Winning Complex Sales with an Intentional Strategy

Editor's Notes

1. PRESSURE ON SALES ORGANIZATIONS The combination of the buyer changes above have put great pressure on sales organizations and individual salespeople with the following results: Increased likelihood of losing to status quo Longer sales cycles More ambiguity and complexity in trying to identify root cause issues and associated solutions Battling misconceptions/misinformation that the buyers may have formed through doing their own research Harder to gain access to skeptical, time pressured buyers Need to manage multiple stakeholders and build consensus Verbal commitments no longer means a win as deals increasingly get tripped up at the finish line by new stakeholders, disagreement on needs, risk aversion, etc. Need to drive value in the buying and selling experience itself – not just the solution. More difficult to earn the right to a conversation
2. Consultative selling is a method for narrowing the remove between the seller and buyer. By closing this gap, the relationship transcends a “give and take” dynamic to become more of a shared effort to resolve a complex business problem. Reaching this point means embracing:
3. AVOID SELLER-CENTRIC BEHAVIORS Nearly all sellers believe that they’re customer focused when, in fact, few truly are. McKinsey research found that B2B companies averaged less than 50 percent on a customer-experience index rating. Sellers facing the pressure of a more challenging world, may often dig in the heels and resort to seller-centric behaviors to try to strong-arm customers or gloss over core issues. But these behaviors only deepen mistrust. Sellers need to understand the person in the other chair. Doing so means forming an accurate diagnosis of their problem. This insight builds credibility thereby fostering trust. These steps are critical in earning the right to ask the incisive questions that bring about a dialogue. In an increasingly digital world, this connection offers real value. A customer-focused approach must flow through your thinking, actions, and words. By getting to the core of their challenges, you’ll be better prepared to position a solution that drives real value for them. SHIFT TO A MINDSET OF AUTHENTICITY Sellers must give before they get. Define your presence as one of shared commitment to the business challenges. Research from McKinsey underscores the value of this approach. After changing from transactional selling to consultative selling one company credited the move with “$500 million in new bookings and a 40% improvement in productivity.” The difference comes from deeper customer relationship. However, this depth cannot develop without authenticity. This practice arises from the ability to accurately diagnose the buyer’s business challenges, stated needs, and unknown needs. From this point the seller can show the buyer how to effectively leverage the specific pieces of data necessary to reach a resolution. This “data distillation” is becoming increasingly important in a world awash in analytics. Data only serves the buyer when it’s relevant to their concerns. When positioning a point of view, insight, or solution, it had better be routed in that customer's specific, priority problems or else you risk sounding inauthentic and irrelevant.
4. LEAD THE CONVERSATION WITH A PLAN Show the customer that you value their time by offering a direct approach that starts the conversation with a clear direction. This opening will also give you an early indication of the buyer’s expectations. If your intended path is divergent from their goals for the conversation, you can adjust accordingly. A well-articulated plan sets a tone of credibility. Therefore, it’s important to prepare your remarks so that you can get to the point fast and embrace their sense of expediency. Remember, the shortest distance for the buyer to travel is to simply stay put. A 2017 survey from Richardson revealed that 26% of sellers believe “combating the status quo” is the biggest challenge their buyers face when making a purchasing decision. Help reach the high “activation energy” of a sale by building your plan around a central goal of addressing opportunity costs. Even a “no decision" carries a cost. Appeal to the buyer’s sense of practicality by focusing your solution through their lens. Some stakeholders look for technical capabilities while others need to see financial or strategic benefits. Consider all sides. BUILD TO DECISIVE MOMENTUM Guide the customer through the dialogue by eliciting feedback. Get a sense of how well they understand your solutions and ideas. This periodic checking helps move the buyer to the next step. As a seller, you aren’t simply asking for the sale once, at the end of the process. Instead, you’re asking for the buyer’s commitment incrementally throughout the journey. This practice builds decisive momentum where your alignment with the buyer makes each successive decision is easier than the last. Show the buyer your own decisiveness by coming to the conversation with a point of view.
