10 TOP SALES METHODOLOGIES

COMPARED & EXPLAINED

BY THE EXECUTIVES REPRESENTING THEM

UNDERSTAND THEIR DIFFERENCES

AND THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY

The #1 sales effectiveness platform

for complex b2b sales
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 04 SIDE BY SIDE: A METHODOLOGY 18
COMPARISON
THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY 06
THE STATE OF SALES: KEY INSIGHTS 20
INSIGHTS IN BRIEF 08
• Sales methodology in transactional sales 21
• On ideal clients 08 environments
• On process 08 • Methodology and sales process 21
• On reinforcement 08 • Why sales organizations are failing at 23
• On change 09 process
• On technology 09 • How to prevent behavioral “rubber- 24
banding”
THE FOUNDING OF A SALES 10
• The role of technology in the buyer’s 26
METHODOLOGY journey
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SALES 12 • The role of technology in reinforcement 27
METHODOLOGIES • The role of technology in optimizing 27

THE METHODOLOGIES: A BRIEF 14 CONCLUSION 28

OVERVIEW

• Sandler Training 15
• Miller-Heiman, Strategic Selling 15
• Solution Selling (SPI) 15
• SPIN Selling 16
• ValueSelling 16
• Customer-Centric Selling 16
• RAIN Sales Training 17
• Baseline Selling 17
• Target Account Selling 17
• The Challenger Sale 17

02 TABLE OF CONTENTS 03
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY

We interviewed leaders of the world’s top We compiled their answers into charts and
sales methodologies, asking each of them summaries, and extracted key insights into
the same fourteen questions in regard this paper for the purpose of helping sales
to their history, unique differentiators, leaders make informed choices about the
marketplace, process, technology, and the future of their sales organizations.
future of the industry.

04 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 05
THE PURPOSE
OF OUR STUDY
Effective sales methodology We hope this white paper will help
implementation can increase sales organizations understand the role of
performance by impressive margins, methodology and process, and assist sales
driving new revenue and higher profits for leaders in making decisions about the
the organization. Despite these potential future of their organizations. 
benefits, many sales leaders hesitate to
invest in a methodology, not least because
a mistake can be costly.
We developed this white paper to help
sales leaders sort through their options,
understand each methodology’s place
in the market, and gain insight into how
implementing a specific sales methodology
and/or process might help their
organization. Our interviews included top
executives at the organizations representing
Sandler Selling, Strategic Selling, Solution
Selling, SPIN Selling, ValueSelling
Framework, Customer-Centric Selling®,
RAIN Selling, and Baseline Selling. We also
attempted to speak with representatives for
Target Account Selling and The Challenger
Sale, but these organizations declined to
participate.

06 THE PURPOSE OF OUR STUDY 07

INSIGHTS
IN BRIEF
ON IDEAL CLIENTS ON CHANGE
While most of our participants agree that their sales One area where our interviews uncovered wide divergence
methodologies are most appropriate for complex of opinion is the topic of how methodologies should change
B2B sales environments, there are some differences in response to changing buyer behavior. Responses ranged
in how they describe their ideal clients. A few claim from “our methodology is solid and doesn’t need to change”
to be appropriate for any sales environment, while (Sandler and SPIN), to “our methodology is updated constantly
one (Solution Selling®, owned by SPI) claims to have based on the latest research” (RAIN Group). Pat Mustico (SPIN)
also cracked the code on high-volume transactional clarifies that although the methodology hasn’t changed, “the
sales. application of the skills will vary based on changing buyer
behaviors.”
ON PROCESS
Among those who state that their methodology changes in
All agree that process is separate from, and response to buyer behavior, there is wide divergence in what
important to, methodology. They describe process those changes look like. Leaders at RAIN Group and CEB (The
as the set of stages, milestones, and steps Challenger Sale) in particular disagree on the best approach
that move a prospect through the sale, while for salespeople to take in response to current changes in
methodology is the approach and behavior of the buyer behavior.
salesperson within those stages, milestones, and
steps. Some of the organizations have a specific ON TECHNOLOGY
process that they recommend or sell, while others
work with the buyer’s own process. Regardless of their opinion on whether the methodology itself
should change, all agree that changing technology has an
ON REINFORCEMENT impact on implementation. The latest technologies can be
used to implement, reinforce, track, analyze, and optimize
We also uncovered consensus on the matter both sales process and methodology. Finding the right
of reinforcement, and its critical importance to technology to perform these functions can be challenging, but
successful methodology and process deployment. all agree that it is critical.
Effective coaching, our participants agree, is
critical to preventing the “rubber-band” effect of
salespeople returning to old behaviors. Technology,
and especially CRM and Sales Improvement Tools,
provides the right tools for this reinforcement,
though traditional CRM has some gaps that require
additional technologies in order to perform this
function adequately.

