Part 2: How to win over the competition and becoming the right fit in sales

Why fit in sales determines momentum

In the Jolt Effect, Matthew Dixon and Ted Mckenna state that buyers often hesitate if they are unsure about whether the seller has diagnosed their problem correctly. 

Their biggest fear isn’t picking the wrong solution, but solving the wrong problem. This means that if you want to be the right fit, you need the toolbox to diagnose the root cause of the problem. In fact, top sales reps close 5x more indecisive prospects as they know how to diagnose the right problem (pain) in the prospect’s current state. 

In Part 1 of this article series, we explained how to motivate a buyer - but a motivated buyer isn’t the same as a decisive buyer. This article is about how to to ensure you are the right fit among the competitive alternatives by asking the most important question:

Are we solving the right problem?

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The hidden risk: solving the wrong problem

Buyers hesitate because they are uncertain in their own diagnosis of their problem. They hesitate less because of vendor choice.

This explains why strong deal opportunities stall late. The buyer is not rejecting your solution but questioning their understanding of the problem. A Consultative Selling approach will enable you to identify the root cause of a problem rather than just the symptoms.

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From symptoms to root cause

Most sales conversations operate at the level of symptoms, such as:

• Low pipeline
• Poor conversion
• Inefficient workflows

But symptoms rarely point directly to the solution. Instead, you need to move deeper into the root cause to create real clarity:

• From business impact
• To process breakdowns
• To structural root causes

Your solutions will feel credible when you give your point-of-view on the root cause. One way of doing this is using the Cause and Effect Triangle to identify the anatomy of the problem.

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The Cause and Effect Triangle

The Cause and Effect Triangle centers around three important questions:

• What’s wrong with our current approach?
• Why can’t we achieve our business goals with our current solutions?
• What has changed? We’ve been doing this for years!

You must start by identifying the business and identity impact, then keep asking what is causing it and what has changed in the buyer's world to arrive at the root cause. This diagnostic thinking can be structured simply:

• Business and identity impact is where you start at the top of the triangle
  
  • Ask “What is causing this?”
• Process challenges are in the middle
  
  • Ask “What is causing this?”
• Root cause at the foundation
  
  • Ask “What has changed?”

The final question will enable you to identify the trigger event of the root cause and this enables you to create urgency. 

The most important part of this is to challenge the prospect and give your point-of-view on what the root cause of their problem is. Why is your point-of-view important?

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Why shaping criteria with your POV matters

In competitive B2B markets, buyers struggle to differentiate vendors. Most solutions appear similar at a feature level.

The difference is created by how the problem is framed. When you define the root cause, you also define the criteria for solving it. This shifts the conversation from comparing vendors to evaluating approaches. The important thing is giving your point of view and challenging their opinions - this is the essence of Challenger Sales.

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The role of point of view in Challenger Sales

Strong sellers do not simply validate the buyer’s thinking but expand it. If you give your point of view on the unconsidered root causes, your likelihood of winning increases by a factor of 4.7x according to the The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. This is where Challenger thinking integrates naturally into B2B Sales.

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Equipping your internal champion

Finally, you are rarely present when the real decision happens and that is why you must create a champion to pitch your solution above the rest. To do that, you must ensure that the champion is able to explain:

• What is wrong with the current approach
• Why it matters now
• Why the current setup cannot deliver future outcomes

If they cannot articulate this clearly, the deal will stall regardless of your solution.

Discovering the root cause with emotional nudges

Discovering the trigger event and the root cause won’t be easy and it is important to not come off as insensitive towards the prospect. Emotional nudges are a technique that enables you to ask questions in a sensitive way. An example of this could be:

When you cast your mind back…at what moment did you feel the problem was becoming too big to ignore?

Think about loading your questions with emotionality to ensure you get to the root cause of the problem.

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Putting it all together

Identify the root cause and the trigger event by using the line of questioning of the Cause and Effect Triangle. Use emotional nudges to probe around what the real root cause and trigger event is and most importantly, give you point-of-view on their situation. 

The best sales reps re-shape how buyers view their situation using POV stories, root-cause questions and reframing prompts. The prospects won’t move forward unless they are convinced their current approach is broken and their vendor understands exactly why.

A good idea for testing how this applies to your B2B sales process and deal pipeline is to review your deal pipeline for the past 90 days and see if you uncovered the root cause and gave your POV. If not, did you lose the deal?