5. LEVERAGE INSIGHTS GAINED THROUGH QUESTIONING Ask smarter questions. In doing so, you’ll educate the customer by helping connect the dots with a line that traces to your solution. This process can be difficult because it forces both sides to acknowledge the stature of the business challenges. However, getting a full survey of the land avoids the false positivity that can catch both parties by surprise. Meanwhile, openness illuminates the specifics that will give you an edge over the competition. Be prepared for buyers who are willing to answer only a few questions. Today, everybody is under pressure to do more in less time. Therefore, come ready with the best possible questions that get to the core issues fast. Questioning also affords the opportunity to float ideas. Inviting the buyer to think differently about solutions can be made less threatening when the concepts are presented as questions. Ask the buyer how they feel about your ideas. Understanding the right questions begins with a consultative approach. UNDERSTAND THE NEUROSCIENCE BEHIND HOW BUYERS BUY – OR DON’T Buyers are human beings. And, human beings have three fundamental needs for well-being that affect how they perceive what is happening, what they listen to, and how they ultimately make decisions. The Social Determination Theory tells us that humans need Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness. Strong questioning skills help sellers respect these needs by: Staying emotionally connected with the customer, which feeds relatedness; Avoiding coming across as manipulative, which protects the customer’s sense of autonomy; Creating a safe environment to discuss challenging or sensitive issues, which protects the customer’s sense of competency. WORK OFF FACTS, NOT ASSUMPTIONS Anchoring is a form of cognitive bias that describes the common, human tendency to rely too heavily on one piece of information. Sellers are especially prone to anchoring to their own assumptions when pursuing an opportunity rather than working diligently to seek out the facts through the customer dialogue. Anchors can cause sellers to miss or dismiss potentially valuable information that could help them move the sale forward and position a more compelling and valuable solution. To counteract anchoring, the best consultative salespeople mindfully engage in active listening to “tune into” new or conflicting information, as well as pursue the customer’s thinking, rather than move away from it. They aren’t afraid to ask the tough questions because they know the facts and truth for the customer will produce the most compelling value proposition.
6. Why be consultative?
7. Cover the 6CS needed to be consultative and build trust
8. Developing skills and behaviors that demonstrate your commitment to the relationship and attentiveness to the details coming from the customer. Bring a strong point of view balanced with a genuine interest in them and what they are trying to achieve.
9. Get the customer talking. You cannot move the sale forward without both sides contributing to the conversation. Some buyers are reluctant to offer information, which is why effective sellers first give so that they can eventually get. Customers will resist opening up if they: are bored, feel interrogated, are asked uneducated questions, believe you are focused on yourself, believe you are pushy and add no value, and believe you haven’t earned the right to ask something bold. Great consultative sellers today are exceptionally skilled at fostering openness through exceptional questioning.
10. Let the customer develop their thoughts. The dialogue should be as productive to them as it is to you. Rather than craft your next sentence, take the opportunity to understand the meaning behind their words.
11. Remember that insightful questions are just as effective at getting a customer to think different about sharing ideas or insights. Knowing when to give and take requires high skill execution and a laser focus on the customer response throughout.
12. In one word, sellers must empathize. Doing so means not simply acknowledging the customer’s challenges but seeking to feel what they feel and understand what they think. Friend/Foe Bias is another form of cognitive bias that tells us that we are naturally wired to assess each other’s intentions and to quickly decide if someone is a friend or foe (threat). Seller behaviors must not be manipulative or appear self-serving to avoid triggering a threat response and eroding trust.
13. Build persuasiveness by coaching the solution in the client’s needs. This approach enables them to visualize the practical application of the product and how it might look in the real world. Limit solutions to a concise, manageable list of only the most relevant in order of priority. Avoid “data deluge.”
14. Keep the customer in the game. If skepticism or obscurity is left unrecognized, it will grow unchecked until finally killing the sale.
15. How would you see the negotiations concepts Paul demonstrated helping sellers in your organization? How could Team Selling help your sales organization win more?