08 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 09
THE FOUNDING
OF A SALES
METHODOLOGY
SANDLER
1967 SELLING
SYSTEM

STRATEGIC THE CHALLENGER

1978 SELLING 2011 SALE

SOLUTION
SELLING & BASELINE
1988 SPIN 2005 SELLING
SELLING

CUSTOMER-
VALUESELLING CENTRIC SELLING®
1991 FRAMEWORK 2002 & RAIN SALES
TRAINING

10 THE FOUNDING OF A SALES METHODOLOGY 11

 Meanwhile, Bob Miller and Steve Heiman were selling for IBM
during the same time period, and realized that traditional methods
were not effective in moving merchandise. They looked to logic and

A BRIEF HISTORY OF
analysis to develop a “win-win” sales approach that is alive and
well in the Miller-Heiman Corporation and its patented Strategic
Selling methodology.

SALES METHODOLOGIES
In 2002, John Holland, Frank Visgatis, Gary Walker, and Mike
Bosworth brought forward a new methodology in response to yet
another change in the marketplace. According to Holland and
Visgatis, the current (at that time) solution sales methodologies
had failed to keep up with the fact that most technology buyers
were more educated than previously, and were no longer buying
Before psychology selling, before needs and pains and disruptive technologies. The language and approach had to
solutions and strategies, there was phrenology: The change. They developed Customer-Centric Selling® to meet these
new needs.
science of selling cars based on the size of a customer’s
forehead. No wonder car salesmen have a bad In 2002, Mike Schultz and John Doerr saw a need for a research-
reputation. based approach to selling. RAIN Group took into account the
results of a major benchmark study showing what buyers want
and need from sellers to create the foundation of its methodology,
RAIN Selling. RAIN Group continues today in its focus on updating
and optimizing the sales system based on in-depth research.
Fortunately for customers and sales teams alike, salesmanship has come In 2005, Dave Kurlan brought forward a new approach called
a long way since the 1800s and early 1900s, when peddlers promoted Baseline Selling. Kurlan suggested that while solution-based selling
fake snake oil to cure what ails. Following a number of fits and starts methodologies have a great deal to offer, they are limited by the
in improving sales process, the 1960s brought a major innovation that complexity of implementing them. His methodology, called Baseline
resonates through sales organizations today: Needs Satisfaction. Selling, took all the best things about existing methodologies,
and reworked them into a simple framework that uses a baseball
During the decade of the 60s, Xerox Corporation invested several million metaphor to help salespeople more quickly grasp and implement
dollars in response to the end of the dry photocopying patent that had the methodology and process.
sustained their company through the previous several decades. They
developed a “Needs Satisfaction” approach, now also referred to as The next big disruption in sales methodology came with the
“solution selling.” This, the first of the modern sales methodologies, was so publication of The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent
successful that Xerox packaged and sold it to other corporations, under Adamson in 2011. Dixon and Adamson propose that the Internet and
the name of Professional Selling Skills. content marketing has changed the sales landscape once again,
by placing customers in charge of designing their solutions. Where
Several of today’s top sales methodologies were founded by salespeople solution selling methods focus on helping the customer to build a
and sales leaders who were engaged at Xerox during this time period, solution, the new environment means that customers come to the
including Mike Bosworth and Lloyd Sappington. These individuals sale with the solution already built, and simply seeking vendors to
leveraged the potential and power of Xerox’s approach, and updated fulfill that solution. The Challenger Sale approach is designed to
their own approaches to create Solution Selling (a trademark of SPI) and disrupt the customer’s buying process by uncovering un-recognized
ValueSelling, respectively. needs, and position the seller as the best resource to fulfill those
needs.
Xerox’s influence is also seen in the methodology founded by Neil
Rackham (SPIN Selling), who studied the behaviors of salespeople across The publication of The Challenger Sale launched a debate that
more than 35,000 sales calls at organizations including Xerox. More or continues to rage in regard to whether its approach is a genuine
less simultaneously, salespeople in other marketplaces were uncovering revolution, just another way of approaching the same problem,
similar insights into effective selling. Notably, David Sandler was selling or perhaps a dangerous distraction from effective sales methods.
motivational materials and realized that the old “trick-based” methods Regardless of the outcome of that debate, every one of the sales
weren’t working for him. He explored the emerging science of sales leaders we spoke with agreed that the marketplace continues to
psychology to develop new approaches, which ultimately became the change, and an effective sales process is critical to every sales
Sandler Selling System, which is still widely used today. organization’s success.

