Management Strategies — Secrets to Solution Selling

Success can be achieved in a number of ways. The most effective approach is to target a specific industry segment (vertical market) of which you have a thorough knowledge and understanding. Analyzing your best clients and their industries is a great place to start. If your establishment is like most, you will find that you have an affinity for specific vertical markets such as financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, or travel and leisure.

Once you’ve become a true industry expert able to provide value-added solutions to that market niche, you’ll find you can increase the breadth and reach of your customer base and that geographical limitations no longer exist. It is entirely possible to eventually serve a national or even global client base.

A word of caution: It is essential to address confidentiality. You must clearly communicate that the knowledge acquired by your firm within their industry segment is a benefit to the client that adds tremendous value to the relationship. However, under no circumstances is proprietary information of any type divulged. Nor should you utilize the same support personnel on common industry accounts.

It’s true that solutions salespeople are tough to find. However, here are two techniques that work particularly well.

Approach your prospects or clients with whom you would like to do more business and ask them to recommend a salesperson who they respect and feel comfortable with. If you are able to eventually hire this individual, there’s a good chance you will get other opportunities and additional business from the person that made the recommendation.

Look for people with marketing and communications experience from the demand side of the niche that you are attempting to penetrate. Here are some of the attributes you should look for:

• the individual should be well networked within the market niche;