{"id":1323,"date":"2015-02-05T14:07:56","date_gmt":"2015-02-05T19:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/hiring-solution-salespeople\/"},"modified":"2019-10-01T19:41:30","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T19:41:30","slug":"hiring-solution-salespeople","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/hiring-solution-salespeople\/","title":{"rendered":"Hiring Solution Salespeople in an Evolving Sales Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hiring<\/p>\n

One of the biggest shifts in selling approaches occurred in the mid-1980s when Mike Bosworth,\u00a0formerly of Xerox Computer Services,\u00a0<\/span>popularized \u201cSolution Sales.\u201d Bosworth championed the idea of selling \u201cexpert to non-expert\u201d, in which salespeople proactively uncover a customer\u2019s business requirements\u00a0and position offerings as a \u2018solution\u2019 to these business needs rather than simply waiting for purchase requests. In the early days of selling computer systems, this value-based approach empowered salespeople to develop a package of products and services that would benefit the prospect in a unique way. It also made it difficult for competitors to replicate offerings because conversations were occurring at the business level rather than the product level.<\/p>\n

The successes achieved by early adopters of the solution sales approach led to widespread adoption by sales leaders. In fact, a full three-quarters of sales leaders report or aim to be some kind of full solutions provider (Dixon and Adamson, 2011). While the value associated with the strategy has been realized by thousands of sales departments, solutions are becoming increasingly complex as sellers compete to provide the most \u2018comprehensive\u2019 solutions.<\/p>\n

But the movement hasn\u2019t been entirely positive. To a large extent, the approaches mass adoption by B2B sales leaders actually\u00a0reduces the competitive advantage gained from employing solution sales. Moreover,\u00a0increasingly complex solutions have led to a prolonged selling process, requiring more involvement from the customer at each closing stage, ultimately leading to what Dixon and Adamson call customer \u201csolutions fatigue\u201d.<\/p>\n

Buyers have responded to \u201csolutions fatigue\u201d by becoming more sophisticated about their own technological requirements. This change, according to Nicholas Toman, is threatening Bosworth\u2019s model, turning the solution sale back into an \u2018order-fulfilment\u2019 discussion. So what is one of the most effective ways for sales leaders to maintain a value or solutions approach? Hire the right kind of solution salespeople.<\/p>\n

Is your organization truly offering solutions?<\/h2>\n

Before sales leaders can begin their search for the sales person or people that fit their unique selling environment, they must firmly establish that their offering is indeed a solution. Writing in BRW, Peter Finkelstein argues that in order for sales leaders to determine if they are actually offering a solution or if a move to a solutions approach would drive revenues, they need to examine their corporate philosophy and culture.<\/p>\n

According to Finkelstein, leadership should evaluate if their current buyer segments offer long-term sustainable growth opportunities and identify what solutions buyers in those segments want. He goes on to argue\u00a0that sales leaders must then explore what it now produces and identify how these need to be changed, extended or adjusted (if at all) to accommodate the expectations of the buyers in the sales segments. In addition, Finkelstein advises leaders to examine whether they are ready to embrace the idea of extended partnerships and\/or re-evaluate their current partnership programs to ensure that they meet the demands of the solutions buyer. These, however, are not the only considerations sales leaders must take into account to ensure their corporate philosophy aligns with the desired actions of their sales force. Sales leader must also ensure that their teams are incentivized accordingly.<\/p>\n

Writing for Gartner, Tiffani Bova underscores an often overlooked issue sales manager\u2019s face when trying to move over to a solutions approach and build their sales team accordingly. According to Bova, many sales forces are not actually performing solutions sales, but instead have simply bundled products and identified them as solutions. This can be problematic since reps become \u2018over\u2019 compensated for selling products when in fact the customer or their channel partner \u201cactually creates the ultimate value of using a particular technology in combination with other products and services.\u201d And when business value isn\u2019t delivered to the customer \u2013 which is the heart and soul of solution selling \u2013 selling effectiveness decreases and a brand\u2019s reputation can be damaged.<\/p>\n

What makes a great solution salesperson?<\/h2>\n

Companies that actually offer solutions can begin structuring, or restructuring, an effective sales force. World-class companies understand that the sales cycle is different in complex solutions sales and that hiring salespeople with demonstrated, year-over-year success selling complex solutions have more predictable and consistent selling success in this context. As Finkelstein notes, \u201c[solutions] salespeople have to have a far broader and deeper understanding of what buyers want and expect and what implications there are for making a decision.\u201d Finkelstein suggests that companies recruit sales people who have superior analytical skills, broad knowledge of their industry, and the ability to think independently since informed buyers expect an informed seller that can add value and accommodate a more complex buying environment.<\/p>\n

The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) has conducted a number of studies on solutions sales professionals, and delivered three key findings about the highest performing solution sales people:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. They know how to evaluate prospects using a different set of criteria than those used by other reps, \u201ctargeting agile organizations in a state of flux\u201d, rather than those that have a clear understanding of their requirements.<\/li>\n
  2. They target stakeholders who are \u201cskeptical change agents\u201d in the organizations they want to sell into.<\/li>\n
  3. They employ a method of coaching potential customers rather than asking about their purchasing process.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The CEB research, when boiled down, reveals that high achieving solutions salespeople seek to be more informed and more empowered than average salespeople. Rather than simply responding to identified needs and buying requests, high achievers engage prospects before they understand their requirements entirely and before they are able to articulate how a \u2018solution\u2019 will meet their requirements. High achievers also apply filters to see which companies might be most open to change and avoid working with companies that are \u201chamstrung by structures and relationships that stifle change\u201d as a method of decreasing failure rates.<\/p>\n

    Identifying top performers<\/h2>\n

    To mitigate hiring risk, leading sales departments work with HR and\/or recruiting firms to develop a structured interview process that assesses and analyses salespeople for the traits that are required for success in solution sales.<\/p>\n

    Here are a few tips:<\/p>\n