It has been over 30 years since our sales strategies evolved to solution selling. Our lives have undergone some significant changes since then - cloud technology, social media, smartphones, and now, artificial intelligence. Yet, solution selling is still prominent and effective, and it has only advanced and progressed with these technologies. 

Yes, solution selling has undergone some changes recently, but its basic principle has remained the same all these years. In today’s article, we discuss what solution selling is and how it has evolved in the last ten years; from a marketer’s perspective.

What is solution selling?

Solution selling is a sales methodology that became popular in the 1980s, and it is based on a simple principle - sell the solution to the prospect’s problems, not the product. Salespeople ask questions that allow them to understand the prospect’s problems, then they explain why their product is the best solution.

For example, in the late 1990s, generating leads and sales became easier with the internet. Businesses found it hard to manage a large number of customers and prospects. Navigating through long spreadsheets to find details about a specific customer caused productivity erosion. 

However, CRM businesses emerged right on time, promising easier, highly productive, and cost-effective customer relationship management. These CRM businesses were selling the solution to one of the biggest problems faced by the companies back then. 

What’s new in solution selling?

Although solution selling is still highly effective, it has undergone some major changes in the last ten years, adapting itself to technological advancements that happened in this period. The most significant advancement of the past few years has been the shift towards artificial intelligence, and solution selling has also evolved with it. 

In the past, it was the salespeople who managed and executed all sales processes, from collecting prospect data to understanding their needs and problems to pitching the product as the solution. However, today, as sales and marketing robots have advanced further, all these processes are taken care of by robot technologies.

For example, Robots like SkyIntel can initiate human-like conversations with each website visitor, understand their needs, and pitch the product as the solution. The most exciting thing about these robots is that the website visitors feel like they are chatting with a real person. Many businesses have already adopted marketing robots for lead generation, and it is expected to be the next major step in the evolution of solution selling.

Adapting to new technology and adopting the best tools is critical in driving the business to success. Try SkyIntel’s sales and marketing robots today and turn most of your website visitors into leads!