Chris Luxford

In the world of business-to-business (B2B) sales, where the stakes are high and the playing field is complex, relying on a single sales methodology is akin to trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. While simplicity is often touted as a virtue, it can be a crippling limitation when applied to the intricate and multifaceted realm of B2B sales.

The belief is that it is too hard to deploy, learn and manage (and become highly productive) multiple methodologies.  I agree.  The fallacy here is that methodologies are the only choice.  There is an alternative choice to numerous highly prescriptive methodologies.

I am boldly asserting that the one-size-fits-all approach to sales methodologies falls short in the context of complex B2B transactions and in fact hurts not helps results. Instead, successful B2B sales demand a flexible and adaptable arsenal of models (not methodologies). Here's why.

1.        Diverse Customer Needs

In the B2B world, clients and customers come in all shapes and sizes. Each client has unique requirements, objectives, and pain points. Attempting to shoehorn a single sales methodology into every interaction ignores the fundamental principle that understanding and addressing these differences is key to building lasting customer relationships. Yet we every sales team we have ever met will vehemently tell us they are “customer centric” and yet general use an approach that is less about the customer and more about the booking.

Consider, for instance, the difference between selling software solutions to a multinational corporation and a local family-owned business. The former may require extensive customization, integration, and rigorous compliance standards, while the latter may prioritize simplicity and affordability. A cookie-cutter sales approach is doomed to fail in either scenario.

2.             Varied Decision-Making Processes

Complex B2B sales often involve multiple stakeholders, each with their own interests and influence over the final decision. In fact, we’ve seen buying committees as large as 12-15 people. From the CEO to the procurement manager and the IT department, each player in the decision-making process has distinct needs and priorities. A one-size-fits-all approach disregards the intricate web of relationships and dynamics at play.

Imagine employing the same sales script and tactics with a CFO focused on cost reduction and a CTO seeking innovation and scalability. In the former, you may alienate the decision-maker with a pitch centred on premium features, while in the latter, you might lose credibility by neglecting cost considerations. Again, it is asserted by sales teams that is not the approach, they personalise the engagement by persona.  But the underlying “playbook” is always the same….with cost savings as the number #1 value proposition pitched to any and all buying executives.

3.             Evolving Market Conditions

The B2B landscape is in a perpetual state of flux. Market conditions, industry trends, and technological advancements constantly shape the environment in which businesses operate. A static sales methodology fails to adapt to these changes, leaving sales teams ill-equipped to navigate the shifting terrain.  It’s a VUCA world !!

For example, a rigidly structured methodology may prove ineffective when dealing with the disruptive forces of a global pandemic or a sudden economic downturn. In such cases, adaptability, agility, and a willingness to pivot are essential for survival and success.

4.             The Human Factor

In B2B sales, the human element is paramount. Relationships built on trust, empathy, and understanding play a pivotal role in securing deals. A rigid, one-size-fits-all approach risks depersonalizing the sales process, reducing it to a transactional exchange of goods or services. Take a look at the 3-5 most common PowerPoint decks that are used by your sales team…I’ll hazard a guess they are all pretty similar and, for the most part, talk about your company and your offering…not the client and their outcomes.

Successful B2B salespeople are chameleons, able to adjust their approach to connect with the diverse personalities and communication styles of their clients. They listen, empathise, and tailor their strategies accordingly – qualities that a single, inflexible methodology cannot provide.

5.             Sales Tools' Inability to Cater to Multiple Processes

Another glaring issue with relying on a single sales methodology in complex B2B sales is the limitation of sales tools and technologies. While sales automation tools and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems are valuable for managing customer data and tracking activities, they often fall short when it comes to accommodating various sales processes.

Different prospects may have unique workflows, approval processes, and procurement methods. Attempting to force all these variations into a standardised sales tool can result in inefficiencies and frustrations. A single process-centric tool might not have the flexibility to adapt to the intricacies of each customer's buying journey.

6.             Sales Processes Focus on Activities, Not Buyers' Needs

Many conventional sales processes are inwardly focused, emphasising the activities sales teams need to perform to close a deal. While this approach can be effective to some extent, it often neglects the most crucial aspect: the buyer's journey.

Successful B2B sales should revolve around understanding the buyer's needs, challenges, and preferences. A rigid process-centric approach may force salespeople to prioritize their activities over the buyer's requirements, potentially alienating customers and hindering the sales process.

Conclusion

Complex B2B sales demand a nuanced and multifaceted approach using many many models (not methodologies). Relying on a single sales methodology in such an environment is a recipe for failure. Instead, businesses must recognise the diversity of customer needs, the intricate decision-making processes, the ever-changing market conditions, the limitations of sales tools, and the importance of aligning sales processes with buyers' needs.

