More support for provocative selling

HBR's article on provocative selling made a big splashearlier this year -- multiple executives we know picked up on it and shared it widely with their colleagues. This article provides a quick overview.

The idea was that sellers need to move beyond selling solutions to provocatively identify a problem, present it in a new light, and position their company as being able to address the issue.

The SEC recently released research supporting this notion. Their update of what differentiates high performers from average performers identified the "Challenger" sales rep profile to be dramatically more effective than the traditional "Relationship Builder". A "Challenger" is 5 times more likely to be successful in a typical sales environment -- 13 times more successful in a complex sales environment.

The SEC's findings are more evidence that sellers need to be active partners in identifying or creating opportunities in order to succeed in today's environment of extremely tight expense controls.