How to Sell with Insight

By Selling Power Editors

In this interview, Jeff Seeley discusses the role of insight when building multiple layers of relationships within a customer’s organization. Carew International offers specialized consulting in sales training, leadership training, and customer service.

Selling Power (SP): What is your main focus with clients right now?
Jeff Seeley (JS):
We’re spending a lot of time with our clients on the concept of how to sell with insight.

SP: What is the skill set required for selling with insight?
JS:
First, [salespeople should have] the ability to network inside an organization. Second, they should know how to develop long-term networks. Third, they should be able to develop interdependent relationships as a means of providing what the customers want. Sales professionals want to become a valuable strategic resource the customer can leverage.

We use buying an airplane as an example. There are four or five constituents who are involved in the purchase: finance, pilots, customer service, and mechanics/maintenance. Finance will purchase based on the capital cost of the airplane. Pilots are interested in safety and having one landing for every takeoff. Customer service will base its decisions on passenger comfort and amenities. The chief maintenance officer is most concerned with maintenance cost and down time. If I’m selling an airplane and selling it to only one of these constituents, I’m leaving opportunities for my competition to close the sale. That’s an example of why networking inside the client organization is so powerful.

SP: Is there a need for message clarity?
JS:
Absolutely. Sales professionals need to be speaking at many different levels in the organization. These levels and areas are not where sales professionals are generally comfortable or have been traditionally working. If you’re C-level, you need a sales professional to bring insightful information or ask questions that challenge your organization’s norms and then listen, because the salesperson has to understand the customer’s perspective. This transforms the relationship to one of mutual benefit and changes the dynamic for both the sales professional and customer.

SP: How long does it take for salespeople to get up-to-speed with the concept of selling with insight in a client relationship?
JS:
That depends on the team you’ve assembled. A manager must ask, “Do I really have the right team in position to do this? If not, how do I develop the right team?” In the future, I think some of the smartest business professionals are going to be sales professionals. If you’re a really skilled sales professional in the year 2020, you’re going to have a lot of opportunities within organizations.

SP: What do salespeople need to develop this insight?
JS:
Education. Sales professionals won’t have a lasting career without continuing their education. Reaching their goal month after month will not be enough. Functioning with a stagnant sell of skills – no development or personal investment – will be a thing of the past. Don’t you want your tax accountant up-to-date on the latest tax laws? You really don’t want [to work with] the person who graduated in ‘82 and hasn’t been to a continuing-education class since ‘82 when he or she passed the CPA exam. You don’t want that person representing you in front of the IRS.

SP: So salespeople have to tap into current resources to stay relevant.
JS:
You’re exactly right. The most disappointing thing to me is when sales professionals don’t do even simple research on their own customers. Reading the 10K report and the CEO’s letter to shareholders are simple things that can give you valuable insight into an organization. It may seem obvious, but insight comes in many forms and from many resources. The ability to gain and communicate insight is a skill that can be developed. That’s what Carew International does. [Training teams to sell with insight] creates strategic advantage for our customers and their sales professionals, and it pays off for our customers’ customers.