That’s the premise of The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon. Of course, the message of the book is more subtle.
What The Challenger Sale actually suggests is that your customer relationships will generate more sales only when you continue to produce strategic value for your customers.
Customers have many options available to them; competitive intensity continues to grow and the pace of evolution continues to accelerate. Customers demand expertise, initiative and innovation. They expect you to know their business and to challenge them (hence the book title) to explore new ideas, expand their knowledge and explore different ways of thinking that can help them succeed. Earning preference with customers in this environment is simple – you must consistently produce more strategic value for them than they can get elsewhere.
While enduring relationships remain a vital ingredient for sustained growth, the relationship itself will not generate more sales if you are not producing value for the customer. As the author puts it, “Customer relationships are the result, not the cause, of successful selling.” A relationship is the reward earned by producing value for the customer, and it’s a reward that must be earned every day. The relationship cannot be taken for granted.
The book also reminds us that successful sales people challenge their organizations to keep their promises and to consistently pursue new ways to produce value for their customers. They know their company’s strengths and how the business makes money. They have learned how to best leverage their company’s competitive advantages to produce value for customers. They have invested time and energy to discover how their customers define value by probing beyond the customers’ stated needs to learn why these needs are important and how they contribute to the customers’ success. And, they share – their best practices with their fellow sales associates and their revelations about customer direction and goals with their organizations to help them remain valuable.
What are you doing to challenge your customers?
How are you challenging yourself to remain valuable to your customers?
