About This Episode

Let’s talk about big companies.

Specifically, about selling to big companies. What do you need to know to sell to the enterprise, and why do so many companies end up with enterprise deals that completely fall apart? 

What is so unique about enterprise sales that causes so many headaches?

So that’s why on this episode of the Sales Engagement podcast, we’re sitting down with Eric Martin, the Sales Manager at Vanta for a conversation all about selling to the enterprise, why so many smaller companies struggle with it, and how you can set yourself up for success the next time you find yourself in that situation. 

Why are Enterprise Deals Falling Down? 

Let’s face it. 

A lot of enterprise deals start out with the best of intentions, but end up falling completely apart.

Why is that? 

First, for so many of the smaller companies or early stage startups, they’ve simply not sold to an enterprise before. They don’t have the experience. 

They may not even have sales folks on their team, or anybody with sales experience, so they don’t have anybody on their team that even knows how to navigate the landscape, or knows what to expect from enterprise sales. 

For the bigger outfits, they may not have a standardized process in place.

Whether it’s a process or a playbook, there should always be a standardized process in order to get deals done effectively and efficiently. 

Advocating for Change

Maybe you’re an enterprise seller or leader without the clout or the ability to pull the strings and get a soc 2 feature, or whatever it may be that’s holding up the deal. 

How do you influence change of that magnitude across an organization? 

Fortunately for sales folks, they have the most quantifiable role in the organization. Some easy things you can do? 

First, keep track of reasons why deals go close lost, and if those reasons are reasons of security or compliance, that’s a really easy box to check. 

Second, not only do you have a reason for why the deal may have been lost, but you also allow for and require the rep to write in detail the context of what happened. 

Security & Risk

Does the org that you’re talking to have a security page? 

If so, that’s a great place to start your homework before you even get to the table. Ask questions like: 

“Will there be a security assessment?”
“Who oversees it?”
“What is involved with the security assessment?” 

“Am I going to have to fill out a questionnaire?”
“Is there an opportunity for me to present you with my security bundle?” 

The sooner that you know these things about the company you’re going to, the more homework you can do and the better prepared you’ll be. 

This post is based on a podcast interview with Eric Martin. To hear this episode, and many more like it, you can subscribe to The Sales Engagement Podcast.

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