Storytime [Part 2: The Challenger Sale]

The art and science of "Commercial Teaching"

This is a continuation of my three-part series on practical frameworks for commercial storytelling; jump in here or rewind to Part 1: The Hero’s Journey to start from the beginning.

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Most folks in sales-adjacent roles have at least heard of the Challenger Sale. Coined by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson in their groundbreaking book by the same name, the Challenger Sale describes a salesperson archetype – the “challenger” that is particularly effective in B2B sales, but also a story-telling framework the author characterizes as “Commercial Teaching.” This narrative framework is what makes “The Challenger” a uniquely persuasive salesperson; it was my biggest takeaway from the book and has served me countless times in my marketing career.

In this article, we’ll explore the art and science of “Commercial Teaching” and how it can be effectively harnessed in your marketing programs.

Let’s start.

Do your audience a favor.

I love marketing for a reason that Seth Godin articulates perfectly in his book “This is Marketing”

“Marketing is the generous act of helping someone solve a problem. Their problem.”

The best marketers I’ve hired get this. They have an intrinsic desire to help people, and it comes through in their work.

Commercial Teaching, as described in "The Challenger Sale", is the art of helping your customers by guiding them towards a deeper truth about their business – one that is crucial for them to understand in order to succeed, and together with your business presents the potential for a trusted partnership.

So, this make sense: Teach them something new, and show how your solution embraces that new knowledge. But let's take a step back and look at an essential — and often elusive — piece of the puzzle: the reframe.

The Art of the Reframe

The reframe is the linchpin in your Challenger Sale narrative. It’s where you walk into their house, tell them they are thinking about their business all wrong, and then they say “thank you” and write you a check. No big deal, lol. This is what makes the Challenger sale equally.. erm.. challenging, as it is powerful.

Creating a successful reframe isn’t easy, but it can be done and it’s a game changer when done right. The big questions are: How do we craft a reframe? And, how can we tell if it’s effective?

Scenario 1: 😌 We’ve already got a reframe.

Start by assessing its impact. As a marketer, you aren’t doing your job properly if you’ve gone more than a few weeks without talking with a customer. If you’re doing that, then you’ve seen first hand the expression on their face when a reframe is attempted. You’ll know if it’s working. Does it provoke a reaction? Does it stir a discussion? Does it lead your customer to question their understanding and become more receptive to your solution? If it ticks these boxes, then you've got yourself a solid reframe.

Scenario 2: 😅 We’re looking for a reframe.

If you've yet to discover your reframe, the journey starts with a deep understanding of your customers. Get into their heads - what are their pain points, their desires, and their misconceptions? Once you know these, think about how your solution alters this landscape. You sit at the intersection of your customers pain points, and the technology or expertise that your company provides. That's where you'll find your reframe.

“If we have data, let’s look at the data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.”
— Jim Barksdale, the former CEO of Netscape

It’s going to take some big (sales) deck energy to convince them of a new way to think of their business without a compelling data story. In the book, they discuss a Grainger case study that brings data to the table to illuminate their reframe. This is the way. Think about the data you can point to that provides evidence of your reframe claims. Here’s three ways to tackle this:

1. Contextualize industry trends with data your company owns. This is especially powerful, as it brings information to the table that only your company could have. The Grainger case study pulled this off by using their in-depth market research and proprietary data on the costs of inventory management and unplanned purchases. They had the data, and they effectively leveraged it to challenge their customers' existing understanding and offer a compelling reframe.

2. Perform data analysis on public data sources. Back in 2016, I worked with Flatiron Health to analyze clinicaltrials.gov data to show that pharmaceutical post-marketing commitments were growing at a rate that couldn’t be fulfilled via traditional data sources. The result was data visualizations that cast our products in a new light, solving an emerging problem that our customers weren’t yet thinking about.

3. Conduct your own study. This is a risky approach, but if you’ve got a strong hypothesis, you can put firms like GLG or Qualtrix to work to surface the data you need to support your reframe. These projects can be expensive, often $30,000 to $70,000 or more depending on the sample sizes you need. But you can test the waters a bit, ensuring your hypothesis will be supported by the data, by first running a smaller pilot study or surveying a subset of your target market. It’s a gamble, but it can pay off big.

Step by Step: Building a Commercial Teaching Narrative.

Having read the above, if you feel like there’s a reframe worth building a narrative around, it’s time to piece together the full story arc. If you squint a little, you’ll notice some similarities to The Hero’s Journey story framework from the first article in this series.

1. *Warmer* Establish a connection by demonstrating your understanding of your customer's world.

2. *Reframe* Challenge the customer's beliefs and introduce a new perspective - your reframe.

3. *Rational Drowning* Present a flurry of data to back up your reframe and persuade the customer of its validity.

4. *Emotional Impact* Stir up some emotions by relating the implications of your reframe to the customer's situation. Fear, greed, pride — marketers, do your thing.

5. *A New Way* Present your solution as the path forward, showing how it solves the problems highlighted by your reframe.

6. *Your Solution* Finally, delve into the specifics of your solution, tailoring it to the customer's needs and showing how it leads them to a better future.

For those of you already subscribed to this newsletter, in the coming issues, I'll be dissecting and sharing some real-world examples of Challenger Sale narratives, showing you how the magic happens. If you're not yet subscribed, now's the perfect time. You won't want to miss these in-depth analyses and case studies that will serve as practical guides in building your own powerful reframes.

And for those interested in further exploration, I highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of The Challenger Sale by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson. The book provides an in-depth look into the Grainger case study, which expertly leverages data to illuminate a successful reframe. It's a goldmine of insights that can give you a practical understanding of how to tell this compelling sales story.

Making it work

Remember, the power of the Challenger Sale’s Commercial Teaching framework comes not just from the model, but from how you color it in. Your authentic understanding of the customer — their world, your industry insights, and your unique solutions - these are your palette. The Challenger Sale is your canvas.

Start experimenting with this framework in your sales and marketing efforts. Don’t be intimidated by the high bar (and it is high!), start small by exploring the story with your sales team, with the founders, you’ll get the signals you need to decide if this is the right framework. Take it to a few charter customers or “friendlies” that can give you an honest take. Then, if the stars align, let the power of the Challenger Sale work its magic.

*Failure is okay, here’s Plan B

You may discover that the stars don’t align – don’t worry, all is not lost! Commercial Teaching is an extremely important aspect of Thought Leadership and Content Marketing programs. If you feel like you’ve provided an honest new take on your customers world but it’s not landing as a major reframe, tuck that narrative into an article (or better yet, a newsletter series *wink wink* *nudge nudge*.) Keep building on that to earn your spot as a trusted and knowledgeable advisor, and leverage that with an alternative sales story.

Learn more

In the next issue, we’ll dig into Andy Raskin’s “Promised Land”, a storytelling approach that has become a favorite among many startup founders. Until then, pick up a copy of the Challenger Sale to see first-hand how this approach to sales and storytelling can reshape your customers' understanding of their problems, and position your business as the ultimate solution.