The Three Challenges of a Complex Sale – Insights from Jeff Thull

Adapted from the Growth Institute 

Last week Alex Faust of The Growth Institute hosted Jeff Thull, the author of Mastering the Complex Sale, for online webinar to discuss how you and your team can overcome the top 3 challenges of selling in today's environment.

Jeff shared with us his definition of a complex sale, "It’s complex in that the CUSTOMER requires outside expertise to make this decision well."

 I have always learned that in a complex, large key account sale

“ The customer is the pilot and the salesperson is the navigator.”

You, the sales person, must master the roles of

investigator, problem solver, teacher, choir director and a change agent.

 Jeff shares in his book the 3 Challenges of the complex sale and the impact on your role as a sales navigator:

Challenge 1: The Decision – The Navigator and Choir Director
Your customers don’t have the experience for making the types of decisions you are asking them to make. So to what degree are you providing guidance for customer to make that key decision?
Key thought: As a process – we’re not managing a sales process, we’re navigating your customer’s decision process. The customer’s decision process may involve many people that have different personalities and motivators that color their decision making ability and involvement. Managing the decision process is about leading different personalities to a mutually beneficial decision – be a choir director.

Challenge 2: Change – The Investigator and Change Agent
Buying involves changing and changing is painful. The customer will not change unless the pain of staying the same is clearly greater than the pain of changing.
Key thought: Think of this as a decision to change, not a decision to buy, and you’ll see a whole different perspective and dimension of what your responsibilities are. Get customers to realize the need to change by employing “COINS” to probe for:

• Circumstances surrounding the decision to change
• Opportunities where your solutions can support change
• Impact of not changing
• Needs that are satisfied by the decision to change.
• Solutions that support change and create value

Challenge 3: Value – The Problem Solver and Teacher
We very often define value as net profit. Typically, your customers are unable to recognize and quantify the unique value or net-profit at risk in the absence of your solution. And, they’re unable to measure the value that’s being received after your solution is installed (post-sale). They’re making a decision based on measurable net value; they don’t have the ability to do any of that without your guidance.
Key thought: The value generated may be different for different customers. Prepare the right questions to uncover and help them understand the full quantified value of your solution.

Value may not always be the need for finance. Value may also be perceived by the customer as performance/productivity, image, and safety and order issues that must be met to make the sale.

Mastering the complex sale is as much of an art as it is a skill. Make sure you master all the roles of a complex sales person to help the customer make a mutually beneficial decision to change that creates value for both of you. Learn how to do this virtually as well. Need help? Contact me at michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com !!

Michael J Griffin
Founder ELAvate
Master Sales Coach
Cross Cultural Consultant