The First 50 Challenger Implementations: What We’ve Learned

(This is the first in a series of three guest posts written by the SEC Solutions team. SEC Solutions helps members generate customized insights, tools, and training programs to improve the overall performance of the sales force. )

It’s now been three years since the SEC’s Challenger research was first introduced.  Today, the book is out, the buzz is building, and sales leaders continue to embrace the Challenger approach as the right answer to drive growth.  The mantra of “Teach, Tailor, Take Control” (with a healthy dose of constructive tension) has been embedded in many companies as the new language of sales.

CEB’s SEC Solutions team has now helped more than 50 organizations implement this new selling model, and we thought we’d share some of the insight we’ve picked up along the way. Our clients are seeing early returns on their investments:  big deals are being attributed directly to Challenger Selling in a matter of weeks after the classroom, and sales teams are highly engaged and energized by the new approach.  In fact, here are some video conversations with a couple of our customers, in which they talk about the specific impact Challenger has had on their organizations’ performance.

But there have also been lessons learned.  If this transformation (and there is no question about it, it is exactly that) is successful, it will be a multi-year journey for your sales team.  There will be early adopters, skeptics, and a learning curve for your organization that at times might feel very steep.  In the end though, your customers, partners, distributors, and sellers alike will thank you for taking action.

We’ll share more of these lessons over our series of posts, but here’s a bit of what we’ve learned so far:

No Silver Bullets:  Message, Message, Message Again…..

The “keystone” to this model lies in the teaching message that you are delivering to your customers.  That message will be hard to nail down.  Developing your Challenger message will be an iterative process, and won’t necessarily happen overnight.  The good news:  version 1.0 will likely be much better than what your teams are using today.  It will be important to create a feedback loop between sales and marketing so that you can continue to refine the teaching message and sharpen the insights.  Test it with customers.  Set expectations with sellers that it will be updated over time.  Here is how we are helping our members build the skills to create Challenger messages.

The Manager is Still King

This is likely no surprise, but the first-line manager still holds the key to any significant change management effort in sales.  Managers must be prepared to sponsor and reinforce Challenger Selling.  We’ve narrowed the core management competencies down to a critical set of skills vital to sustain the transformation to Challenger Selling: coaching, innovation, management fundamentals, and selling skills.  Based on our learnings, we’ve built and now launched a new, year-long course for front-line sales managers focused on building these skills across your management team. Learn more about this new offering.

Teaching is Hard Work

Let’s face it, no matter how good the message, you still have to actually sell.  As you develop your message and train your teams, you will see early wins, both in terms of business impact and positive customer feedback.  But the message doesn’t sell itself.  Your sellers will have to work hard to learn the process of teaching customers.  Teaching is the part of the Challenger sales conversation that will feel the most different, and it will take practice.  Lots of practice.  Our team uses extensive role plays where sales people actually bring real life accounts into the classroom, develop specific teaching messages for each of those accounts, and practice delivering the messages with their peers.

Hopefully these have been useful tips if you are either considering or have already begun the Challenger journey.  We’ll check back in soon to share more implementation lessons.