{"id":12028,"date":"2020-08-21T09:19:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T13:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=12028"},"modified":"2020-08-23T13:31:33","modified_gmt":"2020-08-23T17:31:33","slug":"ceb-research-challenger-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/ceb-research-challenger-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"CEB Research Knows You\u2019re Not a Successful Sales Rep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Why are some sales reps successful, and some aren’t? Business advisory firm CEB Research might have the answer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEB Research dug into the reasons why some salespeople had consistently high quality performances. CEB Research found that out of many factors, a major one was the type of seller and sales strategy. CEB research called these salespeople “Challengers” and set out to explain the Challenger Sale Model, and how all reps could learn to be challengers, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

CEB Research and the Challenger Seller<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In The Challenger Sale<\/em>, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson of the business advisory firm CEB Resarch upend the conventional wisdom that building relationships with customers<\/a> is the key to sales success<\/a>. Instead, they contend, the best salespeople take control of the sale by challenging customers\u2019 thinking with new insights and pushing back<\/strong> instead of giving in to customer demands. While there are five distinct types of sales reps<\/a>, it’s these so-called Challengers who consistently excel in selling the complex business-to-business solutions required in today\u2019s business world. Based on a massive study of thousands of sales reps worldwide, the authors uncover the skills and behaviors that drive Challengers\u2019 performance and explain how to replicate them in any sales force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Evolution of Sales<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over the last several decades, more suppliers<\/a> have begun selling complex \u201csolutions,\u201d or bundles of products and services, rather than just simple products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppliers came up with solution selling as a way of differentiating themselves from the competition<\/strong>. Small differences in a company\u2019s product versus a competitor\u2019s product had become harder to sell\u2014customers viewed products from different companies as essentially the same and so chose the ones with the lowest price. However, well-designed bundled offerings are customized and therefore difficult for competitors to duplicate. Bundling also saves suppliers money and allows them to justify premium pricing. Because of these benefits, solution selling has become the dominant sales strategy in virtually every industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this more complex sales<\/a> model has been difficult for many reps to execute<\/strong>. One reason is that reps need to develop a deep understanding<\/a> of the customer\u2019s business, which takes more time. Adding to the time, reps need to build consensus across the customer organization: decision-makers won\u2019t agree to a costly, complicated deal without it. Customers are also more risk averse and more likely to demand customization and use third-party consultants to vet deals and try to get better terms. CEB Research set out to find why some reps succeed in this model. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

CEB Research Says One Type of Sales Rep Excels<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CEB\u2019s Research found there are five types of sales reps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n