Selling solutions

In the past few years, many companies have launched into so-called “service strategies.” They no longer just sell products, but offer total solutions to solve their customers’ problems. This enables customers to receive services perfectly adapted to their needs and allows them to capitalize more fully on the expertise of the supplier. The company, in turn, can use this as a means to retain customers, increase its volume of business with each, and command higher margins than those connected with the simple sale of a product.

Although this strategy is attractive in theory, implementation is actually quite tricky. In particular, launching a service strategy requires profound changes in the sales organization. Underestimating the scope of the required overhaul has caused real problems for many companies.

Our selected publications make two main recommendations to sell “solutions” successfully:

– Deploy a service strategy only for customers who will really benefit.

– Work to change sales force behavior, and don’t hesitate to rethink the entire sales organization if necessary.