A recent edition of the Harvard Business Review queried the power of solution-selling with a provocative article entitled “The End of Solution Sales”.
The article points to a recent Corporate Executive Board study of 1,400+ B2B customers which shows that nearly 60% of any typical purchasing decision (researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, pricing benchmarking pricing etc.) is fully completed before any sales conversation with any potential supplier.
In the “new world of buying” any early contact with a sales representative can be “more of an annoyance than an asset”.
Customers know lots and lots!
“Our customers are coming to the table armed to the teeth with a deep understanding of their problem and a well-scoped RFP for a solution. It’s turning many of our sales conversations into fulfilment conversations”, said one CSO.
High Performance Selling
But although traditional “reps” are at a distinct disadvantage in this environment of internet savvy empowered purchasers, a select group of high performers continue to flourish using a combination of deep sales understanding and adherence to process coupled with an ability to ask the right questions of the right people at the right time.
These high performers bring perspective to prospects and clients that help them to think about business problems – and possible solutions to those problems in new and innovative ways.
This way of solution-selling puts the customer and their needs first (even when the customer might be quite uncertain of their exact requirement in the early stages of the cycle).
Quantum’s sales method and training services are in sync with client-centric solution creation.
