Is Solution Selling for You? The Two Levels of Sales Expertise

There are two main levels of sales expertise.  Depending upon your sales strategy, you may have need of both as a sales leader.  

It depends upon your target market, value proposition, growth goals, product and service mix, and the complexity of your solutions. To execute your sales plan, it helps to understand just what critical sales competencies make the most difference for your unique sales strategy, culture and workforce.  Then you should be able to identify “if, where and when” more advanced sales competencies and experience matter.

Level #1 Transactional Selling
As the name implies, at this level, salespeople sell just what they have in their “bag of tricks” as long as they can match what the customer says they want. Typically, these transactional sales reps don’t have the experience, business acumen, time, or flexibility to adapt their simple offerings to a broader, more complex or less obvious customer need. And though they hope for repeat business through excellent service and personal relationships, they are typically more interested in closing deals and customer satisfaction rather than measurably impacting their customer’s business or becoming a trusted business advisor. They usually win on the basis of better products, faster or cheaper. Though a pleasing manner will get them in the door, they will be often subject to competition on the basis of product quality and price.

Level #2 Solution and Value Selling
At level 2, salespeople who are successful at solution selling have learned how to uncover their customer’s real personal and professional needs and are able to consult with their clients to find a true solution to the most pressing issues at hand. They become a trusted business advisor and strategic resource working in partnership with their customer to move business metrics that matter to their customer and their customer’s business. Effective solution sellers know how to operate in a collaborative way, sell consultatively and add valuable insights to help their clients to succeed. Then when they graduate to a more elevated and complex sale that requires maneuvering confidently at the C-level, these salespeople become ever more valuable to their clients and their organizations. 

How do you build what it takes to sell solutions rather than simple products?  Once your sales strategy is clear and you have created a high performance sales culture, your investment in a quality solution selling training program will be well worth it. Your sales reps can learn the value selling skills required to craft solutions that are unique to each customer’s needs, gain the business savvy to identify key players and sidetrack competitors, navigate through the inevitable politics that influence complex sales and communicate comfortably with executives. They are then at the pinnacle of sales expertise and success.

Learn more at http://www.lsaglobal.com/solution-selling-training/