What Does a Solutions Consultant Do?

The solution sales pioneered by the author is a set of sales processes that consolidate the essence of the sales elite's success, clear logic, strong practicality, and high success rate after practice test. Using the solution sales method, the sales staff can be very good Identify potential customers' problems, and comprehensively understand the customer's business problems and their ability to provide products and services, guide customers to diagnose the cause of the problem, explore the impact of the problem, form a concept for purchasing products or services, and finally make a purchase decision making. Against the background of less and less differences in today's products, solution sales can help sales staff follow a standardized sales process to form unique differences, and truly achieve customer-centric advisory sales to stand out from the competition. .

New solution sales

"Solution sales has become our core sales process, helping Microsoft's 5,000 sales staff and thousands of business partners to be consistent, using this proven and efficient sales method to provide customers with differentiated solutions to satisfy customers Expectations. This book describes how high-performing salespeople behave and how they can help them achieve win-win results with their customers. "
-Kevin Johnson, former global vice president of sales, marketing, and services at Microsoft

Chapter 1 The concept of solution sales Chapter 1 What is a solution What is a solution? Why is there a sales process? 64% Problem Scenario fluency Problem of sales, sales management and senior management Chapter 2 Principles Solutions Sales Principles Chapter 3 Sales What is a process? Why are there a sales process? Sales process elements. Two sales process model solutions. Sales process for sales. Part 2. Creating new opportunities. Chapter 4. Planning before research and research. Planning and production of "scarecrow".
Solutions Sales Work Aids Chapter 5 Basic Principles to Stimulate Interested Client Development Methods of Developing Clients Business Development Tips Cards Business Development Letters and Emails Chapter 6 Defining Pain or Critical Business Issues Clients Visit Seven-Step Framework Clients Visit Tips Cards 7 Chapter Diagnostics first, then the last solution sales principles: first diagnosis, then the last nine squares. Create a model. Three types of questions. Three areas of investigation. Familiar with the situation. Chapter 8. Conception of creating a biased solution. Conception of creating a model. Seize Active Opportunities Chapter 9 How Latecomers Come to Competitive Opportunities Preempt the Competitive Opportunity Five Principles of Differentiating Uniqueness of Participation in Competitiveness Chapter 10 Reshaping the Way of Reshaping the Solicitation Request for Proposal Information Request for Proposals Bidding Meeting Chapter 4 Evaluation, Control, Closing Cases Chapter 11 Contact with Power Supporters Contact Power Supporter Power Principles: You cannot sell to people who do not have the right to make purchase decisions. How to get customers to make commitments and negotiate to reach power supporters. Chapter 12 Control the purchase. Controlling the purchase process is equivalent to winning letters from supporters to improve the quality of the evaluation plan: value check Reasons for action Value verification mode Value verification elements Improve the quality of the evaluation plan: Review before the proposal to improve the quality of the evaluation plan: Success criteria Your success depends on the success of the customer Chapter 13. Final agreement reached The fallacy regarding the settlement The settlement is the progress of the sales process Challenges due to natural results due to value: Negotiation principles for procurement strategy negotiation solution sales Negotiation Principles Chapter 5 Process Management Chapter 14 Start Process Start Sales Solution Chapter 15 Solutions Sales Management System Sales Management Standards Sales Forecasting Challenges The solution Sales Management System predicts to start using Sales Management System.
Chapter 16 Creating and Maintaining High-Performance Sales Culture The Three Choices of High-Performance Sales Culture Enterprise Managers The Characteristics of the Sales Process Successfully Implementing the Sales Process Building a High-Performance Sales Culture into the Company's Value System Appendix A Value Verification Example TGI Status Value Verification Element execution plan and value Appendix B Flexible application solutions Sales telemarketing Understanding the caller's current vision Postscript success is under your control ^[1]

