Choose Your Own Adventure?
When I was a boy, I enjoyed those ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ books - the ones in which, at the end of the chapter, the reader can make a choice about which course of action the protagonist pursues. The reader is instructed to turn to a different page, depending on which choice he or she makes, and keep reading. These little books are ingeniously constructed to contain many different versions of the same story, with different outcomes. The reader can read the same book, several times, making different choices for the protagonist, and exploring all the different ways the story could unfold. I was delighted, years later, when one of my sons became a voracious reader of these books. I got a huge kick out of seeing him enjoy something I had fond memories of enjoying.
Unfortunately, too many sales reps treat prospect engagements as ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ arrangements, with the prospective customer in a role like that of the reader. This harmful way of proceeding - which is bad for both the prospect and the sales rep - begins with discovery. The rep either leaves the selection and purchasing process completely out of her discovery questions, in which case she is ‘flying blind’ from the start, or else takes a completely passive approach, ceding the process to the prospective customer - and putting herself in reactive mode throughout the entire sales process. Either way, the prospect is ‘choosing his own adventure.’ The prospect loses the opportunity to get a consultative approach, the rep loses the ability to manage the deal cycle and forecast accurately, and the entire engagement becomes less clear and less focused than it might have been.
But perhaps worst of all, the same thing happens when prospects choose their own adventure as happens in those books - same general story, but many different outcomes. And sales reps, of course, are paid to guarantee consistent outcomes, not endlessly varied ones. When you cede the process to the prospect and she chooses her own adventure - just like ten-year-old me reading those books - you get lots of different results, some of which are much more satisfying than others.
Of course the established selection and purchasing processes of a given prospect must be taken into account. But when the sales rep takes a heavy hand in recommending best practices for examining and purchasing his product - and then politely, considerately, but insistently guides the prospect through those best practices - he becomes a consultative seller, rather than just a pitch-man. Both the prospect’s and the sales rep’s time and energy are respected and used wisely.
Some sales rep who is reading this is going to say, ‘That seems awfully pushy and I don’t want to alienate my prospect by being pushy.’ Here is what I say in response: Do you already recommend the advantages of using the product you sell? Of course you do - that comes naturally. You simply have to apply the same skill to the sales process - recommending the advantages of proceeding in a certain way. This also demonstrates that your interests and the prospect’s interests are aligned, which is a powerful mechanism for building rapport.
There is a perception that, when selling to Large Enterprises - multinational corporations, government entities, and the like - that there is no flexibility in the process and you have to ‘play their game by their rules’ - i.e., let the prospects choose their own adventure - in order to sell in that segment. While it’s true that there are both more policy requirements and to some degree more rigidity in the procurement process, it’s even more important in the Large Enterprise to act consultatively. You simply cannot sell successfully in this space without being something of a business consultant - and that should include consulting on the best sales process.