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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Practical and straightforward solutions to everyday sales challenges
In The Innovative Seller: Keeping Pace In An AI and Customer-Centric World, veteran sales leader and trainer Jake Dunlap delivers an expert playbook for sales that offers out-of-the-box and creative answers for the problems and questions that salespeople face every day. Fun and motivational, the book walks you through effective strategies for dealing with common challenges, like LinkedIn prospecting, sales transparency, cold calling, and others.
The author has included a comprehensive tactical appendix, so you can easily identify and locate the exact solution you need when you encounter a specific problem. You’ll also find:
- Proven, grounded, and actionable techniques you can apply immediately to improve your sales performance
- Instructive stories and anecdotes drawn from Dunlap’s decades of sales and sales training experience
- Insightful discussions of how the typical sales process and model has changed over the years and how to adapt to the new realities of the discipline
An engaging and eye-opening resource for early- and mid-career sales professionals, as well as business development and customer success practitioners, The Innovative Seller will also prove invaluable to managers and executives at quickly growing companies who seek to optimize their firms’ sales processes and results.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Author
1 Innovation Isn't Hard, Breaking Old Habits Is
Moving at Light Speed
Customers Are More Savvy
Business-to-Business Sales Today
Making B2B Sales Innovative
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
2 Introducing the 4 Cs of Modern Sales Transformation
The 4 Cs of Innovative Selling
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
3 The First C: Commitment to Technology and AI Proficiency: People, Process, and Technology
Knowledge Is Power
Removing the Technology Stigma
Pillar Two of CTAP: How Do We Integrate Sales and Technology with All This History?
Pillar Three of CTAP: Building the Habit of Staying Proficient
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
4 The Second C: Current Outbound and GTM Strategy: Pillars 1 and 2
LinkedIn Is Going to Be Big
Pillar 1: Sales and Marketing Integration
Pillar 2: Measuring Outcomes Over Activity
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
5 The Second C: Current Outbound and GTM Strategy: Pillar 3
The Dark History of Sales-Engagement Platforms
How to Build a Scalable Personalization Engine
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
6 The Third C: Customized Sales Experience
Pillar One: Mapping Your Customer Journey and Experience
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
7 Engineering Your Sales Process for Speed
Fixing the B2B Buying Process
Pillar Two: Getting High-Intent People through the Process Faster
The Individualized Customer Journey
Breaking Down the Two Scenarios
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
8 Mapping Your Sales Experience—the Early Stages
Good Sales Follows a Process, but Not a Rigid One
What Makes a Sales Process Successful Today
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
9 Mapping Your Sales Experience—During the Late Stages
The Formal Evaluation Stage
The Closing and Onboarding Stage
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
10 Mapping Your Sales Experience—to Current Customers
The Initial Adoption Stage
The Power Usage Stage: The Ultimate Goal
The Renewal Process: Mastering the 120-Day Renewal Plan
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
11 The Fourth C: Consistent Performance Optimization
Pillar One: Measure What Matters Most
Pillar Two: Have a Process for Execution
Pillar Three: Moonshots
Summary
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
12 The Future of Sales:
Generative AI
and the Changing Role of Sales
What ChatGPT Means for You Now and Tomorrow
The Shifting Role of the Salesperson
Wrapping It Up
Key Takeaways
Further Reading
Index
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Table of Contents
Begin Reading
Index
End User License Agreement
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Jake Dunlap
THE INNOVATIVE SELLER
Keeping Pace in an AI and Customer-Centric World
Copyright © 2024 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permission.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 9781394180240 (Cloth)ISBN 9781394180257 (ePub)ISBN 9781394180264 (ePDF)
Cover image(s): © vika_k/Adobe StockCover design: Wiley
Dedicated to you, the reader, who looks to revolutionize the way we think about sales.
Acknowledgments
My family,
To my wife and immediate and extended family, words can't express the depth of my gratitude for your support. To my wife, your selflessness and strength have let me pursue my dreams for the last decade. Your sacrifices have not gone unnoticed, and your belief in my vision has been the #1 reason for my success. To my children, your smiles are my greatest motivator, and your understanding means the world to me. Thank you for the countless ways you uplift, inspire, and stand by me. To my parents, Jane, Tom, and Jeff, thank you for all the support over the years. Your hard work and example never went unnoticed and helped to shape the person I am today.
