Introduction
As I wrote about in my sales enablement handbook, sales methodologies, together with sales processes, make up one of the six pillars of sales enablement.
In this sales methodologies guide, I’m taking a look at the methodologies used by sales organisations of all shapes and sizes – from scale-ups with small teams to sales behemoths with hundreds of salespeople.
The selection of a specific sales methodology frequently hinges on factors such as the nature of the product or service offered, the target market, the sales environment, and the overarching objectives of the sales organisation.
Understanding these nuances, my hope is to assist you in determining which methodology aligns most effectively with your sales organisation’s unique needs and goals.
I’ll dive into an array of those, including Sandler, SPIN, Miller Heiman, Challenger Sale, and many more, to provide a comprehensive yet not overwhelming overview of the sheer choice companies have.
The aim is to walk you through their origins, the way they are structured, the main goals and principles behind them, and pinpoint the contexts in which each methodology shines.
Whether you’re leading a seasoned team looking to refine its approach or building a sales enablement function from the ground up, knowing when and where to apply these strategies can make all the difference.
What is a sales methodology?
Before delving right into the various methodologies, I believe it’s worth briefly touching upon what a sales methodology is and outlining its intended purpose.
A sales methodology is an integrated set of principles, frameworks, and techniques that shape how sales professionals engage with potential customers and navigate every phase of the sales process, from prospecting through to closing deals and managing accounts.
Incorporating a sales methodology ensures a level playing field for all salespeople within an organisation, providing them with a clear structure and standardised practices to follow.
Among other things, this uniformity enables new team members to quickly adapt to the sales environment by following a proven framework.
Moreover, it allows the company to measure success more accurately across different teams and territories, since, with a methodology, you have a clear reference point to coach sellers against and drive continuous improvement.
By analysing performance within a structured framework, organisations can pinpoint specific aspects of their sales cycle activities that need refinement.
Considering all the benefits of choosing and adopting the right sales methodology, it came as a surprise when I did the sales enablement statistics article and learned that only 43% of respondents said their organisation has an institutionalised methodology in place.
As I investigate various sales methodologies, you will start noticing that many of them share the same core ideas but perhaps put greater emphasis on some specific aspects of those, as well as different aspects of the sales process.
In order to provide you with the context to understand these (often staggering) similarities, I have decided to introduce different sales methodologies chronologically, starting with the 1960s and going well into the 21st century.
The most popular sales methodologies
It’s now time to explore the most popular sales methodologies that are still being used today. In particular, I will cover a total of 11 methodologies, as shown in the visual below:
My method of detailing each sales methodology will start by outlining its foundational principles, followed by an examination of the key steps or stages involved.
In this regard, it’s important to mention that most methodologies seamlessly integrate their underlying philosophy and principles into their processes.
In other words, the sales process mirrors the methodology, which, in turn, shapes behaviours within that process.
However, it’s key to distinguish between a sales methodology and the sales process, as they are distinct concepts.
Let’s get right into it.
1. Sandler Selling System
At the same time that Xerox was developing its Need Satisfaction Selling approach, salesman David Sandler collaborated with a clinical psychologist to create a new sales system.
Given that the Sandler system was introduced in 1967, a year before Xerox officially unveiled its Need Satisfaction approach in 1968, I wanted to discuss the Sandler system first.
This system aimed to foster mutual respect, ensure clarity, assist in qualifying decisions, and help salespeople move away from stereotypical behaviours.
The 3 Principles of the Sandler Selling System
When it came out in 1967, the Sandler Selling System marked a turning point for sales methodologies as it had clearly defined principles that guided every other aspect of the methodology.
These principles are:
1. Sales is a noble profession
Sales should not involve deception. The seller-buyer relationship should always be based on trust and mutual respect.
2. Buyers have to be qualified
An essential part of sales is buyer qualification.
If it becomes obvious that the prospect will not buy, a smart salesperson will disqualify them and move on.
3. There has to be a consistent methodology
Salespeople need to understand the sales process, where they are in it, and what the next steps are.
Initially, David Sandler used a submarine as a visualisation tool for the seven steps in the sales process.
He was inspired by WWII movies and the procedure of shutting down compartments one by one if the submarine was damaged.
In his view, this could be translated to sales where every step (compartment) is clearly defined and ordered, guiding the salespeople to a safe sale.
He expanded the metaphor by likening salespeople to submarine sailors:
They have to be disciplined and brave.
Their decisions must be based on facts and data, not their hunch.
Once the hatch is shut (a step in the process), there is no going back. Going back puts the whole submarine (sale) in jeopardy.
They have to stick to the plan at all times.
The 7 steps of the Sandler Selling System
Over the years, the company Sandler, which is the owner of the methodology, has evolved this representation into a flywheel that better represents how these seven steps fit into the three larger phases of the sales process: engaging, qualifying, and closing.
1. Engaging
Communicating to establish bonding and rapport: Cultivate a relationship of mutual respect; establish an equal status; foster transparent, sincere dialogue.
Setting up an up-front contract: Define roles and set clear rules to ensure a comfortable setting for conducting business.
2. Qualifying
Identify the prospect’s pain: Identify the issues and understand their impact to uncover the reasons for pursuing a business relationship.
Uncover the prospect’s budget: Find out if the prospect has the willingness and capacity to allocate time, funds, and resources necessary to resolve the issue.
Identify the decision-making process: Dig deep into the prospect’s buying process and find out as much as possible about their internal decision-making structure.
3. Closing
Present your fulfilment of the agreement: Suggest your solution to address the issue, ensuring it fits the budget and aligns with the prospect’s decision-making process.
Confirm the post-sale process: Determine the next steps, explore potential future business, and prevent the sale from fizzling out due to competitors or buyer remorse.
Sandler (the company, not the man) has grown into a global behemoth over the last almost 60 years, providing training for companies such as Symantec, Toshiba, and Merrill Lynch, to name a few.
Their success rates, albeit self-reported, have been staggering.
However, the biggest impact that the Sandler Selling System has had is the shift in the sellers’ and sales managers’ mindset: from pushing customers to buy no matter what to becoming a trusted partner.
As a result of such an approach, the Sandler sales methodology is well-suited to environments where building long-term relationships and understanding deep customer needs are essential.
It is particularly effective in complex B2B sales, high-value transactions, and situations requiring customised solutions, thriving in industries where trust and credibility are paramount.
2. Needs Satisfaction Selling/PSS
In the 1960s, Xerox Corporation was facing a potentially devastating expiration of its exclusive patent on dry photocopying, which would introduce significant competition into the market and result in a noticeable decline in market share.
To counteract this, Xerox’s executives decided to invest millions into creating an entire sales methodology that would minimise the loss of market share.
