“You can have everything you want in life if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” ~Zig Ziglar
As a sales rep, if you could outperform your peers or competitors significantly by closing more sales, would you want to know the ultimate secret? Buyers have radically changed how they work with sales reps today. First, they leverage the Internet and social networking for information. In fact, according to Forrester's latest research, buyers are scouring those resources and only contacting a sales rep after 70-90% of the purchase decision has already been made.
They also have a frame of reference for what they need and their requirements, there are more people involved in the decision making process and they bring the sales rep into the buying cycle later in the decision making process. So how do high performing sales reps navigate this new customer?
Insight Selling
I have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and love reading books that I can easily translate into action and in turn recommend to others. The book Insight Selling is a must read!
Mike Schultz and John E. Doerr, bestselling authors and world-renowned sales experts, set out to find the answer to: “What are the winners of actual sales opportunities doing differently than the sellers who come in second place?” They studied more than 700 business-to-business purchases made by buyers who represented a total of $3.1 billion in annual purchasing power. When they compared the winners to the second-place finishers, they found surprising results.
Their research uncovered the following:
- Winners sell radically differently than the second-place finishers.
- There’s a specific combination of behaviors that sales winners exhibit and outcomes they achieve that the second-place finishers don’t.
- Several key factors that set apart the winners are rarely discussed in the world of selling. These now demand attention.
- Solution selling is not dead!
A new breed of sellers has been changing the game. Basically high performing sales reps are not replaceable because of the value (business acumen) they, personally, bring to the table. This value is insight. The value used to be in the products and services, which is very similar to outbound marketing, which is pushing (interrupting) the product or service to the prospect. The seller’s job was to depict strongly the value of the things they sold—meaning it was all about making the sale.
Now, however, buyers view products and services as commodities. The insight comes from the seller-their knowledge, ideas and ability to facilitate a solution. This is similar to inbound marketing where the focus is on providing answers in the form of content to help the buyer make informed decisions.
Thus insight selling is the process of creating and winning sales opportunities, and driving change, with ideas that matter.
3 Quick Action Tips for Insight Selling
This book clearly conveys the research in an easy to digest “how to” story style. Authors Schultz and Doerr outline specifically based upon the research what high performing sales winners do differently and share how you can transform yourself into this same caliber of high sales performer.
The following 3 levels of selling behaviors and outcomes are, when used consistently together, what set higher performers apart:
1. Connect
Winners connect the dots between customer needs and their company’s products and services as solutions more often than the second-place finishers. Winners also connect with people. They’re perceived to listen and connect personally with buyers more often. Connecting with people and connecting the dots is about building strong relationships and offering solutions to a problem.
It’s critical to note that the old method of consultative selling, where the sales rep diagnosed the problem and offered a solution has changed. Consultative selling has transformed from diagnosing to demonstrating an understanding of the problem presented by the seller, and in turn talking with them about possibilities for how to move forward with solutions.
2. Convince
Winners convince buyers that they can achieve maximum return, that the risks are acceptable, and that the seller is the best choice among all options. Many sellers are not good at convincing buyers, and a large portion of sellers aren’t even willing to convince. When they can and do, they win more sales.
The three core areas of convincing include:
- The return on investment is worth pursuing
- The risk is acceptable (minimize risk)
- The seller is the best choice among the available options.
They were professional, depicted the purchase process accurately, were trustworthy, inspired confidence in his or her company, helped avoid pitfalls, was respected and had experience in the specific area of needs and in their particular industry.
3. Collaborate
Winners collaborate through behavior - they are perceived to be responsive, proactive, and easy to buy from. At the same time, it’s not just how sellers interact; it’s what they do. Buyers believe that the winners actually collaborate with them during their buying process, in other words, collaboration in the sense of working with the buyer to achieve a mutual goal. Buyers perceived collaborative sellers to be integral to their success.
Collaboration in regards to higher performers focused on:
- Sales reps ability to educate the buyer on new ideas and perspectives.
- Collaborated with the buyer by facilitating the buyer’s team through strategy sessions during the decision making process.
Final Thoughts
You may know that John E. Doerr and Mike Schultz are Co-Presidents of RAIN Group and have consulted with, trained and coached thousands of sales professionals, leaders and business executives, helping them improve sales performance. I personally engaged in one of their sales training programs many years ago and still find their practical techniques applicable to inbound sales.
My quick take away from the book is that buyers want to talk to sales reps, but only if they bring value to the table. That value is increasingly taking the forms of insight. The fact of the matter is - although buyers have more information, they don’t necessarily have knowledge. They don’t have confidence. What they actually really want from the vendor they select is insight. That’s why inbound marketing and sales strategies are so powerful—they deliver the insight the buyers are looking for today. The goal of every inbound marketing and sales program should be to deliver the right content, in the right channel, and at the right time to meet the needs of the buyer. As for my advice - add Insight Selling to your summer reading list!
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