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The Challenger Customer

Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results
Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner
and Nick Toman • Portfolio UK © 2015 • 288 pages

Sales

Take-Aways
• On average, 5.4 individuals with varying agendas and perspectives have a say in a typical corporate
purchasing decision.
• Winning over each of the 5.4 accomplishes little if the buying group is dysfunctional.
• Customer stakeholders must reach agreement at three critical decision points: “problem definition,
solution identification and supplier selection.”
• The seven types of stakeholders are: “the go-getter, the skeptic, the friend, the teacher, the guide, the
climber and the blocker.”
• Go-getters, teachers and skeptics activate change and attain consensus.
• “Mobilizers” help sales professionals make their case to the purchasing group.
• A “commercial insight” provides clients with a compelling reason to make a change.
• “Collective learning” groups gain knowledge together to create concurrence.
• “Commercial coaching” enables Mobilizers to build consensus and propel the buying process forward.
• Rather than ignore blockers, neutralize their power by managing them proactively.

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 Recommendation
The primary decision maker in corporate purchasing no longer exists. Today, groups of diverse individuals
– with conflicting agendas and representing varied organizational interests – make buying decisions, so
previously effective sales strategies no longer work. Authors Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner
and Nick Toman tackle these issues in this companion book to The Challenger Sale. Their strategies call for
finding champions within the organization, “Mobilizers,” to help gain group consensus and drive the buying
process. Their manual offers numerous graphs and multi-step processes. Although some of the text is wordy,
it is very informative and getAbstract believes the authors intelligently address a significant challenge for
B2B sales professionals.

Summary

The Problem

Previously effective B2B selling strategies prove ineffective today. Suppliers who raise customer awareness,
deliver value, exceed client needs and provide the best solutions still find themselves competing solely
on price. Being the best earns a seat at the table, but it doesn’t guarantee the sale. Clients may love your
solution, but they’ll opt for second-best if it’s cheaper.

“Several factors are reshaping how companies operate and make decisions, and all of
them have implications for sales and marketing.”

Companies implement changes that inhibit effective buying. Recent trends in management styles,
organizational structures, technological complexity, globalization, multifunctional integration and risk
aversion bring multiple stakeholders into the buying process. An average of 5.4 individuals with varying
agendas and perspectives can affect a typical corporate purchase.

“It’s not so much that there are more people in a sale that makes things so hard, but that
there are so many new perspectives.”

Although sales professionals identify the 5.4 decision makers, gain access and win them over with materials
targeted to their unique needs, sales reps still fall short. They work harder, sales cycle times increase,
transactions stall, and the final agreement represents an unsatisfying compromise version of the original
proposal.

Critical Decision Points

Suppliers find that in this new environment, they close fewer high-quality deals. Clients opt for lesser
solutions that are “good enough.” Counterintuitively, gaining access and persuading each stakeholder
increases the likelihood of a low-quality deal. Sellers try to address each person’s needs, rather than the
needs of a group of individuals. When different people with competing priorities attempt to collaborate on a
decision, “stakeholder dysfunction” rises. Groups struggle twice as hard as individuals to reach agreement.
Sales professionals must address this group-dysfunction challenge.

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 “The far bigger story isn’t about suppliers’ struggle to sell solutions, it’s the customer’s
struggle to buy them.”

During the purchasing process, stakeholders must agree at three critical decision points: “problem
definition, solution identification and supplier selection.” In moving from “me” to “we,” the process will
likely fall apart at these points. Decision makers choose which problems to address. Once they agree on the
problem, their opinions on the best solution will differ. Everyone participating in the purchasing decision
must reach consensus on these issues, no matter the supplier. Vendor selection doesn’t even begin until
clients reach this point, 57% of the way through the buying process. The highest point of conflict occurs
before that, at 37%, and deals often collapse before a sales representative comes through the door.

“While their CEOs mandate a ‘return to double-digit growth,’ commercial leaders find
themselves more frequently than ever before competing on little else but price.”

