Today Teaching is Better than Selling

Many organizations selling to dealers underestimate how much the buying process has changed.?The continue to operate like it was 2008 years. These organizations will continue to operate in 2020s, with diminishing results.??

Working with Dealer Principals and GM’s I like to ask,

?“Of all the things you could do with your time prior to purchasing a new solution for your store, what do you do?”

1. Research Online
2. Have a meeting with your team
3. Have meetings with potential suppliers
4. Attend an industry trade-show

Who would disagree, online research is the go-to source for information?

Even small budget decisions at dealerships are researched extensively.??Deciding which vendor is the best solution is not easy.?The wrong decision can be expensive and potentially job threatening.?

The modern buying process looks like this:

1. Problem Recognition
2. Solution Exploration
3. Provider Selection
4. Provider Validation
5. Approval

Steps 1 through 3 are done without the need of a sales rep.?In other words, dealers are short-listing, preselected providers they have self-identified can help.??

Here is the critical takeaway...The company that consistently makes the shortlist, can be a world-class sales organization, without world-class sales talent.

This type of company is “enabling the deal”.?Deal enablement will boost seller performance for all sales reps.?Average reps will produce at a higher level, selling more, for larger deal sizes and closing deals faster.???

It turns the consultative selling methodology on its head.?If you look at the modern buying process, relying on consultative selling reps to win the business leaves you with fewer opportunities.??

Deal enablement companies focus on helping decision-makers learn what they don’t know.?These companies help decision-makers see problems within their current state and provide a path to a better future state.??

When the sales rep enters the picture at stage 4 in the modern buying process their role is to validate the decision rather than sell the solution.?

Modern selling today is about the buyer convincing themselves the solution they want, was their own idea.

This is the responsibility of the company, the sales rep validates and assists with approvals. The rep's role shifts from consulting selling and matching benefits to problems into minimizing risk and ensuring the potential value is high enough to move forward.

The big win is, world-class deal enablement companies can have world-class sales teams, without world-class sales talent.?

They can cash in on the big marketing budgets of larger competitors who created awareness for problems their solution solves.

In the modern buying process, the company that enables the market with the best information will always win against the one who just wants to sell their solution.

The best way to become a great salesperson is to work for a company with a great buying process for its customers.