Apples to Apples: Applying SCOTSMAN Scoring to Channel Sales and Campaigns

At Porter Consulting, we manage IT infrastructure channel demand gen campaigns, where the deal sizes run from 10,000 to 100,000+.  For those campaigns, we provide program management and sales coaching.  As you can imagine, costs per lead can be expensive, and demonstrating ROI is important to everyone involved.  A lot of our work is ensuring that the leads generated meet the profiles set during campaign planning.  Over the past few years, we have moved from simple BANT qualification to the SCOTSMAN model.  Before we get any further, let’s define the models and what they can do for us:

·         BANT means: Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeframe.  But this just shows that someone wants to spend some money.  Most campaigns are much more focused: competitive displacement, installed base refresh, very specific product lines or solutions.  BANT does not really address those aspects.  As a result, leads may not match the narrow objectives of the sponsor.  We have many cases where only 30% of the BANT-qualified leads were actually in the target sweet spot of the campaign.  That is where SCOTSMAN profiling can really help to keep everyone on track.

·         SCOTSMAN extends the BANT model to ensure that the prospect is interested in the specific solution being promoted by the campaign.  Here is how BANT and SCOTSMAN match up.  The four extra criteria (Solution, Competition, Originality, Size) re essential for working the deal effectively.

BANT	SCOTSMAN
	Solution (does what they want match what we are selling?)
	Competition (can we be in the running?)
	Originality (does our value proposition resonate?)
Timing	Timescales (is it close-in enough to pursue?)
	Size (is it worth our while, or too big to tackle?)
Budget	Money (can I win based on their funds available?)
Authority	Authority (are we speaking to the right people?)
Need	Need (is there enough pain for them to commit?)

Here is how we apply it:

For each campaign, we create simple criteria for every SCOTSMAN element.  For every letter, what does a 5 look like, and what does a 1 look like.  We then use the model to rank each deal after initial qualification, and then periodically as we work with the reps to advance the deals.

Creating that simple model enables us to do many things:

For each lead:

• Evaluate their fit to the campaign, and only accept and pass on leads to the reps that match the solution.
• Provide specific guidance to the reps on what needs immediate understanding, to convert lead to deal as fully qualified.
• Help the reps take the next steps to improve the overall score, or drop the deal as a poor opportunity.

For the larger set of leads generated by the campaign:

• Assess whether the prospect list is generating leads with the right profile. 
• Provide additional training to the telemarketing team if certain areas are consistently poorly understood.
• Give the sponsor a solid understanding of how the leads are mapping to the campaign objectives.
• Help partner sales managers understand if they have weaknesses addressing certain

Applying the model leads to better quality and consistency for both leads and sales reps execution.  That converts to more revenue and better campaign ROI. 

We like the IndirectSales.com solution because it allows us to capture the scoring easily, and in concert with the rest of the campaign tracking information.  That leads to better, faster, decisions and better results.

We recommend applying SCOTSMAN as a simple way to add rigor to your sales management process.