If I Wanted a Friend, I Would Get a Puppy

In their recent Harvard Business Review article, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson claim that “Selling is not about Relationships.” Their study analyzed 6000 sales professionals from more than 100 companies across industries. In fact, they highlight that the highest performing sales professional is a category called the Challenger. More importantly (and surprising to some), while the Challenger is the most successful, the lowest performer is the “Relationship Builder”:

The study defines several categories including Challengers and Relationship Builders

Challengers use their deep understanding of their customers’ business to push their thinking and take control of the sales conversation. They’re not afraid to share even potentially controversial views and are assertive — with both their customers and bosses.

Relationship Builders focus on developing strong personal and professional relationships and advocates across the customer organization. They are generous with their time, strive to meet customers’ every need, and work hard to resolve tensions in the commercial relationship.

Notice that the Relationship Builders avoid confrontation and strive to meet the customer’s every need. In looking at the first sentence in the Challenger definition, this research echoes what other research has shown: Our clients place the greatest value on us when we take the time to gain a detailed understanding of their situation. The authors then say that the top performers “take control of the sales conversation.” How does that happen? Once we discover their situation and determine whether or not we think we can help, the client is more than willing for us to lead them through a process that might identify a solution to that issue. Challengers, I would argue, are neither aggressive nor bull-headed. Rather, they are subject matter experts in their domain. Once they understand the client’s needs, they are in a good position to engage in a creative dialog. At that point, if you are the client, do you want to go down that emotionally draining process again? Why would you? You’ve got a qualified expert in front of you who can help deliver a solution.

Where I see many professionals come up short is they jump the gun and move too quickly to the “solution.” This prevents them from getting deep enough into the underlying impact the issue has on the client’s business. Failure to get to the impact and ultimate importance of solving the issue is why deals often linger for months or years without generating revenue. Ironically, your prospect will be more impressed with your understanding of their situation than they will ever be with your hastily-presented solution. So, be patient. Here are a few questions to get a bit deeper with the prospect.

How long has that been going on?
What have you done to try to solve that issue?
Compared to others things, how important is it to solve this issue?

It is important to note that the while the Challengers do well across categories, they are especially successful in complex selling situations. There have been several studies in the past year, each with over 1000 data points, that confirm that top performers take the time to learn about the client’s specific situation and become a trusted advisor. In fact, in the Selling MBA system, we establish the discipline to not have any discussions about the solution until we have a mutual understanding with our client of their exact situation and how that issue is impacting their business. After all, if the problem is not important enough to solve, how much time do we want to spend in a discussion about solving it? Once we all know the real issue, and how that issue is impacting their operation, then we can discuss the steps associated with a potential solution.

All of the closing techniques in the world are no substitute for being seen as a valued resource in addressing a serious issue. How do you get to the truth for your clients’ issues?

Link to Harvard Business Review article referenced above – http://bit.ly/rftogC