THC Science

Solution selling is a type and style of sales and selling methodology. Solution selling has a salesperson or sales team use a sales process that is a problem-led (rather than product-led) approach to determine if and how a change in a product could bring specific improvements that are desired by the customer. The term "solution" implies that the proposed new product produces improved outcomes and successfully resolves the customer problem. Business-to-business sales (B2B) organizations are more likely to use solution selling and similar sales methodologies.

Origins of solution selling and terminology[edit]

Frank Watts developed the sales process dubbed "solution selling" in 1975.^{[citation needed]} Watts perfected his method at Wang Laboratories. He began teaching solution selling as an independent consultant in 1982. He presented his sales process as a one-day workshop to Xerox Corporation in 1982. By 1983 Electronics magazine would portray solution selling as "an unmistakable trend in the distribution of systems-related products".^[1] In a 1984 account Dick Heiser could look back to IBM's pre-1975 "solution sale" methodology.^[2]^[3]

Mike Bosworth founded a sales training organization known as Solution Selling in 1983,^[4] based on his experiences at Xerox Corporation (the Huthwaite International SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) selling pilot project^[5]) and began licensing affiliates in 1988. With intellectual-property contributions from his affiliate network, Bosworth's methodology continued to evolve through the years. He sold the intellectual property in 1999 to one of his original affiliates, Keith M. Eades.^[6]

While 'solution selling' has become a generic term in many sales and selling organizations, Solution Selling as a brand denotes distinct characteristics.^[7]

Solution selling in management contexts[edit]

The advent of solution selling may have an impact on business models and on organization practices.^[8] Eades and Kear discuss solution-centric organizations and the focal role of solution sales in such environments.^[9] Robert J Calvin compares some of the financial implications of various type of sales: transactional sales, value-added sales, solution sales, and feature/benefit sales.^[10] Robert L Jolles proposed that, among managers and salespeople, a chosen solution is not always the best solution.^[11]

References[edit]

^ "Electronics". Electronics. 56. McGraw-Hill: 92. 1983. Retrieved 2011-10-15. The solution sale is an unmistakable trend in the distribution of systems- related products and is simply what the business is all about.
^ Lunch Group (1984). Steve Ditlea (ed.). Digital deli: the comprehensive, user-lovable menu of computer lore, culture, lifestyles, and fancy. Workman Pub. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-89480-591-2. Retrieved 2011-10-16. He'd worked for IBM at one time and liked their 'solution sale' approach to business - first find out what is needed, then come up with an answer.
^ "Entering the Store Age".
^ Sant, Tom (2006) "The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success." Amacom books. ISBN 0-8144-7291-5
^ Compare Sant, Tom (2006). The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard can teach you about real sales success. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8144-7291-0. Retrieved 2011-10-14. [...] Xerox [...] adopted the IBM sales model [...]. And from the Xerox professional sales methods, either directly or by inspiration, have arisen many of the most successful sales approaches used in our own time - Professional Selling Skills, Strategic Selling, Solution Selling, SPIN Selling, and many others.
^ Keith Eades is CEO and founder of "Sales Performance International".. Bosworth author two books on the topic of "creating buyers in difficult selling markets". Bosworth, Michael. Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets, McGraw-Hill, 1994. ISBN 978-0-7863-0315-1
Bosworth, Michael; Holland, John. CustomerCentric Selling, McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN 978-0-07-142545-2
In 2003, Eades authored an updated version of the solution-selling methodology released as The New Solution Selling Eades, Keith M. (2003). The new solution selling : The revolutionary sales process that is changing the way people sell. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 299. ISBN 0-07-143539-5.
^ Handbook of business strategy. Warren, Gorham & Lamont. 2003. p. 64. Retrieved 2011-10-16. The VP of sales believes reps should present only those products that speak to identified needs, and sponsors sales training based on this 'solution sale' assumption.
^ Kagermann, Henning; Österle, Hubert; Jordan, John M. (2010). IT-Driven Business Models: Global Case Studies in Transformation. John Wiley and Sons. p. xiii. ISBN 978-0-470-61069-5. Retrieved 2011-10-15. The switch from product to solution sales calls for new price structures [...] that until recently would have generated far too much administrative outlay. More important, the entire sales process and value proposition must be rethought and restructured. In nearly every case that we have seen, merging products and services into solutions requires a change to the business model and the supporting business concepts.
^ Eades, Keith M; Robert E. Kear (2005). The solution-centric organization. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-07-226264-3. Retrieved 2011-10-15. Aligning compensation and reward programs with a solution-centric approach involves ensuring that behaviors that lead to more solution sales are rewarded.
^ Calvin, Robert J. (2004). Sales Management. McGraw-Hill executive MBA series (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 105, 138. ISBN 978-0-07-143535-2. Retrieved 2011-10-14.
^ Jolles, Robert L (2005). The Way of the Road Warrior: Lessons in Business and Life from the Road Most Traveled (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 112. ISBN 978-0787980627. Retrieved 2014-11-23.

