It has long been understood that different sales techniques are required depending on the type and maturity of the product, the industry, size of customer and the market. Some people think “sales is sales is sales”, there is only one market engagement and that any good salesman can simply change or morph their technique to suit the particular circumstance.
But over 15 years research into business to business sales has shown that this thinking is fatally flawed. There are sales techniques, but these are fine tuning. What really makes the difference are very clearly defined ‘buying cultures’ used by the customers, four of them. The maturity of the product in the customer’s mind determines which of the four buying cultures is appropriate and this is most stark in the purchase of technology or software and services.
We have identified a five Step Methodology – which is called the Operational Culture Alignment (OCA). This methodology is all about transformation. Transforming you from your current mess of operational cultures to an organization where the Customers and your solutions are correctly aligned. This is not the sales methodology that your sales teams follow. It is the steps to get you from where you are to where you need to be, it produces the implementation plan for your business strategy.