When I post about my strategic narrative work with CEOs, people sometimes comment, "isn't that just Challenger Sale?" Well, yes and no. Challenger Sale’s guiding metaphor for the seller-buyer relationship is teacher-student. You frame the need for your product by educating the prospect. Thing is, Challenger Sale doesn’t have a lot to say about the *structure* of that educational message. As a result many (not all) Challenger Sales pitches I’ve seen are essentially, “Here’s why your problem is really, really bad,” backed up by some stats. Strategic narrative, in contrast, *does* have a point-of-view about the structure of that message. Namely, that it should be a very concise story about a new game winners are playing (new mindset) and an old one that used to be a winning game, but is now a road to ruin. In that sense, strategic narrative *is* a kind of challenger sale, in that you’re “challenging” the buyer to abandon and old mindset and adopt a new one. But it also does 2 things that, in my experience, are really valuable: - The old game/new game structure transforms the metaphor from teacher-student to something more like “movement champion-movement joiner.” It’s less about “you have a big problem” and more about “come join this new world.” - By simplifying it down so much, you help buyers make sense of what’s happening around them That last point is clearly something the Challenger Sale authors believe in. Earlier this year, one of them, Brent Adamson, published an article in Harvard Business Review called Sensemaking in Sales. He doesn’t exactly make it clear how to do that, but I would argue that strategic narrative does. 1) Name the new game (and the old one) 2) Show there are life-and-death stakes (winning and losing) 3) Define the object of the new game (buyer mission) 4) Present obstacles to winning the new game 5) Show how you help overcome them
Andy Raskin, (per your #5) After discovery, I also have been showing what tools/processes/steps that 'they', the company, have already taken to transition/win the game (which drops their guard and makes them feel good). As if they've already been moving (perhaps even unaware) in the right direction towards the new game. Pointing out, they already have skin in the change-game having already expensed time & materials toward the movement ... thus nulling the 'status quo', or the 'too big of a movement' for us now argument. They just need to accept our help to complete the circle.
Silver bullet short sales insights (ie, ones that drive action with a buyer) are pretty rare. It’s tough for a seller to authentically say something in a few sentences that a customer leader will buy into and start a buying motion, such as an assessment of their current approach or curiosity to explore a solution. More attainable can be sharing a longer insightful story (rather than some statements) that demonstrates a deep understanding of how other similar orgs approach their challenges, and the underappreciated issues that result. When complemented with a picture/diagram (which invites more interaction with the buyer and recognizes most of us ‘get’ something more easily through a visual), the seller can often gently expose a problem that the buyer may have been overlooking. That’s my experience from working with 50+ companies on sales insights and stories over the years.
Andy Raskin, I gotta say, I'd love to hear the conversation you and Brent Adamson would have together. 😀 I appreciate you both so much.
I've always had a problem with starting with a problem. Depending on the customer mindset,they may not even be aware of any problem. And if you come at them with, "here's what's wrong." It immediately puts up the guard. Making whatever goal you have, that much harder. For me, that's why the strategic narrative and the hero's journey are brilliant.
I read the Challenger Sale late, about 4 years ago. At that time is was interesting but in my opinion how most modern companies were having sales conversations. On the other hand I discovered Strategic Narrative about 1 year ago, and discovered a logic of sales storytelling I had never heard or thought of, with a real framework. And would say 10% of companies leverage right. Night and day differences for me.
Andy Raskin - im a big fan of yours! I agree with you that many “interpretations” of the challenger sale approach lack structure and evil knievel right from stat to solution. The Challenger Sale choreography is a 6-step structure for the message. Warmer —>reframe—>rational drowning—>emotional impact—->new way forward—->solution. Always happy to compare notes! Either way, thank you for your content and storytelling. You’re a bright light in my feed.
Your posts feel like I should be paying to read them. That’s the level of expertise you lend.
Comparing strategic narrative architecture to challenger is absurd. 2 totally different things. Shocked people frame your work in that way
This is really great. I like the switch in messaging from the old game to the new game structure
Venture Capitalist: Acadian Ventures
1yThe strategic narrative is of course important for helping sales and marketing sell more effectively. But I'd say the lasting value is creating something that your workforce and other stakeholders engage with, understand and believe in. When you look at the product roadmap, it should amplify and reinforce the strategic narrative. And a look back at the past roadmap should reflect that too. Nick Hernandez gets this. As an early stage investor, I really want to understand what the founder believes that others don't believe. This, for me is the genesis of almost every fundamentally disruptive business.