There was an interesting article in Pepper & Roger’s 1to1 magazine this month on the effectiveness of the sales force and how your sales team must go beyond pitching prepackaged solutions to prospects and instead, “diagnose, design, and deliver” solutions that match their specific needs. The article mentioned Jeff Thull’s approach to selling, something I’ve blogged about in past posts. His approach (along with Neil Rackham’s Spin Selling ) is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to understand how to sell to clients in this era.
Anyway, the article points out that sales cycles have gotten increasingly longer as clients have a harder time differentiating one vendor from another. In addition, a recent survey found that
77% of sales leaders find buyers putting higher priorities on ROI
64% of respondents believe buyers are treating their specific industry as a commoditized market
To compete in tomorrow’s super competitive market, the article suggests that sales will have to focus on 4 key areas to survive – segmentation, structure, systems, and support.
It is absolutely essential to segment customers according to who they are and why they buy. You must then match your marketing and selling cycle to their purchasing cycle to maximize ROI. Structure means having the right people in place to focus on building customer relationships at an executive level. Approaching sales as a system is critical. This system must include all the information and diagnostic tools to help you and your customers discover their underlying issues rather than simply tackling symptoms. It also requires quite a bit of educating on your part to give them the decision making tools to move forward and solve the problem. And finally, support means that companies provide the support and intelligence to sales so they are adequately prepared for customer interactions.
It’s a great article, well worth reading, though you will have to register at the 1to1.com website to read it.
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