Solution Sales Principles-Pain, Think and Change The basic principle of solution sales is: Pain, think and change. Without pain, nothing will change. Pain here refers to troubles, important business issues, or opportunities that may be missed. If an individual or company has no trouble, no important business issues, and never missed any opportunity, then why should he change? We use the word pain in solution sales to emphasize this point. However, we do not encourage salespeople to mention these two words to buyers.
I firmly believe that this perspective applies to almost all kinds of goods and services. I still remember making this point in a solution sales seminar, and one participant questioned it. She asked, "How is this possible? What pain will it take to buy luxury goods?" I did not expect that she would answer her question unknowingly: "After all, people buy luxury goods because they want to buy it. Instead of buying it. "I looked at her, and simply asked," Have you ever crave for something, and suffer if you don't get it? "In other words, this desire to have, achieve, or experience The desire for something is the pain or cause that causes you to change the status quo.
Pain gives reason to change. Pain makes people take action, change negative situations, or actively pursue and desire to improve the status quo. Without a compelling reason, individuals or companies usually don't do anything special or buy something. Once the pain is acknowledged and the determination to eliminate it is sufficient, the buyer has a valid reason to act.
Solution Sales Principles-The pain will be throughout the company. In American football, ice hockey and basketball, players must work together and rely on each other to achieve excellent performance and win the championship. Everyone knows this. The same goes for businesses and organizations. To put it simply, people in the same department have troubles. This concept of interdependence is the foundation of the corporate architecture. Although each company has varying degrees of interdependence, it always exists.
The concept of interdependence is closely related to sales, especially when the solution needs to be implemented throughout the company. In today's complex decision-making environment, we need to understand more clearly the issues and challenges of potential buyers than ever before. Only in this way can we focus on the root cause of the problem accurately, thoroughly solve the problem and provide a solution, instead of addressing the symptoms of everyone. The problems of everyone are related to others in the organization. In the field of sales, you not only identify and review the pain of the other person, but also connect the pain to others. In this way, implementing solutions means adding greater value to customers and will be a company-level sales opportunity for sales staff.
In Chapter 4, I'll map these connections into a sales tool called a "chain of pain." The "chain of pain" will explain the problems and their causes, and how they spread throughout the organization.
Solution sales principle-diagnose first, then pre-diagnose before prescription, so that you can understand the customer's problem before discussing the solution with the customer. If the opposite is true, that is, giving a recipe without diagnosis, it means that you have proposed a solution before you understand the problem. Even if your prescription proves correct later, the customer will feel untrustworthy and may end the sale. We will discuss this principle in detail in Chapter 7.
Solution Sales Principles-Buyers' needs can be divided into three levels. Requirements can be divided into three levels. You will find that various groups, buyers and organizations belong to different levels. The point is that salespeople and anyone who comes in contact with buyers need to understand this and adjust their practices at different levels. Buyers are at different levels of demand, and salespeople must take different approaches (see Figure 2.1)
First level: potential pain. Buyers who are not looking for problems or actively trying to solve them are in a potentially painful stage. There are two main reasons why buyers are at this level of demand: they are unaware or overly disguised. Undetected means that they have not discovered the problem; too concealed means that they know the problem, but may not believe that a solution exists, or they have tried to solve it before but have no results. Buyers at this level often do not buy on the pretext that the solution is too expensive, complex, or risky. Whether unaware or too disguised, buyers at this level are suffering from the coexistence of the problem, and in most cases the problem can be solved.
At this stage, a key action for salespeople is to help buyers understand and acknowledge their problems. I often tell sales people that if buyers do nt know that the problem they are experiencing can be solved by a product or service provided by the sales person, they must first explain to them the problem itself, not the product or service.
Second level: the pain of recognition. Buyers are willing to discuss issues, difficulties or dissatisfaction in the status quo. The buyer acknowledged the problem, but did not know how to resolve it. Buyers at this level will tell us the problem, but will not take any action. E-commerce is the best example. Everyone knows that more efforts should be made in this area, but most people are watching. why? They have no clear idea of what to do and how to start.
At this point the salesperson should thoroughly diagnose the problem and work out a solution idea that the buyer is confident it will work.
The third level: solution ideas. The buyer assumes responsibility for solving his own problem and can envision all the needs to solve the problem. This is the action phase. For customers at this level, there are two key actions for salespeople. If you have created ideas for your buyers, you must maintain them; if you have not created ideas, you have to reshape them. At this time, the biggest mistake that sales staff will make is to think that the buyer is ready to buy and the transaction is in sight.
In short, you will encounter different buyers at three levels of demand. At the potential pain level, as a salesperson, your task is to make buyers aware of the problem; at the acknowledged pain level, your task is to confirm their pain and guide them to the solution concept; at the solution concept level , The approach is to develop or reshape the idea so that buyers can completely change the status quo after using the products or services you provide.
Solution Sales Principles-Active Opportunities and Potential Opportunities See Figure 2.2. You will find that opportunities are divided into two categories: active opportunities and potential opportunities. An active opportunity is when the purchaser has confirmed that they want to buy something. Buyers have a clear understanding of their needs and have salespeople participate in the evaluation process. What percentage of customers are actively buying? The answer varies depending on the situation, but most of them are only 5% to 10%. In other words, more than 90% of customers are not looking for. why? Is it because these 90% of customers have no problems? of course not. These potential buyers may be unaware, or they may be too disguised, and sit back and watch the problem, regardless of their pain. Those who have encountered problems but are not actively seeking solutions are the biggest sales opportunities. Why do these customers who are not looking for a solution provide such huge sales potential? The answer lies in another principle.
Solution Sales Principles-Preconceived, set requirements and make yourself the customer's first choice. In the competitive world of sales, the main goal of sales is to win opportunities and help customers. If you can be preconceived, set your needs, and make yourself the customer's preferred company, your chances of successful sales will greatly increase (see Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3 illustrates how companies typically evaluate and purchase. Most companies and individuals, whether consciously or not, use some kind of assessment to help them make decisions. People will consider the purchase target under consideration in the first choice, the second choice or the third choice. The key task for the sales person is to get them listed as the number one choice because this is the position that has the best chance to win sales. When selling in a potential area (where the customer is not looking for opportunities), the salesperson has a great opportunity to set or highlight the purchase needs of the buyer, and has a better chance to reach the throne of the customer's first choice. If the salesperson excels at the stage of defining demand, the buyer's vision (purchasing demand) will be in line with the products and services provided by this salesperson and become the buyer's first choice.
Experience has proven that salespeople in preferred companies have a greater chance of success. Our actual experience and research have shown that if we can find opportunities from potential pain, let the other party actively evaluate, and seize the position of Company A, then the preferred company's chance of winning the transaction is more than 90%.
Maybe the salesperson will ask: "If I don't define problems for my customers, make plans, and put myself in the position of the preferred company, can I still win opportunities?" Although the answer is yes, the probability of closing will be very low. If you want to increase the probability of closing, you must do something special. I will elaborate on it in the third part of this book.
Solution Selling Principles-You cannot sell to people who do not have the right to make decisions. You cannot sell to people who cannot. However, for those who cannot make a purchasing decision, you still spend a lot of time, money, and energy, and many salespeople do it. You can have lunch with them and participate in many social activities to influence them, but sooner or later you must interact with those who have the actual purchasing decision. These people can influence a company's purchasing decisions, or they can be decision makers themselves. If the person you are dealing with does not have this power, then he must be able to introduce you to someone with purchasing power.
I encourage sales and telemarketing staff to make direct contact with senior people in the company as much as possible. Rather than being warned not to advance beyond the level, the card can't move in the other company. It's better to start directly at the higher level, and then the lower level person will be appointed by the other party to negotiate with you.
Many salespeople complain that it is very difficult to reach and sell with people with authority. One of the reasons is that it is understandable that young salespersons are often inexperienced and feel unsure when doing business with corporate executives or senior management. Another reason is that many sales people can't talk about the business content of the other person with their customers, and they lack situational knowledge. As a result, these salespeople target people at lower positions, because these lower-level people will say what they want to hear, and they will be willing to ask the salesperson to ask for dinner.
Solution Sales PrinciplesBuyer's Focus Changes Over Time As buyers enter the purchasing process, their focus will change. Their statements and actions will reveal where they are in the procurement process. In the end, as buyers continue to move forward in the purchasing process, the more the sales staff understands the factors that buyers are concerned about, the more they can respond appropriately to buyers, as illustrated in Figure 2.4.
For example, at the beginning of the purchase process, buyers usually care about demand and costs, and we will call this phase one (determining the demand phase). However, after they clearly understand their needs and budget, their purchase focus will be changed to evaluate various options that can meet their needs and budget, this is the second stage (evaluation scheme stage). Once they have evaluated each option in phase two, they will enter the end of the procurement process. Buyers' attention will be placed on the risks generated by the purchase and the costs incurred by the commitment. This is phase three (evaluation risk phase) . The changing focus and level of focus of buyers determine which buying stage they are in. The more the sales staff pays attention to the psychological model and the purchase stage of the purchase, the more they can stand with the buyer

