Successful salespeople today need to deal with numerous buyers, with different roles, and multiple and often varying interests.  While product is always top of mind for sales people when it comes to selling more or shortening the sales cycle, you’ve heard the battle cry, “If our product would ___________, I could sell more or get them to make a decision quicker."

I think it is more about the ability of salespeople to position their product in a way that makes sense to their buyers. This is partly because sellers often do not have the same base of experience as the buyer, and as a result do not understand the individual buyer’s decision process, or relate to specific elements the individual’s role plays in why and how they buy. Multiply that by the number of buyers in any given deal, 5.4 per deal according to the CEB, and you have a big challenge.

There are two simple ways to address these challenges. First, think about the kinds of books your sales team should be reading; forget the latest sales flash, and think business. I say make them read The Ten-Day MBA, or any similar book or program. If you are going to make a difference to the business, your reps need to understand and be conversant with how business decisions are made, which is different than the purchase decisions that results from a business decision. If a rep can align with the business decision, the purchase decision is more likely.

Once you have them thinking the way a business person thinks, you can help them understand how their specific role in the company impacts their thinking and decision making. There is a cost-effective way of doing this since most companies already have the resources in-house -- they just need to be deployed. Think internal Sales Apprenticeship.

Those same 5.4 roles likely exist in your company: you have a CFO or VP of Finance, a CTO or CIO, a VP of Marketing, a President, a Production Manager, a Quality Control Director, and other roles. Assuming your key buyers are:

Finance
IT
Logistics
Design Engineers

Pair up your salespeople with similar roles within your company. What is the thought process that prompts a VP of Finance to decide a change or when something new is required? While there may be nuanced differences between a buyer and your own company, it is likely that the thought process mirrors what your CFO would follow.

How a design engineer in your company thinks about what they may spec and why, will likely resemble the line of thinking to most design engineers. Let’s be cynical for a minute; they all go to the same conferences, they read the same journals and blogs, the companies and products may be different, but perhaps they're drinking the same Kool Aid? Just look at the ways salespeople jump on the same bandwagons, and sing the same clichés and buzzwords, all to similar tunes.

If you don’t have one of these roles in-house, reach out to a customer, a supplier, a partner, and have your rep apprentice there. I would also encourage you to do this regularly to ensure reps stay current.  One day a year per key role will not only cement internal relationships, but help your sales team relate and speak better with their key stakeholders.

Tibor Shanto is an award-winning author, speaker and B2B sales execution specialist.