12 A BRIEF HISTORY OF SALES METHODOLOGIES 13

 SANDLER TRAINING
Founded in 1967 by David Sandler, the Sandler Selling System

THE
focuses on long-term success over quick fixes. Sandler
was one of the first thought leaders to begin talking about
the use of “pain” in selling, and the Sandler “pain funnel”
remains among its most well-known tools, along with the

METHODOLOGIES
“submarine” graphic that outlines its step by step approach
to prospect engagement. Sandler is a particularly good fit for
organizations with complex sales cycles, and can be used
by entrepreneurial organizations looking to compete with
larger brands, as well as large organizations looking to fill
gaps in their sales process. Sandler owns the largest sales
training organization in the world, with more than 250 local
training centers serving Fortune 500 companies, SMB, and
independent producers. We spoke with Sandler’s CEO, Dave
Mattson.

MILLER-HEIMAN (AN MHI GLOBAL COMPANY),

In our research, we uncovered the unique STRATEGIC SELLING
origin, history, and approach that informs Founded in the 1960s by Bob Miller and Steve Heiman,
the character of each sales methodology. Strategic Selling focuses on a practical, repeatable sales
Here’s a brief overview. process that breaks complex situations down into small,
manageable chunks. The approach focuses on creating
a win-win situation for buyer and seller, to build long-term
relationships. The organization provides ”blue sheets” to
help sellers win opportunities along a well-defined sales
process, and ”green sheets” that support all direct customer
interactions along the sales process. Strategic Selling is a
particularly good fit for complex sales in any B2B vertical
market. We spoke with Miller-Heiman’s European Sales Vice
President, Klaus Leutbecher.

SOLUTION SELLING® (SPI)

Mike Bosworth developed Solution Selling® from research
originally conducted at Xerox in the late 1970s. This research
examined the behaviors of top-performing sales professionals
at that organization and applied the resulting insights to his
methodology, which was later acquired by SPI, the largest
Solution Selling® distributor and implementation partner. The
approach is has been continuously refined and improved,
in response to changing market conditions and ongoing
research into what top-performing sellers do differently. Like
many sales methodologies, it works well within a complex
B2B sales environment but, unlike the others, it also claims to
perform particularly well in high-volume commodities markets.
We spoke with SPI’s Director of Business Development, Tim
Sullivan.

