The Three Traps of Selling Conventionally in a Complex World

By Jeff Thull

Prospect, qualify, present and close. These are the traditional elements of the conventional sales process that most sales organizations have used for years and still follow today. Salespeople use the conventional sales process for good reason: it works. Well, let me qualify that--it works if you’re dealing with a simple sale. Problem is, the world in which we sell has changed. We deal with complex problems and correspondingly complex solutions that involve multiple decisions and decision-makers—most of whom are having an increasingly hard time understanding their own problems and the solutions they require.

When you apply the conventional sales process to a complex sale, you run head first into a series of traps that grow progressively more difficult to avoid and that make a positive outcome for the sale ever less likely. They are as follows:

1. The Assumption Trap

How many times have you heard or perhaps said yourself, "My customers just don't get it”? The reality behind that statement of frustration is not too difficult to figure out. Customers don't "get it" for one of two reasons: either you are overestimating the value your solutions bring to the customer or you are overestimating the customer's ability to comprehend that value.

Assuming that the solution offered actually has value, the flawed logic behind the "customer doesn't get it" complaint is that the salespeople who say it are, in essence, blaming customers for being unprepared to buy their solutions. They are implying that customers should somehow be ready to effectively analyze and evaluate custom programs, such as a safety or new product launch, that they may buy once a year or less. Or, even more illogically, that their customers should have a high-quality decision process capable of evaluating leading-edge solutions, which they may have never considered before, or which may be appearing in the marketplace for the first time.

The best salespeople walk into an opportunity at much higher levels of experience than their customers. They know the products, services and programs they are bringing to market inside out. In addition, they spend most of their time with customers. They often become experts in their customers' businesses. But the advanced perspective and comprehension of sales professionals experienced in the complex sale stand in vivid contrast to the perspective of their potential customers.

2. The Presentation Trap

Sales organizations devote tremendous amounts of time and resources to creating compelling presentations and proposals. The irony is that most of this effort is lost on customers. Presentations, too early in complex decisions, are largely a waste of time. Conventional salespeople hate to hear this; the presentation is the key weapon in their sales arsenal. It is their security blanket and their comfort zone--and they loathe giving it up. " Wait a minute," they protest. "Our presentations are aimed at educating customers. They will not buy what they don't understand." This much is true. And, admittedly, a presentation can lift the customer's level of comprehension. But it is one of the least effective methods for doing so. Why is that? There are three reasons:

• A presentation, even one that includes advanced multimedia elements, is, in its essence, a lecture. The salesperson teaches by telling. The big problem with this method is that hardly anyone remembers what they hear. Learning experts have found that over half of even the most sophisticated presentation is lost.

• A typical sales presentation rarely devotes more than 10-to-20 percent of its focus to the customer and his current situation. Generally, 80-to-90 percent of a typical sales presentation is devoted to describing the salesperson's company and products. While customers may be greatly impressed with the product or service being offered, they still lack a compelling understanding of how it applies to their situation and why they should buy it.

• Your competitors are following the same strategy; they are busy presenting as well. Your customers have meetings set up with you and one, two or even more of your competitors. In each meeting, a sales team is presenting the best side of their solutions. Your team is telling the customer that he needs the solutions that only your company offers and each of your competitors is making the same argument about their solutions.
  

3. The Adversarial Trap

When salespeople start overcoming objections (often raised during the presentation), they are, by definition, placing themselves in conflict with their customers. At best, this sets the stage for polite disagreements and respectful differences of opinion. At worst, it turns the sales process into a battle in which the seller must somehow conquer the buyer to win the sale.

The conflict between buyer and seller is exacerbated by the frustration that results from the miscommunication engendered by the conventional process. Salespeople present professionally packaged data complete with executive summaries that their prospective customers find either unintelligible or unconnected to their situation. Confused and with no sound basis upon which to evaluate the information, customers respond negatively. Conventional salespeople, who overestimate their customers' level of comprehension, interpret this as an objection to be overcome and so swing into action. "No," they say. "You don't get it. You do need our solution and here's why..." Now the salespeople are arguing with their customers.

What happens next? If the customer doesn’t shut down the presentation altogether, he may offer a second negative response. Another round of verbal sparring ensues and the customer’s frustrations turn into exasperation. At this point, the sale is in doubt. The sale has turned into a battle...a battle in which customers will always have the final say.

Quite often, each of the traps described above segues neatly into the next. The result is a confused and disheartened customer who ends up going with your competitor's solution because it's "cheaper"—after all, when he doesn't understand his problem or your solution, all he can do is fall back on the common denominator of price. And the unpleasant experience deepens the schism between sales professional and customer.

The problem isn’t with the salespeople, but rather with the process. The only effective and enduring way to resolve these problems is to renounce the conflicting elements of the conventional selling process. We must adopt a whole new paradigm—one based on positioning the salesperson as a valued and trusted advisor who manages quality decisions—one who takes into account the complex new world in which we live and work.

You can learn more at this AMA seminar:

Principles of Professional Selling, #5520

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Author Bio: Jeff Thull is CEO/president of Prime Resource Group. His clients include 3M, Microsoft, IBM, Citicorp and Georgia-Pacific, as well as many fast-track, start-up companies. Contact him at 1.800.876.0378 or on the Web at www.primeresource.com