Book Review – The Challenger Sale
Of the many great sales methodology books published, The Challenger Sale is the best on the market. In nearly every sales pursuit I’ve been part of, the prospective customer has a way in mind to run the evaluation cycle. Whether they are buying a printer or an ERP system – they have a process in mind. On the sales side, this industry draws many hard-working, type-A personalities. Most work hard, won’t give up easily, will be open to feedback and be incredibly detailed in their collection of data from the prospective customer. What they do next is usually the challenge: In an effort to “hang on” to the potential opportunity – they do exactly as instructed by the prospect. It seems reasonable, right? This book expresses why that personality type loses most pursuits (not all – sometimes a brand outweighs the approach). They generally lose because the winner is showing the prospect a different way to evaluate the problem they are trying to solve. For example, a prospect trying to replace a system will simply ask for a price and demo. The diligent tech seller will clarify what they need, and quickly provide a competitive quote. The challenger, though, will present options that the prospect has never considered. They’ll present these options in a way that is thoughtful, diligent, aligns to their challenges, and present evidence on why this “new” way of doing things will provide more value. And in collaboration with marketing and existing customers, they’ll have evidence.
On the other end of the spectrum in ERP, the customer will require you to follow a process, respond to an RFP, show up for demo day with the team prepared. A Challenger will measure, measure, measure:
- Is the stated issue the real challenge?
- Is the prescribed process the best way to fix the challenge?
- Do we offer something unique to solve it?
- Do we have evidence to support this solution approach?
With all of this in mind, decisions have to be made. If you have a unique way to solve their problem, you’ve GOT to bring something to the table (not just take diligent notes), and teach the customer how your company, by evidence of past customers, have a unique approach to the problem they are attempting to solve. You have to be bold, evidence-based (NOT intuition),
This comes at the risk of being removed from the evaluation. But it’s worth it, we are moving to a sales model that puts the value on expertise, not the traditional account executive that “knows people” – or buys expensive lunches for prospects. Those days will soon be over.
Characteristics of the Challenger:
- Different view of the world
- Loves to debate/pushes the customer
- Strong understanding of the customer’s business
Here’s why this book would be a problem for you to implement perfectly:
- You must be willing to be an EXPERT in your product and the market
- Marketing must support the effort, without working with an existing customer to validate the bold assertions you’ll make, the impact will be lost.
- You have to be ok to test and know your differentiators. This means sometimes you’ll lose on a deal that you might have won, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Find the book on Amazon, here.
Get it on Audible with a free trial, here.