Connecting With the Wrong Customer Can Kill Your Biggest Sale

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to succeed in today's B2B sales world, salespeople must create buyer consensus among diverse customer stakeholders. Those who fail to do that risk falling victim to the status-quo – the minimal-risk, lowest-cost option – or worse, losing the deal altogether. The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results from CEB (NYSE: CEB), a best practice insight and technology company, reveals that it isn't just about how you engage, but who you engage within the customer organization that drives complex sales today.

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"The 'senior decision-maker' no longer exists in B2B sales. That makes the most significant problem facing marketing and sales teams a buying problem, not a selling problem. Organizations need to shift their focus from making the sale to understanding buyer groups – and who among them really shapes decisions," said co-author Brent Adamson, executive advisor at CEB. "Our research shows that the one thing that matters most to executives is whether or not a supplier has buy-in with the rest of the organization – NOT the supplier's actual offering or solution."

CEB research shows that B2B purchase decisions now involve an average of 5.4 stakeholders – each with competing perspectives, priorities and objectives. Even more concerning is the fact that the likelihood of a purchase decision actually drops to only 30 percent when more than five stakeholders are involved. Reaching consensus among these diverse stakeholders requires a new commercial strategy, one where sales and marketing work together to identify the customer stakeholder that will help them win over the rest of the buying group. 

Overturning conventional wisdom, CEB has determined that the friendly, eager customer advocate is the last person suppliers need on their side. Instead, they need to target the skeptical customer who is supplier agnostic, but has the credibility to inspire and mobilize their colleagues to act, change and forge consensus.

"The best way for suppliers to build customer consensus is not to connect to each individual customer stakeholder, but rather to more effectively connect customer stakeholders to one another," said co-author Pat Spenner, director of strategic initiatives, CEB. "Sales and marketing teams need a customer stakeholder that will challenge their colleagues' way of thinking about their business and can help win over the rest of the buying group. They need a Challenger customer."

Organizations must prioritize Challenger customers, equipping and supporting them through their consensus-building efforts, in order to close deals and reap significant commercial gains. In the Wall Street Journal bestseller The Challenger Customer, the authors outline key steps for winning the consensus deal, including:

1. Identify the Proponent of Change – determine which member of a purchase decision team can incite action and drive consensus;
2. Shape Consensus – go beyond simply knowing who impacts key decisions. Understand the individual and how he or she operates and collaborates to achieve consensus;
3. Shift from "Me" to "We" – build group consensus by connecting customers with each other, since functional buying groups are 40 percent more likely to buy an ambitious offering than dysfunctional ones;
4. Drive Collective Learning – address each skeptical reaction or roadblock and identify solutions to shape a single course of action. Bringing customer stakeholders together to learn before they buy boosts their willingness to pay a premium by nearly 70 percent; and
5. Teach, Tailor and Take Control – teach, create and convey commercial insight, effectively engaging customers in conversations they can act upon.

The Challenger Customer, from the authors of the bestselling book The Challenger Sale, is based on analyses of multiple years of survey and interview data from thousands of customer stakeholders, and sales and marketing professionals. To learn more, visit www.challengercustomer.com

About the Authors:
Brent Adamson, co-author of The Challenger Sale, is an Executive Advisor in the Sales and Marketing Practice of CEB.  

Matthew Dixon, co-author of The Challenger Sale and The Effortless Experience, is Group Leader of the Financial Services and Customer Contact Practices of CEB.  

Pat Spenner, is the Director of Strategic Initiatives in the Sales and Marketing Practice of CEB.  

Nick Toman, co-author of The Effortless Experience, is the Sales Practice Leader at CEB. 

About CEB:
CEB is a best practice insight and technology company. In partnership with leading organizations around the globe, we develop innovative solutions to drive corporate performance. CEB equips leaders at more than 10,000 companies with the intelligence to effectively manage talent, customers, and operations. CEB is a trusted partner to 90% of the Fortune 500, nearly 75% of the Dow Jones Asian Titans, and more than 85% of the FTSE 100. More at cebglobal.com.

About the Book:
THE CHALLENGER CUSTOMER:
Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results
Authors:  Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, Pat Spenner, Nick Toman
Publisher:  Portfolio/Penguin Group (USA) LLC, September 8, 2015
Publication Date: September 8, 2015
Price:  $28.95; 288 pages 
ISBN: 978-1591848158
URL:  www.challengercustomer.com

Trademark Statement:
The following are trademarks or service marks of CEB Inc.:

Challenger™ 
Challenger Selling: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation™
The Challenger Customer™
Challenger Development Program™
Challenger Rep™
Challenge Selling™
Challenge Yourself™
The Interlocking Conversation Bubbles Design™ 
Mobilizer™
CEB™

These marks may be registered marks ® in various countries. CEB Inc. claims all rights to control their use for goods and services within their field.  Inquiries concerning these trademarks and service marks should be directed to CEB's Brand Team at [email protected].

SOURCE CEB, Inc.