I was talking to a friend yesterday about how our experience of the sales process has changed over time.
Selling is a critical part of a business – it’s what makes everything else possible.
But too much selling is based on Freudian principles, assuming that the main drivers for buyers is to seek pleasure and/or avoid pain.
Victor Frankl, on the other hand, thought that people’s primary drive is towards finding meaning in their lives.
This is a more nuanced lens that is tricker to pin down.
The idea is that we tell stories to make sense of the world around us.
The stories we tell, especially about how we see problematic situations unfolding in front of us, give others insights into the way in which we structure our understanding and find purpose and meaning.
For example, the way in which you approach sustainability will be different if you are a purpose-driven firm that wants to minimize your environmental impact versus a profit-driven firm that wants to comply in a meaningful but compliance-led way.
Purpose matters.
If we understand purpose then we can build solutions that are fit for purpose.
Interestingly, that’s now the accepted definition of quality.
Juran’s quality handbook defines quality as \”fitness for purpose\”.
But how do you understand purpose from a buyer’s point of view?
That’s where having a good discovery process at the front end of your sales cycle is essential – and that’s the thing that’s changed.
Fewer decks, less pitching.
More listening and more problem structuring.
Handcrafted insight 