The sales game isn’t what it used to be. Every day, new challenges arise and more often, prospects are choosing to conduct their own research rather than relying on salespeople to guide them. Is your sales team prepared to rise to the challenge of closing the modern deal?
“Miller Heiman sales training can offer your sales team real strategies around the complex sale – blue sheeting will become a natural language internally that will encourage everyone to move in the same direction. You will close more deals and grow your company faster!” says Sharon Tsao, CMS, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
The Challenge of Solution Sales
When a sales pro attempts to sell a service or a product that satisfied a need, that is solution sales. Basically, it’s the oldest approach to sales, and it is likely the method your organization preaches to its sales team. In solution selling, the salesperson must first uncover the customer’s true need. Then, the rep must determine how their product or service will meet that need, and they position it accordingly.
Solution selling is effective because it justifies the purchase for the customer. However, thanks to the internet, solution selling is becoming more difficult. In the “old days” the only source of information a prospect had was the detail their salesperson provided. Now, people spend hours researching products or services beforehand and they come to the table with a preconceived idea of whether a product will meet their needs. This can lead to an uphill battle for sales reps.
Complex Sales, Defined
Complex sales are common in B2B environments and involve selling to more than one decision maker. Closing a complex sale requires winning over a majority of decision makers or, in some cases, all of them. Often times, the sales rep may not even be able to speak to all of the decision makers and may not know what each person believes the true need to be.
It is difficult enough to stand out from the competition and win over one decision maker. Every other person added to the mix creates an even more complex problem for the salesperson. Decision makers often have different priorities, different personalities and different preferences and it can be difficult to make a single product or service palatable to everyone. Add to it the fact that every person involved in the decision is likely conducting their own side research, and the sales rep can often feel like they are herding cats.
Can Your Team Rise To The Challenge?
Complex sales and solution selling have their limitations in our modern business environment. Prospects don’t like being “sold to” anymore, and they all like to conduct their own research to they feel like they are making informed decisions.
However, talented salespeople know how to rise to the occasion. They are able to build relationships with their prospects, work on complex sales by getting in with an “insider” who will advocate for them, and they can position their solution as ideal, even in the face of multiple objections.
“Focus on the sales team forecast and together review how those accounts are moving through the sales funnel – be sure to have enough prospects coming into the sales funnel so your pipeline never runs dry. This may sound basic, but sometimes getting back to the basics is the best strategy!” says Evan Violette, National Sales Manager, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
If you are looking for true sales rock stars, the expert sales recruiters CSS are here to help. Whether you need to attract and retain top sales talent, or you are looking for advice on how to manage them for success, contact CSS ProSearch today.
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Contemporary Staffing connects job seekers to hiring managers nationally in the following professions: Accounting & Finance, Call Center & Office, Human Resources, IT, Salesforce, and Sales & Marketing.