Success is in your hands. You already know how to sell your solutions, and how to increase sales and build a high-performance sales culture. Whether you can make an individual or a business successful now is entirely up to you. To get the best results, you need courage and some flexibility. However, its potential returns definitely make such an investment worthwhile.
I recently had lunch with Hu Qu Mccoll, the former chairman of Bank of America, and I personally consider him one of the most forward-looking leaders in the financial services industry. Hugh saw that the financial industry was constantly changing, so he embraced change and discovered opportunities, unlike other peers who ignored change. As a result, under his leadership, Bank of America's assets have increased 50-fold to US $ 610 billion, and the number of employees in 21 states across the United States has exceeded 142,000. Bank of America embraces change and has become one of the most successful business models in the world.
To succeed in your career and life, you have to take some risks. If you follow the sales process of solution sales or introduce it into the company, it will bring changes and put you at risk of failure. More than half a million sales elites worldwide have successfully overcome this type of risk by sticking to a solution sales approach every day. Now, you also have the opportunity to implement a solution sales method, change your or your company's sales situation, and contribute to customers, your career and your life.
Once you have introduced the solution process to your company, prepare yourself for the resistance around you, and don't get frustrated by it. If we are governed by the voice of opposition, we can never achieve anything. The task of the leader is to make the vision clear and let the people around him understand and follow. Explain the value of taking solution sales and being a true leader. In fact, you can also use solution sales to create ideas in the minds of your employees.
My philosophy of life is that as long as I can help others do what they value, my life will do everything. I also learned that if you want others to follow, you have to care about them first and think about them. Helping employees apply effective processes to serve customers and win more business opportunities is the best way to show you how to help them succeed.
In addition, using solution sales can actually give people more opportunities to succeed and share that achievement with the company. Winning sales opportunities creates an optimistic atmosphere and makes people feel that they can overcome all obstacles, which is absolutely unparalleled. This book has spent a lot of time talking about the benefits of adhering to the principles of solution sales, but let me add another potential advantage. When you use this effective process to win more business, you also provide value to your customers, which helps you create greater wealth, so that you can gain more freedom for yourself, your family, and everyone in your company.