In 1968, they introduced Needs Satisfaction Selling, which was based on the understanding that while people may resist being sold to, they enjoy the process of purchasing.
Need Satisfaction Selling was focused from the earliest days on simplifying the decision-making experience for buyers.
It offered sales personnel methods to gently counteract buyer hesitations, fostering an environment conducive to forming solid, lasting relationships.
Recognising its potential beyond their own company, Xerox’s sales leaders decided to commercialise the methodology.
They started offering it to other companies through the Professional Selling Skills (PSS) programme (part of their Xerox Learning Systems division) in 1972, making a significant impact on sales training across various industries.
The 3 stages of Needs Satisfaction Selling
When exploring Needs Satisfaction Selling there are three key stages to consider:
1. Needs discovery
At the outset, the salesperson’s task is to uncover the customer’s needs, challenges, and desires through engaging conversations.
By asking thoughtful questions and listening intently, the sales professional builds trust and rapport, encouraging the customer to share openly.
This stage is foundational, setting the tone for a relationship based on understanding and trust.
2. Needs analysis and solution tailoring
Once the customer’s needs are brought to light, the focus shifts to closely analysing these needs to craft a tailored solution.
Leveraging their deep product knowledge, the salesperson aligns the product’s features and benefits with the customer’s specific requirements.
This customisation is essential, as it demonstrates to the customer how the proposed solution directly addresses their unique challenges.
3. Needs satisfaction and closing
In the final stretch, the aim is to solidify the match between the solution and the customer’s needs, steering towards a successful sale closure.
The salesperson works to affirm that the solution meets the customer’s expectations, resolving any outstanding queries or concerns.
Through effective negotiation and clear communication, the goal is to secure the customer’s commitment, achieving a mutually satisfying agreement that reflects the careful identification and analysis of needs conducted in the preceding steps.
Need Satisfaction Selling is particularly effective in scenarios where the range of customer needs is broad, but the solutions offered are fairly standard.
As I continue exploring the different sales methodologies, it will become clear that these trailblazing efforts by Xerox were not in vain.
Namely, while it was a significant investment originally ($10 million), it helped the company build an unprecedented sales culture, a culture that would later give birth to additional sales methodologies, in addition to preserving Xerox’s position as an industry leader.
3. Miller Heiman Sales Methodology
It would be a decade before a new sales methodology would appear and its inception would be triggered by what is arguably the most impactful economic event of the 1970s – the OPEC oil embargo, which increased oil prices in the United States fourfold and caused ripple effects across the global economy.
As always, a dramatic economic downturn made the salespeople’s jobs much more difficult as buyers’ purses became tighter and sales cycles longer.
In 1978, Robert Miller (Kepner Tregoe Consulting) and Stephen Heiman (a former IBM salesman) came forward with their concept of Strategic/Conceptual Selling.
Its primary goal was to act as something of an addition to the Professional Selling Skills methodology which had, by that time, become the industry standard.
More precisely, it was envisioned to help PSS-trained salespeople win and manage large-scale accounts in the B2B arena.
The 5 core principles of the Miller Heiman methodology
The Miller Heiman sales methodology was built on 5 core principles:
1. The customer-centric approach
At the heart of the Miller Heiman methodology lies customer-centricity, which advocates for deeply understanding and addressing the customer’s needs.
This principle encourages sales professionals to consistently provide value and to forge interactions that address the unique circumstances of each customer.
The focus is on nurturing a relationship where the customer’s perspective drives the sales strategy, ensuring that solutions are meaningfully aligned with the customer’s objectives and challenges.
2. Strategic selling
Strategic selling is also another cornerstone of the methodology, focusing on the systematic management of complex sales opportunities.
It encompasses several key practices:
Rigorously identifying and mapping key decision-makers within the customer’s organisation.
Gaining a deep understanding of these stakeholders’ business needs and personal motivations.
Uncovering the intricate dynamics and politics within the customer’s organisation to tailor the sales approach effectively.
3. Conceptual selling
Conceptual selling, which can stand alone or integrate with the broader methodology, prioritises the clarity and relevance of communication.
It’s about engaging the customer in meaningful dialogue tailored to their industry, business needs, and specific situations.
This approach centres on the premise that customers are primarily interested in solutions that conceptualise answers to their unique challenges, rather than just the tangible aspects of products or services.
The goal is to move away from generic pitches and towards thoughtful, problem-solving conversations that resonate personally with the customer and create a shared vision of success between the seller and the buyer.
4. Large account management process (LAMP)
The LAMP strategy provides a framework for managing and expanding relationships with key accounts.
It’s a deliberate and long-term approach to account management that seeks to establish and sustain mutually beneficial partnerships.
It involves strategic planning, regular assessment, and the alignment of sales objectives with the evolving goals of large customers.
5. The Blue Sheet
The iconic Blue Sheet, an actual blue-coloured piece of paper in its original form, represents the methodology’s emphasis on strategic analysis and planning.
The blue sheet is arguably the biggest legacy of the Miller Heiman sales methodology.
Back in the late 1970s, it was revolutionary as it provided a structured, data-driven way to identify influencers, competitors, actions and other details that impacted the outcomes of high-value opportunities.
Up until then, most salespeople had relied on their gut feeling to do this.
Strategic focus areas in the Miller Heiman sales methodology
The Miller Heiman sales methodology encourages an understanding of the complex buying environment and aligning sales strategies accordingly.
It doesn’t lay out a linear “process” with clearly defined stages, as has been the case with the Sandler Selling System; rather, it provides tools and techniques for managing sales opportunities, which can be revisited and applied as needed throughout the sales cycle.
In particular, there are five key focus areas of the methodology which stem from the aforementioned principles: identifying decision influencers, recognising buyer attitudes, competitive positioning, addressing concerns early, and aiming for mutual success.
1. Identifying key decision influencers
In enterprise sales, understanding who influences the buying decision is fundamental. Salespeople must map out all involved parties, determining their roles and levels of influence in the purchasing process.
The methodology categorises influencers into four main buyer types, each with a distinct role:
Economic buyer: The ultimate decision-maker, holding budget authority.
Users: The people who will directly interact with the product or service, and whose practical needs must be met.
Technical buyers: Gatekeepers who evaluate the technical compatibility and compliance of the solution.
Coach: An internal advocate who helps the seller navigate through the organisation’s landscape, offering strategic insights and selling the solution internally. Today, it is common practice to refer to this person as the champion.
2. Recognising buyer attitudes
Understanding the buyer’s current mindset is pivotal for advancing the sale or spotting potential roadblocks. Miller Heiman highlights four primary attitudes:
Growth mode: Buyers actively seeking enhancements and open to exploring new solutions.
Trouble mode: Buyers in urgent need of solutions for immediate problems.
