With enough persistence, anyone can make a sale. But if you want consistent success, it’s pretty essential to have a strong sales methodology.
As a sales professional or founder, you probably know this already. The problem is, there are many different sales methodologies out there. Every method has its proponents, and statistics to back it up. Speak to ten different people in the industry, and each person will give their own recommendation.
In truth, there are many sales methodologies that can work well, given the right circumstances. To help you figure out the best option for your particular needs, we decided to make a comparison of the top sales methodologies in use today.
Why Choosing an Effective Sales Methodology Is Vital
As the founder of the world-renowned Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Morris Chang probably knows a thing or two about business. He once made a very astute observation: “Without strategy, execution is aimless.”
This concise pearl of wisdom applies as much to sales as to any other area of business. You can put a great deal of effort into chasing leads, and adopt all the latest sales hacks — but without a guiding methodology, all that toil could be going to waste.
Adopting the right sales methodology can ensure that the combined efforts of your entire team are laser focused on the right leads.
How Sales Methodologies Impact Conversion Rates and Sales Success
In most cases, targeting your efforts in this way leads to a jump in sales success.
Take the example of social selling. This is a methodology where sales reps utilize social media to build connections with potential leads. In comparison to salespeople who don’t use this methodology, 78% of reps using the social selling method outsell their peers.
Improved conversion rates are not the only benefit. An effective sales methodology can enhance your sales performance in several other ways:
- Understand your leads — Many sales methodologies include techniques for assessing the needs, pain points, and motivations of potential customers.
- Improve your decision-making — By providing guidelines on when to pursue a lead and when to let go, a good sales methodology could seriously streamline your sales process.
- Deliver better CX — When your team starts following standardized practices, you’re more likely to deliver a consistent customer experience.
- Guide your professional development — A well-defined sales methodology provides a framework for self-assessment, allowing salespeople to identify their strengths, and areas for improvement.
- Make scaling up easier — As your organization grows, having a sales methodology in place can make onboarding much easier.
- Improve your performance tracking — Every well-regarded sales methodology includes some quantifiable measure of success, which feeds back into your work.
11 Top Sales Methodologies to Consider
Whether you’re a seasoned sales leader, or a new rep seeking the best way to connect with potential customers, we have you covered. Each of the following methodologies provide a systematic route to meeting your sales goals.
1) Consultative Selling
The key concept of consultative selling is placing your customer’s needs at the heart of your sales process. Reps attempt to take the role of trusted advisors, building long-term relationships with clients and guiding leads towards an offer that fits their requirements.
Developed all the way back in the 1970s by respected sales professional Mack Hanan, consultative selling is a methodology that has stood the test of time. It works best where sales teams have the time to invest in high-value leads, and the flexibility to deliver customized solutions.
Consultative selling really came to the fore in the 1980s, when it was adopted by IBM. As a provider of complex IT solutions, it’s easy to see why this methodology would work well for a tech giant.
2) SPIN Selling
The SPIN selling model mainly revolves around four types of question you can pose to any potential customer:
- Situation — With these questions, you can gather information about the current status of your lead.
- Problem — Based on the answers, you then pose questions that highlight potential pain points that your product or service can solve.
- Implication — In the next round of questions, you up the ante by referencing the potential consequences of the pain points you mentioned before.
- Need-payoff — To seal the deal, you ask questions that encourage the lead to consider the potential value of solving the problems you have identified.
Developed by the business consultant, Neil Rackham, and later perfected by Xerox, the SPIN model can work well in most industries. The only major drawback of this methodology is that you need plenty of training and practice to master the formula.
3) Conceptual Selling
While many models ask us to address the pain points of potential customers, conceptual selling suggests we go one step further and actually see the world through the eyes of buyers.
From this perspective, reps can then pitch the product or service in a way that aligns with the aspirations of the client. The aim is to reach a win-win, covering both the customer and the seller.
This methodology was first proposed in a revolutionary sales book by Robert Miller and Stephen Heiman. Microsoft became an early adopter, and conceptual selling is now used by many businesses that are selling something completely new.
The only real downside of this sales method is that it can be time-consuming. But if you have the time to spare, it could power significant growth.
4) The Challenger Sales Model
A relative newcomer, the challenger sales methodology has all the superficial hallmarks of a modern self-help mantra. However, real-world evidence suggests that the core of this method is worth following.
According to the authors of this methodology, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, there are five types of sales professional, including the Lone Wolf and the Hard Worker. The most successful is the Challenger, who takes control of sales conversations and challenges the existing assumptions of potential clients.
This approach is all about selling with confidence, and not skirting around touchy subjects in the buying process. It also requires reps to teach their leads, and tailor their messaging.
This style isn’t for everyone, but those who apply it properly do see positive results. So far, Gartner is perhaps the most notable brand to adopt this philosophy.
5) Solution Selling
In comparison to some other sales models, solution selling is quite simple. It fundamentally comes down to this process:
- Find out your lead’s pain points
- Frame your product or service as a solution
- Demonstrate the value of that solution
- Build a business case
Solution selling is often used in B2B sales, where you might need to convince multiple stakeholders before you can close a deal. For this reason, this model also provides guidance on managing long sales cycles.
As with consultative selling, the solution model takes time input and is deployed when your customers have unique requirements. Cisco Systems have seen success with this methodology over the years.
6) MEDDIC
Surprisingly, this model has nothing to do with doctors. The name is actually an acronym that stands for:
- Metrics — First, try to quantify the potential gain that a customer will get from your product or service.
