How the term ‘Insight Selling’ became popularised.
In 2014, Mike Schultz and John Doerr authored the book ‘Insight Selling: Surprising Research on What Sales Winners Do Differently.’ The book was the result of their research into why some sellers come second place while others always come out on top. Is it the product these sellers offer or is it rather how they engage with leads? What Schultz & Doerr found was the top sellers were doing something radically different, this research gave rise to the term ‘Insight Selling’
‘Insight Selling’ in a nutshell.
‘Insight Selling’ in a nutshell is offering advice to clients and collaborating with them on projects. This method differs greatly from the more assertive style of challenger selling. In fact, ‘Insight Selling’ fits better with social selling and compliments it. The technology may have changed but principles remain largely the same. Today’s data comes through channels like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, algorithms are used to identify leads within these vast virtual networks and once found, an effort must be made to understand the needs of potential buyers before engaging them.
What Schultz & Doerr correctly identify is the fact that many buyers are genuinely confused. When you pinpoint the challenges faced by certain buyers, you offer solutions or in other words, ‘insight.’
If this is sounding a lot like Social Selling that’s because there is a big overlap between the two selling modes. When we look at the criteria put forward by Schultz & Doerr, we can see how social and insight selling can be combined with very little difficulty or adjustment.
Schultz & Doerr’s principles of insight selling.
Connect- The consensus on what defines ‘connect’ is to make a connection between the challenges faced by a company and the company’s aspirations. The solutions you give to a buyer must match up to where they want their business to go. This can be applied right from the start of your social selling process by factoring these needs into your content.
Convince- Think from the point of view of your buyer. Endless blog posts and white papers populate the net, each making big promises. But where is the proof? Create conviction in your clients by showing them relevant results. Testimonials and case studies are a good way of starting the conversation, clients want to see content they can trust.
Collaboration- One thing is offering advice, another is to involve yourself in the process of improving a company’s ROI. Collaboration is the act of enriching your client’s knowledge, adding to it and actively participating in bringing about proactive changes that enhance the buyers journey. Like social selling, the role of collaboration is to build strong, lasting relationships of trust and this is one of the best ways to achieve this aim.
When different sales methods all have clear merits, common sense dictates the need to find ways to integrate them into one. You can be a top seller through insight selling while keeping to the framework of social selling thus better driving leads and improving on your ROI and that of your buyers.
It might be the right time for you to reach out and book a free consultation with an appropriate consultancy (such as 2MARK-IT) to discuss the most effective Selling Mix for your best Results.
About the Author: Peter Rovers is CEO of 2MARK-IT a global Social Selling training, consultancy and enablement firm.