Even keel: Buyers content with their current situation, showing little motivation to change.
Overconfident: Buyers overly satisfied with their existing solutions, resistant to considering alternatives.
3. Competitive positioning
Analysing competition is integral to Miller Heiman’s strategic selling.
In enterprise sales, your solution is almost never the only one being considered and knowing your competitors and how your solution relates to theirs is essential.
Competitive battlecards and specific qualifying questions help salespeople gauge their position and strategise accordingly.
4. Addressing concerns early
A proactive stance on potential issues is a crucial part of Miller Heiman strategic way of selling.
By identifying and addressing concerns before they escalate, sales professionals can navigate around potential roadblocks.
This foresight involves anticipating changes in stakeholder dynamics or addressing hesitations, thereby safeguarding the progress of the sales motion.
5. Aiming for mutual success
Miller Heiman advocates for a sales approach where deals are structured to benefit all involved parties.
Aligning the solution with the prospect’s goals ensures not just a sale, but a partnership that yields ongoing value.
This win-win focus is central to fostering durable business relationships.
Given that the Miller Heiman methodology offers a robust framework for navigating complex sales, its applicability is particularly relevant to enterprise-level selling environments.
Its emphasis on a strategic and deliberate approach to stakeholder management and competitive analysis suits the intricate dynamics of large organisations but may prove overly complex for sellers who are targeting smaller businesses or performing transactional selling.
4. Solution Selling
Another sales methodology that was born in the 1970s was Solution Selling, first developed by Frank Watts at Wang Laboratories (It should be pointed out that there is a source which refers to “solution sales” being used by IBM prior to 1975).
By 1982, he started working as an independent consultant and that same year, he held a one-day workshop for Xerox Corporation.
In 1983, Mike Bosworth from Xerox founded a sales training organisation known as Solution Selling and continued evolving the methodology over the years, thanks to contributions from his affiliate network.
After changing hands a few more times, the Solution Selling intellectual property is currently owned by Richardson.
Today, the term solution selling is used more as a generic term, unlike, for example, the Sandler Selling System, whose owner company is continuously developing the methodology, providing training, and more.
That being said, the principles and stages of Solution Selling are common for all sales organisations which use this approach.
The 3 principles of Solution Selling
This sales methodology is based on three main principles:
1. Prioritising customer needs
The cornerstone of the methodology is the imperative to prioritise the customer’s needs.
This approach shifts the focus from merely highlighting product features to understanding and addressing the customer’s specific goals, challenges, and desired outcomes. It’s about uncovering:
Their objectives and pain points.
The hurdles they encounter.
The solutions that truly meet their needs.
2. Empathy and practicality
Effective solution selling demands a blend of empathy and practical insight.
Sellers must explore deeper than conventional interactions, gaining a thorough understanding of the customer’s industry, obstacles, and aspirations.
This profound insight enables sellers to offer solutions that are not just theoretically appealing but practically beneficial, demonstrating a genuine commitment to solving the customer’s problems.
3. Rapport rooted in insight
Contrary to the traditional belief that sales rapport is built on small talk, solution selling advocates for a connection founded on a genuine understanding of the customer’s context.
Whether it’s navigating a merger or tackling supply chain issues, the solution seller leverages detailed knowledge of the customer’s situation to offer valuable insights.
The 5 steps of Solution Selling
Solution selling centres on directly addressing and meeting the customer’s unique needs. To implement this methodology effectively, sales professionals can follow a set of practical steps.
These steps are often iterative rather than sequential, allowing sellers to continually refine their understanding of the customer’s needs and tailor their solution accordingly. Here are the key steps:
1. Gain a deep understanding of customers
This initial step is crucial, involving comprehensive research and engagement to understand the customer’s industry, challenges, and goals.
For B2B sales, this means not just knowing the company but also understanding the broader industry context and the specific business environment of the customer.
2. Pinpoint and tackle exact issues
Effective solution selling relies on identifying the customer’s core problems through detailed questioning.
This diagnostic approach ensures that the solutions offered are precisely targeted to address the customer’s unique challenges.
3. Offer customised solutions
Sales representatives highlight how their product or service uniquely solves the identified problems and meets the customer’s needs, concentrating on the benefits their solution provides in the specific situation.
The main focus is always on improving the buyer’s experience rather than simply promoting a product.
When the initial steps are executed proficiently, sales reps are well-prepared to carry out this phase effectively.
4. Navigate objections skillfully
Handling objections is an integral part of the process, requiring active listening and empathetic engagement. A sales team must address concerns with evidence and reassurance, reinforcing the value and suitability of their solution.
5. Finalise the sale
The culmination of the solution sales process is closing the sale in a manner that ensures customer satisfaction and confidence in the decision. This includes facilitating a smooth transaction and reinforcing the ongoing support and benefits that come with the solution.
As a methodology, Solution Selling is particularly well-suited for environments where products or services are complex, highly customisable, and require thorough explanations to showcase their value.
It’s particularly effective for B2B sales, technology and software companies, consulting services, high-value equipment and machinery sectors, medical devices, financial services, telecommunications, IT infrastructure, and energy and environmental solutions.
These industries benefit from the methodology’s focus on understanding customer-specific challenges and tailoring solutions to meet those needs, facilitating complex purchasing decisions and fostering lasting customer relationships.
5. SPIN selling (consultative selling)
The majority of methodologies I’ve covered so far have been, to a certain extent, consultative in nature.
However, the concept of consultative selling was officially introduced by Neil Rackham in his book SPIN Selling which came out in 1988.
The book was the result of 12 years of research into sales organisations, backed financially by Xerox and IBM, and became an instant hit due to its scientific approach to sales and the applicability of the SPIN strategy for modern sales teams.
Questions as the guiding principle
Over the course of their research, Rackham and his team discovered that strategic questioning stood at the core of every successful sales team.
As a result, the entire SPIN methodology uses different types of questions in a structured sequence as its pillars: Situation, Problem, Implication, and Need Payoff.
Here’s a breakdown with examples for each type of question, emphasising the subtlety required in their approach to avoid overtly obvious questioning that could disengage prospects.
Situation questions
These inquiries aim to establish a foundational understanding of the customer’s current context and operations. Sales reps gather essential background information to tailor their subsequent questions and solutions more effectively.
Example questions might include:
“What software solutions are you currently utilising in your operations?”
“Can you describe your current workflow for managing client data?”
“How is your team structured around project management tasks?”
Problem questions
Here, the goal is to unearth the specific challenges the customer faces, offering an opening to position the sales rep’s product as a potential solution.
Example questions might include:
“Have you encountered any limitations with your current software solutions?”
“What challenges does your team face in managing client data effectively?”
