Procurement - friend or foe?

If you’re involved in enterprise or large midmarket sales, you will frequently have been introduced to the dreaded procurement team. This can be a challenging experience. All of a sudden communication stops with everybody else and you are required to only go through procurement. If not that Draconian, they restart the commercial negotiation when you thought you had agreement. Or maybe they just bring out endless paperwork and process which pushes the deal into the following quarter.

<a href="<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benmiller4_procurement-friend-or-foe-if-youre-involved-activity-7322509986318725120-O9XP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAATcTMBoKbG3QaBsvJyxtoIgMgf2SgDoJ8">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benmiller4_procurement-friend-or-foe-if-youre-involved-activity-7322509986318725120-O9XP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAATcTMBoKbG3QaBsvJyxtoIgMgf2SgDoJ8</a>">Please let me know your experience here</a>.

If you get it right, procurement can be extremely helpful. They know how to navigate the internal processes, they have a surprising amount of access to power, and they often have ability to influence legal or infosec.

How do we give ourselves the best chance of a positive engagement?

1️⃣ Ensure you understand their process and authority, well before any introduction.

Your champion should give you good information. If they don’t have direct experience, ask their boss or someone else knowledgeable. Understand their expectations of procurement:

* Will they cut off other communications?

* Will they insist on finding two other comparison quotes?

* Will they expect significant commercial negotiation? **

Forewarned is forearmed.

** A corollary on this one: if you are providing pricing before speaking to procurement, make sure you understand the context. Is the Economic Buyer agreeing pricing with you? Or is this just indicative?

2️⃣ Manage the introduction. Speak with your Champion to understand how they will be introducing the conversation. When you first speak with procurement, take time to set out the value proposition. Make sure they understand what problem you are solving for their company and how you’re doing it. Don’t oversell, e.g. do not emphasize why you are unique and no one else can do this – no one likes being backed into a corner. Instead, lean into the Decision Criteria that the company has, which in turn should point to your unique features.

3️⃣ Retain your engagement with your Champion and Economic Buyer. Include them in your conversations, or very least keep them up-to-date on a regular basis. When you do run into problems, you will need their support to ensure the deal is pushed through. In cases where procurement demands that there is no further communication with anyone else in the business, immediately speak with the Champion and ideally Economic Buyer to confirm they are aware of this and agree how you can escalate if needed.

4️⃣ Ensure that time pressure is driven by them. Knowing that the Economic Buyer wants this delivered by date X means that you can work with procurement towards mutually satisfying the business needs, rather than desperately trying to push for your own timeframe when procurement doesn’t really care.

<a href="<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benmiller4_procurement-friend-or-foe-if-youre-involved-activity-7322509986318725120-O9XP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAATcTMBoKbG3QaBsvJyxtoIgMgf2SgDoJ8">https://www.linkedin.com/posts/benmiller4_procurement-friend-or-foe-if-youre-involved-activity-7322509986318725120-O9XP?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAATcTMBoKbG3QaBsvJyxtoIgMgf2SgDoJ8</a>">Please let me know your experience here</a>.