Unlock the potential of the challenger sales model for administration

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Many sales strategies focus  on building relationships with   prospects as an integral part  of the sales process. However,   the authors of “The Challenger Sale”, Matthew  Dixon and Brent Adamson believe differently. They say that when it comes  to top-performing sales reps,   building relationships is the least  effective strategy in closing sales. Instead, those who take control and teach their  prospects how to solve their problem are more   successful than those who spend long amounts of  time building a relationship with their lead. Research from Gartner also highlights a  growing trend, that by the time a customer   contacts a sales rep, they’re over half  of the way through the purchase process. In their book, Dixon and Adamson  say: "Challengers aren’t so much   world-class investigators as  they are world-class teachers. “They win not by understanding their customers’  world as well as the customers know it themselves,   but by actually knowing their customers’ world  better than their customers know it themselves,   teaching them what they don’t know but should.” Let’s look deeper into the Challenger Sales model. Dixon and Adamson separate sales  reps into five distinct profiles:   The Hard Worker, who goes the  extra mile, doesn’t give up easily,   is self-motivated, and likes  feedback and development. The Relationship Builder, who  builds strong customer advocates,   is generous with their time  and gets along with everyone. The Lone Wolf, who follows their own  instincts, is self-assured and independent. The Problem Solver, who is reliable, ensures  all problems are solved and is detail-oriented. The Challenger, who has a different view of  the world, understands the customer’s business,   loves to debate, pushes the customer  to get out of their comfort zone. The Challenger builds up to a sale  by creating constructive tension   in the form of a casual debate, intentionally  disputing their customer’s way of thinking   and forcing them to contemplate a new perspective. By encouraging their customers  to consider new opportunities,   the Challenger can begin to  offer an alternative way forward. This method of selling relies on delivering  insight about an unknown problem or opportunity   in the customer’s business that you  are uniquely positioned to solve.   This type of selling could mean breaking down  everything you thought you knew about selling. If done right, the selling style mirrors a ride  on a rollercoaster, tapping into a prospect’s   fears by showing them what will happen if they  don’t act and eventually raises their hopes by   positioning your product as the solution to  these alarming scenarios. Ending on a high,   with the prospect eager to purchase your product. Here are five steps you could take to  adopt the Challenger sales methodology.   Step one, the warm up. The first step is to build  credibility with prospects.   Thoroughly research and investigate  the prospect’s pain points, challenges   and needs so you can show your prospects that  you understand the challenges they’re facing. While other selling techniques require  talking about what your product does,   the Challenger sale method demands talking about  the prospect’s needs instead. Your product is   never mentioned but rather the discussion should  focus on the prospect’s problem at this stage. You should show prospect’s  why you’re contacting them. Talk about typical issues that your prospect might  be dealing with to show that you can empathize. Prove your expertise by demonstrating  that you have the necessary experience   to understand your prospect’s problems  and what they’re dealing with. Get prospect’s feeling curious by  introducing any facts or research   about the problem that might pique interest. You could also get interactive by using visuals  and interactive content to get the prospect   involved in the discussion and uncover  crucial pain points they are facing. Aim to have nothing more than a  thought-provoking conversation at this point. The groundwork put into these early  conversations helps to lay the foundation   for selling further down the track. The  second step is to reframe the conversation This step focuses on finding the root of the  prospect’s problems and reframing them as growth   opportunities, breaking down any misconceptions  about how they’ll solve their problems and   slowly beginning to shift their mindset away  from what they perceive to be the answer. After challenging the prospect to accept that  the problem-solving solution they had in mind   won’t work, even if only hypothetically, begin to  reframe the conversation around better solutions. Do this by staying on topic. Address  the concerns the prospect talked   about in step one and reiterate your  understanding, knowledge and expertise. You could also surprise the prospect  about their misconceptions. Challenge   them to shift their focus to  new and more effective methods. Even addressing the problem with confidence can  be effective. By turning the conversation around,   it requires a certain level of fearlessness and  assurance. So the more confident and relatable   you can be, the more the prospect will  trust you to present alternative solutions. The goal of this step isn’t to sell but to try  and evoke a sense of curiosity in the prospect,   getting them to think in new ways. The third  step of the process is to use emotions. Most of our decision-making is subconscious  and usually driven by our emotional reaction.   So no matter how good your product is, emotions  will still play a key role in B2B sales. A great way to get prospects to see value is  by presenting them with relatable customer   success stories, where they picture how they  could benefit too. It's harder for them to   go back to their old ways of thinking once  they realize there’s an alternate solution.   Take this a step further by showing prospects what  will happen if they don’t change their outlook. You could tell a story that paints  a picture of what will happen if   the prospect continues down their familiar path. Making the story relatable  by addressing the prospect’s   pain points, challenges and failing solutions. Use case studies of customers who have solved  their problems using these alternative solutions. And do research so that as soon as the prospect  begins to picture themselves using a new solution,   you can back up their argument with  data to rationalize their statements. If done right, the prospect won’t see the  benefits of sticking to their original path.   Moving on to step four, the value proposition. It’s now time to show the prospects  the possibilities of a better future   if they choose the new path. Don’t introduce  your product as the solution early on.   Instead, focus on showing the prospect  that their problem can be easily solved. Frame these solutions by painting a picture of  a positive future. In the last step, you told a   story with a bad ending. Now, flip this story to  show the prospect what their future will look like   if they decide to take action, even focusing on  solutions. The prospect needs to start connecting   the dots themselves, but you can take your time  to explain anything the prospect is unsure about. The ultimate goal in this step is  to educate the prospect about what   the ideal solution to their problem looks  like, without ever mentioning your product.   It seems counter-intuitive, but if you do  this right, the prospect will sell themselves   on your solution before you ever have to.  The fifth and final step is the product. The hard work is done. You’ve  taken the prospect’s problem,   reframed it, gained their trust and  offered up a solution to solve it.   The only thing left to do is show their  prospect that they have that exact solution. If you follow all the steps  in the process correctly,   this final step should be painless and  quick, because with challenger sales,   the sales rep is already leading  the conversation from the beginning. Sales processes are becoming more complex and  prospects are doing more research on their own   before they make contact with a sales rep,   this is where the Challenger sales  model and methodology comes in handy. If you found the Challenger sales  model interesting and you want to   learn more about different sales methodologies,   carry on watching our video series on different  sales methodologies or head over to our blog,   where we’ve gone more into detail on other  popular sales methodologies. Thanks for watching.