“In what ways has your current workflow impacted project delivery times?”
Implication questions
These questions dig deeper, helping customers understand the broader impact of their problems. Sales reps can use this opportunity to amplify the need for a solution by highlighting the consequences of inaction.
Example questions might include:
“How do these limitations affect your team’s productivity and morale?”
“Could the challenges in managing client data pose risks to your customer relationships?”
“What are the implications of delayed project delivery on your business outcomes?”
Need payoff questions
Focusing on the solution’s benefits, these questions encourage customers to articulate the value of solving their problems, effectively allowing the prospect to conclude the necessity of the proposed solution.
Example questions might include:
“How would improving data management processes benefit your client relationships?”
“Could enhancing your software solutions significantly increase team productivity?”
“What impact would faster project delivery have on your overall business success?”
Sales reps must tread carefully to avoid making their questioning seem too scripted or leading. The art lies in posing questions that naturally lead the customer to recognise the value of the solution without feeling coerced.
It’s about guiding, not pushing.
The 4 stages of the sale according to SPIN
Rackham outlines a framework that could be interpreted as stages within a sales process where these types of questions can be most effectively used: preliminaries, investigating, demonstrating capability, and obtaining commitment.
1. Preliminaries
In SPIN Selling, the initial call isn’t about diving straight into the product’s features and benefits.
This aggressive tactic can deter prospects and cause salespeople to miss out on gathering crucial information.
The aim of the first call is to capture the buyer’s attention and begin building trust through insightful or thought-provoking queries that focus on understanding the basic context of the customer’s situation.
2. Investigating
Central to SPIN Selling, this stage involves deep exploration into how the product or service can meet the buyer’s needs.
Strategic questioning (mainly situation and problem questions) helps uncover the buyer’s specific challenges, priorities, and buying criteria, establishing a foundation for presenting a tailored solution.
Rackham suggests that a well-crafted questioning strategy can boost close rates by 20%.
3. Demonstrating capability
After identifying the prospect’s needs, sales reps must validate how their solution addresses these needs (applying implication and need payoff questions).
Rackham identifies three ways to describe a product’s capabilities:
Features: They are straightforward descriptions and are more impactful for simpler, low-cost products.
Advantages: They explain how a product’s features are used, offering practical value.
Benefits: They illustrate how features provide a tangible solution to the prospect’s problem, often highlighting financial gains, and underscore the solution’s direct relevance to the prospect’s situation.
4. Obtaining commitment
The culmination of the SPIN Selling process involves securing the prospect’s commitment to move forward with the solution. This stage naturally follows the careful addressing of any objections that might arise.
Objections are an inevitable part of any deal.
The absence of objections could signal that the buyer has reservations they haven’t expressed. Effectively handling objections requires a deep understanding of the buyer’s concerns and providing clear explanations as to why these shouldn’t deter the deal.
Rackham differentiates objections into two primary categories: Value and Capability.
Capability objections are further subdivided into “Can’t” – referring to perceived limitations of the product or service – and “Can” – where the buyer acknowledges the capability but has doubts about its applicability or effectiveness in their specific context.
To minimise objections, salespeople should avoid premature selling.
Using implication and need-payoff questions to establish the value before presenting a solution can significantly reduce objections.
This approach, differing from the traditional problem question leading directly to a product feature, allows for a deeper understanding of the prospect’s goals and barriers, facilitating a more tailored and receptive solution presentation.
SPIN Selling is usually the right sales methodology for complex, high-value B2B sales environments where purchasing decisions involve considerable deliberation and where the buyer’s journey is typically longer and involves multiple stakeholders.
This methodology excels in scenarios where understanding and addressing specific customer needs, challenges, and decision-making processes are crucial for success.
6. Value-Based Selling
Value-Based Selling was introduced in 1991 and it is currently the intellectual property of ValueSelling Associates.
Value-based selling centres on the concept that customers are the best judges of what’s valuable to them. By engaging in meaningful conversations, salespeople dive deep into understanding the customer’s challenges and aspirations.
This dialogue enables them to collaboratively pinpoint the unique value their product can offer.
Tailoring the sales approach becomes key; it’s about crafting proposals that resonate with the specific needs and goals of each customer.
The company currently provides training and materials for companies such as Google, NCR, and Cisco, just to name a few.
The methodology itself can be distilled into 7 core principles.
The 7 Value-Based Selling principles
1. The importance of research
Value-Based Selling begins with in-depth preparation.
Sales professionals must research their prospects thoroughly to grasp their company’s context, industry nuances, and specific challenges. This groundwork is crucial for tailoring the sales approach effectively.
2. Refrain from pitching too eagerly
It’s essential for sales reps to hold off on presenting their sales pitch too early in the conversation.
Giving prospects space to express their current challenges and desires helps in building trust and allows sales reps to gather insights critical for offering valuable solutions.
3. Convey your product’s value from the customer’s perspective
Sales professionals should adeptly communicate the value of their product or service from the customer’s perspective, emphasising how it addresses the prospect’s specific challenges and meets their unique needs.
This involves demonstrating how the solution not only resolves current issues but also adds tangible benefits, such as improving productivity, providing crucial training, or simplifying tasks with regular updates.
It’s essential to connect the solution’s features directly to the prospect’s operational objectives, thereby making the value proposition unmistakably relevant and compelling.
4. Teach, don’t sell
By shifting from a sales-oriented approach to a teaching mindset, sales reps position themselves as resources for prospects.
This strategy involves engaging the prospect with informative solutions to their problems, establishing trust and demonstrating the product’s value before the selling phase even begins.
5. Act as a guide through the buyer’s journey
In value-based selling, the sales rep acts more as a consultant than a seller.
They offer insights and strategies that empower the prospect to make well-informed decisions, enhancing their competitive stance.
It’s about aiding their buyer journey with knowledge and options rather than directing it with a strict sales process.
6. Build and maintain relationships with customers
Keeping a friendly, conversational tone is pivotal.
This includes asking open-ended questions to truly understand the prospect, engaging in meaningful small talk, and communicating in a relatable manner, as if speaking with a friend.
This approach helps to demonstrate genuine interest in the prospect’s success and establishes a solid foundation for a long-lasting relationship.
7. Always add value
Make certain that every interaction brings something beneficial to the prospect.
Whether it’s leaving ample time to address their questions, sharing relevant articles, or simply making their decision-making process easier, these actions contribute to building a long-term, trusting relationship.
This commitment to adding value at every step reinforces the prospect’s perception of the sales rep as a dedicated partner in their success.
A 9-step Value-Based Selling framework
One of the most practical frameworks to put value selling into practice is suggested by Cuvama, a company that has built software for supporting teams that use value-based selling:
The image deserves a closer look.
