Politics is big in the news this month as the US prepares to inaugurate a new president, and the world waits to see what happens next. But whatever happens, one thing is for sure: We aren’t going to solve all of the world’s problems. Not today, not this month, and probably not in the next ten years. Maybe never.
How do I know? Because we never do. There are persistent problems in the world that have been urgent and critical for decades, if not centuries, and so far, we still haven’t solved all of them. World hunger, child poverty, homelessness, mental health, and climate change are a few of the big ones–what systems thinkers call “wicked problems.”
And what does this have to do with sales? Well, just as in politics, we can all agree that there are problems and that they’re urgent, but we can’t always agree on what the problems are. And when we can’t agree on what they are, then we can’t solve them.
During the most recent political cycle in the United States, there were so many “critical issues” discussed in the media, that it’s hard to even remember half the list. Climate change, healthcare, the price of gasoline, immigration, international relations, military budgets, policing, abortion, and much more was on the table and in the debates.
The trouble is, there were so many problems (and perspectives on them) that no one could agree on what was most important: A perpetual problem that leads to passivity. Instead of solving problems, countries expend their energy arguing over which problems to solve.
The same thing happens in organizations. The CEO wants better profits, the CFO wants better controls, the COO wants smoother operations, the Director of Sales wants better marketing output, the HR director wants an easier way to onboard new employees, the front-line worker wants an easier workflow, and so on.
When We Disagree On Which Problems to Solve, The Result is Passivity
As long as everyone is focused on different needs and initiatives, they will never make a decision to move forward with a solution.
The job of the salesperson, then, is to facilitate conversation and consensus building. To help every stakeholder get on the same page about what the problems are, and how to solve them.
A salesperson’s first job with a qualified prospect is to help them define and agree on the problem and/or desired outcome they want to solve/achieve. This requires that salespeople be trained, coached, and supported in asking good questions, in reaching all relevant stakeholders, and in facilitating conversations that lead to consensus.
Once a problem has been clearly defined, agreed on among all stakeholders, and assigned a high priority, then, assuming you have a solution that solves the problem, a sale is likely to follow.
One factor that sets complex sales apart from transactional or simple sales, is the fact that in complex sales, you are always selling into a system. It’s never just one individual. And it is the nature of systems to be self-reinforcing and to resist change.
If you look at the problem through a DSRP (systems thinking) lens, you can see that every stakeholder within the organization has a different perspective or point of view on the problem. And you can see that the relationships between the perspectives and individuals impacts the ability to make changes.
A great salesperson will take the time to get inside the perspective of each stakeholder, and help them define the problem in terms that make sense to them.
Derek Cabrera, of Cabrera Labs, gives an example of how one person’s perspective can make or break a change in the system. A hospital system was implementing new patient privacy procedures, but hit a wall when one head nurse refused to ask her teams to use privacy screens on computers showing patient information.
The nurse argued that it got in the way of her teams being able to provide fast and effective patient care, and she wasn’t going to do anything to compromise that. Once the facilitator understood the barrier, they were able to show her that patient privacy actually is part of patient care, through a lens that was important to her.
In the same way, salespeople can facilitate buying decisions by seeing each problem through the lens of each stakeholder, and then helping them understand how solving it will help them achieve what matters to them.
When buyers can’t agree on what problems they have and want to solve, they won’t buy. The system will maintain itself and return to the status quo.
Salespeople who can help buyers agree on what their problems are will make more sales and help more buyers.
It’s that simple, in the end.
And it’s just that “simple” to solve the world’s problems, too. But at least in sales, we only have a dozen stakeholders and not several billion.
How are your salespeople helping your buyers agree on their problems?
George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.
Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn
From north to south, east to west, Membrain has thousands of happy clients all over the world.
