Intro
We’re beginning a series on introduction to different sales methodologies. This is for multiple purposes. First, THEY ARE USEFUL. I have used a lot of these and do daily. They are not magic, but make a difference.
Second, they can get you paid more:
From Bravado's state of Sales Compensation 2022 (https://bravado.co/salaries)
If you scroll to “Want to make over $250K?" bravado’s findings state:
"According to our respondents it pays to learn sales methodology. Of the $250k+ earners 1/2 are trained in the Challenger method and MEDDIC and Sandler were"
Are you going to get hired for knowing what MEDDPICC stands for or the Three Ts of Challenger? Fuck no. Does being able to speak though how you would use it and then demonstrate increase your chances of getting hired and add more leverage to earn more? Yes, it does.
So lets dive into the Challenger Sale, and get you sales reps dominating!
What Is the Challenger Sale Methodology?
The Challenger Sales Methodology is a sales methodology based on three core principles: Teach, Tailor, and Take Control. These principles, derived from the findings of one of the largest sales studies to date, are what they say a "Challenger" sales rep does.
Different Seller Profiles
Analysis of the research showed that there were essentially 5 types of sales reps, The Challenger, The Lone Wolf, The Hard Worker, The Relationship Builder, and The Problem Solver. We're only going to go into The Challenger, as it is what this methodology teaches you to be.
What is a "Challenger" Rep?
A Challenger rep is someone who:
Offers the customer unique perspectives
has strong two-way communication skills
knows the individual customers value drivers
can identify economic drivers of the customer's business
is comfortable discussing money
can pressure the customer
The Challenger methodology aims to produce reps who exemplify these traits by training them to crease constructive tension by:
Teaching: Deliver insight that reframes the way customers think about their businesses and their needs
Tailoring: Communicating sales messages in the context of the customer
Taking control: Openly pursuing goals in a direct but nonaggressive way to overcome increased customer risk aversion.
Constructive Tension
This is tension created between the prospect and the problem they are currently facing. What makes it constructive tension is when prospects find living with their problem no longer tenable. Driving them forward in the sales process as the path of least resistance, the exact opposite of the traditional sales process. We drive them in the right direction with Teach, Tailor, Take Control.
Teach
Teach refers to Commercial Teaching.
What a Challenger Rep does is learn the industry of the customers well enough to know the economic and business drivers, pain points, and their emotional impact. Using this, rather than parroting a simple demo of their software, they enter a meeting looking to teach the prospect about issues that are prevalent in their industry but they have not yet considered in their business.
the warm up
A meeting with a challenger rep would likely start with the standard introductions, agenda's being set, time check etc. Then the rep would say something like:
"We've worked with a number of companies similar to yours, and we've found that these three challenges come up again and again as by far the most troubling. Is that what you're seeing too or would you add something else to the list?"
This builds credibility - you're showing you belong in their social hierarchy and can speak their language.
The Reframe
This is the central movement of Commercial Teaching. Here the Challenger rep will build off of the challenges that their prospect acknowledged in step one, and introducing them to a new perspective that links their challenges to a bigger problem or opportunity than they ever realised.
This is not something the rep will make up in the moment, it has to be something that will show a flash of brilliance (Think the flash roll from Flip the Script by Oren Klaff) enough to change the prospects thinking. The aim of this step is to tell the prospect something they have not considered yet.
If your prospect's reaction is "Yes, I totally agree!" You've missed the mark. The response needs to be along the lines of "Huh, i've never thought of it that way before". You need to be defining your prospect's needs not responding to them.
Rational Drowning
This is where the presentation goes deep into the numbers, if you use an ROI calculator as part of your presentation, this is where it goes.
Your aim here is to quantify the cost, often hidden, of the problem that the prospect had not yet considered. Rational drowing is the quantifyable numbers of why the customer should think differently abou ttheir business.
Note: Don't do an ROI their purchase of your product, you need to do an ROI of them solving their problem. DO NOT SELL YOUR PRODUCT YET.
Emotional Impact
During a successful Emotional Impact step, your prospect will feel personally connected to your presentation because you’re giving them a scenario that resembles their own situation. Once your client sees that connection, they will conclude it’s no longer an option to continue to do things the same old way.
You need to tell a customer story that relates to your prospect's challenges directly, and how it impacted your existing customer.
You’ve challenged and changed the way your prospect thinks, and they agree they can’t continue down the same path. For them, this is the darkest point of the presentation, and they are ready for new ideas.
a new way
This is where you plan with your prospect creating a point by point review of the capabilities they would need to solve this new impending doom, great opportunity, making of money, loss of money etc.
You still DO NOT sell your product, you are leading them down a path, agreeing on what would solve this new concept in their mind, walking toward what your product does.
Your solution
This is where you can pitch back how your product actually fits these requirements that were set out in step 5, solving your customers needs.
Tailor
This is Tailoring for Resonance. YOu will be speaking a lot of different stakeholders from all levels of the organisation in multiple different departments for a complex sale. You need to learn to tailor your approach to each different person you speak to.
The Challenger Research shows that stakeholders look for the following in a sales rep:
Someone who’s professional
Someone they can believe and trust to deliver
A rep who will offer useful perspectives and educate the customer.
Message tailoring involves four levels, starting with the customer’s industry, followed by company, role, and individual.
Take Control
The third of the three Ts (Take Control) is to remind the challenger of the value of not letting the prospect drive the sales process.
Challengers, while not aggressive, are certainly more assertive. They size up the prospect early on in the process. Prospects that can’t make a buying decision waste a salesperson’s time. Challengers recognize early if they are talking to the right people and don’t waste time pitching to the wrong audience.
Challengers are also comfortable with a bit of tension and are unlikely to acquiesce to every demand from prospects. When necessary, they have the fortitude to press the prospect a bit. They challenge the prospect, not just in terms of thinking, but also on issues such as price. When faced with a price objection, they are quick to redirect the conversation back to lifetime value and avoid compromising on price.
The challenger attempts to answer the following types of questions to find the best way to take control of the sales presentation:
What information do you want to protect from the prospect and what are you willing to share?
What are the next steps to ensure the purchase process moves forward?
What do you understand about the prospect’s buying process?
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