All the people at Skaled,
To the incredible team of professionals at Skaled, your dedication has been the driving force behind our vision to create the future of sales. Your commitment to excellence and the collaborative spirit you bring to our workplace have been pivotal in shaping the future of sales. Each of you has contributed uniquely, offering innovative ideas, tireless energy, and unwavering support as we navigate the evolving landscape of our industry. Your collective talents and insights have not only propelled our company forward but have also set new standards in sales excellence. To Matt Lopez, your dedication and loyalty over the years have truly made all this possible. Without your support, who knows if I would be where I am today. I am profoundly thankful for your contributions and proud to stand alongside all the Skalers as we continue to redefine the horizons of what we can achieve together.
To the vibrant community of followers on LinkedIn,
YouTube, and other social media platforms—thank you. Whether you've been with me since my first tentative post or joined somewhere along the journey, your support has been a key ingredient in transforming my lone voice into a chorus of shared learning and growth. Here's to you, the unseen yet ever-present comrades in my online adventure!
Sales leaders,
I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the myriad sales leaders and influencers whose wisdom and insights have been a beacon of guidance throughout my career. Bryan Ross taught me in my first role the value of reading and treating sales truly as a profession. Evan Ross taught me the value of the sales process and taking control of your career. To professionals such as Kevin Dorsey, John Barrows, Scott Lease, Chris Walker, and many others, your innovative strategies, profound wisdom, and relentless passion for excellence have not only shaped the landscape of revenue strategies but have also immeasurably enriched my professional journey.
Clients over the years,
In this journey of continuous growth and learning, our most sincere appreciation is reserved for you, our partners and clients. Your openness to innovation and willingness to embrace new strategies have been the cornerstone of our shared success. You have not only entrusted us with your business challenges but have also been active participants in the pioneering spirit that drives progress. The collaborative environment you've fostered has allowed us to test and refine cutting-edge methodologies, paving new paths forward in the sales domain. To Greg Stewart, your partnership and mentorship have been critical to my success, and I'm very fortunate to call you a friend and mentor today. We are deeply thankful for your partnership, which has been fundamental to our mission and a testament to the power of collective ambition and trust.
The sales leaders and CEOs who fired me,
I extend a heartfelt thank-you to the distinguished league of sales leaders and CEOs who, at one time or another, decided my talents were best appreciated elsewhere. Your gift of “career redirection” proved to be an unexpected catalyst for growth, and for that, I am ironically grateful. Each pink slip was a road sign toward a path less traveled, a nudge (or shove) toward uncharted territories where I found success on my own terms. Cheers to you all for the unintended pushes forward.
About the Author
Jake Dunlap is the industry-leading CEO on Modern Sales and Revenue Trends. As the CEO of Skaled Consulting, he helps CEOs, PE, and VC firms along with VPs of sales break down the complexities of scaling quickly to increase sales and scale effectively. Jake has worked with thousands of top revenue leaders and teams globally, such as Microsoft, Splunk, NFL, and NBA, to modernize their sales organizations, driving hundreds of millions of dollars in new revenue. He was recognized internationally by LinkedIn as the only CEO in the latest Top Voices for Sales list in 2023, and his insights have been featured in national media outlets such as the New York Times, Forbes, and Huffington Post and many leading podcasts, including the Gary Vee Audio Experience.
1Innovation Isn't Hard, Breaking Old Habits Is
EVERY DAY WE see the success stories of visionaries who see a big trend, do something about it, and it completely changes the way we live. These people appear to have seen something that everyone else missed. Then we see the other side, where companies stick with the status quo as their businesses are slowly eroded by shifts in consumer behavior. Years later, it is easy to look back and wonder how so many companies missed that boat one way or the other.
Shellye Archambeau—who was on my podcast in 2021 and currently serves on the boards of several prominent companies, including Verizon, Nordstrom, Roper Technologies, and Okta—told a story about a company some of you may know, Blockbuster, and another company we all know, Netflix. Shellye was the president of Blockbuster's e-commerce division in 1999, and she and the CEO at the time met with a young entrepreneur, Reed Hastings, in 2000. This former Peace Corps member and Stanford grad came to Blockbuster with an idea. Netflix had already launched their mail delivery DVD service and had some initial traction. Blockbuster was still the big player in the movie rental business, with their extensive web of branches that accounted for over 9,000 stores globally with declared revenue of around $5.9 billion in 2004. His idea was simple: you have all these people coming to stores to rent. What if they could access movies in their homes without coming to the location? Reed proposed a simple solution to give Blockbuster the best of all worlds—let's combine blockbuster.com and Netflix. This would give Blockbuster three convenient ways, store, direct to home, and online, to meet buyers where they wanted to buy and consume movies.
Today this answer might seem fairly obvious. Of course, people would like to have the option to not travel to a store where the movie you want might not even be available, versus getting something mailed to your house in a day guaranteed or streamed online.
