I just read David Brock’s (Partners in Excellence) response to: To Sell More, Scare Customer Spitless by Geoffrey James at BNET. I read the original article, In a Downturn, Provoke Your Customers in the Harvard Business Review. I also read the response from Sales Performance International (SPI), who believed their sales process was libeled in the article (It was).
Brock’s post is here: Provocative Selling – The “Shock and Awe” of Selling. I tend to agree with much of what he says.
Those of you have been here for any time know that I am an avowed agnostic when it comes to the sales process, believing instead that being professional means being effective even when we fall off of the sales process road map. I have to be honest here, if you are not already enough of an expert in your industry to know how help your clients and prospects with their as-yet-unperceived threats, you are woefully behind the curve (as well as not very helpful). Moreover, if you have not yet figured out how to motivate your complacent prospects to take action, then frightening the shit out of them is probably not a great methodology (here I agree with James, most are not going to easily and effectively pull this off).
Here is Brock’s money quote (emphasis mine):
I’m actually quite excited about the conversaton Provocative Selling is causing in the sales community. I see it as a wake up call for all professional sales people. It is not a new concept, start ups have been doing it for years. Consultants do it all the time. Great sales professionals do this every day. If anything, Provocative Selling reminds us of what we should be doing every day. We need to move it from a “crisis” to standard execution.
More than having sales professionals embrace it, I hope customers embrace it. I hope it becomes the standard expectation that all customers have of their suppliers and vendors. I hope each customer expects the people selling to them should be bringing them ideas and solutions for growing and improving their businesses. It raises the bar on sales perfromance, sets a new standard. Those sales people that can meet that new standard will separate themselves from all others, creating differentiated and sustained value!
In my mind, this comes down to style: simple Provocateur or Trusted Adviser. Both will proactively show you the blind spots. Both will compel you take action. One of them you will hope to see again in the future. The other, I suspect, will have worn out his welcome at his second provocation (let that simmer).
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I enoyed your comments on the article and think you honed in on the most critical elements of the issue. Regardless of whose methodology, sales process, or gimmick du jour, the sales professional’s job is to help their customers identify new opportunities for growth and improve their businesses.
As long as the sales person focuses on this and continues to engage their customers in healthy conversations about this, they will create great value for their customers and business for their own companies.
I’m flattered you took notice of my article. Regards, Dave
Whether it comes down to style or methodology, what I find interesting is that both the proposed provocation technique and the maligned solution selling method require a real depth of customer knowledge. Although the way each seller uses and positions that understanding is different–either to solve customer pains or to pointedly move the customer in a different direction–that’s where the meat of the conversation is. In order to effectively apply this “scare tactic,” the seller must really understand who the buyer is because a misreading could lead to a suggestion by the seller that is completely off-base. With a sales enablement platform in place that provides sellers with tribal knowledge, such as success stories and competitive intel, a sales person can walk into that conversation armed with the most relevant information.
The credibility question in my response is the first obstacle I need to overcome. So, please give me a few seconds to demonstrate it.
I’m highly trained in psychology – the specific psychology of what people respond to, why they buy (anything) and what the seller has to do to convince that prospect to give his/her solution a try.
How is that different from what I see in the professional world? Vastly different. I have met only a small handful of sales people who have any understanding of that psychology or how to use it. I’ve met only a slightly larger handful of sales coaches/trainers who understand it.
The fact is, any prospect can be read (on the fly) quickly and accurately – within mere seconds. I teach my clients how to read a prospect’s personality type, values and communication style before they finish shaking hands with their prospect! Within a short conversation they can verify those elements, and also learn how that person makes decisions.
This is basic for people trained and experienced in this aspect of psychology. But most of the sales people I have met and/or observed are more interested in selling techniques than how to truly understand another human being.
That statement is based on my 20 years of experience coaching/training insurance agents and financial advisors – all people who make their living making sales.
Perhaps we can delve deeper into this – how to read the prospect in order to understand his psychology, thus being able to provide the highest level of help to him/her. Eh? After all, it’s not about the technique, it’s about the people.
Michael Lovas
michael@aboutpeople.com