If you’re not familiar with the term disruptive selling, it means throwing all your previous biases out the window and making changes to your methodology.
It means looking at the latest selling trends and practices, analyzing what people are saying, and then doing the exact opposite. This is probably a very different approach to everything you have learned so far in your career as the basic premise is that refusal to change will hinder your performance. Here are some important things to remember about disruptive selling:
It’s always time for change
Mixing things up from what is considered the industry norm is crucial to mastering the art of disruptive selling. For example, using plus-size models to sell clothes was unheard of not that long ago. Until relatively recently, what would be considered traditional models were always used to sales market clothing regardless of who the target customer was.
Thinking outside the box has helped manufacturers of plus-sized clothing dramatically increase their market share and their success demonstrates how using distinct and unique methods is vital to being a successful sales professional.
Plan ahead but be agile
The second-best tactic for disruptive selling is to always plan things out in advance but be agile enough to move them around if necessary. A good example of this is how ads for Christmas seem to pop up earlier and earlier every year. Traditionally, Christmas ads would start immediately after Halloween, but advertisers are seeing the benefit of giving people longer to warm up to the idea that they need to start thinking about what they are going to buy their loved ones.
Be memorable
Getting noticed is another one of the most important elements of disruptive selling. The Liberty Mutual television commercials featuring an emu are a great example of this as they are extremely memorable despite the fact they do not go into a whole lot of detail about what the company does. By the end of the ads, the name of the company is burned into your brain as is the fact that they do insurance. That’s all they need to do. Mission accomplished!
Don’t back off from an idea
You need guts to handle disruptive selling as you never know what’s going to stick. Giving up on an idea will not bode well for your sales as sometimes they take time to catch on. These days, you just never know when an idea is going to hit it big or go viral so you must have the courage of your convictions and keep going. Make your idea unique and memorable but be sure to create something that resonates with the audience you are trying to reach.
To achieve this, it is critical that you conduct in-depth background research before you launch your idea and then continue with the analytics to see how it is progressing. Then, if necessary, you can fine-tune your idea and make changes. Ultimately, if you follow these tactics, you can master the art of disruptive selling and be on your way to a brighter professional future.
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