In many of our Tips we've talked about strategies for changing or breaking the rules. Here's a related idea - help to set the rules in the first place.

How? One idea is to approach a prospect's Procurement group before there is a specific opportunity on the table. In this meeting you could do your research, learning about the practices and procedures the buying organization goes through when they initiate an opportunity. You could also share with them the processes that you like to utilize when you compete for business. Recognizing that there will often be discrepancies between how you want to sell and how they want to buy, this gives you the chance to request a compromise before there is an issue.

One advantage to this strategy is that, since there is no specific opportunity on the table, there is less contention and emotion when you request a compromise. If you make a reasonable case for your ideas, there may be an opportunity to find some common ground. After all, you are not visibly challenging them in an engagement where they've already put the rules in place. At this stage, there is also less pressure on you to conform to the customer's process and you don't have to agree to anything that you're uncomfortable with.

Of course, you can increase your odds of success in this strategy in any number of ways: by utilizing your coach network, leveraging your relationship with decision makers and presenting effectively to procurement themselves.

What's the worst thing that can happen? The customer can say no to your compromise ideas, and in this case you find yourself right where you would've been anyway, but with a much clearer understanding of how the prospect does business.