The Challenger Sale

Terminology Matters
We know that the term “Challenger” can rub people the wrong way. We’ve
heard every manner of pushback here you can imagine. Some companies
fear it will make their reps think it’s okay to be aggressive or brutish in the
market. Others fear that drawing a contrast with the Relationship Builder
will make reps think that relationships are no longer important to your
business.
Some of our members have asked us why we wouldn’t instead call the
Challenger the “New Relationship Builder” if, in fact, we are saying that
the Challenger actually builds 
stronger
relationships with customers. The
reason is simple: Nobody cares about “New Relationship Builders.” In case
you don’t believe us, ask yourself this: Would you have bought this book if
it was about how to build “New Relationship Builders”? The answer is
almost certainly no.

---

In order to get the organization to pay attention to the change you are
driving, you must create cognitive dissonance. There must be a moment
when reps understand, very clearly, to “do this, not that.” If the new model
feels like a tweak on the old . . . well, why bother changing? Change, after
all, is hard work. If reps see a clear A-to-B move (versus an A v1.0-to-A
v2.0), they are far more likely to see this as different instead of a flavor of
the week, or worse, more of the same.
Don’t water down the message. Part of the power of this research (as
confirmed by early adopters of the model itself) is the 
contrast
it offers
between the old way and the new, more effective way to sell. Aligning the
message to the old way of selling means that reps 
may
adjust behavior at
the margins, but most will fail to see it for what it is and won’t do anything
differently as a result. The best gauge of the power of your message to the
organization is how many people 
disagree
with you and want to debate—
this is probably true of anything, but it’s especially true when you’re talking
about driving change in the sales organization, whose inertia around legacy
ways of doing things can be hard to break, to put it mildly.
If you are a sales leader or a training professional, in other words, you
need to be a Challenger yourself. Teach reps to value the change you are
selling to them. Picking agreeable terms that don’t ruffle feathers might
make everybody in the organization feel good, but rest assured, few will
remember what you said and you will be far less likely to compel change as
a result. And, as we know, the same is true for reps presenting to customers
—it is the Challengers’ desire to create constructive tension (often with
specific language and data that reframe the customer’s view of things) that
creates a differentiated sales experience, one that ultimately builds more
loyal customers.