{"id":12048,"date":"2020-08-18T09:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=12048"},"modified":"2020-08-23T13:31:30","modified_gmt":"2020-08-23T17:31:30","slug":"needs-based-segmentation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/needs-based-segmentation\/","title":{"rendered":"Needs Based Segmentation Makes Your Pitch Stand Out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is needs based segmentation in sales? Does it work within the Challenger Sale Model?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Challenger selling<\/a>, needs based segmentation can work as a part of your overall sales strategy. In sales, needs based segmentation helps sales reps construct a helpful and effective pitch, and connect with customers<\/a> over common needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Using Needs Based Segmentation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you’ve agreed on your company\u2019s unique benefits and you’ve created a set of insights to teach customers, the next step is organizing your material into an effective teaching pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective teaching pitch follows a formula, but it also has an emotional component. Your pitch must tell a compelling story incorporating suspense and a few surprises. It\u2019s like an amusement park ride that takes customers through a dark tunnel before showing them the light at the end: your solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An effective pitch must engage both the rational and emotional parts of the customer\u2019s brain in order to get a decision. It speaks to logic but also triggers the customer\u2019s dismay at the money being wasted or the risk they\u2019re exposed to. While there are actually four rules for Challengers regarding a great pitch, here we’ll focus on a big one in sells: Needs based segmentation, and why it works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Segment Customers Based on Need<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Commercial Teaching<\/a> is a great business<\/a> strategy, but to apply it effectively and efficiently, sales reps need expert market research and analysis from their organization. To deliver unique, relevant insights to individual customers about their business, reps need data and analysis that are widely applicable. This is where organizational support is crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marketing departments should research customer segments and generate insights linked to solutions and applicable to specific segments<\/strong>. Reps can then approach customers with a handful of scripted insights and diagnostic questions that help them present the right insight for the customer. This is called needs based segmentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, generating insights useful for Commercial Teaching requires marketing professionals to think differently about segmentation. (Shortform note: Market segmentation is dividing a target market into smaller groups of customers that share common characteristics.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Needs based customer segmentation<\/a> is more useful than traditional segmentation by, for instance, geography or industry. Reps can apply the same insights to customers across various industries by focusing on needs they have in common, for instance, improving cash flow, reducing employee turnover, or improving workplace safety. In each case, reps can help the customer think about the need or problem differently (reframe), explain the costs of inaction, and propose action linked to the supplier\u2019s solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Constructing Your Conversation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Once they’re decided to use needs based customer segmentation, you need Challenger reps to deliver<\/em> your teaching message. But the rest of the organization must construct<\/em> the teaching conversation\u2014including the company\u2019s unique benefits, the surprising insights, and the choreography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the key organizational tasks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n