But the authors of the book argued that this approach was actually the worst way to sell. They claimed that the most successful salespeople were those who took a challenger approach - who challenged their customers' assumptions, taught them new ideas, and showed them a new perspective.
Over the next few weeks, Ryan worked with the retailer to develop a customized solution that would help them use data analytics to drive their business. He challenged their assumptions and pushed them to think differently about their business. the challenger sale pdf 2
"Can I ask you something?" Ryan said, as he walked into the meeting room. "How do you think you're going to compete with Amazon and Walmart in the future? They're not just competing on price - they're competing on insights. They're using data to understand their customers in ways that you can only dream of." But the authors of the book argued that
As Ryan looked back on his experience, he realized that he had been doing sales all wrong. He had been focused on the wrong things - on building relationships and pushing products. He challenged their assumptions and pushed them to
The executive was impressed. For the first time, someone had shown him a new way to think about his business. He was intrigued by Ryan's ideas and asked him to come back with a proposal.
His first meeting was with a potential customer, a large retailer who was struggling to compete with online rivals. Ryan could have just shown them his software and told them how it could help them automate their data analysis. But instead, he decided to take a different approach.
You can download "The Challenger Sale" PDF 2 and learn more about the concepts and strategies outlined in the book.