The Three Steps of Solution Selling

Increase Sales by Solving the Problems your Contacts Face

If you had to guess the percentage of people who trust salespeople, what would your guess be? According to research completed by HubSpot, only 3 percent of people trust sales representatives. Sales representatives will not stand a chance of changing these numbers if they only deliver a sales pitch that only shows prospective buyers they just care about increasing their revenue stream instead of actually finding a solution that will solve their problems.

If you want to have a chance at altering this statistic, what can you do? We suggest trying the solution selling process. When you are able to present an answer to a particular issue or problem, instead of just trying to elevate your product, you will gain new customers and keep them interested and satisfied. 

What is Solution Selling?

When we talk about the solution selling process, it is exactly what you think it is. The solution selling process is about selling solutions to customers that will help them master a problem. A solution selling process is not the same as the traditional selling process because it does more than push a service or product. In the solution selling process, the sales rep places more attention on the particular problem or issue that a customer is having. During this process, the sales representative will suggest similar products or services that can solve the problem.

The Solution Selling Process

You will not need to completely change your entire business in order to adopt the solution selling process. You can effortlessly make changes to your sales pitch so you will not focus so much on what your services and products can do. Instead of focusing on what your services and products can do for a buyer, you can talk about how your product or service can solve the issue the buyer is having. Do not look at yourself as just another salesperson; think of yourself as an adviser or consultant.

1. Preparation

When you use the traditional sales process, your direction is probably centered around finding out who your customer is. However, under the solution selling process, you will want to know what type of problems your buyer may have. As you get ready to connect with the prospective buyer for the first time, we encourage you to take the steps that will lead you to identify what struggles your prospects are facing.

2. Ask The Right Questions

After you have identified those hurdles your prospective buyers need to overcome, you will need to ask the right questions that will result in the prospective buyers addressing the fragmented areas. As you continue to ask more questions, you should keep track of the areas where your products and your services will be a perfect fit for their strategy.

3. Enlightening

What are the reasons why their business needs to use your products and/or services? You know the reasons why your products and services will be a great fit, but it is your responsibility to educate the prospective buyers. You should also educate them on how their business can benefit and gain a competitive advantage by using your products and services. 

We know that this process may bring a variety of objections from the prospective buyers, but your responses should be benefit-driven. You will be able to draw from your previous contacts about whether the responses should be a soft close or a hard close. In the end, you should always remember to talk about why your product or service will benefit them the most.

By discussing the solution selling process, we are not stating that the process you have used previously should be thrown out the window. With a little reframing, you can add the solution selling methods into the sales process you are already familiar with. You want prospects to think differently about your products and services. You want them to walk away feeling more informed and enlightened. Do not hesitate to talk about the difficulties they are currently facing.