One source of group dissonance is each member’s “mental model,” his or her way of perceiving the world.
When group members’ mental models don’t overlap – when their goals, agendas and priorities differ –
they have trouble agreeing. They settle on the lowest common denominator, the low-quality solution,
because they fear taking risks or coping with disruption. Winning each stakeholder’s support exacerbates the
problem, because it reinforces differences in mental models. Sellers might obtain a series of 5.4 yeses but a
group no.

The Purchasing Process

The three stages of the customer purchasing process are “customer status quo, individual willingness
to explore alternate course of action and group consensus for high-quality deal.” The distance between
the second and third stages is greater than between the first two. The group must evolve from individual
thinking to collective thinking between the second and third stage.

“Mobilizers” and Customer Profiles

Senior decision makers no longer run the show. Today, high-performing sales professionals find someone
within the client organization to help them make their case to the purchasing group. These Mobilizers
facilitate change and negotiate agreement among their colleagues. Mobilizers enjoy access to the relevant
parties, understand the purchasing team’s decision-making methods and have input into the process long
before a salesperson enters the fray. To tap into this potential, “teach, tailor and take control.”

“Star sellers are looking for customer stakeholders who can (1) drive change across their
organization and” (2) build consensus among their colleagues.

An extensive study has found the following seven types of customer profiles, each with unique attributes:

1. “The go-getter” – An advocate for good ideas who delivers results.

2. “The skeptic” – A cynic who requires proof to support a change.
3. “The friend” – An ally willing to meet and discuss ideas.

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 4. “The teacher” – A leader who enjoys sharing knowledge and advice, and helps others understand and
accept a course of action.
5. “The guide” – An insider who provides information and access.
6. “The climber” – An outrider who operates in his or her best interest.
7. “The blocker” – An obstructionist who tries to stymie any variation in the status quo.

“It’s nearly impossible today to get a deal done without accounting for a seemingly vast
array of budget owners, influencers, end users, third-party consultants, you name it.”

Of the seven profiles, the go-getter, the teacher and the skeptic activate change and gain consensus.

“Commercial Insight”

Every B2B sales professional is in the difficult business of convincing customers to make a change. A
powerful tool for driving change is the commercial insight: Sellers confront buyers with a perception about
their business that is so compelling, it propels clients to make a change. Sellers teach customers about the
damage they’ll incur by doing nothing. The commercial insight leads the buyer directly to a business solution
only the knowledgeable sales rep can provide.

“There’s a vast difference between a collection of yeses and a collective yes.”

Traditional research focuses on the customer’s view of a supplier. In this case, a supplier should understand
how clients view themselves so that the commercial insight works to the seller’s advantage. If A represents
the customer’s current mental model and B stands for the desired attitudes and actions, sellers must “break
down the A before they build up the B.” Instead of focusing on the benefits of the supplier’s solution, the
commercial insight emphasizes how sticking to A hurts the customer.

“The only way to” (diplomatically) tell a customer that they’re ‘wrong’ is to first
understand what they believe in the first place.

DENTSPLY International Inc., a supplier of dental tools and products, developed a cordless dental cleaning
tool that was lighter and more efficient than others on the market. Dentists agreed the tool was fantastic
but thought their current tools were good enough. DENTSPLY focused on the high rates of absenteeism
and early retirement among dental hygienists due to injuries they suffered from using heavy, cumbersome
instruments. By showing how this problem negatively affected a dental practice’s profits, DENTSPLY sales
reps provided a commercial insight that highlighted the costs of inaction and convinced dentists that they
needed the lightweight tool.

“There is indeed a statistically significant driver of deal quality that has a measurably
meaningful impact – and that’s something we’ve come to call collective learning.”

The “spark, introduce, confront” content strategy breaks down customers’ A and leads them to B. “Spark
exploration” with content that challenges Mobilizers’ mental models by introducing a “frame-breaking” idea.
Present the idea in detail, and use it to confront and test the customer’s current assumptions and beliefs.

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 “The only way to get customers to think differently about you is to first get them to think
differently about themselves.”

