So now that you know where you stand individually, how do you compare with the industry averages? Let’s dive into the survey results to find out.
We surveyed 28,463 business-to-business sellers from 35 countries in the years 1998 through 2011. Each seller completed an 80-question online self-assessment in preparation for a Holden sales training program that allowed sellers to see where they placed on the Holden Four Stage Model as they prepared for the rigorous program. We informed each participant that individual results are strictly confidential to ensure honesty and integrity and that we report findings anonymously and on aggregate.
This global study featured 62 percent of companies and 68 percent of sellers residing in the United States and 38 percent of companies and 32 percent of sellers residing outside the United States. The sellers represented 313 different companies of all sizes. Most of the companies were large; 59 percent had annual revenue greater than $1 billion, and 42 percent had annual revenue that exceeded $5 billion. The companies are generally well known, respected in their industries, and operate globally. The survey represented a wide range of industries, with the largest sampling being from the information technology, business services, manufacturing, telecommunications, and financial services areas. Only three companies constituted more than 5 percent each of the total surveys, and the study was completed over multiple years so as not to unduly influence any single-year data findings.
The survey probed for behavioral drivers behind the Holden Four Stage Model by assessing seven core competencies, as shown in Figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9: Sales Competencies
Figure 2.10 shows the results we found when we plotted all 28,463 sellers collectively onto the Holden Four Stage Model. The findings confirm what we have observed from approximately 50,000 competitive deals on which we advised and from working with thousands of sellers over the past 33 years: Stage III and IV sellers make up 17 percent and 3 percent of the population, respectively. This type of selling is difficult, not because it is hard, but because it is largely counterintuitive, which makes it uncommon. As a result, only 20 percent of sellers are what we think of as rainmakers.
Figure 2.10: Aggregate Data Results Plotted on the Holden Four Stage Model
We also discovered that although many sellers progress without much trouble from Stage I to II, they slow down as they move up in Stage II. The data suggest that the progress becomes increasingly more difficult. Often, they misunderstand why selling is getting more difficult and misdiagnose the problem, perhaps by blaming their company. Or, they just settle in as a Stage II Solution Seller and never improve.
Stage II Solution Sellers who develop into Stage III Compete Sellers find that this transition requires that they not only cultivate new skills but also learn an entirely new selling orientation based on unconventional thinking. Stage III and IV selling require that they think geometrically, being able to look at a competitive sales situation from all angles, creating business value, understanding politics, formulating strategy, building executive presence, and more. All these factors create a new orientation for most sellers. And when you superimpose the establishment of this new type of counterintuitive and geometric thinking on top of the need to develop a new set of Stage III and IV skills, you have a real challenge—particularly in a down economy.