Successful B2B sales require adaptability, agility, and a toolbox of models that can be adapted and used as a framework to fit the unique circumstances of each sales opportunity and allow scale for the sellers.

To thrive in the complex world of B2B sales, embrace the idea that one size does not fit all, and empower your sales teams to be the agile, responsive, and client-centric professionals that your clients deserve. Only then can you navigate the intricate maze of complex B2B sales successfully and truly grow in each of your unique market segments you are actively pursuing.

Every tool or platform every professional seller is using today, regardless of sophistication, will claim it is AI (Marketing teams riding the wave). Moreover a lot of B2B technology sales professionals trumpet the fact their own technologies are now "AI enabled".

I'm calling bullshit!

The simple reality is that since time immemorial tools, any tool, from the plough to the super computer, has been designed to make work easier, faster, simpler and more productive.

In recent times the ability for these tools to tackle activities that the sales profession did not have tools for, such as researching clients, collaborative ideation, financial analysis, prospecting content creation, automated follow up etc, has been impressive and significant.

But it does not change the simple fact that sales is the art of persuading and influencing a buyer, or in the case of complex B2B sales, many buyers to choose your offering over their other choices, which include "do nothing".

That choice is always led emotionally and justified with facts and logic.

How often have you seen the better product or service lose?

How often have you seen "no decision" the elected choice, even in the face of compelling reasons to invest?

In professional selling, how we sell is far more important than what we sell.

This is underpinned by outrageous successful selling is more about how we think, rather than what we do.

My observation is that sellers are using many many tools now, including many that are labelled as AI. ChatGPT for prospect email creation is a good example. The flaw in this is that sellers are using these tools in such a way that is reducing thinking. The tools are being used to speed up task completion, rather than being a catalyst to deeper more provocative thinking.

Successful sellers don't view these tools as artificial intelligence....i.e;

• what can the tool tell me I don't already know
• what can the tool create for me I can't create
• what can the tool automate for me that would take me too long to do

And when every seller is using the same tools for the same thing does it create any level of meaningful differentiation?

Successful sellers use these tools for curiosity, ideas, spur imagination, explore different questions, role play, hypotheticals.

Successful sellers use these tools to evolve their selling mindsets. Rather than using them as task automators they use these tools to unlearn and relearn buyer psychology and the art of influence and persuasion.

Continued innovation in tools will be a constant, but the human condition...that is buying on emotion, requires sellers to focus less on task automation and far far more on what sellers are paid to do: Think for a living !

These so called AI tools can't think for us. Nor should we want them to. If a tool can think better and as a result influence and persuade better, then why do we need sales people?

Great sellers use tools, any tool, AI labeled or not, to elevate their thinking, curiosity, imagination and questioning.

Are you using them this way?

It is said common sense is not common. The same could be said for conventional wisdom. It is not wise.

Many organisations believe their strategy is sound, well thought through and effective. Yet often it mirrors the so called "strategy" of their competitors.

Roger Martin defines strategy as Making Choices: Where to play and How to win.

There are no guarantees in business, but the nearest executives have to guaranteed success, at least from an initial strategy choice is; identify a genuine unmet market need and find a way to meet that need in a way no one else is, or can, with a sole focus on outrageous customer delight.

Many executives will vehemently defend their well defined "plans" as a strategy where they have made quite a number of choices. However, these choices tend to be developed using very conventional models and mindsets;

• Mitigating risk
• Evolution (not revolution) of the business model (sustainable innovation)
• Productivity, efficiency and other cost levers to improve profitability

This conventional approach often results in flat to either slightly increased or slightly decreased revenue and profits. Inline with many other contenders in that given market space.

Leaders, genuine breakaway differentiators, do not leverage conventional wisdom nor conventional models.

They understand that strategy, and the choices required to win, are underpinned by risk and courage.

While risks are typically associated with negative outcomes, exponential growth and differentiation is found in the risk areas that are in fact opportunities for innovation, growth, and competitive advantage.

Risk taking, not risk mitigation, is the key area of exploration and choice.

Within large organisations there exists an invisible barrier to busting the status quo. Everybody can say no, but very few people can say yes. The result is great ideas, and hence choices, often never see the light of day, let alone given an opportunity to succeed.

Courage is providing well thought through options, from do nothing, to radical disruptive innovation, especially focussed on the business model, that can be robustly debated and discussed. The courage to engage in that discussion and explore each option equally asking the simple question "what would need to be true" for that option to succeed.

A number of companies are currently in the midst of 2024 planning. Planning is not strategy and plans should be developed after a clear, concise and communicated strategy is finalised.

That said, if you or your organisation is currently reviewing your strategy, here are six risk and courage areas you can ask to bring a greater focus on risk taking choices and the courage to make the hard, difficult and unconventional choices.

