{"id":2313,"date":"2025-07-30T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/?p=2313"},"modified":"2025-07-31T13:20:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T13:20:08","slug":"solution-selling-what-it-is-and-how-i-do-it-effectively","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.zoomlavilin.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/30\/solution-selling-what-it-is-and-how-i-do-it-effectively\/","title":{"rendered":"Solution selling: What it is and how I do it effectively"},"content":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve been fortunate enough to work my way up from being a BDR at Experian Marketing Services and an AE at LinkedIn Learning all the way to where I am now. As the head of business development at Untap Your Sales Potential<\/a>, we coach and train the top 1% of sellers at SAP, Microsoft, Gong, AWS, Google Cloud, Salesforce, HubSpot, and other blue-chip companies.<\/p>\n Sales is an interesting landscape, because even the top sales companies don\u2019t really offer you solution-selling training. They give you product knowledge, yes \u2014 but ironically, that\u2019s probably one of the most useless things when it comes to closing deals.<\/p>\n Think about it for a second: When you go to a luxury clothing store, they ask you questions like \u201cIs this for a special occasion?\u201d \u201cIs it an anniversary or birthday present?\u201d \u201cIs it for your mom or wife?\u201d These questions allow you to feel seen and heard and show that there isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all strategy.<\/p>\n If the sales rep didn’t get to know your needs, budget, appetite, and history, and just went straight to talking about how great the product is, you\u2019d feel like they were lacking the emotional intelligence to read the room better.<\/p>\n In other words, sellers must have curiosity and ask thoughtful, intentional questions in order to understand the full picture.<\/p>\n Remember: You can\u2019t sell a solution if you don\u2019t know the problem you\u2019re solving for.<\/strong><\/p>\n Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In strategic selling, there\u2019s a concept called point of view<\/strong>, which means having a hypothesis based on your research and understanding what keeps your prospect up at night. It\u2019s about using relevant client stories and speaking to the hero\u2019s journey \u2014 showing how you\u2019ve helped others overcome similar challenges.<\/p>\n For those of you who aren\u2019t familiar with the concept, here\u2019s what the storytelling framework looks like through a seller\u2019s lens:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s say I\u2019m speaking to a high-achieving rep who\u2019s been promoted every year from SDR to SMB AE to MM AE, and now they\u2019re six months into their first Enterprise AE role.<\/p>\n My hypothesis might be:<\/p>\n \u201cHey Robby, I\u2019d imagine you\u2019re feeling a bit overwhelmed, trying to figure out how you landed this role over sellers with 20 years more experience. There\u2019s probably a bit of impostor syndrome that comes with this new territory. Are you wondering: How do I best prioritize my accounts? How do I expand these large contracts? Am I working on the<\/em> <\/strong>right<\/em> <\/strong>activities?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n When you check in with them, they\u2019ll correct you if you\u2019re off \u2014 but at least it shows you\u2019ve done your homework and truly understand what\u2019s on their mind. It gives them a sense of being seen and heard. Not only does it show credibility, but it opens up avenues for them to elaborate on certain topics.<\/p>\n Your prospect might reply with something like this:<\/p>\n \u201cOh, wow, it’s like you\u2019ve read my mind. Yes, I do feel a bit overwhelmed, like I lucked my way into this career path with so much upside not only in earning potential, but also in working with world-class clients. It sounds like you certainly have thought about this problem, and it seems like you\u2019re well-versed in fixing a lot of issues that have come up recently and are causing me to overthink things\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n When you hear statements like that, you know you\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve learned that the key is to speak less and allow prospects the space to share openly and honestly \u2014 and don\u2019t interrupt them. Silence will allow others to give you information that would be more helpful than pitching a product.<\/strong><\/p>\n For the longest time, I was uncomfortable with silence. Living in the living room in a one-bedroom apartment with a family of five taught me that there\u2019s always some conversation going on, and I had to learn that silence is your friend. It will cause people to open up because everyone wants to be heard, especially in today’s noisy environment with so many talking heads.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Solution selling is certainly more geared towards highly complex consultative sales, so use it with high-value or customized solutions where there are multiple stakeholders.<\/strong><\/p>\n For example, as a summer gig in college, I sold Verizon Fios door-to-door. In those cases, it would be overkill if I leveraged solution selling (although I would argue in any type of sales it’s always more valuable to ask questions rather than straight pitching).<\/p>\n In contrast, if your product or service needs to be tailored to each customer \u2014 like enterprise SaaS, large services contracts, or anything that impacts multiple teams or systems \u2014 solution selling is your best bet.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, not many companies teach you about solution selling, as everything is always focused on teaching reps why their product is great and why the competitor sucks.<\/p>\n If you think about it, if you have a friend who is always talking about how awesome they are and they are bashing other people or gossiping about others all of the time, it makes you wonder, \u201cMan, what is Johnny saying about me when I\u2019m not in the room?