Provoking the sale: One crucial meeting?

While the main idea of “provocation-based selling” may not be so new, Geoffrey Moore’s recent article has certainly provoked some useful thinking here at Solutions Insights. Steve Hurley has already presented our general perspective that the differences between Moore’s “new” idea and the longstanding tenets of solutions selling are actually minimal at best. Indeed, we have always believed (and taught) that good solutions selling requires just the type of deep customer insight, strong point of view, and executive-level engagement that Moore, et al, claim are the key ingredients of the new approach.

Click to read more ...

Is solutions selling dead...or more important than ever?

Did longtime tech marketing guru Geoffrey Moore just publish an obituary for one of the most successful forms of selling in our industry’s history? In a recent Harvard Business Review article, “In a Downturn, Provoke your Customers,” Moore and his TCG Advisors team propose a new method for selling complex offers called Provocation-Based Selling. The TCG team states that in this tough economy, top sales teams need to provoke their customers with interesting and possibly game-changing options for their challenges. The authors contrast provocation-based selling with solutions selling, suggesting that solutions selling may no longer be effective in these tough times. 

Click to read more ...