1. Prospect engagement
Adding value from the very first interaction is paramount. This involves using personalised sales messaging or sharing insights that align closely with the prospect’s business challenges and goals.
A hyper-personalised approach, especially crucial in account-based marketing and selling, should highlight the direct impact your solution can have on the prospect’s objectives, setting the stage for a meaningful conversation.
2. Lead qualification and conversion
Screening prospects against the ideal customer profile involves a deep dive into the prospect’s motivations and the outcomes they expect from a solution.
The goal is to identify early whether a prospect’s expectations are aligned with what your solution can deliver, allowing for a more relevant and healthy sales pipeline.
3. Initiating an outcome-centric sales cycle
Sellers should transition the conversation from a product-centric to an outcome-centric narrative. By establishing credibility through valuable insights, you earn the right to delve deeper into the prospect’s needs, steering the discussion away from superficial features and towards strategic benefits.
This approach helps set a consultative tone for the relationship, emphasising the strategic importance of your solution to the prospect’s business.
4. Uncovering business challenges
Understanding the root cause of the prospect’s challenges is essential for creating urgency and demonstrating alignment. This step goes beyond surface-level issues, exploring the underlying factors contributing to the prospect’s pain points.
By thoroughly exploring the nature and impact of these challenges, you can tailor your solution more effectively, differentiating your offering from competitors.
5. Aligning on KPI impacts and outcomes
Collaboratively defining the key performance indicators (KPIs) and desired outcomes ensures that your solution is directly linked to the prospect’s goals.
This alignment is about understanding what success looks like for the prospect and how your solution can facilitate that success, whether through financial returns, operational improvements, or other significant impacts.
6. Linking the customer’s value to the solution
Clearly articulating how your solution’s unique features address the identified business challenges is a critical step.
This involves demonstrating the direct correlation between your solution’s capabilities and the prospect’s desired outcomes, ensuring that your offering is positioned as the optimal choice for addressing their specific needs.
7. Co-creating a business case
Building a business case in partnership with the prospect ensures that the proposed solution is grounded in the prospect’s reality.
This collaborative effort enhances the credibility of your offering and empowers the prospect to advocate for your solution internally, presenting it as a well-justified investment to other stakeholders.
8. Empowering the champion
Supporting your internal champion with the necessary tools and knowledge enables them to effectively sell your solution within their organisation.
By providing them with a strong value narrative and business case, you help navigate internal buy-in processes, overcoming potential objections and securing consensus.
9. Negotiating, winning, and closing
Anchoring your negotiation around the unique value your solution delivers allows for a more effective closing phase.
By focusing on the specific benefits and outcomes your product offers, you can justify your pricing, minimise discounting, and streamline the negotiation process, leading to a successful close.
As it’s becoming a bit of a theme in this guide, the value-based selling methodology is once again best suited for organisations that offer customisable solutions requiring a consultative selling approach, such as in technology, healthcare, and enterprise software sectors.
This methodology helps companies differentiate themselves in competitive markets by focusing on the unique benefits and ROI their solutions bring to customers, rather than competing on price.
It should be pointed out, however, that value-based selling reaps the most benefits when it is used by experienced sales teams. The reason for this is that selling value is surprisingly difficult and requires more than just knowledge of the product.
7. Customer-Centric Selling
Customer-Centric Selling is a sales methodology that can be traced back to the eponymous 1993 book by Mike Bosworth.
If the name rings a bell, it is because it is the same Mike Bosworth who championed Solution Selling in one of its historic iterations.
Over the years, the methodology became trademarked as CustomerCentric Selling® and the owner company has been providing consulting and training services since 2002.
Customer-Centric Selling is a natural evolution of the Solution Selling methodology from the 1980s and early 1990s, only with an even bigger emphasis on providing a positive outcome for the customer, even if it results in no sale.
The 5 principles of Customer-Centric Selling
The 5 principles behind Customer-Centric Selling are a mix of familiar and new, the most prominent new one being absolutely committed to solving the customer’s problem, even at the expense of a sale.
1. Shifting the mindset
In customer-centric selling, sales reps move away from seeing sales as merely a numbers game. This approach demands a mindset shift from prioritising deal closures to genuinely solving problems.
They enter sales conversations with the intent to enhance the customer’s situation, sharing relevant knowledge, and prioritising the customer’s need for the right solution – even if it means suggesting a product or service other than their own.
2. Doing the research
Understanding the prospect deeply is fundamental. This goes beyond a cursory glance at a LinkedIn profile; it requires in-depth knowledge of the prospect’s industry, the challenges they face, and the competitive landscape they operate within.
Sales professionals should immerse themselves in industry terms, trends, and future predictions to show genuine care and capability in assisting the prospect.
3. Asking the right questions
A cornerstone of customer-centric selling is identifying not just the apparent problem but also the underlying causes and concerns influencing the prospect’s decision-making.
The reps ask open-ended, insightful questions which can uncover the real issues at hand and potentially reveal solutions the prospect hadn’t considered. This requires a deep engagement with the customer, letting the conversation flow to discover the most valuable insights.
4. Use cases instead of features
Rather than focusing on product features, customer-centric selling emphasises how the product or service has positively impacted past or current customers.
Sharing real-world use cases and testimonials allows prospects to envision how the solution could improve their own situation. Offering demos or trials when possible further personalises the experience, allowing the prospect to see the value firsthand.
5. Lose control
Unlike traditional selling, which often follows a rigid funnel, customer-centric selling embraces a more flexible, patient approach. Sales reps must be comfortable with giving prospects the space and time to find the solution that truly meets their needs, even if it means they choose another provider or take longer to decide.
This method is about building long-term relationships based on trust and support, focusing on the prospect’s timeline rather than a predetermined sales cycle.
The 8 phases of Customer-Centric Selling
While the principles of Customer-Centric Selling mark a significant departure from the methodologies that came before it, the 8 phases proposed by Mike Bosworth could be viewed as relatively conservative.
1. Pre-call planning and research
Sales professionals thoroughly investigate the prospect’s background, industry, and specific challenges to tailor their approach effectively.
2. Stimulating interest
By sharing insights and personalising communication, sales reps ignite curiosity and engage the prospect right from the start.
3. Establishing the critical business issues
Through targeted questioning, the sales team identifies and understands the key problems impacting the prospect’s business.
4. Mapping the organisation
Sales reps develop an understanding of the prospect’s company structure to identify key stakeholders and decision-makers.
5. Negotiating access to senior decision-makers
Leveraging insights and relationships within the prospect’s organisation, the sales team secures meetings with top-level executives.
6. Managing the product evolution
Sales reps guide prospects through how the product or service can evolve to meet their changing needs over time.
