The Challenger ™ Sale – How to take control of the sales process - CEB The classic relationship building approach to solution selling has become obsolete. To be successful today, sales reps need to provide valuable new insights to their customers and they must challenge them with new perspectives. CEB’s Challenger Sale approach shows you how to open up new opportunities, create organisational capability and successfully take control of the sales process with the right stakeholders.

1. Compete and Win in a
Customer Empowered World
The Challenger SaleTM

2. © 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved
A Different Kind Of Buying
57%
Customer Due
Diligence Begins
Customer Purchase
Decision

3. The Commercial Experience Is the Single Most Important
Customer Loyalty Driver
Loyal customers buy more productsmore frequently
and also advocate for your business.
Company and
Brand Impact
Product and Service
Delivery
Value-to-Price
Ratio
Sales
Experience
53%
9%
19%
19%
Percentage of Contribution to Customer Loyalty
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

4. © 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved
Unique, valuable perspectives
on my business and/or market
Help me navigate alternatives
Help me avoid potential mistakes
Teach me about new issues and outcomes
Be supported within my organization
What Customers Want From Sellers
Percentage of Contribution to Customer Loyalty
53%

5. More People, More Views
0%
40%
80%
12% 12%
75%
Disagree or Strongly
Disagree
Neither Agree nor
Disagree
Agree or Strongly
Agree
Q: “People from a Wide Variety of Roles, Teams, and Locations Were Involved in This Purchase.”
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

6. Stakeholder A
Mental Model
Goals
Priorities
Beliefs
Stakeholder B
Mental Model
Goals
Priorities
Beliefs
Stakeholder C
Mental Model
Goal
Priorities
Beliefs
The Lowest Common Denominator
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

7. Sample Attributes Tested
Attitudes
• Desire to Seek Issue
Resolution
• Willingness to Risk
Disapproval
• Accessibility
• Goal Motivation
• Outcome Focus
• Attachment to the
Company
• Curiosity
• Discretionary Effort
Skills/Behaviors
• Business Acumen
• Customer Needs
Assessment
• Communication
• Use of Internal Resources
• Negotiation
• Relationship Management
• Solutions Selling
• Teamwork
Activities
• Sales Process Adherence
• Evaluation of Opportunities
• Preparation
• Lead Generation
• Administration
Knowledge
• Industry Knowledge
• Product Knowledge
Potential Drivers Of High Performance
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8. Five Dominant Approaches to Selling
The Lone
Wolf
The Relationship
Builder
The Problem
Solver
 Follows own instincts
 Self-assured
 Difficult to
control
 Builds advocates in
customer organization
 Generous in giving time
to help others
 Good interpersonal skills
 Reliably responds to
internal and external
stakeholders
 Ensures that all
problems are solved
 Detail oriented
The Hard
Worker
 Strong process
management skills
 Doesn’t give up easily
 Self-motivated
 Interested in feedback
and development
The Challenger
 Personalizes sales
message to the customer
 Delivers new insight
to customers
 Knows how to drive
the customer to a
decision
Although not mutually exclusive, our research has shown that sellers’ main strengths tend to
fall into one of the following five behavioral profiles:
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

9. Profile of a High Performer
Percentage of Core Performers
Percentage of High Performers
The Lone
Wolf
The
Challenger
The Hard
Worker
The Problem
Solver
The Relationship
Builder
PercentageofPopulation
23%
39%
15%
25%
22%
17%
14%
12%
26%
7%
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

10. The Lone
Wolf
The
Challenger
The Hard
Worker
The Problem
Solver
The
Relationship
Builder
Transactional Selling Complex Selling
54%
20%
25%
26%
25%
10%18%
7%
4%11%
4.7x
High performers are
more likely to be Challengers
in complex environments.
High Performers Use ChallengerTM Behaviors in Complex
Selling Environments
Even as sales interactions become increasingly more complicated, the Challenger continues to
dominate as a top selling style. Challengers of all performance levels average 14% higher goal
attainment.
Percentage of High-Performing Sales-Professionals
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

