This was one of the conclusions reached by Matt Dixon and Brent Adamson, authors of the book “The Challenger Sale”.
The need to understand what the best professionals and sales teams do to achieve excellent results led the authors to study which are the most important skills and abilities in this context.
The results were described in the book The Challenger Sale and gave rise to the challenger sale methodology, a modern and highly effective approach to negotiating and closing deals with significant results.
Professionals who embrace this methodology will be better prepared to stand out in the market and achieve consistent performance.
Curious to know how this strategy works? Keep reading and find out what challenge selling is, how it transforms the sales process and what skills are essential to apply it successfully.
What is challenge selling?
What do you imagine when you hear the term “challenge sale”?
Although the term may cause some confusion, challenge selling does not refer to provoking the lead . Quite the opposite, it is an approach that goes beyond traditional sales techniques and is based on challenging the customer strategically.
This concept was introduced in the book The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. They studied more than 6,000 salespeople and 90 companies indonesia whatsapp data from different industries to try to understand the best strategies for selling effectively.
Among some of the main conclusions they reached, they identified that the way you sell has more of an impact than what you sell . This is evident when we look at the determining factors for decision-making:
- 19%: brand and company name
- 19%: product and service
- 9%: price
- 53%: buying/selling experience
Furthermore, the authors also pointed out that there are 5 distinct profiles among sales professionals and that every salesperson corresponds to a profile. However, there is a salesperson style that performs up to 5x better.
The 5 profiles of salespeople
Each profile identified by the authors presents distinct characteristics and approaches when interacting with customers. They are:
1. Relationship builder
Focused on creating strong, long-term connections with customers, this profile prioritizes trust and customer satisfaction above all else. They believe that operational marketing improvements through big data marketing solid relationships are key to closing deals, avoiding conflicts or tensions during negotiations as much as possible.
2. Reactive Problem Solver
This profile focuses on meeting customer needs and resolving issues quickly. They are detail-oriented, reliable, and proactive in ensuring that everything runs smoothly asia phone number after the sale, prioritizing high-quality service.
3. Hard worker
This profile is persistent, disciplined and motivated. He believes that constant effort leads to success. He likes to follow well-defined processes , is always willing to learn and seeks to achieve goals through dedication.
4. Lone wolf
Independent and self-confident, this professional prefers to act on his own, trusting his instincts and natural abilities. He is often successful, but often does not follow the company’s rules or processes.
5. Challenger
Finally, the last profile challenges the client’s ideas and perceptions, presenting new perspectives that generate value. It educates the client, stimulates strategic reflections and controls the negotiation with confidence.
The number of sales professionals who most often meet targets , according to each profile, is:
- Relationship builder: 7%;
- Problem solver: 12%;
- Committed: 17%;
- Lone wolf: 25%;
- Challenging: 39%
The main characteristics of the challenger sale
The most successful sales professionals, challengers , share a common characteristic: they educate their customers, adapt to different contexts and take control of the negotiation in a constructive way.
Rather than simply identifying needs and offering solutions, the professional challenges the client’s assumptions, presenting new perspectives and information that they had not previously considered.
For this reason, the challenging profile is very similar to a consultative profile, often used in more complex sales .
>> Read more: Consultative Sales: what it is, advantages and how to apply it in your company
The focus of the challenge sale, then, is to create constructive tension, that is, to provoke reflections in customers so that they perceive problems or opportunities that they might not see on their own.
This requires in-depth knowledge of the market, the client’s business and the solutions available, as well as communication skills to build trust during the sales process .
Practical tips for becoming a challenger
1. Listen, study and understand:
To be a challenger salesperson, the first step is to master knowledge about the market, the client’s sector and the available solutions.
Study the client’s pain points and needs in depth, but go further: listen carefully and seek to understand the contexts and challenges that they may not yet be aware of. Active listening is one of the main differentiators of a challenger.
Additionally, it is also important to pay attention to what the lead does not say, such as nonverbal communication.
A challenger knows that to teach something new, it is essential to understand what the client already knows and identify gaps that can be exploited.
2. Personalize your actions
There is no one-size-fits-all approach for all clients. To be effective, it is essential to tailor your strategy to each client’s specific profile, goals and challenges.
Personalization means connecting insights to the customer’s needs so that they see real value in what’s being presented. This requires a combination of empathy and analysis to create a more meaningful connection and increase your credibility.
3. Challenge and teach your client
The challenger ’s unique selling point lies in their ability to constructively challenge the client’s assumptions. They can bring new perspectives, present unexpected information, and point out opportunities the client may not have considered.
The challenging professional:
- dominates the scene and acts like an expert;
- contests and questions the information provided by the lead;
- offers new points of view.
By doing this, you not only educate, but also position your product or service as the best solution to that problem. The key is to balance constructive tension with respect.
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