Business customers attain information from multiple sources, only half of which are suppliers. One way
to reach them early in the purchasing process is through content marketing. Every piece of content must
reinforce the commercial insight. This runs contrary to the current thinking about content, which is to
position yourself as a thought leader by providing information about an array of subjects. Instead, every item
– including blog posts, white papers, testimonials or tutorials – must lead to the commercial insight.

Find Mobilizers

A simple screening process allows you to identify Mobilizers: Present the commercial insight and gauge
their reaction. You want to deal with people who are responsive, interested and questioning. Observe the
context in which they place the insight. Are they seeking a personal advantage or looking out for the needs
of the organization? Give the potential Mobilizer an assignment, such as conducting research or setting up a
meeting. Monitor his or her communication style to determine if the Mobilizer is a go-getter, a teacher or a
skeptic. Customize your approach accordingly.

Consensus

In most cases, suppliers must expedite consensus to win a high-quality sale. The main driver of consensus
creation is “collective learning,” the ability of a group to acquire knowledge together. Collective learning
occurs when, as a unit, members explore uncertainties, debate disagreements, discuss conflicting priorities,
seek other viewpoints, consider alternative courses of action and establish mutual support going forward.

“On average, group decisions are nearly twice as hard as individual ones.”

Sales representatives promote collective learning by facilitating constructive debate. Understand the
underlying power dynamics within the customer organization and encourage discussion among the
purchasing group. Mobilizers and sales professionals must prompt members to air and discuss concerns
so the group can explore different possibilities and solutions. These discussions prove fruitful as long as
facilitators set reasonable boundaries. Enable Mobilizers to build consensus and drive the purchasing
process forward through “commercial coaching.”

Commercial Coaching

Commercial coaching provides Mobilizers with the tools they need to share the commercial insight, identify
obstacles and advocate for agreement. Commercial coaching prepares Mobilizers to conduct collective
learning activities with the stakeholder group. These activities help decision makers understand the
potential purchase through deliberations that highlight shared needs and objectives, explore the commercial
insight in detail, and resolve differences.

“The real challenge is, this is no longer a single sale, but a serial sale, each one a little
different and carefully positioned to each stakeholder.”

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 A five-stage process helps Mobilizers develop a strategy to build consensus:

1. “Construct a plan” – Outline objectives and possible team reactions.

2. “Confirm stakeholders’ understanding of the challenge and potential actions” – Define the
problem within the context of the commercial insight. Tailor presentations to align with stakeholders’
mental models, and show the consequences of inaction.
3. “Address…remaining stakeholder concerns” – Use collective learning activities, such as
workshops, to address team members’ issues.
4. “Establish common and negotiable ground” – Promote a give-and-take among members to reach
a position everyone supports.
5. “Secure stakeholder commitment” – Ensure everyone understands and agrees with the decision
moving forward.

The Blockers

Blockers stand in the way of a purchase or interfere in the process because they prefer another vendor,
dislike a sales rep or resist change. Conventional sales wisdom recommends ignoring blockers, yet they
decrease the likelihood of closing a high-quality deal by 47%. Every organization has blockers, and every deal
must cope with their objections. Detouring blockers by rallying support from other stakeholders works some
of the time.

“What we’re ultimately trying to figure out isn’t how suppliers can sell effectively to
individuals, but rather how they can sell more effectively to groups of individuals.”

To manage them proactively, use collective learning interactions to apply social pressure to convince
blockers of the deal’s merit. During activities such as workshops, encourage them to enter discussions with
members holding different viewpoints, especially influencers whom the blocker respects. Provide Mobilizers
with materials that may convince blockers to support the purchase. Consider approaching blockers directly.
Empathize with their concerns and negate their fears with proof of success with previous customers. If they
remain unreasonable, consider making a concession on an aspect of the deal.

As a last resort, go over the blocker’s head. Approach senior management and tactfully explain why the deal
stalled. Sometimes, none of these approaches will work. Then you must decide whether to walk away.

About the Authors

Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Nick Toman and Pat Spenner are based at CEB, a best practice
insight and technology firm. Adamson and Dixon co-wrote The Challenger Sale. Dixon and Toman co-wrote
The Effortless Experience.

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