Sales : Transforming Value through Problem Solving

As the football world cup meanders through to a close the stunning run by a ragged Croatia team has made the world sit up and take notice. A nation of 4.5 million people, 20th ranked in the world is at the pinnacle of being the World Champion in the world's most popular sport. On sheer numbers and weight of history , this is champagne stuff. Yet the statistical anomaly of Croatia's world cup run is matched by Leicester City's amazing run to win the Premier league a couple of season's ago. As a sales executioner , such events make me plead for miracles in my domain ; but they rarely ever do. To decipher why and as a lover of football ,the excellent human turmoil the sport mirrors I have chosen football as my earth to paint the reasons for such organic excellence.

Croatia and Leicester's seemingly immovable object of winning from a point of no return is based on a hypothesis set of not to allow the opposition to beat them in effort and relentless desire to execute. On paper the teams did not allow the null hypothesis of probabilities stacked against them, talented opposition players and reputations to be the status quo. The null hypothesis was just the beginning for a group of men to recognize their limitations , grow singular and form a collective bargain against the odds. They gave blood , sweat ,tears and consolation to gain edges against talent , skill , youth and personality. The players and coach were united in their recognition of the null hypothesis; their limitations . From here they framed each match as an individual problem statement against superior ingredients and tested it with their will power and execution to reach a perfect formula. Here they formed an impossible force against an immovable object to target victory.

We live in an edge of mutual admiration, we live as one of us in each other. The flashy watch , clean cut , sharp suits are as much a touch of ourselves and of others around us. As sales practitioners we need to take a step out of this situation we find ourselves in client engagements. Rather than an excitable high decibel pitch , we need to reorganize as a high precision warrior trying to micro engineer a solution not micro manage a value proposition. The customer problem statement is very important in this regard, silence and dignity help formalize the customer organisation across the table. Too often the laptop becomes a saviour to dig in for a presentation, rather make a note , draw out a helicopter view of the character in front of you, draw out the flaws , admire the perfections. A raw null hypothesis of the customer organisation is crucial to gain trust that you are in the "PARTNER" mode irrespective of the result.

As the listening continues , the atmosphere clears up , aspirations start to emerge . The human nature evolves and the raw demand of perfection gives way to acceptable status. The client organisation is not in utopia, they are here with the same basket of troubles that everybody has , it might be as simple as the traffic getting to work or the node temperature of the 64th wafer in the sub sink cooling drawer in their lightest smartest phone. All problems go away to Tiesto's " Dont you worry child ..." , but that's for a Friday evening. In this phase be honest , share your experiences ,learn with each other's shared values. A collective formation of the actual hypothesis and testing with various solutions , including the variables fit into the client organisation helps to fill any gaps in human and technology understanding. From whichever angle ; this phase covers cynicism , excitement , rejection and admiration. The end of this phase is a decoration of organic achievement for both organisations and representatives across the board. Closing stands just ahead and greater chances of closing when the pain points are identified , solved and acknowledged.

So what's transformed with this hypothesis formation and testing process....

Knowledge Perspective: From stated obvious to articulation of the unstated pain point.

Human Perspective : Greater respect for each other and points of view.

Organisation Perspective : A respect for limitations rather than blunt drive of perfection.

Solution Perspective : The best chance for the solution to succeed in an admirable environment.

Value Perspective : Sales solution acknowledged as the best fit for the client's problems.

Overall through this process the delta between promise and delivery stands to close through multiple iterations . Better conditions for techno commercial satisfaction and no grounds for disputes, better price realizations and improved brand value are just some of the gains for organisations that practice this honest selling technique. Yes it's true there is HONEST SELLING...... !

Reach for the raw hypothesis , engage with your clients test their educated guesses with your fortitude, grit and desire to learn .... the promised land is just across.