Recommended sequence Foreword

In the past few years, the global economic woes and intensified competition have affected the way customers evaluate and apply technology in various places. Customers are trying to reduce routine operating costs, will save the money, invest in new solutions, and develop certain business opportunities. In the process of communicating with our business partners and customers, we found that solutions are an important factor for them to solve actual business problems and help people achieve more effective and flexible business operations.
However, the key to these successes is the use of relationships. I believe in the importance of strengthening interaction between Microsoft and customers. Through in-depth communication, we can achieve the goal of providing solutions and bringing value and satisfaction to customers.
Customers have repeatedly asked for a reliable and continuous relationship with us. To achieve this, we have established a set of sales methods for Microsoft members, allowing us to focus on strengthening relationships with customers and building a long-term and solid image.
In the process of working together, we regard the solution sales method as the core of the sales process, helping 5,000 sales staff and thousands of Microsoft business partners to implement these effective sales principles, which not only surprised the customers, but also They achieved the desired goal.
Customer satisfaction comes from exceeding their expectations. Through the use of solution sales, we have become more predictable and decisive, whether we listen to customers' questions and concerns, provide them with good solutions, or achieve the expected goals of the solutions. I sincerely hope that by integrating solution sales into the core of the sales process, we can increase the value we provide to our customers.
This book provides an insight into how to build and maintain a customer-centric, high-performance sales culture. This book describes the behavior of top salespeople and how it promotes success, whether it's used by buyers or sellers. Keith Eades will tell you in this book how salespeople can make Microsoft stand out in a contentious market.
We use solution sales as a standard sales method, which not only provides higher value to customers, but also improves our own revenue and efficiency. After reading this book, I suggest that you also apply these methods to improve your own sales model, and at the same time develop a high-performance sales culture in your company to achieve the common goals of increasing customer value and improving satisfaction.

