78% of Challenger sellers feel their toughest customer objections are status quo objections. Only 22% feel customer objections to the proposed solution are harder.
Status quo objections = customer resistance to changing their current approach for solving a problem.
Solution objections = customer agrees they need to change their current approach but disagrees with the supplier's solution for doing so.
In this episode of ABM Done Right, Eric Gruber (CEO of Personal ABM) that is filling in for Kristina Jaramillo as host, Jennifer Allen (Chief Evangelist for Challenger) and Michael Randazzo (VP of GTM for Challenger) reflect on how we need to change sales training, sales conversations, and marketing to beat status quo objections.
Conversation #1 - How do we need to shift sales training
Jennifer Allen talks about how the lion's share of seller training is often focused on product training.
Growth problem? Our reps must not understand the product well enough.
Trouble scheduling meetings with the decision-maker? Our reps must not be explaining the value of our solution well enough.
Losing on price? Our reps must not be showing why our product is better than the competition.
All too often, we throw product training at the problem and wonder why we don't see results.
You'll learn about the shifts we should make in sales training to improve win rates with key, status quo accounts.
Conversation #2: The need for more account-based enablement
You'll learn how GTM teams cannot depend on a calendared, just-in-case training plan. You need to provide relevant messages, content, stories, insights, and skills to enable sellers in the flow of work for specific accounts - when they need, and we need to help GTM teams respond with speed and precision as we build situational fluency.
After listening to this conversation, you will want to read our article on how sales enablement does not go far enough and the account-based enablement that's needed.
Conversation 3: Changing the seller conversation
You will listen to a round table discussion on the issues with the current seller conversations (social, email, and live) and why it's not helping them overcome status quo objections. You'll also learn how we should engage in a two-way conversation that helps customers understand their current approach's costs/risks of their current approach?
Conversation 4: Changing the marketing conversation
You will see how everyone is fighting for the same small share of the market. The focus is on in-market accounts that are identified by platforms like 6sense and Bombora. But there's 60% of the market that is stuck in the status quo -- it's this market that can provide the larger deal sizes if we can only create the a-ha moment and a buying vision. You'll see how you need to change your content and your marketing motions to drive engagement with these accounts.
You'll also learn how to better support sales with their status quo objection conversations and how to help sales win the internal "status quo objection conversations" that sales are not privy to.
After listening to these conversations, check out these additional podcasts with Challenger: