Sales is ever-evolving. Whether methodology, process, sales tech stack, structure of the team, department rollup, medium used to sell, or buyer's journey, something is always changing. The one constant through the years is why a buyer buys.
Buyers buy based on need. This “need” can be founded on: an ongoing challenge, threat, or perceived risk; an opportunity to better a situation, to make and/or save money or to increase productivity; or the chance to make their lives easier. Buyers seldom buy based on what something can do; they buy based on whether or not a solution can alleviate a pain or help them accomplish a goal. There are a number of influencing factors that can aid in the selling efforts, but these factors carry less sway than solving for the “need.” Some of these factors include: the reputation of a business in the industry, a “following the crowd” mentality, or an alignment with the company’s values. Focusing on the client, and their journey, starts with understanding where they are and where they are trying to go; it is the key to a successful sales engagement.
Product-centric selling
Product-based selling focuses on what the product or service is and what it does. The attention is solely on the vendor, and the engagement revolves around a brief discovery, solutions overview, demos, product sheets, and the vendor's solution. This approach demands a lot from the buyer. They must put the pieces together to understand how a feature or solution will help them meet their needs and goals. The client is required to actively listen and have a deep understanding of how a feature can become a solution to a challenge or goal that they have. This is the problem with product-based selling: it requires too much effort and imagination from the buyer to understand how a feature will work specifically for them.
Problem (or client)-centric selling
Problem or client centric selling elevates the client and focuses on what they are trying to accomplish. It requires the sales individual to have a solid understanding of the client, company, and solution, and for them to ask relevant questions, actively listen, and understand the commercial impact of their solution (prior to discussing a solution). It’s a two-way dialog where the client speaks more than the vendor. The vendor can only fulfill the needs of the client if they truly understand the client and their goals.
How to implement a problem centric approach within your sales team
Most companies need to alter the way they think about sales and salespeople. While a sales team has KPIs that they need to achieve and revenue to win, how they approach each opportunity may need to change. A problem-centric sales approach requires the entire business to focus on the long-term impact they can make rather than the short-term gains of the business.
There are a number of actions that a business can take to achieve relevant client engagement.
Nurture empathy for the client and in the workplace – understanding, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of others allows for better alignment and a stronger connection. By not just hearing but actively listening to each other, we can remove traditional business relationship gaps that result in fears, doubts, and a lack of trust. Business relationships should not be one of “us” vs. “them” or “winners” and “losers,” and this mindset starts by truly understanding the goals, what they are thinking, and what they are feeling. Empathy creates less friction, resulting in better productivity with clients and in the workplace.
Encourage a mindset of curiosity – seeking new information and experiences while remaining positive, open to feedback/rejection, and looking at things from a new lens allow us to find valuable problems to solve in our, and our clients’, business. By asking thought-provoking questions, we help others learn through reflection and align solutions that will help them achieve their goals. The byproduct of curiosity is the knowledge that we build, which acts as building blocks to our overall ability to solve problems. Alignment comes through understanding, and the only way to understand something is to approach everything with a mindset of curiosity.
Make the client the hero and the vendor a guide – everyone wants to be a hero, and it’s our job to position the client in this role. Companies, and salespeople, often make the mistake of positioning their own company or product as the thing that saved the day. It’s an easy mistake to put our company or product first. Buyers want to be the hero of their own story, and they are - it’s their story, not ours. The goal of salespeople is to support them in their journey and focus on how the solution can help them solve a problem rather than solve the problem for them.
Provide sales and product training – when salespeople know how to engage and what problems the solution solves, they are better equipped to add value to their clients. This requires training on the ins-and-outs of the product, an understanding of the problems the solution solves, and how to: research companies and industries; ask relevant questions; actively listen; manage calls and meetings; demonstrate empathy; align a client specific solution; build champions; and negotiate from a level playing field. We cannot assume that these skills come naturally, and we need to ensure that our salespeople are representing the company in a humble and effective way.
Request feedback (and referrals) – unfiltered feedback from a client is gold. They are not always proactive in sharing their thoughts and concerns, specifically those that they don’t think we want to hear. As champions in the pursuit of resolving their problems and achieving their goals, we need to be comfortable asking for feedback and receiving it openly and without pushback or justification. Their feedback allows us to become better, and ensures that we are adding value to their business.
Focus on the client experience with every engagement – focus to make each and every interaction and experience your client has with the business as frictionless as possible throughout the entire customer journey. A simple rule is to speak to, sell to, and deliver to clients in a manner that would wow you.
Clients do not care about your product, the features of your solution, or the service that you provide if it doesn’t specifically help them solve something. They care about solving their problems and accomplishing their goals. Companies should stop talking about themselves and start asking the right questions and actively listening to responses to be in a position to help their clients accomplish their goals.
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