14 THE METHODOLOGIES 15
THE
METHODOLOGIES RAIN SELLING
In 2002, Mike Schultz and John Doerr founded RAIN Selling
in response to insights from a major benchmark study they
SPIN SELLING conducted that year. They designed it to better satisfy what
modern buyers want and need from sellers, and continue
In the 1980s, behavioral psychologist Neil Rackham conducted research to update and optimize the methodology based on ongoing
over 12 years and 35,000 sales calls, looking at what sellers and buyers research. They are known for their in-depth sales performance
actually did during those sales calls. He then correlated that research research and analysis. RAIN Selling is best suited for
with sales success. Rackham was hired by Xerox, Kodiak, Motorola, complex sales processes involving multiple decision makers.
and others to use that research to help them develop their internal Organizations in financial services, professional services, and
sales methodologies. In 1988, he founded SPIN Selling, which stands for technology industries, for instance, often represent a good fit.
Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff. The approach is best suited We spoke with RAIN Group’s President, Mike Schultz.
for complex B2B selling situations and focuses on helping buyers draw
their own conclusion that they need the product or service. We spoke with BASELINE SELLING
SPIN Selling’s president and principal consultant, Pat Mustico.
Founded in 2005 by Dave Kurlan, Baseline Selling was
VALUESELLING FRAMEWORK created as an answer to the difficulty of getting salespeople
to buy into complex sales methodologies. Baseline Selling
In 1991, the ValueSelling Framework was created by Lloyd Sappington, uses a baseball metaphor to divide sales into “bases” that
one of the leaders of Xerox’s sales methodology revolution. The represent stages of the sales process. Baseline Selling is a
methodology’s parent company, ValueSelling Associates, was later good fit for growing mid-market companies with sales forces
purchased by its current owner, Julie Thomas. The ValueSelling of 30-100 individuals, in any industry. We spoke with Baseline
Framework simplifies sales methodology to make it easier for salespeople Selling’s CEO, Dave Kurlan.
to learn and master. It is best suited for companies with complex B2B
sales cycles, who are competing on value and using differentiation to win. TARGET ACCOUNT SELLING
The ValueSelling Fromework is translated into 12 different languages with
multiple training modalities available, and facilitators available across the Declined to respond.
globe. We spoke with ValueSelling Associates’s CEO and President, Julie
Thomas. THE CHALLENGER SALE
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC SELLING® Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson published The Challenger
Sale in 2011 in response to the way that content marketing
Founded in 2002 by John Holland, Frank Visgatis, Gary Walker, and and wide availability of information has changed the sales
Mike Bosworth, Customer-Centric Selling® was developed in response landscape. They claim that solution selling—a category into
to the maturity of the business technology market. Holland and Visgatis which nearly all the other methodologies fall—is dead, and
noted that buyers were no longer investing in disruptive technologies, a new approach is called for. The Challenger Sale, owned
but rather improvements on old technologies. The methodology is based by CEB, focuses on disrupting the customer’s buying process
on Rackham’s research into how people buy, updated to focus on asking by uncovering un-recognized needs. Its leaders declined to
the right questions of modern technology buyers. Though its origins are answer what specific industries or types of sales it is best
in the technology industry, Customer-Centric Selling® is a good fit for any suited to serve. CEB’s leadership was unable to participate in
B2B organization with complex sales. We spoke with Customer-Centric the study.
Selling®’s co-founder, John Holland.

16 THE METHODOLOGIES 17
 Number
Online/In- of people
SIDE BY SIDE: Methodology Founder(s) Founded Best Client Fit Key Differentiators
Person trained in the
methodology

A METHODOLOGY ValueSelling
1991, developed
approach from
findings while Any B2B
Elegant simplicity.
Scalable and
global. Available
Training

COMPARISON
Lloyd working with company in seven different
Blended 7500 per
Framework Sappington the Xerox sales competing on languages
year
team, with a focus value and deployed
on measurable on multiple
business value continents.
2002, developed
Number to meet needs
Online/In- of people John of more-mature
Methodology Founder(s) Founded Best Client Fit Key Differentiators Built around how
Person trained in the Holland, technology
methodology Most B2B buyers buy.
Frank marketplace, in Primarily
verticals, Focus on
1967, used emerging Use of Customer- Visgatis, which buyers in-person, Over 1,000
especially high- organization-
science of sales Entrepreneurial psychological Centric Selling Gary were purchasing some clients
value, complex wide messaging
psychology to and large principles to Walker, incremental online
Sandler Selling David At least 1.75 sales cycles matched to buyer
develop a selling organizations uncover prospect Either/or and Mike improvements
System Sandler million needs.
system based on with complex pain. Bosworth rather than
reinforcement of sales cycles Emphasis on disruptive
behaviors reinforcement. technology
Focus on practical, 2002, conducted B2B and
Research-focused
repeatable benchmark study complex
and modern,
process, breaking on problems B2C sales,
1978, used logic and Mike based on cutting- Hundreds of
Miller-Heiman Bob Miller Complex sales complex situations Approx.. buyers have with especially
analysis to create RAIN Schultz edge studies. Usually thousands
(Strategic and Steve in any B2B into manageable Either/or 2 million, how sellers sell, financial
win-win sales, to Selling(sm) and John Easy to learn and blended across 62
Selling) Heiman vertical parts. globally and designed services,
move IBM product Doerr apply quickly, yet countries
Focus on mutually methodology to professional
offers deep levels
beneficial satisfy what buyers services, and
of mastery.
relationship. want from sellers technology
Includes sales 2005, used Integration of
Every industry process, methods, baseball analogy baseball diamond
Mid-market with
1988, documented (except and skills as part to simplify sales to represent Tens of
Baseline Dave sales force of
Solution Mike and analyzed government), of integrated More than 1.5 methodology stages of process. Blended thousands of
Blended Selling Kurlan 30-100 in any
Selling (SPI) Bosworth behaviors of top including selling system. million to increase Methodology salespeople
industry
sellers at Xerox high-volume Focus on dynamic, salesperson grows with the
commodities buyer-aligned adoption salesperson.
process. 2011, response to
Uses an elegant, better-educated
1988, studied Matt Dixon customers, for which
intentional The Challenger No
35,000 sales calls and Brent founders believe No Response No Response No Response
conversation to Sale Response
across 17 countries Hundreds of Adamson traditional solution
Complex sales help prospects
Neil and 12 years Usually thousands selling is no longer
SPIN Selling in any B2B draw their own
Rackham to understand blended using it in the effective
vertical conclusion to buy.
behavioral field
Highly researched Target
psychology behind No No
and validated Account No response No Response No Response No Response
top performers Response Response
approach. Selling

