In a turbulent market, it’s time to get methodical about sales

During an economic downturn, it’s easy to focus on negative headlines about layoffs and declining business performance. But revenue teams still have targets to meet. Now is the time to get creative.

So how do you drive accountability at a time when every sale matters?

Sales managers: It’s time to get methodical and strategic if you want your reps to hit quota. While there are a multitude of different approaches out there, I’d like to talk about two of my favorite sales methodologies — MEDDPICC and design thinking — and explore why they’re particularly effective when times get tough.

Get curious about your customer with MEDDPICC

It’s difficult for a seller to be creative without truly knowing their customer first.

Proper discovery is a foundational step in the sales cycle and should never be skipped. Your sellers may want to jump right into a selling motion without taking the time to research, but it’s critical to ask the right questions and understand why prospects need solutions like yours instead of simply selling features.

Regardless of whether you’re connecting with buyers online or in person, sales has always been about building and maintaining relationships. If this is something your sellers struggle with, gaining a better understanding of your prospects may require a more structured approach.

I’m a big fan of the MEDDPICC sales methodology, which breaks down into a series of questions sellers must ask themselves during a B2B deal:

• Metrics: How will your prospect measure success? What goals do they need to achieve?
• Economic buyer: Are you talking to the real decision-maker within the prospect’s organization?
• Decision criteria: What’s driving their decision to partner with us? Are there certain technical, budget or ROI requirements we need to meet?
• Decision process: Who are the key stakeholders? What steps will they take before making a purchase decision?
• Paper process: What steps or actions have to be taken before the contracts are signed?
• Implicate the pain: What problem is the prospect trying to solve? What’s at risk if they don’t solve it?
• Champion: Who does this problem impact the most within the prospect’s organization? Will they go to bat for your solution to fix it?
• Competition: What people, vendors or initiatives are competing for the same funds and resources we are?

Getting back to the basics and conceptualizing your deals through the lens of MEDDPICC will create a more holistic approach to sales, a better understanding of your customers and a sales team that’s well researched and well prepared to win more deals. It fosters connection and conversations about the things buyers actually care about by focusing on the pain of their current issue and how your solution can solve it.

It’s also important to make sure you convey the “how” — not just the “what” — to give buyers the trust and confidence that your organization can help them deliver the outcomes they’re looking for.

Foster empathetic sales with design thinking methods

“Design thinking” is a creative problem-solving method that pushes sellers to understand why customers are facing certain issues. It helps teams truly understand their customers’ challenges and present them with the right solution at the right time. The core tenets of design thinking are customer-centricity, empathy and relationship building.

Sound familiar? Design thinking goes hand-in-hand with MEDDPICC, as it requires a deep understanding of one’s customer and pushes salespeople to sell the problems they solve rather than the products they offer.

A helpful design thinking technique for structuring B2B discovery calls is the “Last/First/Best/Worst” model. Instead of generic queries like, “Tell me about your major pain points,” this framework encourages sellers to ask focused questions that yield nuanced and honest answers.

Here are a few examples:

• What was your last rewarding customer conversation?
• When did you first notice your workflow was broken?
• What’s keeping you from doing your best work?
• What’s the worst part of your daily routine?

Insights like these lay the groundwork for more impactful conversations as deals move upstream. Instead of making your product or service the focal point, you’re letting your customer be the star of the show by highlighting their unique challenges. Sellers shouldn’t hop right into pushing features; they should illustrate the unsustainable nature of a customer’s current behaviors and processes. Give them an idea of what life could be like with your solution.

Try to shift the conversation to your customer’s customer. Drawing a direct line between your offerings and the value they deliver their customers will resonate.

Be a better partner to your buyer

MEDDPICC and design thinking are just two of many proven sales methods that can provide a framework for better sales conversations and deal outcomes. While different approaches may vary in the steps they encourage you to take, they all boil down to the same thing: being a better partner to your buyers and clearly demonstrating value in a way that puts your customer at the center of your ability to solve their problems.

Showing the value prospects can derive from your solutions means you’ll bolster customer confidence in not only your partnership, but in their own ability to to reach better outcomes even when times are tough. Today’s buyers are inundated with messages from vendors claiming they have the best product on the market. For those looking to stand out, a personalized approach that speaks to each buyer’s specific needs is a key differentiator.

Sales managers, take note: By arming your reps with methods like these, you can create a sales team that’s detail oriented, self-sufficient and able to drive results no matter the economic climate.