3 Ways Top Solution Sellers Outperform their Peers

How Do Top Solution Sellers Outperform Their Peers?

If only there were a secret divulged in business sales training that would propel you to success ahead of all the competition. But wait a minute; it’s not a secret. The key to solution selling success revolves around your ability to consistently uncover and deliver meaningful value to your clients.  we know from sales leadership simulation assessment data that top solution sellers outperform their peers in three distincy ways.

Let’s face it, even with all the hype around the use of technology to improve sales performance, sales fundamentals have not changed much over the years. To succeed, you still need the essentials:

• The interpersonal skills that help you build lasting relationships
• The business acumen to help you understand your customer’s goals, challenges, and needs
• The client-centric minset to put them and their needs first
• The sales communication skills to articulate your value-add at the right level

But in terms of what today’s customers expect of you and the pace and means of buying, it is a new world. Customers today don’t want to waste time hearing about features, benefits, and options; they can research product and service comparisons quickly themselves online. They are less likely to grant you an audience in person than they are a half-hour appointment on the phone or video. They expect you to have done your research on them, their company, and their industry. They don’t want to be “sold;” they want meaningful solutions to their most pressing problems.

Solution selling training experts know that before solutions can be prescribed, of course, comes a complete understanding of the priority problems that your client faces. To earn the right to uncover what your customer really needs, you have to provide value in each and every interaction so you help them to succeed and create the circumstances where they come back for more.

3 Ways Top Solution Sellers Outperform Their Peers

The solution seller that leaps ahead of the others knows how to do 3 things:

1.  Provide Valuable Insights
Beyond simply studying up on your client and their business, top solution sellers come up with new information, recent research, or developing trends that may enlighten them. Become a subject matter expert who can share new perspectives and open new doors of thinking. Share articles and white papers that are relevant to your customer’s situation and introduce them to thought leaders in their field.

2.  Stretch Your Customer’s Thinking
As you seek to become a trusted advisor, you need to be ready to challenge your customer’s beliefs.  Not just for the sake of being contrary but to broaden their view of what is possible. And, certainly, if you feel they are about to make a mistake, speak up. There are times when you must gain trust through disagreeing with them respectfully and with sound reasoning. They will understand and appreciate that you have their best interests and future success at heart.

3.  Be Strategic
Top solution sellers outperform because they know that sales are not one-off. They know it’s the long-term and consistent value-add that brings the most success. The salesperson who can look to their customer’s current and future needs and help them account for risks and contingencies is the salesperson who wins. Customers appreciate advisors who can help them navigate the rough and tumble world of today’s competitive marketplace and achieve measurable business outcomes.

The Bottom Line

Yes, it takes time to do your research, develop a network of helpful contacts, and learn to be more strategic than tactical, but we guarantee it will pay off. Qualify and choose your customers well according to their interest, need, and ability to buy. Then invest in serving them the best you can. The better you get, the farther behind the competition will fall.

To improve your solution selling skills, please download The 6 Top Reasons Sales Training Initiatives Fail