Business leaders still ask me for the “if-then” formula for successful selling. They want a turnkey method that says if yes then do this. If no then do that. I call this decision-tree selling and we see it used effectively in “self-select” selling models.
If we want customers to self-select our product, without engaging with sales people, then we build marketing materials and interactive sales tools that lead the customer through their self-determined buying process or decision-tree. A great example is Amazon where they give the buyer all of the information they need to self-select without ever interacting with a human being.
With Amazon, the business model starts with the expectation that customers are knowledgeable about the product category for which they are shopping. It also presumes that a single person is making the purchase decision and that their information needs are similar to a high percentage of shoppers.
The customer searches for what they need like “printers” and Amazon generates options. The customer chooses what is most important to them. Is it price? Is it ratings? Amazon’s system is also smart enough that it knows to offer accessories such as paper and ink. The customer gets enough information to self-select what they will buy and they execute the purchase with a click of the mouse. This is self-selection selling (a.k.a. transactional selling) in 2014.
B2B selling does not allow for decision-tree selling. Each sales situation is different. A few examples include:
- Multiple decision points: Generally, we are selling to more than one person. We sell to different people from different groups with different needs. We also have to navigate political environments.
- Multi-faceted competition: We have companies selling against us but we also have internal opponents, apathy, and other projects competing for the same resources.
- Past experience: Previous purchases may have gone badly and they may not have even involved us. The decision maker who was positive and aggressive last year may now be cautious and hesitant.
The best B2B sales people know there is no simple decision tree because no two sales situations are the same. The number of decision permutations is endless. If there is no standard series of steps and if no two sales situations are the same, how do we identify sales people who will do the best in all situations? How do we find the best situational sales people?
- Winners: The best sales people are addicted to winning. Everyone likes to win but great sales people need it. As a consequence, these people intensely study their customers, their products and their industry with a goal of always getting better. This is much like an athlete or musician who is always practicing. Great competitors also differentiate losing from getting beat. Losing is when we fail to do everything we can to win. Getting beat is when the competition was just better on that day and we learn from it.
- Helpers: The best sales people are also addicted to helping others. They need to help others in a genuine way and providing vital information about the right product or service is a way to satisfy this need. We have to be careful here because there are those who like to create problems so they can save the day. The best sales people, thankfully, want to solve real problems so they can provide genuine help.
- Relaters: The best sales people are also addicted to building relationships with diverse people. The more diverse the people the more charged up the best sales people get. This does not mean they are all the stereotypical extroverted, charming people who are the loudest in the room. It does mean they are genuinely interested in learning what makes other people tick, whether in a sales situation or not. When we are genuinely excited about learning what makes people tick we learn why they make buying decisions. This is the foundation of the best sales people.
The best sales people handle situational selling by acting on their healthy addictions to winning, helping and relating. Find this combination of traits in employees or potential employees, and you will find your best sales people.
©2014 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
