Prospect, qualify, present and close. These are the basic elements of
the conventional sales process that most sales organizations and
salespeople still follow today. The conventional sales process is the
most widely used selling paradigm for good reason: it works. That is,
it works if you have a simple sale. Problem is, the world in which we
sell has changed. We must deal with complex problems and
correspondingly complex solutions that involve multiple decisions and
multiple decision-makers–most of whom are having an increasingly hard
time understanding their own problems and the solutions that will best
resolve them.
When you follow the conventional sales process in a complex sale, you
run head first into a series of traps that grow progressively more
difficult to avoid and that make a positive outcome for the sale ever
less likely. They are as follows:
The Assumption Trap
How many times have you heard or perhaps said yourself: “My customers
just don’t get it?” The reality behind that statement of frustration is
not too difficult to figure out: Customers don’t “get it” for one of
two reasons: either you are overestimating the value your solutions
bring to the customer or you are overestimating the customer’s ability
to comprehend that value.
Assuming that the solution offered actually has value, the flawed logic
behind the “customer doesn't get it” complaint is that the salespeople
who say it are, in essence, blaming customers for being unprepared to
buy their solutions. They are implying that customers should somehow be
ready to effectively analyze and evaluate custom programs, such as a
safety or new product launch , that they may buy once a year or less.
Or, even more illogically, that their customers should have a
high-quality decision process capable of evaluating leading-edge
solutions, which they may have never considered before, or which may be
appearing in the marketplace for the first time.
The best salespeople walk into an opportunity at much higher levels of
experience than their customers. They know the products, services and
programs they are bringing to market inside and out. In addition, they
spend most of their time with customers. They see an entire industry,
come into contact with a full range of operational practices, and often
become experts in their customers' businesses. But the advanced
perspective and comprehension of sales professionals experienced in the
complex sale stands in vivid contrast to the perspective of their
potential customers.
The Presentation Trap
Sales organizations devote tremendous amounts of time and resources to
creating compelling presentations and proposals. The irony is that most
of this effort is lost on customers. Presentations, too early in
complex decisions, are largely a waste of time.
Conventional salespeople hate to hear this; the presentation is the key
weapon in their sales arsenal. It is their security blanket, their
comfort zone, and they loathe giving it up. “Wait a minute,” they
protest. “Our presentations are aimed at educating customers. They will
not buy what they don't understand.” This much is true. And admittedly,
a presentation can lift the customer's level of comprehension. But, it
is one of the least effective methods for doing so. Why is that? There
are three reasons:
- A presentation, even one that includes advanced multimedia elements,
is, in its essence, a lecture. The salesperson teaches by telling. The
big problem with this method is that hardly anyone remembers what they
hear. The generally accepted rule of thumb among learning experts is
that over half of even the most sophisticated presentation is lost.
- A typical sales presentation rarely devotes more than 10 to 20
percent of its focus to the customer and their current situation.
Generally, 80 to 90 percent of a typical sales presentation is devoted
to describing the salesperson's company, its solutions and the future
being sold. While customers may be greatly impressed with the offering
being presented, they still lack a compelling understanding of how
it applies to their situation and why they should buy it.
- Your competitors are following the same strategy; they are busy
presenting as well. Your customers have meetings set up with you and
one, two or even more of your competitors. In each meeting, a sales
team is presenting the best side of their solutions. Your team is
telling the customer that
he needs the solutions that only your company offers and each of your
competitors is making the same argument about their solutions.
The Adversarial Trap
When salespeople start “overcoming objections” (often raised during the
presentation) they are, by definition, placing themselves in conflict
with their customers. At best, this sets the stage for polite
disagreements and respectful differences of opinion. At worst, it turns
the sales process into a battle in which the seller must somehow
conquer the buyer to win the sale.
The conflict between buyer and seller is exacerbated by the frustration
that results from the miscommunication engendered by the conventional
process. Salespeople are presenting professionally packaged data
complete with executive summaries that their prospective customers find
either unintelligible or unconnected to their situation. Confused and
with no sound basis upon which to evaluate the information, customers
respond negatively. Conventional salespeople, who are overestimating
their customers’ level of comprehension, interpret this as an objection
to be overcome and swing into action. “No,” they say. “You don't get
it. You do need our solution and here's why...” Now the salespeople are
arguing with their customers.
What happens next?
If the customers don't shut down the presentation altogether, they may
offer a second negative response. Another round of verbal sparring
ensues. The customers' frustrations turn into exasperation. But, now
the sale is in doubt and the salespeople know that the customers need
the solution, so they escalate their efforts. The downward spiral
accelerates. The sale has turned into a battle...a battle in which
customers will always have the final say.
The three traps described above are the fundamental problems facing
salespeople who try to impose a traditional sales process on complex
problems and solutions. Quite often, each trap segues neatly into the
next. The result is a confused and disheartened customer who ends up
going with a competitor's solution because it's “cheaper”–after all,
when he doesn't understand his problem or your solution, all he can do
is fall back on the common denominator of price. And the unpleasant
experience deepens the schism between sales professional and customer.
The above problems are what manufacturing quality guru W. Edwards
Deming defined as systemic problems. We can't solve them by
disciplining individual salespeople who step over some arbitrary line.
Instead, it is the process itself that causes the problem. The only
effective and enduring way to resolve these problems is to set aside
the conflicting elements of the conventional selling process. You must
adopt a whole new paradigm: one based on positioning yourself as a
valued and trusted advisor who manages quality decisions—one that takes
into account the complex new world in which we live and work.
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