Solving Solution Selling

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So why have companies been trying to get sales people to “solution sell” for over two decades? What’s the big deal? If I have a nail sticking out of the wall and go off to Home Depot to buy a hammer to knock it in, don’t I walk out with a solution to my problem? The guy that told me the hammers were on aisle 27 – did he help me? Sure he did. Did he sell me a solution? Not so sure about that. But I sure felt like I left that store with the solution to my problem.

Let’s make no mistake here; anytime anyone buys something that satisfies their need, as far as they are concerned they bought a solution. So, what is solution selling about? Usually it is an approach that a company adopts thinking that they will end up selling more, selling more profitably, or selling more effectively against their competition. There is often little thought that goes into why they think “solution selling” is such a panacea or indeed how they will implement it. Let me be kind here and let’s assume that those wishing to adopt a solution selling approach genuinely want to help their customers buy a “solution”.

Such solution selling presumes two things. Firstly that the customer does not know what they want – for if they did or even if they think they did, they don’t need the help of a solution seller. Secondly, that they are willing to engage in a relationship with a solution seller to reveal their business needs, rather than simply seeking the information they need to become better informed and thus simply getting on with buying their solution. And once again without the help from their solution selling sales person.

So herein lies the secret to unlocking the conundrum of solution selling. It is not about how we as sales people are selling, it is about how the customer is buying. If the customer believes they know what they need to know or just want to educate themselves, they are not in a “solution buying” mode. I have actually had prospects tell me in no uncertain terms that it is their job to know their business and as a sales person I can tell them about my offerings, but they are in the best position to decide what meets their needs.

Therefore the only appropriate applications for solution selling are either finding a prospect who is already in a solution buying mode, or being able to put a prospect into a solution buying mode.

With the abundance of information out there today, our prospects can educate themselves about possibilities and alternatives. Or they can easily network with others in similar positions to discover all they need to know, and most importantly they can do all this without the help of a solution selling sales person. And remember that, from the customer’s perspective they may realize that, as a solution seller, you probably not only want to sell them a solution, but you want to sell them your solution.

It is therefore more important than ever to understand how prospective customers are buying and to match your selling activities to their buying process. Maybe it’s solution selling or maybe it’s not; either way, let’s sell intelligently and close the business.

I would be interested in your own stories and observations about when solution selling is appropriate and when it is not, and just as importantly how you were able to distinguish the difference.

In the next 3g Selling™ Mini Module we will be exploring the topic of Solution Buying in more detail, and talking about how to put a prospect into solution buying mode, and what to do when you can’t. See you then.