Read the full article >> http://fourquadrant.com/the-challenger-sale-a-new-model-for-high-performance-sales-teams/ In order to significantly move the revenue needle, it’s imperative to understand The Challenger Sale – A New Model for High Performance Sales Teams, as that is what separates the most effective sales organizations apart from the pack. And the time is now. Customer buying behaviors have changed as many vendors have adopted a solution selling methodology to sell large, complex, disruptive and more expensive solutions. In 2009, the Corporate Executive Board (CEB) set out to answer this fundamental question: “What skills, behaviors, knowledge and attributes matter most for high performance sales teams?” Specifically, the CEB: - Initially surveyed hundreds of front-line sales managers spanning nearly 100 countries - Instructed each sales manager to assess three sales reps they directly managed – on average, two sales reps and one star or high performer across 44 different attributes - Included every major industry, geography and go-to-market model into the survey - Asked sales managers to assess each sales reps’ attitude, the degree to which the sales rep worked to solve customer issues and the sales reps’ willingness to risk disapproval - Analyzed the skills, behaviors, activities, knowledge of the customers’ business and of the sales reps’ own company’s solutions - Addressed the sales reps’ tenure, geography, account size, direct vs. indirect, and general territory vs. named account - Utilized ‘performance against quota’ as the prevailing metric to gauge overall effectiveness - Surveyed over 6,000 sales reps globally since the initial survey It is easy see that the approach the CEB took was quite comprehensive. Data was captured to correlate the specific behaviors and activities that positively impacted sales performance. The survey was not designed, developed or executed to become a study of personality traits or personal strengths. It was conducted to focus on specific skills and behavior. The goal was to understand which things high performers do better so that the average performer could be more effective. It was not to try to incrementally improve the performance of stars or high performers. Download go to market planning templates at http://www.fourquadrant.com/products/

1. Go to Market Strategy !
The Challenger Sale!
Taking control of the customer conversation!
Read the Full Article!
!
CLICK HERE
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2. High Performers!
!
Every organization’s top performing
sales reps should be embraced and
rewarded. The goal should not be
preventing them from earning a
compensation level commensurate with
the revenue contribution they made to
the organization. !

3. Rise of Third Party
Consultants!
!
Customers frequently employ third
party consultants to extract maximum
value from the solution. Usually these
consultants have worked for the vendor
or in an organization where the product
was deployed. !

4. The Psychology of Selling,
E.K. Strong!
!
The second breakthrough in selling
occurred as a result of research
published by E. K. Strong in 1925 – The
Psychology of Selling. Sales techniques
centered on highlighting features and
benefits, objection handling, the use of
open and closed-ended questions and
techniques for closing.!

5. Consensus Based Sale!
!
In the last decade, there has been a
great deal of uncertainty about the
economy and job security. Few
senior level executives today exhibit
cavalier attitudes or are willing to go
out on a limb by themselves to make
a six or seven digit purchase!

6. The Challenger Sale
!
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!
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!