[1] "Electronics". Electronics. 56. McGraw-Hill: 92. 1983. Retrieved 2011-10-15. The solution sale is an unmistakable trend in the distribution of systems- related products and is simply what the business is all about.

[2] Lunch Group (1984). Steve Ditlea (ed.). Digital deli: the comprehensive, user-lovable menu of computer lore, culture, lifestyles, and fancy. Workman Pub. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-89480-591-2. Retrieved 2011-10-16. He'd worked for IBM at one time and liked their 'solution sale' approach to business - first find out what is needed, then come up with an answer.

[3] "Entering the Store Age".

[4] Sant, Tom (2006) "The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success." Amacom books. ISBN 0-8144-7291-5

[5] Compare Sant, Tom (2006). The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard can teach you about real sales success. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-8144-7291-0. Retrieved 2011-10-14. [...] Xerox [...] adopted the IBM sales model [...]. And from the Xerox professional sales methods, either directly or by inspiration, have arisen many of the most successful sales approaches used in our own time - Professional Selling Skills, Strategic Selling, Solution Selling, SPIN Selling, and many others.

[6] Keith Eades is CEO and founder of "Sales Performance International".. Bosworth author two books on the topic of "creating buyers in difficult selling markets". Bosworth, Michael. Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets, McGraw-Hill, 1994. ISBN 978-0-7863-0315-1
Bosworth, Michael; Holland, John. CustomerCentric Selling, McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN 978-0-07-142545-2
In 2003, Eades authored an updated version of the solution-selling methodology released as The New Solution Selling Eades, Keith M. (2003). The new solution selling : The revolutionary sales process that is changing the way people sell. New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 299. ISBN 0-07-143539-5.

[7] Handbook of business strategy. Warren, Gorham & Lamont. 2003. p. 64. Retrieved 2011-10-16. The VP of sales believes reps should present only those products that speak to identified needs, and sponsors sales training based on this 'solution sale' assumption.

[8] Kagermann, Henning; Österle, Hubert; Jordan, John M. (2010). IT-Driven Business Models: Global Case Studies in Transformation. John Wiley and Sons. p. xiii. ISBN 978-0-470-61069-5. Retrieved 2011-10-15. The switch from product to solution sales calls for new price structures [...] that until recently would have generated far too much administrative outlay. More important, the entire sales process and value proposition must be rethought and restructured. In nearly every case that we have seen, merging products and services into solutions requires a change to the business model and the supporting business concepts.

[9] Eades, Keith M; Robert E. Kear (2005). The solution-centric organization. McGraw-Hill Professional. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-07-226264-3. Retrieved 2011-10-15. Aligning compensation and reward programs with a solution-centric approach involves ensuring that behaviors that lead to more solution sales are rewarded.

[10] Calvin, Robert J. (2004). Sales Management. McGraw-Hill executive MBA series (2 ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 105, 138. ISBN 978-0-07-143535-2. Retrieved 2011-10-14.

