The Challenger Sale

As mentioned in my previous articles, I plan to write a series of sales techniques that I have used in the past (trained and through self learning from books I have read).

This is the sales methodology that turns average performers into rockstars. One of my favourite's - The Challenger Sale.

What sets the best-performing salespeople apart from the herd? What attributes can you learn to go from zero to hero in your sales team? It starts with thinking a little differently. In 2011, the global insights company CEB decided to conduct one of the largest ever studies of the sales industry, talking to more than 30,000 sales reps across the world. The resulting book, The Challenger Sale, shook the world of sales. However, it offered a pathway to greatness available to everyone. Let’s find out more.

The five types of sales rep

CEB put forward the view that every sales rep, no matter where they are in the world or what industry they work in, can be categorised into one of five groups. These are:

• The Relationship Builder – The archetypal consultative rep. This salesperson builds rapport by focusing on the customer’s needs. They are happy to wait for the deal rather than push them.
• The Hard Worker – The salesperson who is in the office at 7 in the morning and is the last to leave at night. They make more calls and take more meetings than anyone else on the team.
• The Lone Wolf – The maverick of the sales team. Virtually unmanageable, has their own style which derives from large amounts of confidence.
• The Problem Solver – A salesperson with an eye for detail, someone you can rely on to follow through on what they say.
• The Challenger – The Challenger takes a different view of the world. They have an in-depth knowledge of their customer’s business and have the ability to push them in the direction they choose.

Which of these types of rep do you recognise? Which one are you?

The CEB research showed that Challengers are the most successful salespeople. 40% of star performers in the study were Challengers, by far the largest proportion. Unfortunately, Relationship Builders finished last in the survey, making up only 7% of top performers.

What is a Challenger?

For salespeople to sell successfully as Challengers, they need to possess specific attributes. Rather than talking about features and benefits like many salespeople, Challengers use insight to teach their customers how to improve their business situation. This can sometimes be provocative and requires a certain amount of confidence, but when done well, it works.

Challengers are curious sellers that want to understand their prospect's goals, fears, and desires. The best reps see their prospects as individuals, not dollar signs. They get curious about topics that might not seem to have anything to do with the sale. Yet it's this type of curiosity that pays off in the end.

Challengers can teach their customers things about their own business, with new ideas to raise revenue or cut costs, for example. These could be things that are working elsewhere in the industry, that the customer doesn’t even know about yet.

Challengers are experts at crafting their sales messages to the individual customer. Because they are experts in their industry, they have a well-developed sense of each customer’s goals, motivators and pain points. This is especially relevant when a customer has more than one decision-maker, or a buying committee made up of different people across the company.

Finally, Challengers take control of the sales process. Their time is precious and they do not want to waste it with customers who won’t buy, can’t buy or are hesitating. They are not afraid to push the customer towards the deal if it is in their interests. Plus, they will usually have data to back up why they should buy now. Challengers are not scared of the negotiation process. They are comfortable with the back and forth and are more likely to trade rather than just give in to the buyer’s demands.

How to be a Challenger

If you aren’t a Challenger, don’t panic. Challengers aren’t born; they’re made. The combination of skills required to be a successful Challenger is not out of reach. You can’t achieve Challenger status overnight, but you can get there. Skills around taking control of the sales process, negotiation and data-driven selling can be coached. You can take the time to become an expert in your industry. Read everything you can about your industry and go to every trade event you can.

Finally, train yourself to go against the grain more often. Just because you’ve always done something a particular way, doesn’t mean you still have to do it that way. Think outside the box. Look for ways to improve. Don’t follow the crowd. Sales reps should be interested in becoming Challengers, while sales leaders should be coaching their teams to pick up Challenger skills, then your sales team can find success.