Visual Engagement Helps
Transform Solution Selling
JIM HAUDAN
the ever-changing complexities of the marketplace, more and more
variables enter into the process. This often causes a conversation
with customers to include familiar words that don’t always mean the
same thing to both the salesperson and the customer.
As sales strategies have evolved from products to solutions,
engagement has never been more important. Successful One way we have found to bridge this gap of meaning is to use
organizations find ways for sales forces to test-drive strategic a visual metaphor that allows a salesperson and a customer to
concepts so they understand them, and then use those techniques work together to combine the variables to meet their needs. Why
to engage customers. The sales process has evolved from rigorous visualization? Visualization forces us to think more simply. You
preparation of presentations into the capability to co-create can’t draw a crisp picture of something that hasn’t been thought
solutions. A sales force can’t succeed unless they clearly know through in great detail, whether that picture is in your head or on
what this means. Salespeople must have a mental model of key paper. Visualization acts as a mirror for our thinking, revealing just
variables that they can configure to meet customer needs – like toy how complete our ideas are…or aren’t. If a sales solution isn’t clear
Transformers. The key is to engage customers in the construction enough to visualize, it’s not clear enough to engage a customer.
of the final Transformer so the solution is co-built and therefore
co-owned. As sales forces are increasingly asked to respond to We have found that the use of visuals, dialogue, and interactivity between a salesperson and a customer draws out the opinions,
16 marketingtimes
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22