[11] Jolles, Robert L (2005). The Way of the Road Warrior: Lessons in Business and Life from the Road Most Traveled (1 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. p. 112. ISBN 978-0787980627. Retrieved 2014-11-23.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|A type and style of sales and selling methodology}}
 {{cleanup AfD|date=October 2011}}
+'''Solution selling''' is a type and style of [[sales]] and selling methodology. Solution selling has a [[salesperson]] or sales team use a [[sales process]] that is a problem-led (rather than product-led) approach to determine if and how a change in a product could bring specific improvements that are desired by the customer. The term "solution" implies that the proposed new product produces improved outcomes and successfully resolves the customer problem. Business-to-business sales (B2B) organizations are more likely to use solution selling and similar sales methodologies.
-'''Solution selling''' is a [[sales]] methodology. Rather than just [[promotion (marketing)|promoting]] an existing product, the [[salesperson]] focuses on the customer's problems and addresses the issue with appropriate offerings (product and services). The problem resolution is what constitutes a "solution". Solution selling is usually used in sales situations where products are just one of the elements that lead to a solution. Often the real solution develops after the [[sales process]] - as with software or large plant engineering and construction projects. It is typical for solution selling situations that the buyer only rarely purchases such a solution and instead needs the knowledge of the solution partner.
+== Origins of solution selling and terminology ==
-{{quote|So what is the definition of the word solution? The typical response is, "An answer to a problem." I agree with this response but feel it's important to expand the definition. Not only does the problem need to be acknowledged by the buyer, but both the buyer and salesperson must also agree on the answer. So a solution is a mutually agreed-upon answer to a recognized problem. In addition, a solution must also provide some measurable improvement. By measurable improvement, I mean there is a before and an after. Now we have a more complete definition of a solution; It's a mutually shared answer to a recognized problem, and the answer provides measurable improvement.|Keith M. Eades}}
-== Origins of solution selling ==
 Frank Watts developed the sales process dubbed "solution selling" in 1975.{{Citation needed|date=December 2010}}  Watts perfected his method at [[Wang Laboratories]].  He began teaching solution selling as an independent consultant in 1982. He presented his sales process as a one-day workshop to [[Xerox Corporation]] in 1982. By 1983 ''[[Electronics (magazine)|Electronics]]'' magazine would portray solution selling as "an unmistakable trend in the distribution of systems-related products".<ref>
 {{cite journal
@@ Line 21: / Line 20: @@
 {{cite book
 | author = Lunch Group
-| firstn =  | lastn =
-| authorn-link  =
 | editor        = Steve Ditlea
 | title         = Digital deli: the comprehensive, user-lovable menu of computer lore, culture, lifestyles, and fancy
@@ Line 33: / Line 30: @@
 | quote     = He'd worked for IBM at one time and liked their 'solution sale' approach to business - first find out what is needed, then come up with an answer.
 }}
+</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/entering_the_store_age.php|title = Entering the Store Age}}</ref>
-</ref><ref>
-http://www.atariarchives.org/deli/entering_the_store_age.php
-</ref>
-Mike Bosworth founded a [[sales training]] organization named Solution Selling in 1983,<ref>Sant, Tom (2006) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tcXIcylsfzoC&pg=PA57&dq=solution+selling&hl=en&ei=xAqUTt_6HvLZiQKD6M3cBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&ved=0CG8Q6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=solution%20selling&f=false "The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success."] Amacom books. ISBN 0-8144-7291-5</ref> based on his experiences at Xerox Corporation (the Huthwaite International SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) selling pilot project<ref>
+Mike Bosworth founded a [[sales training]] organization known as Solution Selling in 1983,<ref>Sant, Tom (2006) [https://books.google.com/books?id=tcXIcylsfzoC&dq=solution+selling&pg=PA57 "The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard Can Teach You About Real Sales Success."] Amacom books. {{ISBN|0-8144-7291-5}}</ref> based on his experiences at Xerox Corporation (the Huthwaite International SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) selling pilot project<ref>
 Compare
 {{cite book
 | last       = Sant
 | first      = Tom
 | title         = The giants of sales: what Dale Carnegie, John Patterson, Elmer Wheeler, and Joe Girard can teach you about real sales success
 | url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=tcXIcylsfzoC
 | accessdate    = 2011-10-14
@@ Line 51: / Line 46: @@
