[Challenger Sales ] Advance like a Challenger

Key Takesaway

 

You just finished the Advance Like a Challenger chapter in ChallengerTM Selling Foundations. During this chapter, you learned about the three types of customer stakeholders: Talkers, Blockers, and Mobilizers.

Talkers: Customers that are friendly and willing to meet with you but do NOT have the internal capital or motivation to drive decisions.

Blockers: Customers that want to prevent change.

Mobilizers: Customers that may seem skeptical but are interested in good ideas that will benefit their organizations. They are the most effective in driving consensus and forward action.

You learned:

 

• The differences between the three customer stakeholder profiles—Talkers, Blockers, and Mobilizers—and how to diagnose a stakeholder's profile
• Why Mobilizers are the best stakeholders to engage to move opportunities forward
• How to use Talkers to your advantage and how to mitigate the influence of BlockersTake a few moments to review two of the key concepts from Advance Like a Challenger: the Three Customer Stakeholder Profiles and the Mobilizer Identification Tool.

Three Customer Stakeholder Profiles

 

 

Challenger™ Podcast Series: Customer Stakeholders

                                    Click here to download the Customer Stakeholders Podcast:

Customer Stakeholders.mp3

2.02MB

 

Skill Practice & Application

Now that you've reviewed the three types of Customer Stakeholders, it's time to apply the concept to your current opportunities. Complete the activities below in preparation for an upcoming meeting with your manager.

 

Step 1: Choose an upcoming meeting & hypothesize the buyer profiles of the stakeholders involved

Choose a meeting you have coming up this week or next. Identify the stakeholders who will be in attendance, and hypothesize the buyer profile (Talker, Blocker, or Mobilizer) of each individual. Understanding the profiles of your stakeholders will allow you to know who you should spend the most time with to move your opportunity forward.

Use the outline below and the attached template to consider where your stakeholders fall among the three profiles.

 

Stakeholder Overview.pptx

2.11MB

 

Step 2: Diagnose your stakeholders using the Mobilizer Identification Tool

Now that you've hypothesized what the profiles of your stakeholders may be, it's time to test those hypotheses. After your customer meeting, reflect on your hypotheses. Were you correct? Were there any stakeholders you misdiagnosed? You likely learned more about your stakeholders during your latest conversation, altering your viewpoint on their profiles.

Use the Mobilizer Identification Tool below and the attached template to determine whether each stakeholder you're working with is a Talker, Blocker, or Mobilizer. Send each stakeholder through the Mobilizer screens to correctly diagnose their profiles.

 

Mobilizer Identification Tool Template.pptx

0.41MB

Step 3: Consider how to use each stakeholder to your advantage

Diagnosing your customer stakeholders is only part of the job – now, you must determine how to navigate these stakeholders based on their profiles. It's likely that you aren't working with only Mobilizers – and you can't just ignore your Talkers and Blockers. However, you can come prepared to your meeting with a plan on how you will use your Talkers to your advantage and neutralize the influence of your Blockers. How will you shift your focus based on the profiles of the stakeholders in the meeting?

Hopefully there is at least one Mobilizer present in your group of stakeholders, but it is possible that you may not have identified one yet. If none of your stakeholders are Mobilizers, consider what you can do to find a Mobilizer at the customer organization you're working with. Remember, without a Mobilizer, it's likely that this opportunity will stall and you won't be able to drive consensus to move to a decision.

Use the outline below and the attached template to plan out how you will use each stakeholder to your advantage and how you will shift the focus of your conversation accordingly.

 

How to work with MOBILIZERS to move opportunities forward

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When you're trying to guide the customer to a decision, Mobilizers are the stakeholders who really matter. If they show interest in your insight and like your ideas, they will work hard to drive the change. Mobilizers are skeptical, but in a healthy way. They will ask (sometimes tough) questions and challenge your insight. Come prepared; think through objections you anticipate hearing, and responses for those objections. Be ready to build Constructive Tension with your Mobilizer!

 

How to use TALKERS to your advantage

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Talkers are beneficial to you because they are willing to share information about your customer's organization, the stakeholders you'll be working with, and any competitors you may be up against. If you have a Talker among your stakeholder group, consider their role and what information they may know. Do they have good insight into the organizational goals they can share with you? Do they know a lot about the key decision makers you'll run up against? Do they know exactly how the company's budget is used? Do they have first-hand experience working with any competing suppliers? Consider their knowledge and engage them in conversation to uncover this information, but be cautious – if Talkers are willing to share this information with you, they are also likely sharing similar information with your competitors!

 

How to mitigate the negative influence of BLOCKERS

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Blockers are resistant to change and very willing to spread that perspective to others in the organization. It's essential that you don't ignore Blockers, especially if they have a lot of influence among the stakeholder group. However, if you can identify what is driving a Blocker's behavior, there are several tactics you can use to mitigate their negative influence:

• If you're dealing with a Pro-Status Quo Blocker, probe the Blocker's beliefs and assumptions regarding the status quo, and consider whether your commercial insight highlights the true risks of not changing.
• If you're dealing with a Pro-Competitor Blocker, have a direct conversation to understand the Blocker's concerns and motivations for the purchase OR leverage outside influencers who can apply social pressure to the Blocker, neutralizing their influence.
• If you're dealing with an Anti-Supplier Blocker, consider altering the deal to make it appealing enough for the Blocker to allow it to progress (while still keeping it commercially appealing to your company).

Stakeholder Planning Template.pptx

0.46MB