Holden Advisors Blog

The other day I received a call from the CEO of a technology company, and it was not to talk about his company. In this case, I was provided as a reference for a building contractor I had worked with several years ago. The caller’s name was Curt, and like many people building a home, Curt wanted to find a contractor who would do the job on time and not overcharge him. Sounds reasonable, right? Well, not always.

We have received many requests from companies wondering if it is a good idea to increase prices to offset declining sales during the pandemic. While the answer is generally no, it is important to recognize how buyers are changing their behavior and how the pandemic is causing disruption. So I thought it was wise to spend a few minutes reviewing the importance of understanding your distinct customer groups to bring clarity during economic chaos.

During our recent Virtual Backbone workshops, our participants have been sharing interesting insights about the psychological aspect of negotiating. We wanted to share some with you:

Recently, we launched our Virtual Backbone initiative to help improve sales teams' negotiating performance, all from the comfort and safety of their home office. The results are great, but we wanted to share a few additional insights based on participant feedback.   

This is a scary time for suppliers and their sales teams. Customers concerned with the impact of COVID-19 are canceling or postponing projects and curtailing spending. As a result, suppliers are losing revenue and seriously considering pay cuts and/or layoffs to help them through this difficult time.

Early in 2019, I was speaking with the Chief Transformation Officer from one of our clients. After we described how a commercial transformation progressed when supported by our Negotiating with Backbone framework, he asked, “Is there anything else I should know?” 

We’ve worked with many companies that are going through commercial transformations and, while I’m glad to see more and more companies adopting transformational efforts, the fact remains that many are doomed to fail.

2019 was an exciting year for Holden Advisors, filled with thought-provoking and timely content reflecting key takeaways from special events and outlining optimal strategies to address the most pressing commercial challenges. As we reflect on the past year, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued interest in our publications and spotlight the 5 articles you loved the most in 2019.

Each year, Holden Advisors hosts an Executive Customer Forum to discuss the most pressing topics facing commercial organizations. This year, I had the honor of facilitating a discussion on how to build organizational commitment as it relates to commercial transformation - the central theme for the meeting. Specifically, we discussed the mindset required for leaders to effectively propagate their visions across their organizations. The following is a recap of the presentation and, at the end, we discuss three key findings from the executive discussion.