How can challenger sellers continue to improve? Are there any sales lessons that challenger sellers should know?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Challenger selling<\/a> is a proven method of sales. But even as you master the method, you’ll continue learning valuable sales lessons along the way. These sales lessons will help you get in the mindframe of a challenger seller, and make sure you’re using the strategy to achieve your goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n Internal business customers, such as colleagues from other departments, want insight too\u2014for instance, new ideas for saving and making money\u2014so the Challenger model of teaching new ways of thinking applies within and across the organization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, researchers found that an HR recruiter\u2019s ability to be a strategic advisor to the company accounted for 52% of effectiveness. Similarly, company leaders in other departments want IT departments to advise them on how to use technology to be more efficient or save money. Consider these sales lessons learned and how you can use them to be a better challenger seller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like sales reps, marketing and communications professionals don\u2019t want to be viewed as order-takers. They want to make a more valuable contribution by moving from managing the message to managing the strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, instead of jumping to fill a colleague\u2019s request to issue a press release, a communications professional can help more if she knows the strategic reason for the request. It might be something like, \u201cWe want our competitors to know we’ve moved into this new area.\u201d One sales lessons learned is that by knowing the reason behind the press release request, the communications staff can identify opportunities to deliver greater value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One communications department used a five-step process for analyzing internal requests before acting on them. This improved its solutions and repositioned the department as a strategic partner in improving company results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n People with specific expertise in areas like HR or IT often have trouble communicating with colleagues in the company in language they understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the worst offenders when it comes to technical jargon is the legal department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attorneys are trained to write long technical briefs for judges but not to communicate effectively with business partners. Also, instead of offering options, attorneys tend to give \u201con the one hand\/on the other hand\u201d answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To build respect and credibility so that your views are taken seriously, you need to show that you understand your colleagues\u2019 needs in the same way that reps seek to understand their customers\u2019 businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In another one of the sales lessons learned by management and earn a voice in decisions, corporate staff need to deliver compelling insights. For example, to ensure they were making a valuable contribution, one marketing department came up with specific criteria for offering insight (similar to the SAFE-BOLD framework for designing a teaching pitch, described in Chapter 5):<\/p>\n\n\n\nSales Lessons for A Challenging Culture<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. Breaking Out of Order-Taker Mode<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
2. Communicating Effectively<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
3. Earning a Voice<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n