7. Negotiating
Engaging in discussions to align the product’s value proposition with the prospect’s requirements, leading to a mutually beneficial agreement.
8. Closing
Finalising the deal by ensuring all the prospect’s needs are met and laying the groundwork for a strong, ongoing partnership.
Customer-Centric Selling is a sales methodology unique in its absolute commitment to the customer and as such, it may not work for sales organisations that are inexperienced or where the pressure on salespeople to close deals at all costs is present.
Due to its emphasis on building long-term relationships, it is a great choice for selling complex products in highly competitive industries.
8. RAIN Selling (plus Insight Selling)
Rain selling is the first 21st-century sales methodology I’m covering in this guide. It was introduced in 2002 by Mike Schultz and John Doerr who around that same time also founded RAIN Group.
At the core of the RAIN Selling methodology lies the acronym RAIN, a mnemonic that encapsulates the essence of leading effective sales conversations.
The methodology itself is a framework which focuses on the sales conversations as the key aspect of sales.
Each letter of RAIN serves as a cornerstone for this approach, focusing on Rapport, Aspirations and Afflictions, Impact, and New Reality.
Additionally, “A” and “I” remind sales professionals to balance Advocacy with Inquiry, while “IN” underscores the importance of maximising Influence throughout the sales process.
Rapport
Contrary to some modern critiques, establishing a connection with buyers remains critical. True rapport goes beyond superficial interactions, laying a foundation for trust and genuine relationships.
This connection is important because buyers are more inclined to engage with salespeople they like, making rapport a necessary starting point for any successful sale.
Aspirations and Afflictions
Traditional sales methods often focus solely on identifying problems to solve. The RAIN Selling approach, however, places equal emphasis on discovering a buyer’s goals and dreams alongside their challenges.
This dual focus enables sales reps to inspire buyers with potential outcomes they hadn’t considered, influencing their agendas and driving demand.
Impact
Understanding the implications of unresolved afflictions or unrealised aspirations is key. Salespeople must articulate the tangible consequences of inaction, framing their solutions in terms of the significant impact they can have on the buyer’s business or personal objectives.
New Reality
Sales reps must help prospects visualise the benefits of engaging with their solution, establishing a “New Reality” benchmark.
This involves setting expectations for a superior outcome and quantifying the impact and presenting a compelling before-and-after scenario to illustrate the transformative potential of the solution.
Advocacy and Inquiry
Striking the right balance between advocating solutions and inquiring about the buyer’s needs is crucial. While incessant pitching can alienate buyers, solely asking questions without offering insights can hinder establishing the salesperson’s value.
Effective sales conversations require a mix of both, allowing buyers to share their stories while also showcasing the salesperson’s expertise.
Influence
The final element, “IN,” reminds sales reps to incorporate the principles of influence into their interactions.
Mastery of these principles enhances effectiveness across all stages of the sales conversation, empowering sales reps to guide discussions toward successful outcomes.
Insight Selling
The reason why I included Insight Selling under the same section is that the same team of Shultz and Doerr did research on 700 successful B2B sales focusing solely on what these successful sales shared in common.
The research revealed that sellers who educate buyers with fresh ideas (insights), foster collaboration, and convincingly demonstrate the attainability of results stand out from their competitors.
Insight Selling revolves around creating sales opportunities and influencing change by introducing impactful ideas.
It branches into two main applications: interaction insight and opportunity insight.
Interaction insight
Interaction insight focuses on the dynamics and content of interactions between the salesperson and the prospect or customer.
It’s about using each communication as a chance to deliver valuable insights to the customer, fundamentally altering their perspective or understanding of a problem, solution, or market trend.
Opportunity insight
Opportunity insight, on the other hand, pertains to the identification and development of new sales opportunities through the strategic use of insights.
It involves understanding the specific context and needs of the potential customer to uncover unaddressed or even unrecognised needs that your solution can meet.
Opportunity insight requires a proactive approach, where the salesperson uses their understanding of industry trends, competitive dynamics, and potential challenges to present an idea and guides the customer through the process of realising that such an idea addresses one of their needs.
Both RAIN Selling and Insight Selling focus on sales conversations and, as such, they can be applied to the majority of sales situations. In fact, these approaches can be used to enrich other sales methodologies by elevating conversations with prospects and customers to a whole other level.
9. SNAP Selling
SNAP Selling is the brainchild of Jill Konrath, another Xerox “alumnus” whose eponymous book came out in 2010 and caught the attention of the entire sales community in a matter of days.
The core concept in this sales methodology is the “frazzled customer syndrome”, in other words, a customer that is:
Stressed out
Overwhelmed
Easily distracted
Forgetful
Suffers from analysis paralysis
Likely to withdraw from contact
Likely to stick with the status quo as a result of all of the above
The 4 SNAP Selling principles
To approach and successfully sell to this frazzled customer, SNAP Selling introduces four core principles: Keep it Simple, Be iNvaluable, Always Align, and Raise Priorities.
1. Keep it simple
Prospects don’t want to add any more complexity to their lives.
They don’t have time to sit through lengthy proposals.
Sales reps need to make things as clear, concise, and transparent as possible.
2. Be invaluable
Prospects have more options than ever.
The only way to differentiate yourself is to become a trusted advisor.
This means you’re always looking for ways to add value to every conversation.
3. Always align
Deals fall apart when you’re not in tune with your prospects.
Understand your prospects’ objectives and challenges, and always keep those top of mind when discussing your products or services.
4. Raise priorities
Frazzled buyers may stick with the status quo simply because it’s the path of least resistance.
Help prospects see how fixing their problem is a priority to get them to consider their options.
Three stages (decisions) of SNAP Selling
Jill Konrath proposes that the buyer has to make three ‘yes’ decisions in order to complete the sale.
1. Allow access
The initial hurdle for engaging prospects involves getting them to consider collaborating with sales professionals, essentially allowing these representatives the opportunity to present their value.
This step is akin to opening the door for further discussions.
However, persuading prospects to give salespeople their time is challenging. Overwhelmed with their tasks, buyers guard their schedules against interruptions, especially from salespeople they perceive as self-interested.
To overcome this barrier, sparking curiosity is crucial.
Failure to engage their interest lands sales outreach in what Konrath dubs the “D-Zone”, where attempts are ignored or discarded.
Instead of resorting to generic outreach on LinkedIn or by cold email, sales organisations might consider these strategies to gain access:
Reference a referral: Dropping a mutual contact’s name early, especially in an email’s subject line, can instantly boost credibility.
Share insights: Providing valuable information, such as industry trends or solutions to common problems, positions sales reps as a resource rather than just another vendor.
Mention a “trigger event”: Highlighting significant changes within a company or industry demonstrates attentiveness and research prowess.
