Relationship builders are the lowest performing sales type?

Yes, you read that right.

For more than three decades, I’ve been told that staffing is a relationship business.

Over the last few years, we’ve all heard that the purpose of automation, AI, and other technologies is to free your salespeople and recruiters to do what they do best…build relationships with clients and candidates.

So, where did I get this notion that relationship selling doesn’t work?

At the request of one of our Senior Marketing Consultants, I am reading The Challenger Sale by Mathew Dixon and Brent Adamson.

When I was asked to read the book, I was skeptical. I’ve always been a proponent of Neil Rackham’s SPIN Selling. I’ve also taken courses and read books by other masters of the sales game.

And the advice always seemed to be similar.

Be consultative.

Build relationships.

Learn how to show value.

And don’t be afraid to ask for the sale.

The Challenger Model is different

At this point, I am only about one-third through the book, so I have just enough knowledge to be dangerous (or perhaps, woefully ignorant of what’s coming in future chapters).

But I have learned that the Challenger Sale model is based in deep research involving more than 6,000 B2B sales professionals.

While it’s not specific to staffing, it almost certainly applies to our industry.

The Challenger research was done in response to the evolution in how corporations buy goods and services (i.e., more decision makers involved, purchasing driving decisions), and the evolution of sellers from product/service selling to solution selling.

It looks like this:

5 Types of Sales Professionals

The book identified five selling personalities:

The hard worker (21%).

Always goes the extra mile. Doesn’t give up. Self-motivated. Interested in feedback and development.

The challenger (27%).

Has a different view of the world. Understands the customer’s business. Loves to debate. Pushes the customer.

The relationship builder (21%).

Builds strong advocates in customer organizations. Generous in giving time to help others. Gets along with everyone.

The reactive problem solver (14%).

Reliably responds to internal and external stakeholders. Ensures all problems are solved. Detail oriented.

The lone wolf (18%).

Follows own instincts. Self-assured. Difficult to control.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

The authors then looked at which types of salespeople are more effective in solution selling.

The data is compelling. And a bit scary for the relationship builders.

The conclusion:

Challengers are the best solution sellers.

How do you become a Challenger?

That’s what the book is about, so at this point I can only tell you a little about the secrets of Challenger success.

But I have already learned a few key things:

1. Challengers have three key skills

The ability to teach.
Challenger sales reps deliver insights that reframe the way customers think about their businesses and needs.

The ability to tailor.
Challenger sales reps communicate sales messages in the context of the customer (their industry and their role in the organization).

The ability to take control.
Challenger sales reps openly pursue goals in a direct, but nonaggressive way to overcome increased customer risk-aversion.

According to the book, a good Challenger creates “constructive tension” and uses it to their advantage across all dimensions of the sale.

2. Sales success comes from differentiating your sales experience.

Anyone can make claims about product differentiation (and as you know, everyone in staffing does). But real differentiation happens in the sales process, long before service delivery.

Challenger sales reps will use teaching as their key weapon for creating positive differentiation. They will show customers something new and valuable about how to succeed in their own market.

As an added benefit, the Challenger research showed that this “teaching for differentiation” results in greater customer loyalty and higher customer lifetime values.

3. The challenger model must be tightly integrated with marketing.

Okay, this one didn’t come directly from the book, but from a discussion of the importance of building organizational capability not just sales capability.

While an individual rep may be able to teach, tailor, and take control, it’s most often the marketing department that’s responsible for creating the tools and implementation systems that support sales.

Think case studies, whitepapers, market data reports, and how-to guides.

Think webinars, podcasts, YouTube videos, and blogs.

Marketing’s job is to create the content that enables a Challenger to become a great consultant.

Want to turn your team into Challengers?

Well, you probably want to buy the book (or even ask ChatGPT for a summary).

Once you understand the methodology, you can develop the sales training, sales management, and marketing support programs needed to ensure your success.

Or, you could skip all this and continue with relationship selling. But as staffing sales continues to get more complex, that’s not the path to winning the solutions selling game.