Challenging The Status Quo

A sale will never happen until the status quo is challenged in some way.

Perhaps, the customer has experienced problems or challenges. Perhaps they are discovering new opportunities they want to pursue. They decide to change, initiating, among other things, a buying journey.

Too often, the customer doesn’t recognize the need to change. They are too busy to notice things could be better. They may think, “If it ain’t broke….” They may not be aware of a better opportunity…..

Or they may feel the pain of change is greater than the pain of doing nothing.

But they need to change.

All selling is about challenging the status quo. All selling is about doing something different, about moving from that which is known and comfortable to something new.

We have to recognize how difficult it may be for the customer—not just the change itself, but the impact on each of our customers as human beings. We have to help them manage the uncertainty and risks they may feel organizationally or individually.

It’s striking, that while sales people must become the strongest advocates of change with customers, they resist, so strongly, changes in how they sell and engage customers.

Too many seem committed to the status quo, ramping up only volume and velocity, but not reassessing how we might do things differently, how we might challenge our own status quo, particularly when things don’t work.

It’s so funny, sales people are paid change agents, but resist it themselves.