Mastering the Sales Proof of Concept: Your Ultimate Playbook
In the competitive landscape of sales, a proof of concept (POC) can be a significant growth lever in your sales strategy or GTM.
However, executing a successful POC is an art in itself – it requires a great deal of foresight, competency and process to be effective in practice. This is because POCs can be time sink if performed poorly or on the wrong opportunities, and even lower win rates if not managed well.
In this guide, we'll decipher the role of POCs and share strategic insights that can elevate your game.
What is a sales proof of concept (POC)?
A sales POC is a tangible demonstration of a product or service that substantiates its capabilities and relevance to a target account.
It provides a real-world glimpse into your product's application, addressing the specific needs of the prospect while emphasizing its advantages.
By bringing the benefits of your offering to life, a POC instills trust and bolsters confidence in your product or service.
The benefits of a sales POC approach
Integrating a POC strategy in your sales process can significantly amplify your sales outcomes.
Here’s how:
- Fostering trust and credibility: A POC allows prospects to interact with the product firsthand, cultivating trust and credibility as they witness its potential benefits in action.
- Visualizing the product's functionality: By demonstrating the product in a real-life scenario, a POC helps prospects envision the seamless integration of your product into their operations, effectively addressing known business opportunities or challenges.
- Differentiating your sales approach: Offering a POC can be a differentiator in the sales process, and help set you apart from competitors that may have not have equivalent sales tactics in place to build confidence in their solution or minimize buyer risk post purchase.
- Garnering constructive feedback: A POC serves as a platform to solicit invaluable feedback from potential customers, with wider catchment than what you would get from paying customers. This can be helpful for earlier stage companies where customer insight is critical to product and GTM refinement.
- Cementing long-term customer relationships: A well-executed POC can pave the way for enduring customer relationships, laying a robust foundation for future engagements.
The drawbacks of a sales POC approach
While there are significant benefits to implementing a sales POC, it's important to be aware of the potential drawbacks as well.
Key drawbacks include:
- Resource-intensive: Establishing and maintaining a POC process requires significant planning, coordination, and resources to ensure its success.
- Easy to burn valuable rep time: It can be hard for even experienced sellers to assess POC fit, and so reps can easily lose precious time during the quarter, working deals with buyers that may not be adequately qualified or engaged in the process. This can also be a 'morale-killer', when a prospect goes quiet after significant time invested from the seller.
- Not suitable for all products: Not all products necessarily require a POC. For example, lower average contract value solutions are often more suited to a 'reverse trial'.
Now that we've explored the benefits and drawbacks of a sales POC, let's delve into how you can determine if POCs are suitable for your sales org and when to consider them in the sales cycle.
How to know if POCs are suitable for your sales organization?
Determining whether to pursue a POC requires careful assessment of your sales organization's capabilities and the potential return on investment (ROI).
It's worthwhile taking the following steps before you spin up POC capability in your sales org:
Assess your resources
Evaluate whether your sales organization has the necessary resources, including personnel, time, and budget, to execute a POC effectively.
Consider the availability of technical experts, such as solution engineers, who can support the POC, as well as the financial implications of investing in the required infrastructure or customization.
Evaluate customer readiness
Determine if prospects are willing and able to commit the resources necessary to execute a successful POC.
Engage in open conversations with your prospects, or recently closed won deals, to understand their level of commitment during the sales process, their organizational readiness, and willingness to actively participate in the POC process.
Analyze the potential return on investment
Assess the potential return on investment (ROI) of the POC, considering both the revenue potential and the customer experience benefits.
It can be helpful to run scenario analysis to assess the potential pipeline and revenue implications of introducing a POC approach - for example, consider what the conservative, balanced and aggressive scenarios would entail for win rates, as well as the intangible benefits such as improved buyer experience and potential referrals or repeat business from opening up your funnel further.
Consider the complexity of the product or service
If your offering is straightforward and easily understood, a POC may not be necessary. However, if your product requires customization, integration with other systems, like an ERP, or a high level of technical expertise to showcase its capabilities, a POC approach may improve your sales efficiency.
When should you propose a POC?
POCs can be proposed at different stages of the sales process, depending on the customer's needs and interests.
Some common cases include when a customer is:
- Considering multiple vendors and needs to evaluate products side-by-side.
- Concerned about the technical feasibility of a solution and needs reassurance.
- In need of significant customization or an integration with existing systems (think finance, IT or HR related platforms.)
Remember, make sure to clearly define the goals and objectives of the POC program before you start changing your sales strategy.
Key strategies for a successful sales POC
When it comes to executing a successful proof of concept sales approach (POC), above all, it's important to implement an approach that is adaptable - ensure that you can make changes without significant strain on your team and existing processes.
Lets dive into some of the key strategies that can significantly improve the likelihood of a successful POC process in your sales org:
1. Collaborate with your prospects
Involve the customer in planning and decision-making, and seek their feedback and input at every stage in the process.
This collaborative approach will ensure that your POC ultimately aligns with their specific needs, increases your buyer's sense of ownership, and builds a stronger relationship between your sellers and prospects.
2. Define clear objectives and metrics
Before initiating the POC, establish not only objectives that outline what you aim to achieve but also metrics that can be used to evaluate whether the POC is successful/unsuccessful.
By setting clear goals and metrics, you can focus your efforts and ensure that your POC helps to get you closer to a purchasing decision.
3. Customize your POC
Tailoring your POC will be important to address the unique pain points and requirements of prospects. Research their specific industry, challenges, and goals, and align your POC accordingly.
Customizing the POC demonstrates that you understand their needs and can deliver a solution that meets their specific requirements. This personalized approach increases the chances of a successful POC and improves the overall customer experience.
4. Provide ongoing support and communication
Throughout the POC, maintain regular, proactive communication with your champion and be sure to address any questions, concerns, or issues as they come up.
By being responsive and effective in addressing root concerns, you can demonstrate your commitment to their success and build their trust and confidence in your offering.
Streamline Your Sales POC Approach with Qwilr
Qwilr offers an intuitive platform that helps to simplify and elevate the sales POC process. With its user-friendly and customizable interface, you can craft compelling sales collateral that effectively showcases your product's capabilities and value. By leveraging Qwilr, you can impress prospects, optimize your sales process, and get deals to 'yes' faster.
Implementing these strategies and harnessing the power of the right tools empowers you to master the art of the sales POC. A well-executed POC not only instills confidence in your potential customers but also serves as the cornerstone of robust, enduring relationship with your buyer.