11. Replicating the new high performer requires implementing the Challenger™ model in your
sales organization.
Takes Control
Guiding customers to
recommendation by
reinforcing the change’s
value
Teaches
Differentiating and
delivering commercial
insight through a dialogue
Tailors
Customizing sales
messaging for
businesses and
individuals
A Challenger...
Builds
Constructive
Tension
Compelling customers to act
on an opportunity
ChallengerTM Behaviors That Lead to Commercial Success
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

12. Challenger
• Offers unique perspective
• Two-way communication skills
• Knows customer value drivers
• Can ID economic drivers
• Comfortable discussing money
• Can pressure the customer
Relationship Builder
• Forms good relationships
• Builds customer advocates
• Builds cross-functional relationships
• Can work with anyone
• Is genuine
• Accessible to the customer
• Gives time to help others
• Respects the customer’s time
Build Constructive Tension Reduce Customer Tension
Tailors
Asserts
Control
Teaches Gets along with
Others
Likeable
Generous
with Time
The Challenger Fingerprint
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

13. Challenger Selling™ Is a Clear Path to Disruption
To alter customers’ purchase direction, suppliers must teach them something new about their
own business and plot a clear course of action.
Drivers of Changing a Buyer’s Direction
n = 545.
Source: CEB analysis.
• Changing a customers’ direction is
positively correlated with greater
purchase satisfaction, recognition of
value, likelihood to recommend, and
likelihood of viewing the supplier as a
strategic partner.
• Importantly, “representing a smart
or expert perspective,” which lies
at the heart of most thought
leadership, did not alter
customers’ direction.
Representing a
Smart or Expert
Perspective
Teaching the
Customer
Something New
About His/Her Ow n
Business Needs or
Challenges
Providing the
Customer w ith
Compelling
Reasons Why It
Was Necessary
to Take Action
Being Easy to
Understand
Containing
Interesting Facts
or Anecdotes
Being Accessible
or Quick to Find
0.446
0.302
0.013
(0.047)
(0.096)
(0.132)
Statistically Significant
Drivers
Non-Statistically Significant
Drivers
Customers are most likely to reset buying criteria when
confronted with surprising information about their business.
Magnitudeof
DriverImpact
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

14. Thought Leadership or Commercial Insight?
To find the right messaging for teaching and tailoring, Challengers must cut through layers of
information types and their relevance, ultimately landing on a core commercial insight.
Commercial Insight
Be Newsworthy
Be Frame-Breaking
Lead to Supplier
General Information
Accepted Information
Thought Leadership
Be Credible/Relevant
Insight
Commercially insightful messages lead back
to the supplier exclusively and also challenge
conventional wisdom.
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

15. Lead to, Not With
Commercial Teaching Choreography
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Business Problem and What
Customer Is Currently Doing
New Customer Approach
(Leading to Your Solution)
“Emotometer”:LevelofCustomerExcitement
Highlight What
Customer Is Missing
Warmer
Building
credibility
by reading
their mind;
demonstrating
empathy
Reframe
First reframe of
unrecognized
problem, need,
or assumption
Emotional
Impact
Psychological
features of the
problem or its
presence in the
individual’s
workflow;
humanizing the
problem
A New Way
Forward
A new framework
for addressing the
problem, implicitly
tied to the supplier
value proposition
Our Solution
Supplier services or
solutions linked back
to key teaching
points; highlighted
path to
implementation
Rational
Drowning
Gradual
intensification of
the problem, both
in degree and
closeness to the
customer
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

16. A B
Challenger™ Development at Statoil Fuel & Retail
Statoil Fuel & Retail (SFR) sought to enable greater success in increasingly complex deals. Through partnership
with CEB, the company implemented the Challenger™ model to teach its customers something new and deliver a
differentiatedsales experience. This led to an increase in B2B fuel sales and allowed SFR customers to save
money.
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

17. CHALLENGER
SELLING™
The Keys To Success
© 2016 CEB.All rightsreserved

18. Win a Challenger Sale book!
cebglobal.com/uk
The_Challenger Sale from CEB@CEB_Challenger
Drop your business card off to me or drop it in the bowl. We will
draw out 10 lucky winners and send them a free copy of The
Challenger Sale.
Thank you
Delfim Pereira
dpereira@cebglobal.com