Gap Selling

What's "Gap Selling" by Keenan about?

• Problem-Centric Selling: "Gap Selling" focuses on a problem-centric approach to sales, emphasizing understanding and solving customer problems rather than just selling products.
• Sales Challenges: The book addresses common sales challenges like lost deals, price negotiations, and prospects going dark, and offers solutions to these issues.
• Sales Methodology: It introduces a new sales methodology that challenges traditional beliefs, such as the importance of relationships and the concept of closing.
• Sales Process: The book is divided into four parts, covering the rules of gap selling, specific skills and strategies, prospecting, and building a gap-selling environment.

Why should I read "Gap Selling"?

• New Perspective: It offers a fresh perspective on sales, challenging entrenched beliefs and providing a new approach to selling.
• Practical Advice: The book provides practical advice and executable skills to win more deals and shorten sales cycles.
• Sales Efficiency: It aims to make selling more fluid, predictable, and efficient by focusing on diagnosing customer problems.
• Comprehensive Guide: It serves as a comprehensive guide for salespeople and sales leaders to improve their sales strategies and team management.

What are the key takeaways of "Gap Selling"?

• Focus on Problems: Sales should focus on diagnosing and solving customer problems rather than pushing products.
• Understand the Gap: Identify the gap between the customer's current state and desired future state to drive the sale.
• Challenge Traditional Beliefs: The book challenges traditional sales beliefs, such as the importance of relationships and the concept of closing.
• Sales as a Partnership: Emphasizes building a partnership with customers to help them achieve their desired outcomes.

How does "Gap Selling" redefine the sales process?

• Problem Diagnosis: The sales process starts with diagnosing the customer's problem, not pitching a product.
• Current and Future State: Understand the customer's current state and desired future state to identify the gap.
• Customer-Centric Approach: Focus on the customer's needs and problems, making the sale about them, not the product.
• Continuous Engagement: Keep the customer engaged by consistently providing value and addressing their concerns.

What is the "gap" in "Gap Selling"?

• Definition of Gap: The gap is the space between the customer's current state and their desired future state.
• Value of the Gap: The value of the sale lives in the gap; the larger the gap, the more value there is in changing.
• Identifying the Gap: Salespeople must help customers see the full extent of their problems to understand the gap.
• Driving the Sale: The gap drives the sale by highlighting the need for change and the value of the solution.

How does "Gap Selling" challenge traditional sales beliefs?

• Relationships Don't Matter: The book argues that relationships are not the primary driver of sales; value is.
• No Closing Techniques: It dismisses traditional closing techniques, emphasizing that closing happens throughout the sales process.
• Focus on Change: Sales are about facilitating change, not just selling products or services.
• Customer-Centric Sales: The focus is on understanding and solving customer problems, not on the salesperson or their product.

What are the nine truth bombs of selling in "Gap Selling"?

• No Problem, No Sale: Every sale starts with a problem; without a problem, there is no sale.
• Sales are Emotional: Sales involve change, which is emotional, making every sale an emotional process.
• Customers Resist Change: Customers naturally resist change, even when they say they want it.
• Future State is Key: Sales happen when the future state is perceived as better than the current state.

How does "Gap Selling" suggest handling objections?

• Focus on the Problem: Address objections by focusing on the customer's problem and desired future state.
• Challenge the Objection: Use the customer's own words and goals to challenge their objections.
• Avoid Defending the Product: Do not defend the product; instead, make the customer defend their objection.
• Reaffirm the Value: Reaffirm the value of the solution in achieving the customer's desired outcomes.

What is the role of discovery in "Gap Selling"?

• In-Depth Discovery: Conduct an in-depth discovery to understand the customer's current state, problems, and desired outcomes.
• Ask the Right Questions: Use probing, process, and provoking questions to gather detailed information.
• Validate Information: Use validating questions to ensure you understand the customer's needs and problems.
• Foundation for the Sale: The discovery process sets the foundation for the entire sales process and influences the outcome.

How does "Gap Selling" approach prospecting?

• Problem-Focused Prospecting: Prospecting should focus on identifying and solving potential customer problems.
• Create Intrigue: Use intrigue and knowledge gaps to capture the prospect's attention.
• Offer Value: Provide value in every communication to compel prospects to engage.
• Targeted Approach: Use a targeted approach to identify ideal customers and prioritize those with the most significant problems.

What are the nine qualities of a gap seller according to "Gap Selling"?

• Curiosity: A natural inclination to ask questions and seek deeper understanding.
• Critical Thinking: The ability to analyze information and draw insightful conclusions.
• Empathy: Understanding and connecting with the customer's emotions and needs.
• Problem Solving: A focus on finding and solving customer problems effectively.

What are the best quotes from "Gap Selling" and what do they mean?

• "No problem, no sale." This emphasizes that every sale starts with identifying a problem; without a problem, there is no sale.
• "Sales are about change." This highlights that sales involve facilitating change, not just selling products.
• "Customers don't like change." This acknowledges the natural resistance customers have to change, even when they say they want it.
• "The gap is where the value lives." This underscores the importance of identifying the gap between the current and future state to drive the sale.