So what would you choose when the Internet was just taking shape and technology was becoming a part of everyday life? Looking back, the answer is clear, but when you are the biggest company in a sector and your business model is working, how tough would it be to make this call? This was one of those pivotal moments in time, when a visionary, in this case Reed Hastings, saw where consumer trends were heading and took the idea to the largest company in the space. He offered the CEO a chance to not only continue to dominate the market but also open up completely new ways to do business and engage customers in new ways.
The CEO said no.
He turned down Reed Hastings and said he would stick with the model that had worked for them since 1985. By the time they saw the light, it was too late. The company lost $984 million despite $5.9 billion in revenue. They tried to mimic the model by introducing a mail delivery service in 2004, but by that time, Netflix had already crossed 2.48 million active subscribers. By 2010, Blockbuster declared bankruptcy following a loss of just under $1 billion, while Netflix reached 18.26 million subscribers.
There were thousands of companies that went out of business when the shifts in consumer behavior and the Internet took over the way we purchase. Companies that didn't adapt to changes in consumer behaviors by adapting their business model to focus on speed of purchase and convenience paid the price.
Moving at Light Speed
The last 15 years have been fun and fast. Since that time, it's clear that innovations that focus on speed and convenience are winning.
Can you name what year each of these services became a part of our everyday life:
Amazon Prime
Streaming services
Food delivery (at scale)
Uber/ride sharing
All of these were either launched in the last 15 years or became a part of our daily lives during that period.
Previously food delivery meant pizza, shopping meant going to the mall or mail order, and let's not forget about cabs and taxis. Most people under the age of 30 have probably never set foot in one … it was an experience. Speed and convenience prior to these innovations were based on the way the company wanted you to buy and their terms. You had to come in, talk to a person, and deal with the stock that was available or wait for someone to drive by and pick you up—all on their terms.
Now, I buy things on Amazon daily/weekly. At least three or four times a month, I pick a product that gets to my house faster over the original product I wanted. Sometimes it's even more expensive, so I'm picking an inferior product just so I can get the value from it faster. I do the same thing for my family on DoorDash, often picking the faster option over what we might really want for lunch or dinner.
I don't think I'm alone here. How many of you can relate?
All of these modern conveniences are totally based on the speed of the purchase. The speed that we are able to consume whatever it is we buy continues to get closer and closer to real time. Convenience and speed are nearly the same thing today. Recent McKinsey & Company research asserts that emerging patterns of consumer demands are reshaping last-mile delivery where 23% of the consumers were willing to pay more to get same-day delivery and around 60% now indicate an expectation of even faster deliveries using drones and related technologies.
Customers Are More Savvy
Sure, many of these purchases are considered more transactional in nature, but how have the biggest purchases in our lives evolved?
Consider home buying, one of the largest purchases many people make in their lifetime. Nearly all buyers used online tools in the search process at 96%. 43% of buyers first looked online for properties, while only 18% first contacted a real estate agent. 87% of people end up working with a realtor, but the buyer did the research and got all the way down the funnel all on their own. In fact, 8% of people would have preferred not to work with a real estate agent but felt they had to. For even the biggest purchases, people are completely changing the way they buy. They want to gather information, learn on their own, and then possibly get a human involved.
Car buying, vacations, expensive furniture, and even picking the right college—the major decisions are nearly all started online. The consumer evaluates options quickly, looks at various sites, talks to friends, and then either completes the entire purchase online or does the research and then moves to a human interaction. Just 15 years ago, people made nearly all of these purchases with the help of a person first or early in the process and expected it to take time to make the right decision. Now we do all of these activities in a matter of hours on our own schedules. The way we buy everything—small and big—will continue to get faster, and the buying experience will continue to be more tailored to our individual buying habits to suit the way we want to buy.
Business-to-Business Sales Today
When I look at today's business-to-business (B2B) sales process, I can't help but think of Blockbuster, the mall, and the taxi. Each of these had one way to buy, completely dictated by the company's terms and how they wanted to sell or deliver services. Many B2B sales teams consistently exhibit the same behavior by having one sales process for everyone, regardless of how educated or quickly the buyer wants to make a decision. They are offering a retail-only experience, where people have to go through the same process regardless of who or where they are in the buying process.
