This SlideShare presentation is an extract of the content I use to train sales people, sales leaders, and executives on a sales and buyer research model for today's dynamic sales environment.
1. Adapting your sales model to an age of
disruption
Mark Parker
mparker@smartselling.com
2. Confidentiality and Intellectual Property
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This presentation is an extract of a 3-hour workshop to train sales
leaders and executives.
It introduces you to:
1. The basics of the Challenger Sales Model;
2. Buyer Personas and why they are important
3. Creating real differentiators
4. The role of commercial teaching
5. (re)Constructing your unique sales proposition
Introduction
9. Part 2 – Understanding the Buyer Persona
Not all buyers are the same
10. The First Missing Link
1. Do all buyers want innovative products/services
from you?
2. What pain points are your buyers experiencing?
11. What is a Buyer Persona?
In simple terms:
• An effort to ensure you understand and/or actively track the key
drivers in terms of their pain, their gain, and how you then
might engage with them
• Can and should be completed at:
• The head office level
• Within key SBU’s
• Geographically and/or key buyers
Many of you may already do this
13. Part 3 – What is a Differentiator
Imprecise and over-used descriptors are among the most
over-used ‘differentiators’
14. The Second Missing Link – Being Different
The second missing link in Insight Selling is how YOU define a
differentiator.
• Numerous models exist inc:
• Porters Five Forces
• BCG Matrix
• Blue Ocean Strategy
• VRIO is a powerful model that focuses on your internal
capabilities and readiness
• Value
• Rarity
• Imitability
• Organisation
15. VRIO Defined
• Value – do we have resources (i.e. products, services, or
capability) that can be utilised to exploit an opportunity?
• Rarity – Are these resources in the hands of a relative few?
• Imitability – Is the cost to imitate, copy, or follow high or low?
• Organisation – Are you organised, ready, willing, and able to
capitalise on this value?
16. Part 4 – What is Commercial Teaching
Effective commercial teaching is about leading to your
differentiators, not leading with them
17. Commercial Teaching
Effective commercial teaching is about leading to your
differentiators, not with them:
• Focus on the buyer/customer – be relentless in discussing their
issues
• Build empathy
• Reframe their understanding of their world
• Teach, Tailor, Take Control
23. Purposeful Choreography - Warmer
The purpose of the warmer is to build empathy. Key points:
• It’s not about you - The conversation, whether it is face to
face or digital needs to be about the customer
• Establish relevance – make it clear you not only understand
their problems but the insight you provide will be directly
related
• Create Curiosity – build suspense so they will want to hear
more.
24. Reframe the way your customer assigns value
to those areas where you outperform your
competitors
Purposeful Choreography - Reframe
25. Purposeful Choreography - Reframe
The purpose of the reframe is to tell the buyer something they
don’t know
• Problems behind the problems – break it to your audience
that their problems will not be solved with the solutions they
have requested.
• Maintain relevance – relate your reframe to the concerns they
found most relevant during the warmer
• Keep it sparse – provide valuable insights (shock & awe) but
don’t give up the farm OR go into solution mode!
27. Purposeful Choreography – Rational Drowning
This phase is a gradual intensification of the problem.
• Validate the scope/intensity with hard facts – provide data
to validate your reframe.
• Make clear connections – Guide them further along the path
you wish them to take
• Check for understanding – your audience needs to
understand the key points you are presenting
• Provide a clear display of expertise – doing so will matter far
more during the buying process
Example: The impact of lack of oversight of distribution partners
28. Purposeful Choreography – Emotional Impact
Bring the problem to life – make a personal connection
• Tie to KPI’s – do your homework and relate the problem to
specific (i.e. relevant) KPI’s
• Tell a story – it’s the best way to impart a lesson
You’ve changed the way your buyer thinks – Don’t go into
solution mode yet. They don’t see any solutions yet, but this is
what we want
Example: The impact of unprofitable international sales on your
reputation with VC’s
29. Purposeful Choreography – A New Way
We have the tools you need to solve your problem
• What you present should be implicitly tied to your value
proposition
• This is where your solution can be presented to a buyer, clearly
linked back to key teaching points.
30. Conclusion
How we sell needs to adapt to the paradigm shift in
buyer behaviour – this is being driven by (1) the
incredible amount of information available to buyers,
and (2) the continued emergence of digital natives in
the workforce.
The Challenger sales model, when combined with the
use of buyer persona research and differentiator
models such as VRIO provide the framework to reskill
sales people