The Challenger Sale

See
Customer objections
Oler, Debra
Deb Oler question, 58–59, 85, 176
position of, 84, 201
See also
W. W. Grainger
Opening thinking
biases as obstacles, 165–66
defined, 164
and innovation, 164–66
questions to encourage, 166–68
Order-takers, 190, 193
Organizations
capability building, and Challenger selling, 33–34, 56, 95–96, 173–74
internal functions, need for insight, 188–95
technical jargon, use of, 192–93
Outcomes
to customer needs, mapping, 110–12
functional bias card, 114–15
tailoring for resonance, 110–18
Passive behavior
versus assertion. 
see
Controlling sale
elements of, 126–27
reasons for, 129–30
Relationship Builders, 126–27, 129
PAUSE, coaching framework, 157–58
Personal bias, 165
Pitch, teaching. 
see
Teaching pitch
“Power of Planning the Unplanned, The,” 86–87
Practicality bias, 165, 167
Price
Challenger’s approach to, 41–42, 119–20
concessions, handling, 135–36, 175
Price-to-value ratio
and customer loyalty, 50–51
and price increase, 41
Procurement. 
See
Purchasing
Procurement & Operations practice, 190–91
Producers, role of, ix
Profit Clinics, ADP Dealer Services, 98–99
Project proposal template, tailored to client, 117–18
Prompting questions, to encourage innovation, 166–68
Psychology of Selling, The 
(Strong), x
Purchasing

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ease, importance to customers, 52–53
insight, need for, 190–91
research, history of, xi
third-party consultants for, 10–11
trends related to, 9–11
Rackham, Neil, 81, 123, 174, 201
Rational Drowning
in Commercial Teaching pitch, 70
in W. W. Grainger teaching pitch, 90–93
Reactive Problem Solver
characteristics of, 18, 20–21
in SEC survey, xiv
Reframing
as Challenger skill, 41, 125–26
in Commercial Teaching pitch, 68–69
customer reactions to expect, 60–61, 69, 76, 90
facts to support, presenting, 70, 91–93
importance of, 68–69, 176
RFP, reshaping for suppliers, 37–38
and ROI discussion, 62
success, basis of, 60–61, 63, 69
as taking control of sale, 125–26
in W. W. Grainger teaching pitch, 89–90
Relationship Builders
characteristics of, xiv–xv, 18, 20, 25–26
connection, over-emphasis on, 60, 120
low performance of, xiv–xv, 24–25
passive behavior of, 126–27, 129
taking control, limitations of, 120, 123–25
teaching pitch, safe, 82–83
Relationship selling, decline of, xv
Requests for proposals (RFP)
best deal, customer behavior, 121–22
Challenger’s approach to, 122
as free advice to customer, 122–23
reshaping for supplier, 37–38
Research and development (R&D)
insight, need for, 191
strategic influence competency, 191
Resource allocation, by sales managers, 146, 148, 161–62
Risk, and teaching pitch, 81
Risk aversion, customers, 9–10
ROI calculations
Challenger’s approach to, 62
facts to support, presenting, 70
typical approach to, 61–62

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SAFE-BOLD Framework, 81–83
Safe practice, and training, 174–75
Sales
-marketing collaboration, 79–80
new physics of, 107–9
Sales experience, importance to customers, 51–54
Sales & Service practice, 192
Sales Leadership Diagnostic, 141–44
findings, applying, 143–45
variables tested, 141–43
Sales managers
coaching by, 146–49
effectiveness, lack of, 141, 143–44
excellence, elements of, 145–50
hiring, basis of, 143–45
innovation by, 146–48
resource allocation by, 146, 148, 161–62
Sales Leadership Diagnostic, 141–44
selling skills of, 146–47
Sales performance
research, history of, x–xi
SCAMMPERR framework, 167–68
Segmentation
Commercial Teaching on, 63–64
needs-based, 63–64
traditional, 63
Selling Style Self-Diagnostic, 208–9
Senior executives, in loyalty survey, 103, 106
Sherk, Adam, 177
Situational Sales Negotiation
(SSN) method
process of, 132–34
workshop on, 135–38
Solae, 112–18
challenges facing, 113
company information, 112–13
functional bias card, 114–15
scripting, use of, 116
stakeholder information, use of, 113–14
tailoring for resonance by, 112–18
tailoring tool, 115–16
Solutions
in Commercial Teaching pitch, 72–74
and innovation, 160–61
in W. W. Grainger teaching pitch, 96
Solution selling, 5–13
bundled offerings in, 6, 61
customer burden in, 8–11
customer needs in, 44–45

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in down market, 5–6
focus of, 6, 44–45
growth of, 7
performance gap, 11–12
sales rep burden in, 11–12
solutions fatigue, 8–9
Stakeholders
in loyalty survey, 101–7
and new physics of sales, 109
tailoring message for, 110–18
Strong, E. K., x
Suppliers
Challenger approach. 
see
Challenger Selling Model
customer businesses, knowledge of, 59–60
Deb Oler question, 58–59, 176
insight-supplier connection, making, 56–59
preferred companies, customer view of, 57–58
price versus uniqueness approach, 58
undifferentiated, choosing, 57–59
Tailoring for resonance, 38–40, 109–18
basis of, 38–39
as Challenger skill, 24, 33, 41
concrete approach to, 115–18
examples of, 39–40
layers of tailoring, 110–11
obstacles to, 111–12
outcome, focus on, 110–12
project proposal template, 117–18
scripting, use of, 116
by Solae, case study, 112–18
variability, reducing, 111–12
Teaching for differentiation, 35–38, 45–100
basis of, 35–36
as Challenger skill, 24, 33
examples of, 36–38
importance to customers, 53–54
insights, sharing, 54
organizational capability, building in, 56
RFP, reshaping for suppliers, 37–38
sales conversation to avoid, 74–75
sales experience, importance of, 51–54
teaching method. 
see
Commercial Teaching
teaching pitch. 
see
Commercial Teaching pitch
Teaching pitch
of Challengers. 
see
Commercial Teaching pitch
of Relationship Builders, 82–83

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SAFE-BOLD Framework, 81–83
simplified approach, 77
successful, elements of, 81
words to avoid, 176–78
Teams, Commercial Teaching pitch, constructing, 79–80
Training
CEB programs, 193–94
Challenger Development Program, 174–75
of Challengers, 31, 172
versus coaching, 151
costs of, 174
enhancing, guidelines for, 174–75
safe practice, 174–75
Situational Sales Negotiation method, 132–38
Unknown, innovation around, 162–63
Unplanned purchases, cost of. 
See
W. W. Grainger teaching pitch
Value
planning tool, tailored to client, 117–18
and price increase. 
see
Price-to-value ratio
Warmer
in Commercial Teaching pitch, 67–68
in W. W. Grainger teaching pitch, 88–89
Workshops, negotiation workshop, 135–38
W. W. Grainger
challenges facing, 84–85
Commercial Teaching, case study. 
see
W. W. Grainger teaching pitch
company information, 83–84
pilot sales program, 181–82
unique capabilities, discovering, 85–86
W. W. Grainger teaching pitch
customer as focus, 87
Deb Oler question, 58–59, 85
Emotional Impact in, 93–95
New Way in, 95–96
organizational capability, building, 95–96
“Power of Planning the Unplanned, The,” 86–87
Rational Drowning in, 90–93
Reframing in, 89–90
Solution in, 96
Warmer in, 88–89

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