Tag: Sales

Closing on Elevator Speech?

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The punch line from Seth Godin’s recent posted titled “No One Ever Bought Anything In An Elevator” is that “The purpose of an elevator pitch isn’t to close the sale…No, the purpose of an elevator pitch is to describe a situation or solution so compelling that the person you’re with wants to hear more even after the elevator ride is over.”  This post reminded me of an excellent book on the subject called “Small Message Big Impact” by Terri Sjodin.  Read my full review at Amazon – it’s called “I’m Sold“.

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Are your sales reps pushy enough?

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This is the third HBR Blog article on the Challenger series.  The first two articles (Post 1 & Post 2)  defined the most successful salespeople as being Challengers – assertive, offering relevant insights and guiding the client through the purchasing process.  During their research, the authors found that sales managers were concerned that if they coached their team to be Challengers they would be too aggressive. (Similar to the photo representation above). Yet, their research found some interesting findings:

“Most reps are far more likely to be passive than aggressive…guided by years of training and a deeply seated but mistaken belief that they should always do what the customer wants, reps seek to resolve tension quickly, rather than prolong it. But maintaining a certain amount of constructive tension is exactly what Challengers do.”

“Why do most reps fear tension? First, they feel they have no choice — it’s either acquiesce or lose the deal. Yet, in a recent survey of sales reps and procurement officers…75 percent of reps believe that procurement has the upper hand in the rep-customer relationship, 75 percent of procurement officers believe that reps have more power. What does that tell us? At the very least, if reps give in simply because of a perceived power imbalance, they’re conceding way too easily.”

“Most reps adopt a passive posture because senior management has told them…to “put the customer first,” or “place the customer at the center of everything we do.” Without clear guidance, most reps simply slip into “order taker” mode, closing small, disaggregated, price-driven deals at a discount all in the name of “giving customers what they want.”


Sources: HBR Blog: Why Your Salespeople Are Pushovers.  Photo: RealLifeDeals.com

HBR: Biggest driver of customer loyalty: Brand? Product? Service? Price? No. The sales experience…

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This is the 2nd of a 4 part HBR series where the authors share the findings in a global study of 6000 top performing sales reps.   (Post #1: HBR Challenger #1)

Do you remember being dragged to your SPIN sales selling training classes (Situation questions, Problem Questions, Implications Questions, Need-Payoff Questions)?  These training classes have indoctrinated us to gain a deep understanding of the client need using a series of open ended questions, have the client gain acceptance that solving the need is critically important and then we pile in with the solution.  “What’s keeping you up at night?” – – was one of the well worn ice breakers used to get there.  The authors argue that “this approach is based on a deeply flawed assumption: customers actually know what they need in the first place.”

They conclude that the largest driver of customer loyalty is the sales experience (53%) and not Product or Service (19%), Brand (19%) or Price (9%).

Several of the key drivers of the sales experience include: Rep offers unique and valuable perspectives, Rep helps me navigate alternatives, Rep helps me avoid landmines and Rep educates me on new issues and outcomes.

“Customer loyalty, it turns out, is more a function of how you sell than what you sell.”

Great article on the value of consultative selling.  You’ll find some key excerpts below.

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HBR: Top Salespeople are Challengers. Not hard workers, problem solvers or relationship builders.

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Selling has become much harder in the past decade with global competition, economic headwinds and rapid innovation. Yet, every company has a few top performers. The authors launched a global study of 6000 sales reps across 100 companies in multiple industries. The authors categorize sales people into 5 categories: 1) Relationship Builders, 2) Hard workers (stay late, go extra mile, make more calls), 3) Lone Wolves (self-confident, do things their own way), 4) Reactive Problem Solvers and 5) Challengers (deep understanding of customers’ business; take control of sales conversation; share controversial views with clients and bosses; are assertive).

The study concludes that Challengers dramatically outperform other profiles, particular Relationship Builders. They teach their customers. They take control of the sale. They dominate the world of complex selling.

The article also includes two excellent tools: A Challenger Self-Assessment (and scoring guide) along with Pre-Call Planning Questions that can prepare a Sales person for interactions using the Challenger approach.

While I believe the author’s conclusions are sound, I doubt that a salesperson can succeed in today’s environment without Relationship Building and Problem Solving competencies. That being said, I think this article is required reading for all of us involved in sales and sales management.

HBR Article: Selling is not about relationships