There’s a new book out with a new approach to selling. Authors of The Challenger Sale, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of the Corporate Executive Board, conducted research to uncover what types of salespeople are most successful. Their research identified five types of salespeople:
- The Hard Worker
- The Problem Solver
- The Challenger
- The Relationship Builder
- The Lone Wolf
Assumption: relationship-builders who did an excellent job of relating to and understanding prospect needs would be most successful. WRONG.
The research found relationship-based selling is less effective than it used to be. Instead salespeople who challenged prospects (in a constructive way much like a consultant or excellent college professor), were most successful. “Surveys of customers consistently show that they put the highest value on salespeople who make them think, who bring new ideas, who find creative and innovative ways to help the customer’s business. In recent years, customers have been demanding more depth and expertise. They expect salespeople to teach them something they don’t know. These are the core skills of Challengers.”
Prospects – people being sold – didn’t like spending their time with salespeople who asked a lot of questions to uncover their needs, problems and “what keeps you up at night.” They felt that was a waste of their time. Instead, prospects appreciated salespeople who had “done their homework” (understood what the company did, sold and what their competitive landscape was) and shared relevant insights and ideas to help the prospective customer save money or make more money.
- The prospect’s rallying cry, “Teach me something new!” and “Teach me about a problem I didn’t know I have and what to do about it.”
Instead of a prospect thinking, “They understand me and my business,” the best salespeople get prospects to think, “Huh, I never thought of it that way before…” That builds quick credibility that the salesperson is knowledgeable and worthwhile to spend time with and buy from.
The authors advise, “Whatever you teach your customers has to actually teach them something. It has to challenge their assumptions and speak directly to their world in ways they haven’t thought of or fully appreciated before. The word we like to use here is ‘reframe.’ What data, information or insight can you put in front of your customer that reframes the way they think about their business – how they operate and compete? That’s what your customers are really looking for.”
Specifically, the research showed customers want salespeople who:
- Offer unique and valuable perspectives on the market
- Help them navigate alternatives
- Provide ongoing advice or consultation
- Help them avoid potential land mines
- Educates them on new issues and outcomes
- Are easy to buy from
- Have widespread support across the organization
Salespeople who offer insights and advice differentiate their company. They give a prospective customer a reason to buy from them over someone else.
“How is a customer supposed to choose between two suppliers that are more or less undifferentiated? It’s actually rather simple: They choose the cheapest supplier. Who wouldn’t? In today’s world, everyone is ‘innovative,’ ‘solutions-oriented,’ ‘customer-focused,’ and – of course – ‘green,’ so why pay more for it?”
Their advice is quite like that from the book The Trusted Advisor.
Another key insight about Challenger Sales Reps is that they bring up price early in the discussion as a way to determine if the prospect is really ready to buy. They don’t keep giving away advice and insights without the prospect moving further down the sales funnel to a sale. That’s key.
From my own perspective enduring lots of sales pitches over the years, most salespeople come in and “control the conversation” by sharing slides about what their company does and the company credentials and clients. It’s a bit like showing up for a job interview and reading the hiring manager your resume. Bad. Boring.
Or, the salesperson comes in and wants to have a conversation to get to know you and your company and as the prospective client I am thinking, “And this is a good use of my time how? Are they going to share anything to give me a good return on my time for talking to them?”
I think these authors are onto something. The best salespeople I’ve met over the years did their homework and knew what we were selling. They came in with ideas that would give us a competitive edge and demonstrated that they’d “been there, done that” and had the expertise to effectively implement the ideas they presented.
Lots of other good practical and thought-provoking advice in The Challenger Sale.
Get more ideas about how to make effective sales presentations in this MarketingZone.com article that covers new software and tools to make your presentations more interactive and interesting to your prospects.
TIP: Marketing also can apply this principle of teaching a prospective client or customer something valuable.
Is your marketing helping your prospects (and your existing customers) gain a new insight or idea that will help them make money or save money? In marketing, this idea is being called “content marketing.”
What’s your take on this Challenger idea to selling?
If you’ve ever attended a trade show or other event, then you’re familiar with the “swag dash” … the rush to visit every exhibitor and grab whatever items they’re giving away. Only after the frenzy has ended do you return to your hotel room, dump the contents of the bag, and decide which ones are even worth keeping. Kind of like Halloween for grown-ups. You might even “trade” some items with a colleague. You’ll keep the logo-laden pens, and they’ll bring the t-shirt home to their spouse. The cheap keylight or frisbee will end up in the trash.
Susan J. Curtis becomes Publisher of MarketingZone.com. 
