#036: Nemawashi, the president, and sales

Read time: 5 minutes

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NEGOTIATION SKILLS WORKSHOP

Our guest for this workshop is Saad A Saad. He's a negotiation trainer, consultant, and professor.

He's going through a live negotiation case that we have prepared. This will be interactive and full of insights.

You'll learn specific skills to navigate procurement and win deals at your desired price point.

Join us on May 14th at 12 ET.

What do a Japanese businessperson, the President of the United States, and a successful sales rep have in common?

The answer isn't as crazy as it might seem: they use a powerful technique known as Multithreading to achieve success.

What is Multithreading?

Multithreading isn’t just a tech term; in sales, it describes the strategy of engaging multiple contacts within an organization throughout the sales process. In today's environment, multiple people are involved in every decision. Knowing and influencing multiple points of contact becomes the way you win or lose deals. One point of contact isn’t enough anymore.

Ok back to the 3 people:

1. The President: Before elections, any presidential candidate goes around the country, engaging with voters from all walks of life. This engagement ensures that the candidate's message resonates with a broad audience, gathering as much support as possible.

2. The Japanese Businessperson: The concept is so vital in Japan that it has its own term: Nemawashi. This informal yet crucial process involves building consensus by speaking to all stakeholders involved in a project before making any formal decisions. This approach ensures all voices are heard and support is gained before moving forward.

3. The Successful Sales Rep: Today, as we keep saying, selling in biotech is hard. There are more stakeholders, and decision-makers, and less budget or access to it. One of the challenges now is that even for small orders there are several departments and multiple layers of seniority involved in the signing of all products and services.

   So to a successful sales rep uses Nemawashi or as we call it multithreading. Making sure stakeholders from across the company and seniority know the value of their offering, so when the internal meeting or discussion, to decide to move forward or not…all stakeholders are educated, aware, and hopefully on board

How to multi-thread

To effectively multithread, here are specific steps and questions you can use to engage various stakeholders and broaden your influence within an organization:

• Identify Key Stakeholders: Start by mapping out the decision-making hierarchy and identifying all potential stakeholders impacted by the decision.

• Initial Engagement: Begin discussions with your primary contact and ask strategic questions to extend your network. For example:

  • "Who else is impacted by this issue?"

  • "Can you introduce me to other departments that will be affected?"

  • "Who will ultimately make the decision on this, and can we involve them early in the process?"

• Broadening the Conversation: As you receive introductions, tailor your engagement to each stakeholder’s interests and concerns. Use questions like:

  • "What are your main concerns with our current solution?"

  • "What outcomes are most critical for your team?"

  • "How does this align with your personal objectives?"

• Follow-Up: Summarize key points, the decision criteria and outline next steps or any commitments made.

Here is a slide template to make follow-up easy.

Considerations for Multithreading:

What are the different stakeholders considering?

1. Scientific Validity: Is the equipment or service scientifically sound and does it meet our immediate or future goals?

2. Budget: Is the funding available and appropriately allocated?

3. Documentation: Are all necessary documents and legal agreements (MSA/MTA), in place?

4. Value and Priority: Does the solution align with organizational priorities and provide substantial value?

5. Risk Factors: How likey are they to hit their desired outcomes by using your solution and what are the biggest risks involved. Here is a guide on overcoming indecision.

Final Thoughts

Most deals are won or lost when you aren’t in the room. Your champion is ultimately the one that’s selling you behind closed doors. Don’t leave them empty-handed. By addressing each of these considerations and engaging all relevant functions within a department or lab, you position yourself to effectively manage objections and champion your product or service. Remember, there’s no one better to advocate for your offering than you. Don't leave it to chance or expect others to handle objections that you can preemptively address.

Whether you're running a country, steering a business in Japan, or tryinig to sell in biotech, multithreading is your way to help people make informed decisions.

Engage deeply, listen carefully, and lead decisively.

Apple Podcast | Spotify | YouTube

Episode 26: [Sales] Crafting a value proposition that differentiates your offering with Claudia Andretta

• Accidentally ending up in sales

• Identifying your unique selling points & competitive edge

• How to craft your value proposition

• Focus on your service addressable market vs total addressable market

Episode 27: [Q&A] Is biotech slower to adopt technologies vs other industries?

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