Kevin Johnson
Foreword by Microsoft Group Vice President, Global Business, Marketing and Services
Solution Selling is the industry standard for sales implementation processes. This method is used by more than 500,000 professional salespeople worldwide. It has become the basis for the processes and strategies that top salespeople in the sales industry must master.
Solution sales are constantly updated with the latest economic trends, rapid changes in the corporate environment and sales occupations. On the whole, driven by improved information communication methods and intensified global competition, the cycle of customer purchase decisions is accelerating. Since the publication of the first book on solution sales, the world has experienced many changes, including the rise of the Internet, the development of multi-channel sales strategies, the drastic improvement of information technology and computer production tools, and the rise of the international market.
Especially since the global economic downturn, salespeople's success model has changed. This book proposes ways to adapt to these new changes, and these methods should be compatible with the important models that are effective in the implementation of solution sales. This book covers the following important topics:
Strengthening the Sales Process: This book highlights the value of a replicable, integrated sales process. Most notably, this book integrates the milestones of each stage of the sales process, resulting in a more consistent, easier to train, better sales performance and more accurate sales execution behavior.
Tightly Integrate Processes: This book mentions new sales aids that can help salespeople and supervisors drive sales work through processes. This book specifically simplifies and strengthens the entire solution sales process, removing redundant or unnecessary steps based on the complexity of the sales opportunity.
Precall Planning: In the current economic environment, any opportunity for business development should not be ignored. This book will introduce a variety of new work aids, such as Account Profile, Initial Pain Chain, Key Players List, and Quantifiable Value Propositions. Improve pre-visit planning and research.
Focus on value: The related models introduced in this book will teach you how to convey consistent and persuasive values at every step in the sales process. Among them, the solution selling value cycle is particularly worth mentioning. It is a very practical tool that will help you find out and explain the quantifiable and measurable value for customers. This is your big advantage in today's sales environment.
New tools for effective control of closing opportunities: Previous books on solution sales have focused on finding the value of potential sales opportunities. This book retains these important concepts on the one hand, and also proposes new tools to help you gain opportunities in the fierce competition. These new tools include Opportunity Assessment and Competitive Strategy Selection.
Linking sales with execution and customer service: This book introduces the evaluation plan as a sales tool, thereby making the customer's implementation of the adopted solution concrete, so that from the transaction to the realization of the value of the solution The change is smoother.
Have greater applicability: The sales process provided in this book is also suitable for managing complex large-scale sales activities and simpler sales activities. Whether it's a small or medium business opportunity, or an integrated telemarketing or telesales process, this book is an excellent guide to success. For example, we have simplified the "9 Block Vision Processing Model" and can also use it for simple sales activities. The other sales aids introduced in this book are also premised on applicability and can be used by readers in various sales situations.
The link to the sales management process is closer: This book is fully integrated with the solution sales management approach. This enables front-line business executives to use the same principles, processes, and frameworks as solution sales to effectively evaluate and train sales team members.
Solution sales have revolutionized the world of sales. The content introduced in this book will take the entire sales process to the next level. Business people, sales executives, and senior managers who need to face customers at all levels in the company can benefit from this book.