1. Risk Appetite:

Courageous decision-makers are often more willing to embrace higher levels of risk. They have the confidence to take calculated risks that can lead to significant rewards.

Conversely, leaders who are risk-averse may shy away from bold decisions even when potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Ask: What is the risk of doing nothing?

Ask: What is the risk of doing broadly the same as everyone else in our market?

Ask: Will cost reduction initiatives deliver growth?

2. Innovation and Disruption:

Courageous leaders are more likely to champion innovative strategies that disrupt existing norms and markets. They have the vision to see opportunities where others may see only risks.

Embracing innovation can involve taking significant risks, such as investing in unproven technologies or entering new, uncharted markets.

Ask: What is the true, hiding in plain sight, unmet market need?

Ask: Why hasn’t anyone addressed that need yet?

Ask: What would need to be true to capture that opportunity?

3. Decision Speed:

Courageous decision-makers are often more decisive. They don't let fear of risk paralyse them, and this can lead to faster decision-making.

In rapidly changing environments, swift decision-making can be crucial to capitalize on opportunities or respond effectively to emerging risks.

Ask: Is data fallacy hurting us not helping us (here are 10 well known data fallacies https://www.litera.com/blog/a-quick-guide-to-data-fallacies-and-how-to-avoid-them/)?

Ask: Do we have the ability (historically and moving forward) to rapidly pivot if the decision needs to be adjusted?

Ask: Why do so many people need to be involved?  Notwithstanding decisions, especially in large companies, cannot be made in isolation, but they shouldn’t become referendums.

4. Leading Change:

Courageous leaders are more adaptable and willing to lead change. They understand that avoiding or worse, resisting change can be riskier in the long run than leading it.

In industries facing disruption, leaders who courageously advocate for, lead and empower change can position their organisations to thrive amid uncertainty.

Ask: What are the change leadership models our leaders will use to lead change?

Ask: Without change being led, truly led, what are the chances of success for a bold disruptive strategy?

Ask: What would need to change, radically change, to underpin success.  The business model? Talent model? Customer delight model? Risk model? Economic model? Operating model? Or all of the above and HOW will these models be changed

5. Communication and Alignment:

Courageous leaders can inspire and rally their teams around a common vision, especially when pursuing risky strategies. They can communicate the rationale behind their decisions effectively.

Aligning teams and stakeholders is vital for the successful execution of risky strategies, as it ensures everyone is on board with the chosen path.

Ask: Is our strategy clear and concise?  Or is it vague, general, and filled with business buzzword bingo

Ask: Can (or will) every employee be able to both articulate and understand the strategy and the role they play in its success?  If not, why not and if not, how can that be corrected

Ask: How different does our strategy sound and feel to both known and unheralded competitors?

6. Learning from Experiments:

Courageous decision-makers are hyper-experimenters. They view experiments as a learning opportunity rather than worthless investment and risk. They are more likely to encourage a culture where employees feel safe to undertake many experiments and learn from their outcomes and observations.

This willingness to embrace experimentation as a part of the growth process can lead to innovation and resilience.

Ask: Are we doing enough experiments – both large and small?

Ask: Do we provide the right environment and empowerment for experiments to occur naturally?

Ask: Do we have a process to scale successful experiments?

Summary

Great game-changing strategies require choice. A choice to take risk not mitigate it and a choice to courageously make choices that break with conventional wisdom.

Asking the above questions will not give you the answer to which of the options you are considering is the better option, but hopefully these questions will help you in your process of choosing. Especially in forcing you to think bigger, bolder and better (exponentially) and allow you to escape the conventional "annual planning process" that is the most conventional of all models (and very incremental at best).

Business-to-Business (B2B) Outcome-based go-to-client models are gaining popularity as companies seek more effective, measurable and lasting ways to deliver meaningful, sustainable innovation and differentiation to underpin growth. These new go-to-client models, which focus on clients desired business outcomes instead of the products sold, help companies build fundamentally different relationships with their clients. This approach also enables sellers to identify and target high-potential clients in ways their competitors either can't or won't. By shifting from a product and/or service-centric strategy to a business outcome-based one, businesses can accelerate innovation, reach new clients and achieve growth results not previously achievable. This blog post shares 5 tips for business outcome-based go-to client model innovation that will help you as your organization transform.

What made you successful won't make you successful.

Success will be achieved through transformation, not incrementalism.

Organizational Buy-in and Commitment

Before you begin designing your outcome-based go-to-client models, you need to ensure you have the buy-in and commitment of key stakeholders across the organization. This means that business leaders, marketing and sales leaders, and customer service teams are involved and working towards achieving the same outcomes. To get buy-in and commitment, you need to demonstrate how business outcome-based strategies will benefit the organization and its stakeholders. The challenge here is intellectually every executive "gets it". In fact they may suggest they are already outcome-based. Yet more often than not the behaviour of the organisation is still product/service centric. The buy-in sought here is to consistently challenge the status quo. To consistently challenge "are we really there yet". This is required from every leader at every level.

