The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon & Brent Adamson

Author:Matthew Dixon & Brent Adamson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Joosr Ltd

Produce different pitches for all decision makers, targeting their interests and concerns

No matter how strong a pitch is, it won’t convince every stakeholder in a customer’s company. To maximize your chances of success, prepare individual pitches for each person who has a say in the decision.

Media analysts often point to McDonald’s as an example of effective marketing. Since the 1980s, McDonald’s has presented itself simultaneously as a fun place for children to play, as a fashionable place for teenagers to socialize, and as a practical place for families to enjoy meals together. More recently, it’s added to this by presenting its restaurants as somewhere adults can relax over coffee and free wifi, and has even managed to appeal to health-conscious eaters looking for salads and other nutritious snacks. The key to their success here is their ability to recognize the interests of multiple groups and target them with tailor-made advertisements. And the same approach is useful for pitching, too.

Nowadays, business decisions about new purchases are increasingly being made through consensus, with multiple parties having a say in whether a sale goes through. Many reps don’t take this into account and simply deliver the same rehearsed pitch to everyone. But even the best pitches and the most-polished performances can fail to convince all interested parties. The answer is to abandon the lazy “one-size-fits-all” approach in favor of preparing a different, highly targeted presentation for every decision maker.

When you’re researching your customer’s business, you need to think about how your findings relate to different members of the company. Some issues might be personal, like a CEO’s interest in reducing the company’s carbon footprint; while others might relate to the business itself, such as the way changes in international legislation may affect a director’s response to the company’s plans to expand into new territory.

Whatever your research uncovers, ascertain who is most interested and affected, and work these points into your presentation for that person. This not only helps you tailor your pitches to fit with their interests and concerns, but also means you’ll know who you have to push on certain points, and who will already be a natural ally.

Ensuring you have expert knowledge not only of the company but also of the key decision makers within it allows you to tailor pitches to reflect their key interests and concerns. This helps you target all stakeholders more effectively and develop multi-level support throughout the organization.

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