Conceptual Selling®: Program Basics

Overview

A natural follow-on or add-on to Strategic Selling or LAMP, Conceptual Selling is the Miller Heiman process designed for executing a sales strategy. Simple yet sophisticated, Conceptual Selling fosters a customer-centered culture by focusing on why a client is really buying and the process they go through to make the decision. Conceptual Selling helps Miller Heiman clients:

§ Avoid the slow, painful lose by providing a process to measure success and continue to qualify SSOs to ensure customer commitment is gained in the sales cycle

§ Differentiate products and services to multiple Buying Influence’s Concepts’

§ Execute consistently on strategy – either opportunity strategies from Strategic Selling or account strategies from LAMP

The program reflects Miller Heiman’s work with clients from numerous industries throughout the world and is supported by the book The New Conceptual Selling.

Why Conceptual Selling

When we look at sales forces today, we find numerous salespeople who do not engage in a sales process until the customer says, "We have a need." At that point the salesperson begins determining how to fill that need as it has been defined to them. What the salesperson doesn’t realize is that when they come in at this stage it is often too late. Why?

Because the salesperson is coming in at the middle — or worse, the last circle (think RFP) — of the decision making process.) The customer has already defined their Concept, likely with the competition, and they are going through the motions of checking specifications and validating possible solutions. Concept is the Miller Heiman term for what the customer’s need; what they are trying to accomplish, fix or solve. These two ideas are the foundation of the Conceptual Selling program.

Selling this way is often a big step for salespeople as they are often so fixed on their particular product or service (as well as with their company’s management and politics) that they tend to “feature-dump” and spend the majority of precious little selling time spouting features and benefits; and very little time listening and understanding. It sounds basic, but if a salesperson can’t effectively communicate and connect their products, services, and solutions to their customers, the best opportunity, account, and negotiations management processes (Strategic Selling, LAMP and Negotiate Success) in the world won’t help them.

The notion of selling solutions vs. products (even for product companies) is still a hot topic for sales organizations around the world. Why? Because there is little differentiation in products or services between company X to company Y. Selling a “solution” is a response to produce more value and differentiate. To some companies this might mean selling multiple products and services, to others it could mean client-customized projects. In Miller Heiman terms, “solution sale” is a classic example of a Green Word. Regardless of how a “solution sale” is defined selling a solution requires:

§ A true understanding of a Buying Influence’s Concept

§ The ability to link the appropriate available products and/or services to meet that Concept better than the competition

§ Starting earlier in the sales cycle – impact the Concept from the start. This requires salespeople to actually make sales calls!

Conceptual Selling helps clients practice superb communication by providing:

§ A universal framework for managing customer interactions – from new prospects to existing relationships – to a closed sale.

o Focus on incremental commitment by setting and aiming for Best and Minimum Action Commitments on every sales call.

o
Tailoring every interaction to the Buying Influence’s point of view

o Emphasis on listening as well as questioning skills and strategies

§ Simple, concise sales language for strengthening communication between salespeople, prospects and customers, and sales management

§ High-value for sales leadership

o Knowing how every meeting with a customer provides value

o Focuses on genuine, mutual commitment

o Measurable

o Supports joint calls and resource allocation decisions

o Helps determine sales strategy

§ Teaches how people buy – Conceptual Selling takes into account customer's perceptions (their Concept) and what motivates them to buy

§ The Sales Call Plan (Green Sheet) – a practical hands-on tool for advancing every sale toward close

§ Manager’s Coaching for Conceptual Selling – a one-day program for managers to learn how to coach teams to reinforce and get the most benefit out of the Conceptual Selling process