Define Your Outcomes

Before you begin designing your outcome-based go-to-client model, you first need to define your desired outcomes. What is the problem you’re trying to solve? What are you hoping the new model will achieve? While you can select a few primary outcomes, you shouldn’t try to address too many goals at once. Doing so will make it difficult to prioritize efforts and achieve success quickly. It might also lead to more limited innovation and missed opportunities. often the simplest of all is opportunity creation outside of IT. Measured in highly qualified funnel (qualified using a 9 stage co-created business case approach). But it is not the only metric, another may be sales conversion / close rates (as an example).

Think big....start small....learn fast and scale success.

Identify Your New Clients

After you’ve defined your desired outcomes, you need to identify who your new clients are. Business outcomes are not owned by IT. Ideas generated are designed to address the business outcomes, thus the buyers who care are the executives who own these outcomes. This will require a significant shift in the relationships your company and sellers have with your clients. Both cultivating and nurturing new relationships will be critical. Not just occasional pleasantry based meetings, but genuine relationships that have active action around unlocking latent opportunities for both. If your teams don't have highly detailed action orientated, measured and coached relationship action plans outside of IT, your company will never transform.

Massively Embrace An Ecosystem Approach

No company can unlock latent market demand on their own, in fact not even with a single partner. To change business models, operating models, customer experience models etc, companies often need many other companies to assist. In fact in a recent outcome-led opportunity changing just one critical (but broad reaching) business process it was identified that 8 external companies and 9 internal business functions would need to be involved. Becoming highly adept at partnering, quickly, effectively, with solid communication and shared goals is one of the keys to successfully executing an outcome-led go-to-client model. If you don't partner well, this will be a critical focus area for you.

Client Delight

In recent years Customer Success has been defined as a services based strategy. Shifting focus from make, sell and support, to a more in-depth services relationship. Especially as the world has moved to managed or "as a service" offerings. Customer Success, whilst an excellent foundation, however, is no longer enough. If everyone is doing it, how are you different? The new bar for success is Client Delight. B2C companies get this. Think about the most successful B2C companies in the world, their customers love them. Everything they do has the customer experience at the core of strategy, execution and innovation. B2B companies are far far behind. Whilst B2B companies often talk about customer experience, when you go and talk to their clients there is an overwhelming sense of "they are very hard to do business with". The winners, the B2B companies that will fundamentally change the game will put Client Delight, true delight, absolutely as the corner stone of every strategy, investment, focus and execution decision.

Conclusion

Business Outcome-based go-to-client models are the game-changer you've been looking for. But viewing it as an incremental evolution of your current model is the wrong approach. It is a shift in your business model, operating model, client delight model, economic model and risk model.

Transforming these models is not easy, but for B2B companies, there is a massive massive unmet market need, just waiting for a bold courageous organization to grab it.

Will it be yours?

Drucker famously said results are obtained by exploiting opportunities not by solving problems.

In today's increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous), inflationary and COVID-recovering world many organisations are struggling to achieve the growth they desire.  Their portfolios are the richest and broadest they have ever been.  Their cost structures or more lean than ever.  Productivity is through the roof, in fact people are working harder than they ever have.

What made them successful will not make them successful.

The predominant go-to- market model remains a make, sell, ship, support style model.  It is 100% based in the selfish goal of a sale.  For many companies with heavy intense end of quarter focus to bring forward as much business as possible into the current quarter.

What is being missed is the massive unmet market need.  Most companies are simply not getting the business impacting results desired from their technology investments.

Change is now the key lever to success.  Both transformative and tactical change.  Research shows  that the large percentage of change efforts fail to deliver the desired outcomes.  Hereinlies the massive unmet market opportunity.  What companies are really selling is change.  The ability to help companies successfully change.

This requires a vastly different approach.  A shift from a go-to-market model to a go-to-client model that recognises change is hard, change requires an ecosystem, and a different set of mindsets and behaviours.

In a recent example for a 5G asset tracking idea, it was determined that 9 external companies and 11 internal functional groups would need to rally around the program of change to change the operating, financial, risk and commercial models including changes in business processes, technology and the ways in which people worked.

Helping your clients successfully execute the changes they seek is the ONLY path to future success. 

Those that continue to focus on selling, versus those that are deeply committed to change success, will fail to grow.

Those who embrace a differentiated go-to-client model, driven by client delight through change leadership will see significant growth.

Location: Virtual    Date Available: October 01st, 2022     Fees: $10,000 per month (per team)

Submission Date: October 25th, 2022     Service Type: Service Offered