- Economic buyer — Find out who holds the key to the budget and what motivates this individual
- Decision criteria — What are the specific factors that decision-makers will use to evaluate the different solutions available?
- Decision-making process — How are decisions made within the target organization?
- Identify pain — You need to identify the main pain points for your target lead
- Champion — Identify a person in your target organization who supports your solution
This sales strategy is very thorough, making it well-suited to B2B sales. Since it was created in the 1990s, MEDDIC has been particularly popular with sales teams in SaaS and other related tech fields. Oracle has had great success with this selling methodology, for instance.
7) Sandler Selling System
Back in the 1960s, David H. Sandler was a sales rep who was becoming increasingly frustrated in his job. After a run of 87 consecutive sales calls that ended in failure, he decided to take action.
His solution was to create the Sandler sales methodology. This very comprehensive system covers not only your selling approach, but also some aspects of marketing. Some of the key pillars include:
- Build relationships — The Sandler System was one of the first frameworks to stress the importance of building strong business relationships
- No pressure — Sandler believed that sales pressure was counterproductive, and advocated for a more collaborative approach between sales rep and buyer
- Lead qualification — There is plenty of emphasis put on fully qualifying leads before you try to pursue them
- “Don’t spill your candy in the lobby” — A phrase coined by Sandler; it basically means don’t give away all your knowledge or your value proposition too early
- Up-front contracts — Ideally, sales reps should leave each conversation with an agreement from the client on the next steps
Another signature of the Sandler system is reverse negative selling. This is a specific technique where sales reps almost play down the idea of a purchase. It is designed to reduce all the pressure around the selling process.
While other methods have come and gone, Sandler’s framework still holds strong. It may require a shift in mindset for some salespeople, but the system has been very successful for Salesforce.
8) Value Selling
For businesses operating in a competitive space, the value selling methodology can work wonders. This model is all about selling the results, or the value, that your product or service can bring to a potential client.
This style of selling still relies on a good understanding of your leads. The model also emphasizes the ongoing value of your customers. Reps are encouraged to build relationships that will last through the entire customer journey, rather than trying to close deals through transactional conversations.
As a general rule, value selling is most useful when your clients know what type of solution they need, but haven’t decided on a provider.
9) N.E.A.T. Selling
Time for another acronym. The N.E.A.T. selling method is the flagship creation of the Harris Consulting Group. It was primarily developed to overcome the potential problems with popular sales methodologies like BANT and ANUM.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the four key pillars of NEAT:
- Need — What does the customer need, or what are their pain points?
- Economic impact — What effect does that need or challenge have on the balance sheet?
- Access to authority — Who are the people who have the authority to make a purchase decision?
- Timeline — When does this organization need a solution in place, and how long will it take for them to make a decision?
As you can see, the N.E.A.T. model is mainly based around fact-finding. This customer-centric selling approach is well suited to B2B brands, but sales managers in B2C should probably look elsewhere.
10) Inbound Selling
Much like inbound marketing, the model for inbound selling is based around attracting customers towards your solution.
How? By providing value up front. This could be through providing free advice, pointing leads towards potential solutions, and simply empathizing with their pain points.
Created by HubSpot, the Inbound Selling method provides a four-step roadmap:
- Identify — First, sales teams need to recognise when potential clients express some form of interest in the product or service.
- Connect — Salespeople reach out to these identified leads, and attempt to convert them into prospects by initiating a helpful conversation
- Explore — Having built some rapport, you can dive deeper into the prospect’s needs and challenges, and explore whether your product or service can help
- Advise — To close, reps transition into the role of an advisor, recommending a solution that aligns with the prospect’s needs and goals.
The Inbound sales philosophy aligns quite nicely with the way modern buyers make purchasing decisions. Today, most people do a lot of research and gather considerable information before engaging with a salesperson — so that rapport-building stage is super important.
11) SNAP Selling
The final recommendation on our list is SNAP selling. First proposed by the renowned sales strategist, Jill Konrath, this approach to sales was crafted to help sales organizations to cut through the noise.
Rather than a sales process, the SNAP methodology is built on principles. They are:
- Simple — With so much information and so many choices available today, it’s important to make simple offers and communicate clearly
- iNvaluable — To stand out from the competition, you need to be seen as a valuable resource to your customers
- Align — Any offer you make should be closely aligned with your customers’ business objectives
- Priority — When you pitch a product or service, provide a solution that targets the most pressing needs of the prospect
While many sales methods are very prescriptive, the SNAP model is mainly about shaping the behavior of sales representatives. It sets expectations for how we interact with clients, and can be used as a guide for sales training.
SNAP won’t work for every business; the principles don’t necessarily hold firm when you’re making complex deals. However, implementing this approach has seemingly provided good results for Adobe.
Choosing the Right Sales Methodology for Your Organization
Providing a definitive ranking for sales methodologies is tricky, because each model has strengths and weaknesses. An approach that works for a construction company might be a disaster for a SaaS startup.
Hence, we recommend making a shortlist of sales methodologies and seeing which ones fit your business.
Factors to Consider When Selecting a Sales Methodology
When you come to make your comparison, here are some of the key factors to consider:
- Industry — Look at whether other companies in your industry are seeing success with specific methodologies
- Products and Services — Simple product sales might require a different approach to selling a custom service
- Target Audience — Consider what type of communication is likely to appeal to your target customers
- Alignment — How well would each methodology fit with your current sales process?
- Sales Staff — While any sales professional can be trained for a particular methodology, some models tend to be most effective for specific personality types
Remember, your choice of methodology doesn’t have to be exclusive. Many top organizations cherry-pick the best features of several different methodologies to fit with their needs.
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