2. Initiate change
Securing initial access doesn’t mean the hard part is over for sales reps.
The next critical decision involves convincing prospects that sticking with the status quo is detrimental.
At this juncture, the focus isn’t on the product or service but on establishing whether the offering aligns with the prospect’s needs and challenges.
This involves sales professionals asking insightful questions, such as:
“What’s the current approach to your [process]?”
“How is this [problem] affecting your organisation?”
“What are the implications of not addressing this [problem] immediately?”
Framing questions this way tends to elicit detailed responses, increasing engagement and success chances for sales reps.
Encouraging prospects to consider change involves:
Providing helpful resources: Demonstrating deep knowledge in the field convinces prospects of the sales professional’s value.
Focusing on the possibilities: By understanding their situation thoroughly, sales professionals can introduce prospects to new opportunities.
Sharing a success story: Narratives of how solutions have positively impacted other customers can be persuasive for sales reps.
Acknowledging the need for change is a significant hurdle, but it’s essential for moving forward in the sales process for sales professionals.
3. Select resources
Once prospects are open to change, the aim shifts to influencing their choice and advocating for the solution as the prime candidate to help them in their situation.
Standing out in a saturated market requires a keen understanding of both the competition and the prospect’s decision-making process by salespeople.
The reps should consider the following inquiries to gain insights:
“How do you plan to decide on this solution?”
“Who will be involved in this decision?”
“What can the sales team provide to help you achieve final approval?”
“What criteria will you use to evaluate the options?”
“What are your success metrics?”
This information allows sales professionals to tailor a sales pitch that clearly outlines why their solution is superior.
In the end, prospects often fear the repercussions of a poor decision.
Sales professionals strengthen their case with relevant case studies and testimonials to mitigate these concerns and support their argument.
SNAP selling is best suited to companies that operate in a saturated market and whose buyer personas are experiencing the frazzled customer syndrome.
In other words, the modern B2B SaaS buyers.
10. Challenger Sale
The Challenger Sale book by Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at CEB Inc (now part of Gartner) came out in 2011 and it immediately made an impact on the sales community.
For example, Neil Rackham of SPIN Selling referred to it as “The most important advance in selling for many years”.
The book and the resulting Challenger methodology involve adopting a sales approach focused on teaching, tailoring and, most importantly, taking control of the sales experience by the salesperson.
Different salespeople types as the core principle
Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson studied the attitudes and behaviours of thousands of salespeople as part of their research for the book, and they identified 5 main types of salespeople:
The hard worker: Always willing to go above and beyond, this individual is persistent, driven by internal motivation, and appreciates receiving feedback for further growth and development.
The relationship builder: excels at creating deep connections with customers, fostering loyalty, generously offering time to assist others, and maintaining harmonious relationships with everyone. This is the closest type to the ideal sales rep according to the majority of methodologies that came before.
The lone wolf: Trusts their own gut feelings, possesses confidence in their autonomy, and operates independently.
The problem solver: Known for their dependability, they make sure to address and resolve every issue their customers face, paying close attention to details.
The challenger: Offers a unique perspective, has a deep understanding of the customer’s industry, enjoys engaging in discussions, and encourages customers to venture beyond their comfort zones.
In their original research, as well as a subsequent study of more than 6,000 SDRs, they discovered that the challenger type had by far the most success.
For instance, 40% of top salespeople relied predominantly on the challenger selling style. Moreover, more than half of all-star performers in complex sales fit the challenger profile.
To everyone’s surprise, they also discovered that only 7% of high sales performers were relationship builders – up to that point the preferred kind of salesperson.
One of the biggest drawbacks of the challenger methodology is that, for salespeople who are not naturally inclined, making the shift can be extremely difficult, requiring a lot of training and coaching, as well as additional support from their sales leadership.
After all, they are expected to move away from everything they had done in the past and adopt a stance that may not feel natural.
The 5 steps to adopting Challenger Sale
Pipedrive proposes a comprehensive 5-step framework for adopting the Challenger Sale methodology and applying it to one’s sales process.
1. The warm-up
The Challenger Sale sales approach kicks off with establishing credibility.
Sales professionals need to demonstrate a deep understanding of the prospect’s challenges without diving into product details. Instead, the focus remains solely on identifying and empathising with the prospect’s issues.
This involves:
Highlighting common challenges to show understanding and empathy.
Demonstrating expertise to prove familiarity with the prospect’s problems.
Piquing interest with relevant facts or research.
Engaging with interactive content to deeply explore the prospect’s challenges.
At this stage, the aim is to engage in a meaningful conversation that sets the stage for more in-depth discussions later.
2. Reframe the conversation
After warming up the prospect, sales professionals must then pivot the conversation from identifying problems to viewing these issues as opportunities for growth.
This step involves:
Digging deeper to challenge the prospect’s initial perceptions and reframing their problems as opportunities.
Keeping the conversation focused on previously discussed challenges to underscore the sales professional’s understanding and expertise.
Introducing new perspectives to shift the prospect’s focus towards more effective solutions.
Displaying confidence and assurance to pivot the conversation effectively.
The objective here is not to sell but to shift the prospect’s mindset and encourage them to consider new solutions.
3. Use emotions
Emotions play a crucial role in B2B sales, influencing decision-making significantly. To leverage this:
Sales professionals should use relatable customer stories to help prospects see the personal value in a solution.
By highlighting the potential consequences of inaction and contrasting them with the successes of others who have adopted new solutions, sales reps can make the prospect envision the benefits more clearly.
This stage involves combining storytelling with data to solidify the argument for change.
4. The value proposition
Sales professionals need to illustrate the potential for a brighter future without directly pitching the product as the solution.
This involves:
Painting a positive future scenario for the prospect, contrasting with the negative outcomes of maintaining the status quo.
Keeping the focus strictly on potential solutions, allowing the prospect to make connections on their own.
Conveying a patient and thorough explanation of these solutions to ensure the prospect fully grasps the possibilities.
The goal is to guide the prospect towards envisioning the ideal solution, leading them to your product indirectly.
5. The product
By this point, sales reps are positioned to reveal their solution as the answer to the prospect’s reframed problem.
This final stage should be straightforward, as the groundwork laid throughout the process leads the prospect to naturally conclude that your offering is the optimal solution.
Whether through a product demo for SaaS solutions or a detailed service presentation for agencies, this step finalises the sales process by directly linking the prospect’s needs to the product.
As I mentioned already, the Challenger methodology can be, well, challenging.
For this reason, it is better suited to experienced sales teams that are supported by their company in terms of training and coaching. If the said teams already happen to have a number of challenger types on the roster, it could potentially be easier.
The Challenger Sale methodology is best applied in complex B2B environments where informed customers, competitive markets, and consensus-driven decisions prevail.
