Blocking Whitespace

When you've determined that there's no possibility of selling a particular solution to the account, you may find it useful to 'block' the white-spaced solution.

This gives a visual indication to users that this particular solution has been investigated as a whitespace and eliminated.

In the example shown below, the solution 'XT-1000' is blocked.

The following are two examples of reasons for blocking a whitespace:

• a competitor has a long-term contract in the same space as your solution.

• the solution is not applicable to that particular customer’s needs.

To block a whitespace, do the following:

1. Click the Block option on the whitespace row.

2. Enter an explanatory note and click Block.

   

Unblocking a solution

To unblock a solution, click Unblock on the relevant solution row.

Tip: The following are some questions to ask yourself with regard to unblocking solutions:

- Is a solution blocked because of a competitor's contract? You can unblock the solution if the renewal date is within 12 months and the customer is willing to consider alternative solutions.

- How long since you or a member of your team spoke with a representative of the account? The customer may be unhappy with a competitor's solution - which is reason to unblock a solution.

- Does the solution make sense for the account? If not, then the solution should remain blocked. Focus on other solutions for the account.

Why are opportunities displaying in a blocked solution?

If your account plans are configured to allow the import of opportunities belonging to child and grandchild accounts (see Surfacing Opportunities from the Salesforce Hierarchy on Pipeline Page), these opportunities can appear in a blocked solution.

The following scenario might occur:

• Plan A is the parent account, where solution X is blocked.

• Plan B is the child account, and opportunities are added to the solution X intersection.

• In this event, the blocked solution in Plan A appears as follows (shaded in gray with the opportunities shown):