The last bubble (the tech one, not the real estate one) was all about solution selling, trusted advisors, and consultative selling. To me, it seemed sometimes like a lot of talking and PowerPoints but not much selling.

I definitely over-reacted to all the solution selling propaganda…. it seemed to me like people were just looking for ways to sell things people did not need. As I sold more, my attitude changed.  I got to see the value of really being an advisor to customers and listening to them.

Still, I think the solution selling mantra allowed a lot of non-closers to get ahead. One good story comed to mind.  An old company of mine had a real consultant sales guy. He could go to Gartner shows and enjoy all the tech talk. He worked on a big deal at a new customer for a new product. It was a great deal – the first one in the company.

The CIO there was a deep thinker – he loved chatting technology with the rep. The Evans went well – the pricing was agreed on…..but the closing took an extra 2 months. The consultant just was not a closer. The CEO of the software company had to get involved and close it. It finally got done.

The real contrast came when this consultant moved on, and a newer, more junior rep took over.  The CIO even complained about this new guy a bit – he just did not have the “vision” of the first guy.

The weird thing was that deals with this new guy all got done on time. The new deals were not just add-ons.  They were expansions into different business units. This new guy got the deals done by talking to all the players, figuring out how get it done, and then CLOSING it.

For tme, the second rep is more valuable….he got deals done and on time.  Closing is always the key. He could probably use a little more consultant, but you gotta close. Remember this next time some sales guys tells you he is a consultant…..

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