Selling as a Science

The last 50 years have seen more changes in the profession of sales than arguably at any point in history. Some changes were good and of course, some were bad. The end of World War 2 brought a huge influx of dollars, customers, salespeople and opportunities. The economy of the world had changed forever. It continues to evolve and grow at what can only be described as a staggering pace. Over this last half century we’ve seen marketing innovation, product explosions, the dawn of the information age and the growth of sales as a profession. We’ve also finally seen the first significant commitment to meaningful sales research; both obtaining it and using it. Formalized selling “systems” have been developed and implemented as the next best thing. Who hasn’t listened to a selling skills audio tape or watched a how to close video? The teaching of selling skills has become an industry in and of itself, a veritable landslide of opportunity for trainers and training organizations. If you have a system, someone will want to use it.

The last fifty years have also included a complete transformation of the sales professional. The Science of selling has evolved from the days of the high pressure, ultra-aggressive “slick” salesperson, through the kinder, gentler consultative account manager to today’s solutions based selling professional who has extensive knowledge and background to boot. And now, the twenty–first century offers a whole new set of obstacles. The challenges are more demanding, more complex and require superior skills than those approaches could only hope to solve. For example, today’s sales professionals need to call on the right level of buyer, perhaps multiple levels. And, they need to penetrate accounts more deeply than ever before. They need to interact with customers more strategically and position themselves as business professionals who provide long-term, effective, beneficial solutions. This process has gone far beyond the face-to-face phase of the sale and now includes everything before and after.

Even though tremendous effort has been made over the past 50 years to professionalize sales, the true growth of the sales profession has stalled because to many old practices still exist. The Market has changed so significantly over the past few years that if organizations revert to those “old-fashioned” techniques then they are risking losing the race for new business and retention.

Here are a few changes that make old-fashioned techniques somewhat irrelevant and even counter-productive.

1. Trust is now even more essential to the sale- If your customer can’t trust you than what is the point?
2. The marketplace has become more crowded, more competitive, more mature and much more sophisticated. If sales professionals don’t, they will lose!
3. Purchasing decisions have become more consensus-based and less about relationships. Nobody wants to be the “Joneses”
4. The ability to focus on value rather than price has become more significant than ever. Sticker shopping is not what drives today’s customer.
5. Buyers are looking for advisors or business experts who deliver results that are beyond expectations. They don’t want salespeople who present themselves as salespeople.
6. The buying process is much more complex and exists at multiple levels.

The Science of selling must take into account the changes or risk creating more bad habits that will affect negatively the business climates in the future.