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Solutioning is a measurable ability where an employee asks the appropriate questions, determines customer's need and then suggests solution that precisely addresses those needs. Typical lagging Y metrics measuring customer experience (CX) are Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) and Revenues or Wins. These, in turn, are strongly correlated to whether or not your customer perceives you as a Trusted Advisor, when they interact with you. This measurable perception is the transition metric between first sales transaction and customer retention. Solutioning is what helps you achieve that Trusted Advisor status.
Solutioning can be applied in three different interaction of the customer journey. These interactions are Lead Nurturing, Customer Service (tech support/help desk) and Cross-selling or Upselling.
Keith M. Eades, author of The New Solution Selling, defines a solution as:
"So what is the definition of the word solution? The typical response is, "An answer to a problem." I agree with this response but feel it's important to expand the definition. Not only does the problem need to be acknowledged by the buyer, but both the buyer and salesperson must also agree on the answer. So a solution is a mutually agreed-upon answer to a recognized problem. In addition, a solution must also provide some measurable improvement. By measurable improvement, I mean there is a before and might be after. Now we have a more complete definition of a solution; It's a mutually shared answer to a recognized problem, and the answer provides measurable improvement."
Lead Nurturing: Imagine the time when you were the customer and a sales rep emailed/called/chatted and plugged products and services without understanding what you needed. Did you feel like running way from them as they began to exhaust you with their "blah! blah! blah!". Your customers will do the same if you "sell" without analyzing the correct fit to their needs. During the phase when you are determining if the prospect is a potential customer, it is critical to elicit the needs of the customer and their level of urgency to buy. This determination can happen when customer visits your ecommerce site or visits your brick-mortar store or they call you or meet you or connect to you via social-media or live-chats. Whether it is inbound or outbound sales, if you ask open-ended questions and establish that trust, it makes the customer share more explicitly their needs. When this is done successfully, then if you position your products and services, that addresses the need better and it indicates to the customer that you heard them and you are willing work with them. Sometimes, during this phase, you will encounter that you don't have the solution that fits into their need. In such situations, best action is to refer partners to the customer or offer a free product/weblink that resolves the issue. Customers who experience that intellectual generosity, in most cases, will be a repeat buyer in the future. Sales reps who practice Solutioning at this stage of customer journey, typically have higher sales conversion and faster sales cycle.
As a CSR, it is your responsibility to diagnose the root cause behind the many symptoms that your customer communicated to you. Once you diagnose the issue, then finding, suggesting and educating the solution becomes a series of easier tasks and also leads to better resolution. CSRs who can do Solutioning really well show greater than 95% FCR. They also establish Trusted Advisor status with the customer.
Cross-selling or Upselling: Growing the level of the business that your customer has with your company or account growth requires that at some point in customer's journey, you or CSRs will be engaged in cross-selling product or service offerings or upgrading the level of service. For example, your product marketing department provides collaterals of a new service and requests that you and your CSRs upgrade all Gold-level customers to Platinum-level service plan. Now, if without solutioning, you plug Platinum-level service plan, just because your product marketing friends requested you to do so, all you are doing is making the customer raise their defense mechanism and the customer will shower you with all kinds of reasons as to "why they don't want to do that". However, leveraging their account history data, understanding customer behavior (and what Daniel Pink calls as "attunement" in his book To Sell is Human) you can use a way to position the platinum-level to their behavior or "likes". This is Solutioning. CSRs who message appropriately with high Solutioning have higher cross-sell or upsell sales conversions.
Our results show that pre-sales and sales reps, CSRs and team leaders who are trained and coached (in a targeted way) on Solutioning skills can convert 2.85 times more than those who are not formally trained or coached or practice these skills.
PAKRA® Games simulate your work processes and provide a practice environment where your employees acquire critical-thinking and decision-making skills—before they engage with prospects and customers. We measure various metrics for every action and click that a learner makes in our Games. All our games provide a real simulation of the operational situation. Our Games can teach you a real learning experience in how to Solution. We score Solutioning in all our cross-selling customer service, tech support, help desk, sales, customer interaction and leadership games.
