Neil Rackham brings to selling what Galileo brought to exploration: a little science. More than a decade ago, Rackham and his research team conducted a monumental study by investigating 35,000 sales calls to identify successful selling behaviors. The findings he reported in SPIN Selling (McGraw Hill, 1988). were considered as heretical as early assertions that the world is not flat.
Hold on to your hats if you still believe that slick closing techniques and handling objections make the difference in major account selling. Not only is the world round, but thanks to Rackham's research we have learned that the more of those tactics you exhibit the less likely it is that you will succeed. Instead, he discovered that the most compelling selling behavior is the question.
The formulation of a method for investigating client needs is the central contribution of Rackham's landmark SPIN Selling. Since then, Rackham has been the principal author for these other helpful contributions to the field of sales: Major Account Sales Strategy (McGraw Hill, 1989), Managing Major Sales
(Harper, 1991) and Getting Partnering Right (McGraw Hill, 1996).
In a Sunday edition of "Money & Business" The New York Times featured an article called, "Breaking the Mold: Salesmanship Without the Sucker Punch" (2/7/99). Disappointed that they did not give Rackham credit for his pioneering work, I sent a letter off to their editor which they chopped in half and then published (2/28/99). In appreciation, Rackham sent me a gracious reply and a complimentary copy of his just published, Rethinking the Sales Force (McGraw-Hill, 1999).
If, like many of our clients, you are trying to figure out how to sell value when your buyers are shopping for commodity like prices, Rethinking the Sales Force is a must read. Helpfully, Rackham provides insights from the buyer's perspective which, after all, is the only way we can learn how to add value. Simply communicating value, he correctly asserts, is no longer enough.
From Rethinking the Sales Force we learn that buyers are embracing a model called "strategic buying programs". Herein they weigh two variables: strategic importance and difficulty of substitution for the supplier's product or service. If your product or service is perceived as offering low strategic importance and competes against easy to find alternatives, be prepared for a commodity mentality.
Thankfully, Rackham does more than explain how we can fall in to a commodity trap. He also helps us sellers plan our most effective strategy to get out. The one size fits all approach won't cut it in today's market place. Multiple selling strategies offer the key to success.