What do Selling Methodologies Have to do with Taco Bell, Custom Suits, and Golf?

I am often asked, which sales methodologies do you think are best. It’s such a great question and I do have a point of view. First, let’s define a what a selling process is: A selling process is a strategy and a set of tactics that provides the selling teams (AE’s, SE’s, Mgt) a process for how to get from point A (a lead) to point B (a qualified opportunity), to point C (a a closed sale with a new or existing customer). Within the process there are four key components:

1. Creating Demand - creating new opportunities through lead generation efforts

2. Qualifying Demand - deciding whether the opportunity warrants investment or not

3. Closing Demand - advancing the opportunity through the cycle to an decision

4. Growing Demand - expansion through organic growth, up-sell, or cross sell
   

I am a big proponent, that to grow sales as quickly and cost effectively as possible, it’s very important to have a selling process that is consistently executed across the revenue organization. All of my clients do - whether it be Salesforce, Google, Hashicorp, RainforestQA, SmartRecruiters, Litmus, and others. A consistent process, vernacular, and strategy enables you to ramp new hires quickly and drive greater productivity of the existing team. In fact, CSO Insights, the research arm of Miller Heiman, published a report sharing that sales organizations that have implemented a formal and dynamic selling process enjoy the following five benefits:

• Higher overall plan attainment

• A higher percentage of AE’s/SE’s hitting and exceeding quota targets

• Higher close rates

• A lower percentage of deals ending in the dreaded “closed/no decision” category

• Less turnover of the staff, both voluntary and involuntary
  

So, yes, I agree and am a big believer that a consistent sales process or methodology is a critical success factor that enables “next level” selling organizations to transform themselves from “just another vendor status” to “trusted advisor status” with their clients.

But there are few important nuances, that I know from experience, make a material difference in the overall performance of selling team, regardless of what methodology you have invested in.

First, I am not that concerned, and honestly, fairly agnostic about what methodology you choose or have. I have been trained on and researched many, such as; SPIN, MEDDIC, BANT, SANDLER, THE CHALLENGER SALE, SOLUTION SELLING, VALUE SELLING, TARGET ACCOUNT SELLING, COMMAND THE SALE, and more. In fact, there are over a dozen with new methodologies being birthed every year. They are all excellent and valuable in their own ways but, to me, are all relatively the same. They all tell you you have to qualify the opportunity, find the pain, determine the budget and find out who has the power to make a decision, etc...It’s somewhat like ordering off the menu at Taco Bell...pick a taco, burrito, cruchwrap, or gordita, they all have the same ingredients but packaged just a little differently. Selling methodologies are the same...just packaged a bit differently.

Secondly, the selling process must be tailored to fit your business just like a custom suit. Sure, you can buy 42 long off the rack but it’s not going to fit nearly as well as a custom suit that conforms to your specific body type. Off the shelf suits rely on only two measurements, suit length and chest size. A tailored suit has 24 measurements. Trust me, my body is unique...at 5’10” and 210 pounds on a good day, a tailored suit makes me look taller and thinner in a way an off the rack suit cannot. The same is true of a selling methodology. In other words, does the process fit your specific target markets and industries, your sales segments (such as smb, mid-market, enterprise, verticals, etc.), and the buying personas within your target accounts (VP of Sales, CIO, CEO, Developer, Director of Security Operations, etc)? I have seen too many companies fall into the trap of “peanut butter spreading” one process across the selling organization, falling short of their intended goals, and then scratching their heads at the end of the year saying to themselves “maybe we have the wrong sales process”? That’s likely not the case...it's just not tailored to the specific needs of your business. You bought “off the rack" and it did not fit well.

So, I’ve discussed the importance and value of having a sales methodology and how it must be tailored... now let’s get to what I believe is most important. All these selling methodologies are excellent at pointing out what’s important to do or find out during the selling process. For example, understanding if the customer has needs and budget is fundamental...uncovering the key decision makers and their influence within the organization...identifying the timing, size, and scope of the potential deal is important for forecast accuracy...negotiating without giving away the farm is very valuable.

Like, I said, there is not a selling methodology in the world that does not focus on these areas, but here’s the rub, here’s the challenge...none of these methodologies actually train and coach how to effectively have these conversations with buyers when engaged.

Remember, one of my guiding principles is “how you sell is just as important as what you sell”, in terms of your selling success A selling methodology will instruct you to “find out the budget” but it does not coach you on the art and science of how to have the conversation in way that inspires the buyer to open up and share that information. We know prospects don’t easily show their cards and are generally untrusting of sales people. Thus, getting them to be transparent takes tremendous skill. A methodology will tell you, you must “qualify the deal” before you start investing company resources in the pursuit, right? But it does not teach you how to effectively conduct a discovery meeting in a way that inspires the prospect to open up and share what's most important in their world and what does not matter. The methodology will tell you there is a “negotiation” step in the process, but it does not provide any vision, strategy, or tactics on how to effectively negotiate a winning deal on your price and terms. These are conversations that need to take place, at the exact right time and in very delicate way. One wrong move and you can torpedo your deal quickly, which could cost you quota club or worse yet, chairman's club.

So, let's net this out. Think about golf. A selling methodology is like your equipment - your clubs, type of ball, glove, and shoes. In fact, you can play with the same exact equipment as the pros, whether it be Dustin Johnson,Tiger Woods, or Scottie Scheffler. This equipment is all designed to help you hit longer, straighter and more consistently. However, if you have not developed the right skills and delivery mechanism, such as your stance, grip, the knowledge of knowing which club to hit in every situation, proper swing tempo, and how to read the greens accurately, you will consistently score lower than you should. Again, this is despite having the best equipment in the world.

In professional sales, conversations between buyers and sellers really matter...more now than ever. Having conversational selling intelligence is your delivery mechanism. Knowing exactly when to have specific conversations, with whom, and when not to is critical to winning or losing business. Understanding how to have those conversations in a way to amplifies your chances for success and de-risks your deals makes all the difference when dealing with today's modern and more sophisticated buyers. Old school hip hop may still be cool, but old school selling will not lead you to where you want to go.