Creating The Sponsor Letter

I know there are several approaches to this step, but I like the one I learned at echo technology.
(Thanks go to Gary Smith and Keith Eades for this approach!)

They use a sponsor letter to detail the precise pains being faced by the customer and the organization in their own words.
Then lay out the impact to the organization as a result of those pains and what their solution represented in response.

the letter/email should look something like this:

Dear------
To recap our discussion you said:
(His pains verbatim)

XYZ corp. is experiencing late payments and problems with supply chain control due to the manual nature of their existing process.
The impact has been delinquent AP and poor supply chain management as a result of an antiquated process that does not keep pace with our competition nor accurately forecast our client needs.
The result has been longer cycles; missed deadlines and a breakdown in the type of communication and transparency required effectively serve our customers.
Left unaddressed these problems can only worsen. Leading to more problems and ultimately a loss of key accounts.

I believe the answer is:
(Solution)
By using our automated system to guide the customer relationship, and provide transparency across the organization we can greatly improve upon the existing process, add immediate value and help bring you into closer alignment with your customers.
(You made them feel the pain. Now show them there is hope!)

The result will be a much more dynamic process that enables the team to maintain pace with the increasing demand and allow a more tightly managed supply chain leading to shorter sales cycles and enhanced profits.

Our Next Steps:
(Milestone, go no go lists, trial, discovery etc. include dates and if they have provided a deadline date emphasize it.)

Please look this plan over and make any corrections you feel necessary, I will send a calendar request to review this plan with you and make any necessary adjustments.
We are still at a draft stage here, but our experience has taught us that this method works well to introduce our solution into organizations such as yours and helps to align us with your organizational buying process.

Warm Regards,

Sean

Now, confirm the pain and impact with him during your next call to be sure you are aligned.
Get him to admit to the pains, envision a cure and agree to the next steps.
also, remind the customer that life happens while we make other plans.
So while this eval process is occurring, the pain impact on the organization is only going to get worse.

This method will help you establish trust and competence and will also help you align with your customer.

Your Pal,

Sean