| While solid product knowledge and advanced | | | | sales to existing customers. Sales organizations that |
| consultative selling skills can deliver increased revenue, | | | | have both product and service expertise and |
| they will not deliver industry leading sales results. | | | | consultative selling skills can be successful; however |
| Industry leadership comes when real business acumen | | | | those two skill sets alone will not deliver industry |
| is added to the mix and you become a trusted advisor | | | | leadership. Industry leadership and true differentiation |
| as opposed to merely acting as one. | | | | requires all three skill sets, (1) Product and service |
| For your company to maintain or achieve industry | | | | knowledge, (2) Consultative selling skills, and (3) Applied |
| leadership your sales force must be fluent in three | | | | business acumen to sell enterprise wide solutions to |
| areas: | | | | global customers, helping them address not just current |
| 1. Product/Service Expertise | | | | technical needs but strategic business needs--the |
| 2. Consultative Selling Skills | | | | critical needs that keep executives awake at night. |
| 3. Business Acumen | | | | The Need for Business Acumen |
| We call these three areas the Sales Skill Progression. | | | | The third critical piece in this puzzle is business acumen. |
| Over the last few years we have seen a marked | | | | In general business acumen is defined as an |
| shift in the way companies sell their products and | | | | understanding of a business’ economic forces, the |
| services. | | | | market dynamics surrounding it, and the unique set of |
| It used to be that, armed with good products and | | | | needs that arise from the combination of the two. |
| services and a market for them, all a company | | | | However for effective enterprise sales people a mere |
| needed to sell successfully was a sales force that | | | | understanding of a customer’s critical needs is not |
| understood product features and benefits. Now, as | | | | enough. To become a true trusted advisor and |
| companies face more and more pressure from | | | | achieve real business acumen you must be able to |
| competitors with similar products and services, they | | | | combine that understanding with the ability to both |
| have shifted from a product sale to a solution sale - | | | | articulate and link practical sales strategies and tactics |
| one that better concentrates on customer’s needs. | | | | that drive revenue growth, increase margin, and |
| This concentration on solution selling or consultative | | | | decrease costs. The articulation of the link between |
| selling is the ability to work with a customer to | | | | the business’ strategic business needs and your |
| understand their goals, the problems they are having in | | | | solution is the key to influencing executive leaders. |
| achieving those goals and the needs that arise from | | | | When you have a sales force that has solid product |
| those problems. | | | | and service expertise, that is known as a trusted |
| Consultative selling has transformed the way | | | | advisor by their customers and has the ability to |
| organizations sell their products and services from an | | | | consistently articulate the link between their solution |
| internally focused product approach to a more | | | | and the critical business needs of the customer you |
| effective externally focused customer approach | | | | are positioned to be a leader in your industry. |
| where the sales person acts as a trusted advisor. | | | | Customers will turn to you first before they look to the |
| Where Consultative Selling Falls Short | | | | competition because you are focused on their core |
| Though this shift has helped to close more sales to | | | | business issues. |
| multiple customers, it falls short in helping to close larger | | | | |