Key Program Concepts & Application

Concept	Definition and Application
	Getting Started Elements
Buying Influence’s Concept	The Buying Influence’s Concept is simply what they are trying to accomplish, fix or solve. When a salesperson learns to focus selling efforts towards the Concept (from the buyer’s point of view) they can help shape the Concept.
Individual Decision Process	Understanding the three-step Individual Decision Process is the overarching theme in the Conceptual Selling program. It’s how people buy but unfortunately most salespeople usually come into selling situations at the middle or last phase of the process. Generally this means (especially in the bottom circle) that salespeople are talking with lower level Buying Influences, the budget has already been set, and the Concept has already been formed. All the Buying Influences (nearly always User and Technical Buyers at this point) are doing is checking specs. The value of starting at the top circle (understanding) is that you are talking at an executive level (EB); the budget hasn’t been set and you can help shape the solution.
Green Words	Green Words are words that might conjure a different image from person to person. We call these type of words “Green” because the word Green might make some people think of trees, or money, or nature. Service to one person might have a completely different meaning to another. Other examples: better performance, ideal solution, improved quality, better distribution, and increased liability. Clarifying Green Words are key to clear communication and truly understanding a Buying Influence’s Concept.
Single Sales Objective	The Single Sales Objective is the long-term objective of a sales call – it is the specific product, service or solution that it is being sold.
Valid Business Reason	Why should your customer take time out of their busy schedule to meet with you? What can you do for them? The Valid Business Reason defines the reason for the sales call or interaction from the Buying Influence's viewpoint and sets the agenda for a particular meeting.
Action Commitments	What would be the productivity impact of reducing sales cycles by just one meeting? If customers tool more action between meetings, what would the impact be on sales and buying cycles? Action Commitments (Best Action Commitment and Minimum Acceptable Action) are the incremental levels of commitment that a buyer makes to move sales toward close – they are the goal of each sales call. The Best Action Commitment (BAC) is the most a salesperson can expect a Buying Influence to do as a result of the sales call. The Minimum Acceptable Action (MAA) is the least commitment a salesperson can accept to continue to invest time and effort in the sales opportunity.
Professional Credibility	Buying Influences don’t buy from people they don’t trust. Credibility is the basis for a sales and a continued relationship with a Buying Influence. Check Credibility on each and every call.
	*Getting Information*
Question Types	Getting the right type of information is critical for a successful call. What information does a salesperson need to learn? From whom? Using a variety of question types helps facilitate the process of getting information. Confirmation questions confirm whether current information is still valid. New Information questions are designed to solicit new information – such as more information about a Buying Influence’s Concept Attitude questions have two purposes, to better understand a buying influence’s feelings, concerns and values and to uncover issues that may have not been raised previously.
Golden Silence	Getting information is more than questioning – it is practicing two-way communication. Asking and listening. Golden Silence is the practice of being silent after asking a question – instead of jumping to ask another question, rephrasing the question or adding commentary.
	*Giving Information*
Unique Strengths	A Buying Influence must be able to differentiate between choices to select the best; they must see a link between a particular choice and their concept. Unique Strengths are used to differentiate a product, service, or solution by connecting directly to a Buying Influence's Concept.
Joint Venture Sales Approach	The Joint Venture Sales Approach is aligned with the individual decision process. In Joint Venture selling the majority of a salesperson’s time is spent seeking to understand by asking questions to explore the Buying Influences Concept. The second largest amount of time is spent questioning the Buying Influence to establish a fit between the concept and the products and services available from the salesperson. The least amount of time is spent making the selection of the best fit to address the Buying Influence’s Concept. This approach is opposite of the traditional approach to sales where the majority of time is spent presenting features and benefits. The least amount of time is spent exploring the customer’s needs.
	*Getting Commitment*
Commitment Questions	Every sales call should end with the salesperson asking the buying influence for an Action Commitment. Commitment questions are crafted to obtain commitment from the Buying Influence, determine the stage of the selling process, and move the process toward the sale close. If a commitment questions is met with an unexpected “no” something has been missed and there may be a Basic Issue.
Basic Issues	Basic Issues are due to personal, negative feelings about you, your company, your proposal or an apparently unrelated situation. They must be identified and solved before a sale can move forward.
	*Assessment*
Assessment	Assess the success of a meeting/client interaction every time. The successful sales professional assesses sales calls and uses the information to plan future calls. The Sales Call Assessment is designed to gauge the success of a meeting or interaction to improve and sharpen skills for the next time.

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Conceptual Selling®: Program Basics

Key Program Concepts & Application

Definition and Application

Getting Started Elements

The Buying Influence’s Concept is simply what they are trying to accomplish, fix or solve. When a salesperson learns to focus selling efforts towards the Concept (from the buyer’s point of view) they can help shape the Concept.

The Single Sales Objective is the long-term objective of a sales call – it is the specific product, service or solution that it is being sold.

Why should your customer take time out of their busy schedule to meet with you? What can you do for them?

The Valid Business Reason defines the reason for the sales call or interaction from the Buying Influence's viewpoint and sets the agenda for a particular meeting.

The Minimum Acceptable Action (MAA) is the least commitment a salesperson can accept to continue to invest time and effort in the sales opportunity.

Professional Credibility