Why traditional sales methodologies aren’t enough
Sales is all about the process, right? If you follow the leading methodologies (MEDDIC, SPIN, Challenger), you’d be hard-pressed to conclude anything else.
Well, I’m calling bullshit.
High-performing salespeople aren’t process-obsessed. They’re client-obsessed. That relentless focus means they’ll bend the world to make good things happen. In the best moments, this involves more than a small dose of creativity.
I’ve always been astounded at how creativity is ignored as a value driver in sales. In our work at True & North, we see first-hand how creative techniques are transformative to the sales organisations smart enough to embrace them.
Surely this is covered in sales best practice?
Traditional sales methodologies are robust, but they have limitations:
- The language of traditional sales is dry and technical, especially those who don’t identify as ‘salespeople’. This limits the pool and degree of adoption across a full client-facing team. In your organisation, is it just the salespeople who interact with the client? Probably not.
- The steps of traditional sales focus on the seller and what they need to do to complete a sale. This leads to an approach that’s geared exclusively towards achieving the seller’s objectives. It leaves little or no room for the empathy and humility needed for a truly client-centred sale.
- The thinking in traditional sales only draws on convergent (logical/critical) thinking. Any divergent (right-brain/creative) thinking is left to chance. So meaningful client collaboration and creative problem-solving are out of the scope of these methods. That means the opportunity for value creation — and therefore growth — are left on the table and off your revenue line.
Three steps for adding creativity to B2B sales teams
Since 2014, we’ve been helping teams apply tools from Design Thinking to be intentional about innovation. Here are three lessons that drive sales through creativity:
1. Slow down your thinking
A consistent reflection we hear from sales leaders is that they now see when they need to slow down. Whether it’s prospecting, preparing for a key client meeting or figuring out how to position a new product, two hours spent upfront will save two weeks down the road, speeding up your sale.Sales leaders, it’s on you to give your team permission for ‘when’ and to show ‘how’ to slow down and think.A good exercise to try is declaring assumptions. By vocalising the invisible beliefs and values at play within your team and your client interactions you can find opportunities for improved performance. Try it for something bite-sized. For example: what are our shared assumptions about preparing for a client call?
By unpacking assumptions you find insight, unlocking better performance for you and better experiences for the client.
2. To collaborate, be intentional
Another reflection we hear is how beneficial it is for wider client-facing teams to crack client problems together. Even in great teams, it’s not unusual that our workshops are the first time colleagues are collaborating on a client challenge.Sales leaders, schedule time for team members to come together and tackle a client challenge. If you want this to become a habit, you’ll need to be the energy behind this for the first few months.
Your first goal is to make it safe for diverse people to participate. You might try to do this by asking people to share something that unites them (rather than something that might divide them). This can be as simple as sharing challenges a category or a client faces.
3. Brainstorming is not what you think it is
With good reason, the idea of brainstorming fills many sellers with trepidation. And yet, brainstorming is a fast and effective way of rapidly generating, iterating and selecting ideas that will unlock client growth.With the right preparation, the help of some colleagues and 10 minutes of focus, anyone can brainstorm effectively. Here’s how:
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- Define a client problem rather than your problem (For example: “Get more people to try Disney+” instead of “Hit my H1 target”).
- Boil it down to a simple 1-liner for clarity.
- Turn this problem into a How Might We question.
- Ask 2 or 3 colleagues for 10 minutes of their time.
- Make the first few minutes of the brainstorm silent. This gives introverts time to think, driving the diversity of ideas.
- One by one, invite participants to share an idea and then encourage others to build on those ideas.
- At the end of the brainstorm, converge your ideas into one or two all-star ideas to take forward.
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Unlock your team’s creative sales potential:
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- Move beyond rigid processes to high-value client collaboration.
- Equip your team with Design Thinking tools built for the B2B world.
- Identify and capture the growth opportunities your competitors are missing.
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Ready to see how our methodology applies to your sales challenges?
Book a consultation with our team
to explore a more creative, client-centred approach to growth.
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