializes in helping companies market and sell services and solutions more effectively. As a membership organization, we provide research, consulting, and training to the world's leading technology, communications, and professional services providers to generate increased demand, strengthen customer relationships, and improve brand differentiation. ITSMA is based near Boston, and has offices in London and Tokyo. Learn more at www.itsma.com.