The below page overviews some best-practices to build value with customers. For a full overview of Sales Operating Procedures, see the four phases here.
Every GitLab customer is unique. For this we believe we must spend time understanding which of their Problems can GitLab solve in order to show them how and if we can help.
It starts by understanding the bigger picture your customer is working towards, this means taking a step back from the technical requirements, to understand why those are important to the business.
A Value Deck is dedicated to your focus accounts on which you will be spending more time. It is a deck that contains high level information on the Corporate Objectives, Business Strategies, Key initiatives and Challenges.
We then use this information to formulate a Problem Statement that sums up your customer’s Challenges and what could happen if the Business Strategies and thus Corporate Objectives are not met.
Spending time on this will help you understand your customers better to work smart together, it will also help you formulate the business value at the Commercial Validation stage.
You can introduce the Value Deck at any stage but it is always best to do it before you start prospecting as it can help you build customised emails to your different accounts.
Make it collaborative: work on it with your customer (or print a blank version and offer them to fill it), and have them review your findings to see if there is anything to add. Your champions will appreciate that, and can share more details about their Challenges and Key Initiatives than Uncle Google.
The GitLab product is incredibly well matched to customer needs. In fact, we almost always earn a customer and grow quickly if they simply 1) give it a real try and 2) understand it. That means our best sales motion is to ensure we accomplish both at the same time. We've learned that a hands-on workshop is the best way to help the customer understand and make good decisions from the first conversation to the first expansion decision to the move to a higher tier and to the renewals down the road. At every step, a workshop is the most efficient and effective way to serve the customer.
Goal for every conversation with a customer:
Sales Motion and Sequence:
In Stage 3-Technical Evaluation, a prospect or customer may engage in a proof of concept as part of the evaluation. If they decide to engage, please fill in the following information, as we will use this to track existing opportunities currently engaged in a POV, as well as win rates for customers who have engaged in a POV vs. those that do not.