1A: Technology sales is an Art, Not a Process Part 1: Beyond the Process Paradigm
11/5/2024
November 5, 2024
“Those who never change their minds never change anything.” – Winston Churchill
Churchill’s words resonate deeply when I consider how often enterprise technology sales is mischaracterized. If you believe process is the key driver to overachieving in technology sales, please have an open mind as you read and consider the following.
Here’s a controversial take on today’s technology sales environment: Sales, at its highest level, isn’t a process—it’s an art form. And this distinction matters more than you might think.
The Process Paradox: A Lesson from Tiger Woods
Let me share something personal. I’ve hit more golf balls than I can count. From age 11 until recently (I’m 46 now), my parents were part-owners of a golf course. I intimately understand the process of golf—the grip, the stance, the swing mechanics. I even caddied for five years, but I’m still a 15 handicap.
Let’s look at Tiger Woods’ run from just 1999-2001 for comparison:
– 1999: 8 PGA Tour wins, including the PGA Championship
– 2000: 9 Tour wins, 3 Majors, won the U.S. Open by a record 15 strokes
– 2001: 5 Tour wins, completed the “Tiger Slam”
Despite my thorough understanding of the golf process, I’m not winning any majors. This isn’t a story about golf—it’s about the fundamental misunderstanding of process versus artistry. Tiger’s an artist. And I’m just a little better than a hack golfer; not due to my lack of understanding of the process of hitting a golf ball, but due to my lack of talent for hitting a golf ball and drive to be great at the game!
The Technology Sales Reality Check
In enterprise technology sales, treating process as the holy grail is like believing that knowing how to grip a golf club makes you Tiger Woods. Yes, understanding Metrics, Economic buyer, Decision criteria, Decision process, Identity pain, Champion and Competition (MEDDPICC) or other sales processes is not only important—it’s table stakes! The equivalent of showing up to work with your shirt buttoned and shoes tied.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Sales process can be learned in a few hours of basic education and flashcards. Yet stadiums could be filled with smart, hardworking people, who understood the sales process perfectly, yet fail to be able to close deals and drive revenue. Many, if not most, of these people often choose another profession and crush it. Lacking the ability or desire to sell is not a crime. It just didn’t work out for them, and it wasn’t because they didn’t understand the sales process.
The Measurement Mirage
Why do organizations overemphasize process?
Because they are drowning in their own quantitative data, which are process metrics.
Examples:
– Number of calls made
– Emails/correspondences sent
– Meeting counts
– Conversion ratios
These metrics are seductive because they’re easily trackable and look impressive on dashboards. It’s no wonder organizations readily grasp the certainty that process provides.
And, at least, it’s something measurable.
The Leadership Dilemma
Let’s pause for a moment of empathy for sales leadership. Sales representatives are trying to get answers to nearly impossible questions and to report their findings to the higher-ups in their organization. Questions like:
– When is X deal closing?
– Can you pull Y deal forward?
– Will we hit our forecast?
– What should we tell investors?
– Will adding X reps drive Y outcome?
Imagine yourself sitting in a room full of top VC or PE firms, with $100s of millions, or billions at risk, armed with only process metrics to answer their questions. You can’t talk about topics like talent, desire, experience, and skill, because those are nearly impossible to measure to produce a prediction of success in sales. It’s like trying to make the leap from algebra to the most advanced neural network on the plant to predict if the sales forecast is accurate.
The Individual Difference in the Process
It’s not what boxes you check, but how you navigate the human complexity at each stage of the sales process. Two salespeople can reach the “Economic Buyer” stage in MEDDPICC, yet neither will get there the same exact way. They’ll deviate in one or more of the following ways when at any stage of the process:
– Say something different
– Write different messages
– Share different materials
– Handle objections uniquely
– Build relationships distinctively
– Bring in a different executive or specialist
This is when sales start to become art and outcomes begin to differentiate. Through countless micro-decisions, adaptations, and intuitive responses—true sales mastery emerges. To be clear, it’s not the decision to demo before full discovery or sharing pricing before understanding a customer’s needs. It’s all about how human interaction is managed, the volley and interplay between the salesperson and the customer, and that’s almost impossible to measure.
– When to be serious
– When to be funny
– When to respond with a direct answer short form vs. long form
– When to:
o Acknowledge, Respond and Close (ARC)
o Acknowledge, Respond and Pivot (ARP)
o Acknowledge, respond question (ARQ)
– When to respond to a question with a question – do you ask the right question
– How to make everyone feel included, while respecting a pecking order
– How to manage resources available in a complex organization
When working with high stakes accounts, it’s LONG-TERM relationship building across 100s of stakeholders, thousands of interactions, and seamless engagement with all team members that grows revenue and fends off competition. If you don’t manage these essentials, you might find out that your customer’s firm was sold to by a competitor without you knowing about it. The sales process alone cannot defend you against that happening! What can is having the right inside trusted relationship(s), so you get a call or text message and know what you’re not supposed to know. That’s not about sales process. It’s all about sales art!
Looking Ahead
This is Part 1 of a three-part series on the art of enterprise technology sales.
In Part 2 of this series, we’ll dive deep into why sales interactions are exponentially more complex than most realize. We’ll share some basic mathematical perspectives that might change how you view your next sales engagement (yes, your high school algebra class was beneficial to you after all!).
Until then, remember: Process is your required foundation, but becoming an Artist of human interaction should be your goal. The art of sales drives differentiated performance, which is what you and your leadership are seeking.
Note: The views and opinions expressed on this blog are solely those of the author and do not reflect or represent those of my employer or any organization I am affiliated with.