In some Business to Business (B2B)sales-led go-to-market selling situations, the prospect may ask to conduct a pilot project before they agree to buy the solution you are offering. In nearly all cases, the request to conduct a pilot project is related to some kind of trust issue. However, there are ways that a business can respond to a request for a pilot project to earn that trust and make the sale.
It is easy to assume that the prospect’s request for a pilot project is a trust issue based on the prospect’s poor experience with other salespeople who over-promised and under-delivered. However, this may not be the case. Several other reasons why the prospect may be struggling with trust issues may involve circumstances within their own company and may be related to their users not appreciating all that you are providing and, therefore, failing to use it at a level that would justify the cost. They may also not believe that all stakeholders value the solution and that a pilot project is what they need to demonstrate the value of your solution to get buyin.
Discover the Reason Behind the Pilot Project Request
Before you ever consider offering a pilot project to any prospect, you need to discover the real reason they want to conduct a pilot project before committing to making a purchase. Don’t guess. Ask the prospect.
A common fear of many managers is related to personal risk. Most managers earn pretty good money and have assumed a particular lifestyle. They may own a big house, drive nice cars, and have successful friends. The last thing they want is to get fired and lose their lifestyle or admit they made a mistake. Even if your solution has a very high likelihood of success, many managers will dwell on the “But what if it is not a success.†They fear that a failed project on their record may tarnish their career and potentially even result in their firing because they made a poor decision that cost the company money. Their logic is nobody will know about a missed opportunity, but everyone will know about a bad decision, so they may be hesitant to pull the trigger.
Too many salespeople let the prospect drive the sales process and agree to everything the prospect requests. No sales law requires you to agree to offer a pilot project should your prospect ask for it. You should only agree to a pilot project if doing so will advance the sale’s potential without any additional concessions.
Pilot Project Duration
Every pilot project has a duration. Often a prospect will ask for a 30-day pilot. You should never accept their timeframe out of hand. You should ask what is behind the requested duration and why that duration is important to them. Never assume you know the answer. Before you agree, you need to understand three things about the pilot program:
What will they measure?
What data will they collect?Â
How will they evaluate the solution?
After you understand what they hope to gain from the pilot program, you should convey that because you are more familiar with your solution, you should be the one to define the duration of the pilot. Their recommendation is likely an arbitrary duration which may be too long or too short. Don’t accept their duration unless it represents the optimal length of time to achieve their evaluation objectives.
Pilot Program Cost
The prospect will often request that the pilot period be free. You do not have to offer it for free. Too many salespeople simply accept that it must be free because it is a pilot project. Just because the prospect assumed it would be free does not mean you should offer it for free.
There may be times that you will want to offer a free pilot to demonstrate proof of concept. However, prospects should not demand that the pilot be free. Whether or not to provide a free pilot is a decision you get to make, not them. Offering a pilot project is not free to your company. There will be costs associated with delivering a pilot project, and the prospect should also have some skin in the game. A common retort to a request for a free pilot period is to assign a price to the pilot and offer a 100% refund if the pilot project turns out to be a failure.
The Soft/Non-Commitment
A soft or non-commitment to complete the sales transaction at the end of the pilot period should be unacceptable, especially if you offer a free pilot. If the prospect says “If the pilot goes as planned, then we’ll talk about plans for moving forward,†you should think again. Agreeing simply to TALK about plans to move forward is not a commitment. If you agree to a soft or non-commitment at the end of the pilot period, rest assured that there will be other hurdles that the prospect will have you jump over to make the sale happen.
If you concede to offer the pilot project for free, you should NEVER accept a soft/non-commitment. If you agree to a free pilot, they MUST agree to move forward and not just talk about plans to move forward. That is why it is so vital that you understand how the prospect will evaluate the pilot’s success before you agree to a pilot project. Remember that if their expectation for a successful pilot is unrealistic, you need to reset these expectations, or the pilot will fail, and you will never get the sale.
12 Steps to Achieve a Successful Pilot Project
Lee B. Salz, in his book, Sell Different! included a 12-step process to achieve a successful pilot project.
Determine if the pilot project is exclusive to your business or being used to compare your solution with another competitor.
What is the purpose and intent of the pilot project? What does the prospect want to accomplish with the pilot? What do they intend to assess? The goals of the pilot project need to be clear to you.
Identify the metrics for success and how the data will be captured. Success criteria should not be based on opinion but on quantifiable objective metrics.
Set the appropriate length of the pilot program. Don’t let the prospect dictate the duration of the pilot project. Remember, you know the solution and will have a much better idea of the time it takes to evaluate it.
Structure the pilot project parameters in a way that allows your business to shine, such as defining the elements that contribute to the success criteria and selecting the right stakeholders to do the evaluation.
Use the onboarding process you developed to facilitate the pilot program, ensuring that the implementation is flawless and makes a great first impression.
Make sure that the users are adequately trained to use your solution. Frustrated users will become deal killers.
Before you begin the pilot program, agree to a mid-point and post-trial period meeting with all stakeholders to review the pilot project’s performance.
Before the pilot begins, agree to the specific next steps that the prospect will take at the end of the pilot project. Assuming the pilot’s success, what will the prospect agree to as the next step? It should not be to talk about plans to move forward but agreeing to sign a contract and move forward. This is especially true if you absorb the costs associated with implementing the pilot or accept price concessions.
During the program, use your champion/sponsor at the prospect’s firm to get as much informal feedback as possible that you might not otherwise have obtained.
Prepare your company for the pilot project. Make sure everyone at your company is aware of the pilot project, what success will look like in the eyes of the prospect, and the length of the pilot program.
As the point person, you need to own the pilot project’s success and make sure the prospect is delighted throughout the entire process.
Also, the pilot program is an opportunity to learn. Once the project is complete, conduct a debriefing with everyone that was involved in the pilot project so you can document and identify ways to improve any future pilots.
It is also recommended that you track your conversion rates for all deals that include a pilot project, to validate their use in the future.
Remember, the only reason to accept a pilot program is to advance the deal at the price you want.
How can you use a pilot project to overcome trust issues and give the prospect the confidence to move forward with your offer?