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I made the mistake of bashing Salesforce Marketing Cloud once when I was at Experian Marketing Services, and I had a client respond back to the email and say it was distasteful. That made me realize that the tactic was a poor reflection of my character. (More on how that plays into selling later on.)<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n With solution selling, you\u2019re guiding a prospect through change. And when buyers are navigating new strategies, digital transformation, or shifting how they operate, they need a consultative partner, not just a vendor.<\/strong><\/p>\n I lean heavily on solution selling when working with enterprise clients who might not even know the full scope of what\u2019s costing them money or holding them back.<\/p>\n It\u2019s especially effective when:<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n We\u2019ve all made the mistake of pitching way too early without truly understanding the big picture for our prospect. Even with smaller deals, when you take the time to actually find out what their need is instead of talking about your solution, you will help them feel heard and understood.<\/p>\n Some of the benefits<\/strong> of solution selling I\u2019ve seen are that it:<\/p>\n Are there disadvantages<\/strong> to solution selling? A few. That\u2019s because solution selling:<\/p>\n Another benefit I realized? Solution selling taught me to slow down to speed up.<\/strong> It\u2019s not about racing to the close \u2014 it\u2019s about building to it with intention. The best reps aren\u2019t spreading themselves too thin; they are uber-focused on the best deals with the most upside.<\/p>\n I cringe when I think back to when I was the only territory rep for the Northeast down to the DMV region, and I was overwhelmed with the amount of inbound leads. Looking back on it, I should have led with curiosity. I ended up doing well, but I know now that there was a lot of room on the table. I could have slowed down and been a lot more consultative instead of rushing prospects to do a same-day discovery and demo because I thought I had too much on my plate.<\/p>\n That\u2019s another thing I learned from solution selling: It’s about working on the <\/strong>right<\/em><\/strong> activities.<\/strong> Figuring out what those are takes time. You need to slow down and be thoughtful about what really moves the needle.<\/p>\n Like most sellers, I used to be in a place of survival and couldn\u2018t slow down to think more strategically. Many of us take the path of least resistance. In the short term, it\u2019s easier to be an order taker and still get revenue to add to your quota attainment, but sometimes it\u2019s about the prospecting activities that get your foot in the door with the clients who can be whales.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n BANT and MEDDIC are so outdated. I know that\u2019s going to ruffle some feathers, because many of you paid a lot of money to these trainers. But if you think about it, no one wants to be interrogated for an hour.<\/p>\n Instead, I like to use PREDICT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n PREDICT is an acronym Ian Koniak (former #1 Seller at Salesforce in the Enterprise division) uses to guide high-performing sellers through a values-based, consultative sales process.<\/p>\n This is a modern take on the traditional solution selling process because it incorporates the emotion behind why this is urgent.<\/p>\n As I discussed earlier, I think the linkage portion is missing from most solution selling thought leaders. At the end of the day, if prospects don\u2019t see how your solution could work for them and their specific industry, region, or context, then you have wasted time and energy for nothing. So, don\u2019t forget to clearly link your solution with your prospect\u2019s specific pain point.<\/p>\n Here are some other tips on how I like to approach solution selling:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n Here are three impactful resources from Brandon Fluharty, Jamal Reimer, and Marcus Chan that have significantly influenced my approach to solution selling.<\/p>\n Resource: <\/strong>How to Design Bigger Deals in SaaS Sales<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n How I\u2019ve Used It: <\/strong>Brandon’s approach to integrating design thinking into sales has transformed how I engage with clients.<\/p>\n If you do, this will build credibility and trust. If you have a good reputation, it will be noticed. After all, it’s the little things that people notice. This helped me realize that even the little things I say I\u2019m going to do? I treat them very seriousl now, whereas before I didn\u2019t realize I was over-promising just because I was people-pleasing.<\/p>\n Resource:<\/strong> The 5 Point Framework I Used to Close Three $50M Deals<\/a><\/p>\n How I\u2019ve Used It: <\/strong>Reimer\u2019s model is built on the analogy of a mountain, where your goal as a rep is to climb the mountain as quickly as possible because those who hold all the budget and decision-making powers are at the summit. The illustration below gives more detail on this.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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When is solution selling used?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why is solution selling effective?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Solution Selling: Benefits and Disadvantages<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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How I Approach the Solution Selling Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Solution Selling Books<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. <\/strong>Brandon Fluharty\u2019s<\/strong> Design Thinking in Sales<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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2. J<\/strong>amal Reimer\u2019s Two Mountain Model<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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