18 A METHODOLOGY COMPARISON 19
 MYTH-BUSTING
THE STATE OF SALES: SALES METHODOLOGY IN TRANSACTIONAL SALES

KEY INSIGHTS
ENVIRONMENTS
Common wisdom has it that sales methodology is best suited for
complex sales. Nearly all the experts we spoke with agreed that
their approach is best suited for B2B industries whose sales cycles
are long, buying committees are complicated, and transaction sizes
are large.

There was one stand-out exception to this rule, however. Tim

Sullivan, with Sales Performance International, says that while
his organization’s methodology, Solution Selling®, was originally
focused on complex, long-cycle technical sales, changes in buyer
behavior have expanded the methodology’s applicability. While
it is still used in complex sales environments, it has also been
In the course of our research for this
implemented successfully in high transaction volume organizations.
paper, we uncovered both surprising
commonalities and intriguing differences of “We have discovered that some of our best customers use Solution
Selling® to sell highly commoditized products,” he says, explaining
opinion among the participants in the study. that it works for them because “except for price, the only way that
they can differentiate is by how they engage with customers.” SPI’s
These conversations yielded important success suggests that industries that have traditionally operated on
insights into the biggest challenges facing volume and price may equally benefit from the implementation of
sales methodologies born in more complex sales environments.
the sales industry today, including process
implementation, reinforcement, and the role METHODOLOGY AND PROCESS
of technology.
Among the leaders we interviewed, there was significant consensus
regarding the difference between process and methodology. Most
agreed that process is a step-by-step structure, with milestones and
stages, while methodology is a way of interacting with the customer
to move them from stage to stage.

Dave Mattson (Sandler) described process as the “what” and

methodology as the “how.” Several other experts added a
third category of “skills and activities” as separate from the
methodology.

Julie Thomas, president and CEO of ValueSelling Associates stated

the difference between the three (process, methodology, and skills)
most vividly with a football analogy. ”The sales process helps you
identify where you are on the football field and how close you are
to getting into the end zone,” she explains. “Sales methodology
is what has to happen to move you from the 40-yard-line to the
30-yard-line. Skills and tactics are the playbook.”

While they agree on the essential definition of process, each

methodology has a slightly different relationship with process, as
outlined in the chart on the next page.

20 THE FOUNDING OF A SALES METHODOLOGY 21

THE STATE OF SALES:

KEY INSIGHTS

Interviewee Methodology vs process How the methodology fits with process Interviewee Methodology vs process How the methodology fits with process

