“win / win”. This is a term which is often used, but is not always seen in reality when it comes to Enterprise Software deals. In an outsource sales role, I find that you can have a unique perspective. Absolutely, the priority and commitment is with my client (software vendor), however I feel that it is my job to find a way to bring together my client and the end buyer, finding a solution and commercial model which truly brings a win / win for both parties.

Let me look at a deal I was personally involved with in the past few years.

Bank A, requirements included Treasury and ALM, they needed to move fast and wanted an out of the box implementation as well as a vendor who they could trust and work with for the long term. My customer offered exactly this, a perfect fit and with a major advocate in the Bank we were in a great position.

What we did to make this a win on both sides however, was not oversell, we positioned functionality out of the box and were transparent about what we couldn’t deliver day 1.  We priced it sensibly; we didn’t get greedy or price in for negotiation. We said this is the price and its fair and it was. We estimated a timeline which whilst aggressive was realistic.

Outcome? The Bank got what they needed at a sensible price with no surprises in the functionality provided or the timeline for delivery. The vendor got a great new client who will help drive the product forward and advocate in the market. That’s a Win / Win.