It stands out in scenarios requiring a deep dive into customer’s businesses to offer complex solutions, especially when selling on value rather than price and navigating economic uncertainties.
11. Gap Selling
Gap Selling is the “youngest” of the sales methodologies that we will be exploring in-depth in this guide, as the book which introduced the concept, “Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes”, was published in 2018, by Keenan, a world-famous sales coach who also serves as the CEO of ASG, A Sales Growth Co.
As the name suggests, this sales methodology is based on a gap that exists between the prospect’s current situation and an improved, future situation.
This gap is where salespeople do their jobs.
While the methodology itself does not introduce any particularly revolutionary concepts, it does a great job of illustrating that various sales phases should not be seen as set in stone and necessarily chronological, but as complementary parts of the entire process of bridging the gap.
The methodology is also based on some refreshingly common-sense principles.
The 4 principles of Gap Selling
1. Don’t take your buyer’s word for granted
A sales rep (or a sales manager) should never take the initial information gained from the prospect as set in stone.
For one, prospects may not be fully aware of the situation they are in.
Maybe they don’t realise how they can improve the situation for themselves and their company.
Some of them might be naturally inclined to avoid stirring the boat. It takes time to discover these things.
2. Don’t sell to a need
Selling to a need is short-sighted.
Needs can change in a blink of an eye.
Presupposed needs may not even be the actual needs.
There is the current situation and the future situation.
The current needs are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to closing that gap.
Sales professionals need to think broader and deeper.
3. Address root causes
There are innumerable ways why sales teams fail – from bad prospecting, and lack of good qualification methodology, to poor discovery practices, and so on.
The methodology is welcoming to other systems or methodologies (BANT or MEDDIC are mentioned explicitly), as long as they can help salespeople close the gap quicker and more effectively.
4. Discover the value
The gap is about finding different ways to provide value to the prospect.
It can be in the form of solving problems, making an impact, solving some root issues, or addressing emotions.
Every little step works towards closing the gap.
The 7 stages in Gap Selling
As I mentioned, this particular sales methodology isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to the actual job of selling. It is about broadening the sales reps’ way of thinking about what truly matters to the customer and what the customer’s big-picture goal is.
We can identify 7 main stages in Gap Selling:
1. Current situation (facts)
The sales representatives should find out as much as possible about the prospect’s current situation. In other words, get as many facts as possible.
2. Identifying problems
What problems is the customer facing? This should go beyond something like “Well, end-of-year reports take too long.” It is barely a start.
How long do they take? Do they take the same time every year? What are the primary reasons the reports take so long?
There is so much to uncover at this stage.
3. Measuring impact
Problems are rarely problems if they don’t have an impact. To use the hypothetical case from the previous stage, some of the impacts could be:
End-of-year reports are very costly due to the working hours needed (overtime included)
People are nervous towards the end of the year and employee churn is highest around report time.
Last quarter is always worse than Q1, Q2, and Q3 because people spend too much time on reports.
4. Uncovering root causes
Every problem has its root causes and the methodology puts a lot of emphasis on unearthing those.
Problems do not appear out of thin air, and while sometimes it can be uncomfortable digging for those causes, it has to be done.
In our case, the root cause could be the legal department that hasn’t changed its way of working since the 1970s. Or an outdated piece of software.
5. Gauging emotions
Gap selling acknowledges the fact that emotions play a big role in making a purchasing decision, which is why it suggests that sales reps always find out what kind of emotions the problems are causing in the prospect and the prospect’s organisation.
Our hypothetical prospect probably feels exasperated that they have to go through the same end-of-year chaos every year.
They probably feel unheard. They might also feel afraid that some of their best people might leave after another ordeal.
6. Future situation
By combining all of the above, sales professionals can help their prospects define a future situation that would be an improvement over their current one; in ideal cases, a perfect situation.
It is essential that all of the above steps are used to frame this future situation.
An ideal situation for our hypothetical case would be a streamlined, stress-free end-of-year report experience that is 5 times shorter than the current one, which can be done by fewer people, and that doesn’t cause people to quit.
7. Presenting the solution
Once this (more or less) perfect future situation becomes clear, it is time to suggest how one’s solution (product/service) can make that future happen.
In our case, it could be a new piece of software.
Gap Selling is complex and requires a lot from salespeople.
It is nearly impossible to implement without proper, ongoing training and adjustments. As such, it is best left to mature sales teams that also have a lot of support behind them in the form of experienced sales leadership.
The methodology is ideal in scenarios where customers recognise a need for change and are seeking solutions to bridge the gap between their current state and desired outcomes.
It excels in environments that favour a consultative approach, allowing for customised solutions tailored to specific customer needs.
Notable mentions
In case this is not the only sales methodology guide that you have been reading to find the best approach that would work for your organisation, you might have probably noticed that some other articles include additional methodologies, such as MEDDPICC, Command of the Sale and Message, N.E.A.T., or Inbound selling.
The reasons why I didn’t include them vary.
For instance, in the case of MEDDPICC and N.E.A.T., I decided against including them because they are, strictly speaking, sales qualification frameworks.
Out of them, the one that was the closest to making the cut was MEDDPICC, since it seems to be outgrowing its qualification roots.
Command of the Sale and Command of the Message were excluded because they present a combination of qualification methodology and value messaging that didn’t fit my idea of methodology, especially since they are often used individually which, to a certain extent, undermines the view that they constitute a single unified sales methodology as is the case with those I covered in more detail.
Inbound selling, account-based selling and similar concepts weren’t included because they are more ideas (greatly influenced by marketing) than structured methodologies.
Conclusion
By presenting these methodologies in a historical sequence, from the foundational Sandler Selling System and Xerox’s pioneering Needs Satisfaction Selling to the contemporary insights of the Challenger Sale and the SNAP Selling methodology, I wanted to highlight the progression of sales strategies from transactional interactions to more sophisticated, relationship-focused approaches.
This evolution reflects a growing recognition of the need for every sales team to engage deeply with prospects, understanding their challenges and aspirations, to foster trust and deliver genuine value.
This guide has been carefully curated to deliver the most relevant insights across a spectrum of sales methodologies, emphasising the distinct advantages each holds and the particular scenarios where they excel.
My intention has been to equip you with the knowledge to discern which methodology aligns most closely with your specific goals, the nature of your offerings, and the expectations of your target audience.
Hopefully, I have provided you with an overview of modern sales methodologies that is exhaustive but not overwhelming – a guide that might just help you choose the best approach to elevate your sales efforts.
If you’re looking for an even more actionable, training-oriented look at the methodologies, I did an article where I describe the sales training you get from the companies behind these methodologies, for those that offer such services, of course.
