Understanding The Business Window

Here’s a technique one of my customers uses to align what they can offer to where their prospect states they want to go.  They call it the Business Window, and in the words of their Head of Sales, Dave, a chap I’ve a lot of time for, the info is hard to get, but when you do, it’s gold-dust.

Think of the standard 2×2 matrix, and the cells are filled with the following:

Philosophy, Objectives, Markets/Products, Organisation

Philosophy is all about what they are trying to achieve (& their vision and values), Objectives features their strategy, Markets includes what they do in detail and what they provide and Organsation is how they gear up to achieve it all.

Examples include ‘being perceived as #1 in…’ (philosophy) and reducing cost by 10%, quickening customer response times by 20%, increase win rate by 5% (objectives).

When it works like a dream, it can show why systems in place are barriers to all of the above, and that your offering is a simple resolution.  And one final benefit to the vendor, is that it’s proven to keep your price premium in place.