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In part 1 of this series, we went over the basics of sales methodologies. In this part I share my experiences in integrating the methodology “Solution Selling” into my day-to-day activities.
What is Solution Selling? The easiest way to answer that is to say that it is sales methodology delivered through a book, audio book or training course. SPI, the makers of Solution Selling explain that it is;
• A philosophy : Where the customer is the focal point - helping them solve their problems and achieve measurable results. Solution Selling is aligned with how buyers buy (and the after that, how sellers sell).
• A map : It shows you where you are to where you want to be. It provides an end to end series of next steps for you to follow.
• A methodology : a system of methods and techniques for selling better
I discovered Solution Selling a couple of years ago and was taken a back by its usefulness. Essentially, it brought together most of what I had learned on the job and through reading book in my first 5 years selling and put it into a framework. It has great ideas, techniques and tools that help you do your job better. It unquestionably helps you gain more control over the sales process and by having a process to follow you don’t need to “think afresh” with every new twist and turn in an opportunity’s life. It has also been useful in providing myself and my colleagues with a shared lexicon, understood by all, which helps us communicate with and help each other better.
That said it has its drawbacks. It is jargon heavy and, I feel, is unnecessarily over-complicated at times. It takes continuing effort to apply and keep applying, and in times of great stress it’s easy to slip into old bad habits. But it’s still the best thing that happened to my sales career.
To help you understand the content of Solution Selling, I have detailed below its key principles, with a brief explanation:
• No pain, no gain – There can be no solutions without problems (or “Pains”). Find and develop pains to create/increase demand for a solution.
• Pain flows through out the entire organisation – A delay in production (pain) might impact distribution, IT, facilities management, finance, etc. Sell to all those who have a stake in seeing a solution implemented.
• Diagnose before you prescribe – Listen to your prospect’s situation and needs before deciding what to suggest.
• There are three levels of buyer need – You need to adjust your approach to the level of need that the prospect is experiencing : 1) “Latent need” (they have a need that they are not aware of), 2) “Admitted need” – they have a need that they are aware of, 3) “Vision of a solution” – they know what the need is and they know how to solve it
• There are two types of opportunities – looking and not looking : “looking” is those who are actively investigating solutions. These are harder deals to win as they already have an idea of what they want (and it’s probably not exactly your solution). “not looking” is those who have a problem that they need to solve but they are not actively looking for a solution. These prospects offer the best rate of return on your selling time and effort.
• Get there first, set the requirements and make yourself column A : If you beat all other players to the prospect you have a chance to influence their initial requirements (in your favour), thereby locking out competitors and making you an obvious choice.
• You can’t sell to someone who can’t buy – Aim high within the organisational hierarchy, sell to those with the power to buy. With anyone else, “sell” them on allowing you access to the real decision makers
• Buyers’ concern shifts over time – For example, at the beginning of the sales cycle buyers are very concerned with their needs and not so concerned about the risk inherent in implementing a solution. Towards the end of the sales cycle, they are extremely concerned about risk and far less interested in their needs. Sales people need to alter their approach depending on the stage the buyer is at.
• Pain X Power X Visions X Value X Control = Sale – This one looks pretty ridiculous. When you understand Solution Selling’s terminology, it’s actually not.
Solution Selling provides you with a process around which to fit all this, along with various milestones and checklists, which play a very useful role in holding back your natural sales person’s optimism. You may believe you are ready to move to the next stage of the process, but the checklists and milestones remind you : “Hold on buddy, aren’t you forgetting something?” (and it’s surprising how often you actually are…!)
I was initially skeptical about using something like Solution Selling, as I felt that it would put me in a straight-jacket, curb my creativity and take the “art” or “sport” out of selling. On the whole it does not. In fact, it generally frees you up from the administration and hundreds of smaller decisions involved in the sales process and allows you to focus on the “art” or “sport” parts of selling – the bits most of us really enjoy.
Having used the process everyday for a number of you years now, I have “customised” the methodology to suit me and my industry. I have simplified some processes and stripped out the jargon to make it more intuitive. But the base of the process remains the same.
If you are interested in reading more about Solution Selling I suggest you start by reading either New Solution Selling or The New Solution Selling Fieldbook. Please share your experiences if you are using Solution Selling or alternative methodologies, by leaving a comment.
Coming soon : Part 3 : Getting organized by implementing a CRM system