Sales Training: Why Your Salespeople Are Pushovers

Sales Training: Why Your Salespeople Are Pushovers:

Sales Training Article: Why Your Salespeople Are Pushovers

Originally published by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, HBR Blog Network
One of the age-old stereotypes in business is the pushy salesperson. But what if we told you that the real issue in sales today isn't that salespeople tend to be too pushy, but that they're not pushy enough?In our first post in this series, we introduced you to a special type of high-performing sales rep called the Challenger. One of the defining attributes of Challengers is that they take control of the sale by being assertive.What does this look like in practice? Challengers take control in three important ways.
First, as we discussed in the previous post, Challengers use proprietary insights to change the way customers think about their business and that highlight the suppliers' unique ability to create value. If customers respond, as they invariably do, that the insights don't apply in their situation, Challengers don't back down. They know that if they want customers to buy differently, they're first going to have to get them to think differently - and that they may have to get a little scuffed up in the process.
Second, knowing that today's complex deals are often just as difficult to buy as they are to sell, Challengers actively guide customers through the purchase process. They maintain the momentum of the sale by pushing customers to engage the right internal stakeholders at the right time with the right message. Challengers don't ask customers how the deal is going to get done, waiting for the customer to "coach" them. They teach customers how to drive consensus for the purchase - as more often than not, customers themselves don't really know how to do it.
Finally, Challengers take control in negotiating commercial details - especially at that crucial moment when the customer looks them in the eye and says, "If we could just get a 5% discount, I think we could get this done by the end of the week." Unlike most reps whose response to a discount request is either to "consult with a manager" or to "meet the customer half way," Challengers table the discount request altogether and instead push the conversation back to the value they're providing to the customer. They acknowledge the request for a price concession, but defer a decision and, if pressed, offer other less costly concessions.
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