As the economy turns around and your salespeople regain their footing, companies will go through radical transformations. To succeed, your salespeople must not only adapt to change, they must lead change.

Solutions are not enough

Providing solutions to problems may not be enough to win business. Differentiating based on price-and-delivery or business strategy worked well in the past. But not today. It’s no longer enough for salespeople to adjust to change – they must try to understand the customer’s organizational challenges and become an agent for change.

Changes in selling

Becoming change leaders may require salespeople to change the way they sell. It might be helpful to review the four levels of selling:

• Level 1 (Transaction-Centric). A level-one salesperson competes primarily on price and delivery. The customer tries to fulfill a well defined need with a well defined product or service and looks for the best price and delivery terms. The key value proposition is saving — money or time. The buyer is typically a purchasing agent or middle manager.

• Level 2 (Solution-Centric). The solution-centric salesperson is an expert in product features and knows how to apply them to solve problems for the customer. The customer may be a manager at a higher level who is more focused on return on investment than initial price.

• Level 3 (Strategy-Centric). The strategic salesperson shows how products and services not only solve problems but also how they align with the customer’s business strategy. It requires a deep understand of the customer’s business and motivation. Prospects at this level are more concerned about the success of the business strategy than they are about reducing costs.

• Level 4 (Change-Centric). A level-four salesperson views business strategy as a way of making a change — to achieve the customer’s goals. The change-centric approach helps salespeople develop deeper, more profitable customer relationships and be more agile and adaptive to changing conditions. Prospects at this level are members of top management.

The first change

The first change your salespeople should try to make is to detach themselves from their products or services and focus their attention on the customer and the customer’s goals. They must see themselves as facilitators and counselors, rather than providers of goods and services.

Adapted from Selling Change by Brett Clay

Tags: Brett Clay, business strategy, economy, Selling Change, value proposition