Is the traditional Solution Sell in the B2B market dead? Maybe not dead but it certainly has changed, and continues to change rapidly. This has an impact on both your marketing and sales, creating challenges of how you communicate with, engage with and transact with customers. Continuing to do what you have done in the past that has been successful is no longer valid in the age if the Internet of Things (IOT).
The IOT has changed the way businesses make decisions and buy. Organisations are well versed on what their needs are and what the solutions are that they need, long before they engage with a business, that they believe, may provide the solution or service required. RFP’s are well prepared and detailed and needs analysis has already been completed. This has changed the traditional solution sell process forever and, in turn, changed the way you need to market your business and the way your sales resources do business.
But the news is not all bad. Although traditional solution sell teams are disadvantaged in this changing world, a new group of high sales performers are flourishing. This new group of high performing sales professionals have left behind much of the conventional solution sell philosophies taught in sales organisations. They:
evaluate prospects according to criteria different from those used by other reps, targeting agile organisations in a state of flux rather than ones with a clear understanding of their needs
seek out a very different set of stakeholders, preferring skeptical change agents over friendly informants
coach those change agents on how to buy, instead of quizzing them about their company’s purchasing process
These sales professionals don’t just sell more effectively, they sell differently. This means that boosting the performance of average salespeople isn’t a matter of improving how they currently sell, it involves altogether changing how they sell. To accomplish this, organisations need to fundamentally rethink the training and support provided to their reps. Want to know more? Want to be at the forefront as a leading sales organisation? Contact our team to day!