Instructions for the game-player or learner emphasizing Solutioning skills. Here are samples of instructions of some of our games:
"As you play the game, actively listen and solve the issues with your products and services such that it is an appropriate solution to the customer. The product must work at the end."
"Understanding customer’s needs and suggesting best solutions is the way to get highest scores in the game."
1. Gage R&R measurement system is used to score our games.
2. Instant feedback to change behaviors, especially when the choices indicate unacceptable behavior, is provided.
3. Our Games can be implemented to teach sales and CSRs how to do Solutioning.
4. Our games can be implemented as better targeting techniques for learning appropriate skills.
The following is an example you can use when you coach your sales rep or CSR.
Stephanie Gooley story
All of a sudden, her laptop is excruciatingly slow. Really! Not Good. She has to meet deadlines. She has places to go. She has things to do. She has no time for virus attacks.
What should she do? Who to call? She calls 1800CalmNow Tech Services.Can she meet her deadline?
A. Customer Service related Solutioning
Bad Practice
Stephanie: Yes! Hi! I have a Windows Lenovo laptop. Everything’s spinning. Given I am in the spin business – it’s ironic. However, you have to help me. I have a deadline. I work for the Senator. I have things to do. I have places to go.
Yes! I did get a virus video link via Facebook this morning. I immediately shut everything down without clicking the video link. After I turned my computer on two hours or so later, MS Word keeps spinning and Firefox connections gives me 404 pages, which cannot be true.
And Yes! I have antivirus software but only for Windows and I have not updated it for 6 months, because it was slowing things down. Now! What else do you need to know? Can you help me?
leBron: Can I call you Stephanie, Ms. Gooley.
If I understand correctly you have a Lenovo laptop with Windows 7 operating system.
I completely empathize with you Stephanie. This can be very frustrating. Can I have your permission to put you on hold for moment – that way I can research the problem?
Stephanie: You got all that information correct.
I can hold. Why not! Read Sarcasm. I have eternity to wait. I am not going anywhere. I am just a sage, meditating under a banyan tree. Read Metaphor. What did you think I would say, when you ask me to be put on hold? Hurry. 1 minute max.
Stephanie: Yes! Hi! I have a Windows Lenovo laptop. Everything’s spinning. Given I am in the spin business – it’s ironic. However, you have to help me. I have a deadline. I work for the Senator. I have things to do. I have places to go.
Yes! I did get a virus video link via Facebook this morning. I immediately shut everything down without clicking the video link. After I turned my computer on two hours or so later, MS Word keeps spinning and Firefox connections gives me 404 pages, which cannot be true.
And Yes! I have antivirus software but only for Windows and I have not updated it for 6 months, because it was slowing things down. Now! What else do you need to know? Can you help me?
leBron: Can I call you Stephanie, Ms. Gooley.If I understand correctly you have a Lenovo laptop with Windows 7 operating system.
You were on Facebook and you got some video link that most likely had a virus. You did not click it. Turned it off. Then when you started your computer later, everything is slow. Also you use Firefox as your browser. Do I have all the information you just shared?
Stephanie: Yeah! You got all that information correct.
B. Cross-selling and upselling Solutioning
Bad practice
Stephanie: Thanks. Now it is working. You really helped me.
Stephanie: Just not interested. Gotta run. Bye.
Good practice
Stephanie: Thanks. Now it is working. You really helped me.
leBron: You are welcome. I know you have to get back to work Stephanie. But given that you probably connect with various network and travel. You probably get lots of exposure to possible virus attacks via social media and emails. Would you be interested in a package we offer that will automatically update virus protection for not just the usual Windows but also all social media sites and emails? We have several packages that might address your needs and that way, you will no longer have emergency situation like this. Can I ask for just few minutes more to tell you about it?
Stephanie: [Laughs with relief] leBron you might just have a good idea here. Let me know more but just few minutes. Ok!
References
1. Electronic Commerce: A Managerial Perspective. Turban, Efraim (2002). Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-185461-5
2. What’s the Future of Customer Support?, Justin Flitter, January 26, 2011, Zendesk.com
7. What is Presales?—part II, VijayaDevi, May 28, 2013, Slideshare.net
9. Solution selling, 10 May 2013, Wikipedia®
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