Sales Pro vs. Trusted Adviser
05/04/2010 09:45
As part of my job as editor in chief of PHONE+, I spend a lot of time talking to partners and vendors (and sometimes customers) about technology. But I also spend a lot of time thinking about sales. Probably not as much as you do, but I do so a fair amount — particularly for someone in a non-sales role. Scratch that. Really, there are few of us in business today who are in non-sales roles. Certainly, those who are customer-facing have a part to play in selling even if they aren’t the ones asking for the signature on the contract. But even internally it seems we are doing a lot of “selling” either up, down or across our organizations in order to get the things we need to do our jobs. Some people call this “managing.” I call it “advocacy,” but in many ways it’s a lot like selling. I mean no disrespect to the sales pros pounding the pavement and the phones; that is a job I have not done and likely would perform with lackluster result. But I think there is quite possibly as much transformation occurring in the sales front as there is on the technology front. One of the sales bloggers I regularly turn to is Geoffrey James, author of BNET’s Sales Machine. In an April 20 post, he discusses the characteristics of The Salesperson of the Future. I was surprised to find that several of these qualities — culled from interviews with experts — described someone more like me than the stereotypical salesman. James and his sources predicted the salesperson of the future will be: - an interested introvert rather than an interesting extrovert
- a collaborator rather than a communicator
- a negotiator rather than a convincer
- an expert rather than a generalist
- a sales professional (e.g., trained) rather than an amateur
I wonder (as did one of James’ readers) whether this “softer selling” approach can get the hard job of closing new business done, but I can see its value in our industry, where complex technologies require a consultative approach. In fact, I would bet that a number of you already are (or employ) this person because your product set and target customer demand it. Really, the qualities of this new “sales pro” ensure the customer remains at the center of the process and begins the relationship with a foundation of trust. And, they slam the door on the order-takers, who in my opinion are not long for a career in high-tech sales. Transactional business has its place, sure, but there’s probably not a lot of call for it to use up human capital of which there seems to be a never-ending shortage. Automating these deals to the greatest extent possible is key. The talent must be focused on identifying opportunities, assessing customer needs and applying technological solutions. Indirect sales channels have a leg up over direct channels in being able to meet these needs if only by virtue of representing multiple vendors. But that advantage can fade if customers discover it’s only skin deep. A large vendor list – like a winning smile and affable demeanor – will only get you so far. The salesperson of the future will be the trusted adviser.
User Comments !
Khali,
I really like the last two words you used "trusted advisor". In speaking with thousands of enterprise end users a year I don't often hear them use that term when they refer to their vendor reps. The industry would be far better off if everybody really took the time to establish that relationship. Always having to "win back" clients is partially a relationship driven issue. Taking time to build rapport and relationship is vital, and wanted by the enterprise. They feel if you are not willing to get to know me and my business then there is no opportunity here. My suggestion, spend 20 minutes speaking with a prospect and don't try to sell or pitch them anything! It is harder than you think. Great article Khali................
Posted by: Scott Levy | May 05 2010 05:58:33
Interesting article Khali, and at the heart of our profession with how we interact with our customers. Also interesting because so many of us came up the ranks of sales in one way or another. The true 'Sales Pro' actually IS the 'Trusted Advisor.' It all starts with several basic elements (including some of those described by James) but I would also add that you must have a genuine interest in relationships with your customers and helping them find solutions that truly meet their needs. You can't fake this. Of course there also needs to be a true win-win-win in exchange for the time and knowledge investment and customers know, appreciate and will gladly pay for this.
In a world that is so easy to purchase anything, if you are 'selling transactionally' your world is not about to change - it already has. The salesperson of the future is not only already here, but has been for a while. I personally know of many in our channel and I've come to respect these true professionals immensely.
This 'sales approach' as you describe it is really at the core and heart of the true sales professional. It's a natural talent/strength and part of someone's personality I believe. I don't think you can train 'sale techniques' without being a phony or even manipulative to some extent. You can certainly grow and improve of course, but there has to be a natural talent in there and that genuine interest in helping others for true excellence to emerge. And of course the all important win-win-win.
I guess to sum it up, I would say it's more a matter of core values, natural desire to help, and the ability to find and align that true win-win-win than anything else. I'm not sure many would agree with this but would love to hear more comments and perspectives...
Posted by: Dan Vidal | May 05 2010 06:27:38
I think that team selling has been and will continue to be the best model for complex sales. No one person can fulfill all of a customer needs during the sales process. The functions that you have identified are usually provided by a sales engineer or customer engineer. The sales process is a five part process that all customers need to experience before making a buying decision. They are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and acceptance. The role of a professional sales person is to manage all of the resources needed in the proper sequence to deliver this customer experience to clients.
Posted by: Steve Tunney | May 05 2010 07:19:51
Steve,
Thanks for commenting on my blog. That was another point that I was noodling on. It seems that those skills and, frankly, personality traits are rarely in the same person. So, I agree with your position, and think it is likely the approach many companies in our industry will take/have taken to make this transition from transactional to consultative.
Posted by: Khali Henderson | May 05 2010 07:24:47
Very well put, Khali. The concept that's taking hold in sales, and in B2B in particular, is the concept of social proof. How are you branding yourself as a sales professional -- and are you distinguishing yourself as a thought leader which earns you the label "trusted adviser"?
In addition, the tools and content you are using to display third-party endorsement for your trustworthiness matter. Do you use video (of your clients and of yourself), generate articles, develop case studies with quantifiable data?
Nurturing campaigns -- versus the proverbial "smile and dial/grab and grin" grind for new leads -- can help make the most of your relationships and deliver lasting value. Demonstrating that you care about what matters to your clients and that you have relevant expertise can mean so much more to enrich your position and value as an advocate and adviser -- which ultimately shows up in the scoreboard.
Posted by: Joy Milkowski | May 05 2010 07:46:34
There are a number of factors in play within our trade today that combine to absolutely mandate the consultative "trusted advisor" approach to selling.
1. The solutions are increasingly complex across the board.
2. The solutions are increasingly mission-critical to success for the customer's business.
3. Those customer's that have it at all have scaled back on their internal IT staff resources, especially where WAN connectivity expertise is concerned.
4. Ongoing price compression has resulted in substantial reductions in sales engineering support availability from service providers.
5. The constant churn of mergers, acquisitions, etc., within the telecom sector contributes greatly to agita and confusion at the customer level.
For the indirect sales partner (notice that the term agent is not used), all of these factors and more provide the richest landscape of opportunity imaginable. That's the good news for those who have or will truly embrace the consultative sales approach. The challenging side of this however also means that in order to be that trusted advisor, one must adopt a constant knowledge sponge approach to their craft. Not only is this approach required today for win-win success, but frankly those still trying to hold onto the old school, numbers game agency approach to sales are doing a disservice to our channel and the concept of trusted advisor overall. Consultative selling definitely requires much more knowledge, attention to detail and professional focus, but it is also a very rewarding and personally enriching craft. Success in today's indirect channel is built on long-term customer relationships that are founded and sustained on being that "trusted advisor", just as Khali defined in her post.
Posted by: Dan Morford | May 05 2010 08:31:40
Khali, this is a great post and some great comments. I do want to disagree with one point made by Geoffrey James - “a collaborator rather than a communicator.” It is my experience that regardless of your expertise, you must be BOTH a collaborator AND a communicator. I don’t believe that these are opposites. They are synergistic and are both required to become a trusted advisor.
Posted by: Clark Atwood | May 06 2010 07:54:41
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