 | quote         = [...] Xerox [...] adopted the IBM sales model [...]. And from the Xerox professional sales methods, either directly or by inspiration, have arisen many of the most successful sales approaches used in our own time - Professional Selling Skills, Strategic Selling, Solution Selling, SPIN Selling, and many others.
 }}
 </ref>)
-and began licensing affiliates in 1988. With [[intellectual property|intellectual-property]] contributions from his [[affiliate network]], Bosworth's methodology continued to evolve through the years. He sold the intellectual property in 1999 to one of his original affiliates, Keith M. Eades.<ref>Keith Eades is CEO and founder of {{cite web|title=Sales Performance International|url=http://www.spisales.com}}. Bosworth author two books on the topic of "creating buyers in difficult selling markets". Bosworth, Michael. ''Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets'', McGraw-Hill, 1994. ISBN 978-0-7863-0315-1<br/>Bosworth, Michael; Holland, John. ''CustomerCentric Selling'', McGraw-Hill, 2003. ISBN 978-0-07-142545-2<br/>In 2003, Eades authored an updated version of the solution-selling methodology released as ''The New Solution Selling''
+and began licensing affiliates in 1988. With [[intellectual property|intellectual-property]] contributions from his [[affiliate network]], Bosworth's methodology continued to evolve through the years. He sold the intellectual property in 1999 to one of his original affiliates, Keith M. Eades.<ref>Keith Eades is CEO and founder of {{cite web|title=Sales Performance International|url=http://www.spisales.com}}. Bosworth author two books on the topic of "creating buyers in difficult selling markets". Bosworth, Michael. ''Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets'', McGraw-Hill, 1994. {{ISBN|978-0-7863-0315-1}}<br />Bosworth, Michael; Holland, John. ''CustomerCentric Selling'', McGraw-Hill, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-07-142545-2}}<br />In 2003, Eades authored an updated version of the solution-selling methodology released as ''The New Solution Selling''
 {{cite book
 | last       = Eades
@@ Line 65: / Line 60: @@
 </ref>
-While the term "solution selling" has become somewhat generic in the marketplace, the core brand of solution selling still carries distinct characteristics. Followers of  "solution-selling"<ref>
+While 'solution selling' has become a generic term in many sales and selling organizations, Solution Selling as a brand denotes distinct characteristics.<ref>
-For example:
 {{cite book
 | title         = Handbook of business strategy
@@ Line 77: / Line 71: @@
 }}
 </ref>
-generally apply a consultative sales approach to all aspects of their sales process (or cycle) including:
-{{div col|3}}
-* [[Prospecting]]
-* Diagnosing [[customer requirement|customer needs]]
-* Crafting a potential solution
-* Establishing [[Value proposition|value]]
-* Understanding the [[buying center]] / [[decision making unit]] (DMU)
-* Bargaining for access to decision-makers
-* Positioning proof, [[return on Investment|ROI]] and the total solution
-* Negotiating a [[win-win]] solution
-* Following up to ensure customer success
-{{div col end}}
-The solution selling methodology has evolved as key components of professional selling evolve.{{Citation needed|date=October 2011}} As a result, solution selling has become more broadly defined — to include dimensions of "sales process", "competitive selling", "[[Value added selling|value selling]]" as well as "consultative selling" or "complex selling" which set the focus on the team's aspects of the sales.
 == Solution selling in management contexts ==
-The advent of solution selling may impact on [[business model]]s and on organization practices.<ref>
+The advent of solution selling may have an impact on [[business model]]s and on organization practices.<ref>
 {{cite book
 | first1=  Henning
 | last1= Kagermann
-| authorlink1  = Henning Kagermann
+| author-link1  = Henning Kagermann
 | first2=  Hubert
 | last2= Österle
@@ Line 117: / Line 97: @@
 | last       = Eades
 | first      = Keith M
-| authorlink =
 |author2=Robert E. Kear
  | title         = The solution-centric organization
@@ Line 147: / Line 126: @@
 | first      = Robert L
 | title         = The Way of the Road Warrior: Lessons in Business and Life from the Road Most Traveled
+| url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=rxoXo4rV9FMC
-| series    =
-| url           = https://books.google.com/books?id=rxoXo4rV9FMC&printsec
 | accessdate    = 2014-11-23
 | edition   = 1
@@ Line 157: / Line 135: @@
 }}</ref>
-==References==
+== See also ==
+* [[Presales]]
-{{reflist}}
+==References==
-== Further reading ==
+{{reflist|30em}}
-*
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Solution Selling}}
+[[Category:Business-to-business]]
 [[Category:Selling techniques]]

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Latest revision as of 18:00, 31 March 2024

Origins of solution selling and terminology[edit]

Solution selling in management contexts[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

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