As our consumer purchasing behavior has been revolutionized, the B2B process must innovate to keep pace. Expecting a buyer to be satisfied by a clunky process entirely dependent on a sales rep providing knowledge is unsustainable, when we compare it to how quickly our consumer buying behavior has evolved. B2B buyers are coming to companies expecting a B2C experience, but instead they are getting Blockbuster. Let's look at when the most popular sales methodologies were developed:
1967 Sandler Selling System
1978 Miller-Heiman, Strategic Planning
1988 Solution Selling (SPI)
1988 SPIN Selling
1991 Value Selling (as ValueVision Associates)
1993 Customer-Centric Selling
2002 RAIN Selling
2005 Baseline Selling
2011 The Challenger Sale
MEDDIC is another one that I see many companies use, and it was invented in 1996. A majority of sales organizations are using techniques and implementing sales processes that were built before the Internet or before all of the innovation I just mentioned.
This disruption is further compounded by Generative AI such as ChatGPT, Bard, and many others. Generative AI refers to a subset of artificial intelligence that is designed to create new, original content, ranging from text and images to music and more. Unlike traditional AI systems that analyze and interpret data, generative models actively produce content, often leveraging deep learning techniques. This ability to generate amazing outputs makes Generative AI distinct, enabling applications such as art creation, sales messaging, and realistic simulation environments, which I discuss in detail later.
These tools are further disrupting the way buyers access information and demand access to solutions. Today, right now, buyers are going to these tools, dropping in your website and two or three of your competitors, and asking generative tools how you are different compared to your competitors, giving them their key criteria and then asking ChatGPT to tell them the best solution. They no longer need to research 30, 40, or 50 hours to get a sense for what a product can do and how it can help. They can get these answers in seconds, and they come to calls more prepared than you might imagine.
Buyers are coming to sales calls with a growing level of understanding and an expectation that the salesperson and the organization can meet them where they are. The “rent in store only option” is not working. The world has evolved and continues to evolve at a pace where it is time now for B2B sales to catch up.
Making B2B Sales Innovative
We can all see the way people buy is shifting, but many senior sales leaders are still consistently building from old frameworks and methodologies that just don't fit how buyers want to buy. It's shocking to think that the most popular sales methodologies being used by B2B sales teams were invented 20–30 years ago. Instead of evolving with technology, we have tried to fit technology into these old, outdated modalities.
The time to innovate is now. This book gives you, as a CEO, sales leader, or B2B salesperson, the tactical road map to evolve, rebuild, retrofit, and update the way you go to market and interact with customers. This book teaches you how to create a process that is both repeatable and meets the modern buyer where they are today.
I've spent the last 10 years leading thousands of B2B companies through these changes and have developed a framework that easily meets buyers where they are. It may seem like a big leap for your organization to take, but the central theme of this book is a simple one: innovation isn't hard, breaking old habits is.
Key Takeaways
The importance of speed and convenience:
Over the past 15 years, innovations that prioritize speed and convenience have dominated markets. Companies such as Amazon streaming services, food delivery platforms, and ride-sharing services have become integral parts of our daily lives. Consumers now prioritize speed, even at the expense of product quality or preference.
B2B sales need to evolve:
The traditional B2B sales process is outdated, with many companies still relying on old frameworks and methodologies. Modern B2B buyers expect a consumer-like experience, with quick access to information and solutions.
Generative AI
tools, such as ChatGPT and Bard, are further disrupting the sales landscape by providing instant answers and insights.
Further Reading
Chhabria, Ashwin, “The Rise of Netflix and the Fall of Blockbuster,” Medium, March 23, 2017, https://scashwin.medium.com/the-rise-of-netflix-and-the-fall-of-blockbuster-29e5457339b7.
Davis, Todd, and John Higgins, “A Blockbuster Failure: How an Outdated Business Model Destroyed a Giant,” Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Case Studies, University of Tennessee College of Law, 2013, https://ir.law.utk.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=utk_studlawbankruptcy.
Dean, Brian, “Netflix Subscriber and Growth Statistics: How Many People Watch Netflix in 2023,” Backlinko, March 27, 2023, https://backlinko.com/netflix-users.
“Frequency of Internet Use for Home Searching in the United States in 2022, by Age Group,” Statista, August 3, 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/507513/frequency-of-internet-use-for-home-searching-usa-by-age-group/.
Giovanetti, Erika, “97% of Buyers Shop for Houses Online, Report Finds: Tips for Buying a Home in the Digital Age,” Fox Business, October 7, 2021, https://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/shopping-for-houses-online-tips-for-buying.
“Highlights from the Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers,” National Association of Realtors, n.d., https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-reports/highlights-from-the-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers.
Huddleston Jr., Tom, “Netflix Didn't Kill Blockbuster—How Netflix Almost Lost the Movie Rental Wars,” CNBC, September 22, 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/22/how-netflix-almost-lost-the-movie-rental-wars-to-blockbuster.html.