In general, small organizations adapt “Methodology is the conversational

Sandler to create a process while large Dave Kurlan, approach that moves a process from stage Baseline Selling provides a framework for
Dave Mattson, “Methodology is the ‘how’ and process is
organizations use Sandler inside their Baseline Selling to stage. Process is the formal, structured both process and methodology.
Sandler the ‘what.’
own process. Some organizations ask set of stages.”
Sandler’s team to build a custom process. Target Account Selling No response No response
“Methodology is the methods, principles, According to publicly available
Klaus Leutbecher, and skills. Process is a set of steps linked Strategic Selling works within a process information, CEB claims to provide a
Strategic Selling to sales actions and correlated with defined by the client. The Challenger Sale No response
complete sales “strategy,” and not strictly
customer actions.” a methodology.
“Process is the framework for execution. Solution Selling contains process,
Tim Sullivan,
Methodology is how to execute a process methods, tools, and skills as part of an
SPI, Solution Selling®
step.” integrated solution.
SPIN methodology provides skills for how
Pat Mustico,
“Methodology is how (skill) we approach to have the best customer interaction WHY SALES ORGANIZATIONS ARE For those companies that do have a consistent process
the client, and process is what (process) possible and works best in concert with a implemented, that process is often ineffective. The
SPIN Selling
steps we take.” sales process like Strategic Selling which
FAILING AT PROCESS participants in our study gave several perspectives on
is owned by its partner. what makes these processes ineffective, all of which
Nearly everyone we spoke with agreed on two points boil down to the same problem:
in regard to process:
“It’s usually an inwardly focused picture,” says Sullivan
Julie Thomas, • It’s critically important (SPI, Solution Selling®). “Some sales organizations,”
“Methodology is how you advance, ValueSelling aligns and integrates with the
ValueSelling • And most organizations are failing at it says Mustico (SPIN Selling), “tie their process to
process is where you are on the field.” company’s own sales process.
reporting requirements in the CRM rather than basing
According to Leutbecher (Strategic Selling), World Class it on what leads to verifiable outcomes.” Others, says
Organizations consistently apply sales methodology Holland (Customer-Centric Selling®), “focus on product-
“Methodology is a map to the buying and process, while average organizations typically based training rather than product usage and business
John Holland, Customer-Centric Selling® is both a do not. Schultz (RAIN Group) says their data shows
cycle. Process allows forecasting and outcomes.”
Customer-Centric Selling® process and a methodology. that 69% of Top Performing Sales Organizations have
analysis.”
clearly defined sales processes while, according What’s needed, says Sullivan, is a “dynamic, buyer-
RAIN Selling serves as a foundation to Kurlan (Baseline Selling), “only 9% [of all sales
“Methodology is a philosophy and skillset aligned” process tied to positive outcomes. Thomas
Mike Schultz, for clients, but must be customized and organizations] follow an effective sales process.”
for how to sell. Process is a series of adds that in order to accomplish this, sales team
RAIN Group mapped to how a particular company’s
stages and actions.” leaders and executives must look at the organization
clients prefer to buy. “Everybody says they have a process,” says Mattson holistically to align training, compensation, roles, and
(Sandler), “but if you ask them to write it down, reinforcement.
nobody on the team writes the same thing.” Thomas
(ValueSelling) adds that “a lot of companies do pieces
of it very well and few companies do all of it well.”

22 KEY INSIGHTS 23
THE STATE OF SALES:

KEY INSIGHTS
HOW TO PREVENT BEHAVIORAL “RUBBER- NEW TECHNOLOGIES LIKE MEMBRAIN BUILD
THIS CAPABILITY INTO THE TECHNOLOGY.
BANDING” THESE SAME TECHNOLOGIES CAN BE USED TO
SUPPORT ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT ALL AGREE
Besides creating and implementing an effective sales process
IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT:
and methodology, all of our study’s participants agreed that
behaviors must be reinforced to prevent behavioral “rubber-
banding.” Rubber-banding refers to the phenomenon of MUSTICO:
trained sales employees returning to old behaviors after the
newness of the methodology and process wears off. Everyone “COACHING.”
agreed that:
SULLIVAN:
• Sales managers and leaders must be involved and
congruent. Coaches and leaders should be trained “EFFECTIVE COACHING.”
in process and methodology either ahead of, or
concurrently with, the sales team. SCHULTZ:
• Rewards and recognition should be tied to implementing
process and methodology rather than strictly to wins.
“COACHES AND MANAGERS.”
• Skills and behaviors must be reinforced on a regular
basis. THOMAS:
To this last point, most agreed that both effective
“IT’S THE COACHING PROGRAM.”
coaching and technology are critical elements of effective
reinforcement. Sullivan (SPI, Solution Selling®) suggests LEUTBECHER:
embedding sales process and methods within CRM systems, “A STRONG COACHING CULTURE.”
and linking each stage to content assets (available on
mobile devices) that support the salesperson in using the
methodology’s tools and skills.
KURLAN:
“DAILY SALES COACHING.”
“You have to ensure that the learning is reinforced so sellers
don’t forget what they learned,” says Schultz (RAIN Group).
“Track actions in the CRM and observe sellers live to know
what they are doing. Then make sure coaches and managers
are available to help sellers work through problems they’re
having.”

