Solution Selling is Dead.

•  
  JohnOnSales10/29/07 Report as spam
  1

  Only doing it correctly is dead

  Geoff, I agree that solution selling is improperly performed by most companies. Its an excellent tool for selling a customized "solution" because of the structure and type of questioning and commitment that comprise the system. While some of the nomenclature needs to be changed, the system itself is still sound, to the extent that it concentrates on finding and satisfying needs. xoxoxo johnonsales

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine10/29/07 Report as spam
  2

  Solution still off target

  You're still thinking that the customer wants a "solution." The customer doesn't want a "thing." The customer wants results. A "thing" might be a part of getting those results, but if you could deliver those results without selling a "thing" (like a new piece of software) the customer would be just as happy. As long as the customer is getting the desired result.

•  
  jfaver10/30/07 Report as spam
  3

  Suspense is killing me

  Geoff, PLEASE tell me you will address the alternative to selling a thing/solution soon (ie the proper way to describe the value you are selling.)Is it stories about customer success? Is it positioning a system as a "tool" or "means to an end result?" I agree with what you are saying and face the challenge of obliterating the word "solution" from the marketing collateral I help write every day.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine10/30/07 Report as spam
  4

  Solution word in brochures

  I'll explain all about this in my 10/31/07 post.

•  
  rkear10/30/07 Report as spam
  5

  Misleading and Somewhat Misinformed

  Provocative headlines like ???Solution Selling Is Dead??? may stimulate interest and discussion, but are often based on a dated or limited understanding of the process, methods, and essence of the Solution Selling Methodology. The content of this post in no way represents the current practice of solution selling in many of the world???s leading companies.
  
  First, the practice of simply substituting the word ???solutions??? for ???products??? may be prevalent, but has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual application of Solution Selling fundamentals. Anyone who attempts to equate this practice with Solution Selling is either completely misinformed or simply trying to propagate an inaccurate view of the current methodology. This widespread practice is exposed in the 2006 sequel to The New Solution Selling (The Solution-Centric Organization, McGraw-Hill, 2006), as one of four types of ???pseudo-solutions??? that are often superficial attempts to disguise commodity products as higher value offerings.
  
  Second, of course customers want results (versus ???THINGS???) ??? but this semantic sleight-of-hand doesn???t invalidate useful terms like goals, problems and solutions and their role in meaningful customer dialogue. Implicit in almost every business challenge is something results-related - it is precisely the absence of (or opportunity for) these desired outcomes that exposes a ???problem,??? ???need??? or ???opportunity??? in the mind of the buyer. At last check, ???results??? (a noun) are a THING too ??? when customers don???t get the right ones, they sometimes conclude that they have a ???problem??? that requires some insight to solve.
  
  Credible ???results providers??? can???t just promise the desired outcomes ??? they are typically highly fluent in the causal factors related to desired outcomes. They earn credibility by thoroughly understanding the barriers (problems) to attaining the outcomes (results), and proven examples of how offerings (solutions) deliver the necessary capabilities to attain the desired results. How can the understanding of the customer???s functional environment (outlined in the prior post How to Sell Manager-to-Manager) not involve this type of business acumen?
  
  Third, the shallow tautology presented on solution positioning in this post is patently absurd. The Solution Messaging Methodology (companion marketing methodology) would never produce something this trite. In Solution Selling, the term ???solution??? is always directly and explicitly tied to some rational form of customer value, outcome, or result. Always. If some individuals completely mis-apply concepts and claim to sell solutions, it doesn???t invalidate the actual methods and techniques of legitimate practitioners.
  
  Finally, most of the concepts presented in the prior post (How to Sell Manager-to-Manager) are in large part parallel with multiple sub-methods in Solution Selling, and are strikingly similar to a concept referred to in the methodology as ???situational fluency.??? An integral sub-method of Solution Selling is focused extensively on the delivery of measurable value (results) to the customer.
  
  All due respect, but just because different terms and phrases are applied (largely semantic differences) to a very similar set of ideas doesn???t justify such a presumptuous headline ??? especially with such a shallow and limited depiction of what the current state of Solution Selling is actually about.

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine10/30/07 Report as spam
  6

  Solution as a terminology

  Gee, what can I say...
  
  The term "solution" has been misused so many times and miaapplied so many times that it's become a liability. Taken literally, it's only applicable to problems and taken broadly it's so fuzzy that it doesn't really mean much of anything at all.
  
  I feel sorry for all the sales trainers who have wedded their systems to the buzzword, but I think it's on the way out. It's something that happens, especially when the reality doesn't match the promise.
  
  Take SFA, for example. The buzzword got old and tired, so it had to be rechristened CRM. Now that's getting all tired and people are starting to use "Sales 2.0." And that too, will eventually go the way of all buzzwords.
  
  I think M2M selling encapsulates the required behavior better. It's not that it's that different than what solution selling was supposed to be. It's that the term "solution" -- with all its odd connotations -- drives the wrong behavior. And it's starting to sound, well, a bit quaint.

•  
  Bob Schmonsees11/16/07 Report as spam
  7

  It ain't about the word!

  While many people find the word solution a bit over worn, isn?t the real problem getting both marketing and sales people to effectively communicate their company?s value, and more importantly it?s differentiation from the customer's perspective, and in the context of their specific needs, problems, and goals? The best marketing & sales people have always intuitively done this.
  
  The other 90% are the crux of the problem, and this whole discussion about the word "solution" seems to me to be a smoke screen because most companies haven't cracked the code yet on how to get that 90% of marketing and sales people to think outside-in and institutionalize the customer?s point of view in the way they communicate their company?s value and differentiation. In their frustration attack the word ?solution? as the culprit, which of course, is a red herring.
  
  This is not rocket science, and whether you call it Solutions Selling, Customer Centric Selling or M2M Selling, it?s a fundamental transformation in the way we think, market, and sell. And, like any major change, it has to be built on a strong foundation, and that?s been the missing link. Unfortunately, most companies have failed to create a foundation that helps marketing and sales people think outside-in (customer perspective) as well as inside-out (product perspective).
  
  Every company has what I call a unique ?Value DNA?. It?s the collective wisdom of your best people about three things: How to frame the specific customer needs, problems, and goals you solve; how you solve them; and most importantly, how you solve them better than your competition. The problem is that most companies don't have a systematic value mapping process to document, institutionalize, and continually improve their Value DNA. So without this foundation process, there is no control over the raw materials knowledge that needs to be the foundation for the positioning and messaging strategy, the marketing communications deliverables, and the selling conversations. This is like building a car with no quality control over the steel.
  This is why some form of systematic value mapping process needs to be at the heart of any solution or customer centric strategy.

•  
  larry.edwards@...11/03/07 Report as spam
  8

  RE: Solution Selling is Dead.

  Iagree that if you are simply replacing the name of your product with solution...then solution selling is dead. However, if you are pressing the mark and being a professional and having M2M sales calls and dealing with the right level of contacts, your business acumen and connversation will outweigh specs and features and focus on what you can do for your customer and own it!

•  
  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine11/06/07 Report as spam
  9

  I hear you.

  ...it's not so much the word "solution" as the fact that the concept has been twisted into becoming a synonym for "product."
  
  It's always easier to play word games than to actually change behaviors.

•  
  robb.gomez@...11/12/07 Report as spam
  10

  Business Acumen

  Right on Larry! Business Acumen will provide the saleperson the ability to have a business discussion with a decision maker versus "look how great and wonderful my product/solution is". The ability to express value in terms of financial & strategic importance to the customer will be a trend that will contiune to grow. As a salesperson, if you can't create that link, then you better get some business acumen training or look for a different profession.