24 KEY INSIGHTS 25
 Two of the leaders we interviewed, however, had a different
perspective. Both Mattson (Sandler) and Mustico (SPIN)
essentially said: No, we have not changed our methodology
because of changes in buyer behavior. Mustico, in particular,
was firm on the point. “The methodology itself is solid,” he
THE STATE OF SALES: says. “How it’s delivered, reinforced, and applied in the
marketplace shifts with the market and the technology,

KEY INSIGHTS but the intellectual property does not.” He compares the
methodology’s core principles to a book like the Bible, that
is thousands of years old but the contents of which are
still applicable today. What everyone did agree on is the
importance of leveraging technology for reinforcement of the
methodology.

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN THE BUYER’S THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN

JOURNEY REINFORCEMENT
There’s no question among the experts we interviewed that Nearly all of the sales methodology leaders pointed at
technology has had a significant impact on the way they CRM as a critical tool for methodology reinforcements, with
deliver training. As evidenced in our comparison chart, nearly adjustments to make it more buyer-centric and useful for
all of the methodologies offer at least some form of online seller learning.
learning, while some of them are almost exclusively online or
blended in their learning environment. Leutbecher, Sullivan, and Kurlan all cite the importance of
integrating learning assets within the CRM to deliver training
Perhaps more significantly, technology has changed the and information to the salespeople at the right time. Thomas
way buyers buy, which is not news to anyone in the sales points out the importance of “chunking” the learning into
business. Buyers come better armed with information. Buyers bite-sized pieces, and making it easier to find. “Sellers need
complete much of their buying process before they contact integrated, on-demand access to learning assets within the
a salesperson. Buyers often assemble a “solution” for CRM,” says Sullivan. Kurlan agrees, adding that the integration
themselves and don’t necessarily want the seller to assemble must include “audio, video, sales process, methodology,
it for them. The Challenger Sale (CEB) in particular addresses analytics, and coaching” within the context of the CRM. He
this latter point with their disruptive approach to sales adds that most CRMs are not well suited to this task, and
process. According to their approach, salespeople in the new require the addition of technologies like Membrain in order to
environment must learn to challenge the buyer’s assumptions operate in this way.
about what they need in order to uncover new insights, and
ultimately restart the buyer’s process. THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN OPTIMIZING
But CEB is not alone in having recognized and addressed this When properly set up, the same software that reinforces
change. Sullivan (Solution Selling) says that they address it in sales methodology and process can be used to analyze
their latest book, The Collaborative Sale: Solution Selling in a and optimize the system. Schultz emphasizes that the right
Buyer-Driven World, and have adapted their methodology to technology will both drive and track seller behavior. Holland
accommodate it. Likewise, most of the others agree that their adds that the data thus gained can be used to analyze and
methodology has adapted and changed to accommodate understand what works, in order to continuously adapt and
the new reality. Schultz and the other leaders at RAIN Group optimize the sales process. A technology like Membrain
in particular invest continuously in research to understand provides the ability to “chunk” learning, tie it to the relevant
what motivates buyers and what works for sellers. Their section of the process, and deliver it up at the right time,
benchmark reports, What Sales Winners Do Differently and while simultaneously tracking and analyzing buyer and
The Top-Performing Sales Organization, condense years of seller behaviors for the purpose of optimizing. Combined with
research across hundreds of organizations into key insights the right process and methodology, technologies like this
that can help companies stay ahead of the curve as the will be critical, says Kurlan, in driving and supporting sales
market continuously changes. performance.

26 KEY INSIGHTS 27
CONCLUSION

Every organization is different and has

different needs. Understanding how
methodologies compare can help leaders
make smart decisions about where to invest
their sales training resources.
Top organizations will involve the entire
organizational leadership in not only this
decision, but in developing cohesive sales
strategies and process, and implementing
them effectively with the tools and
technologies for reinforcement and
optimization.
The Membrain software provides a vital
foundation for building process and
methodology into a cohesive, reinforced,
high performing system. Contact our team
today to find out how we can help your
clients and your organization excel.

28 CONCLUSION 29
YOUR #1 SALES EFFECTIVENESS
PLATFORM F OR COMPLEX SALES

Visit www.membrain.com to learn more.