Technique Vs Thinking

I've been thinking about why the same sales technique can feel so different depending on who's using it

Take questioning

Two salespeople could use exactly the same questioning model

One conversation feels collaborative

The other feels like you're being worked through a process

Same questions

Same technique

Very different experience

So perhaps the interesting bit isn't the technique itself

It's what's going on behind it

- What am I trying to understand?
- Why does it matter?
- Who benefits from the answer?
- Am I genuinely curious about where this conversation might go? 
- Have I already decided where I want to take it?

That's probably why I find myself spending as much time developing sales thinking as sales technique these days

The VALUE Framework gives that thinking some structure.

🔸 Validate = right opportunities

Are we exploring something that's genuinely worth pursuing for both sides?

🔸 Align = right research

What do we need to understand before deciding what to ask or do?

🔸 Leverage = right conversations

Are our skills helping the customer think as well as helping us understand?

🔸 Underpin = right solutions

Are we responding to what we've learned rather than steering towards a predetermined answer?

🔸 Evolve = right outcomes

Are we still focused on what the customer was trying to achieve in the first place?

Questioning techniques matter

Listening techniques matter

Challenging well matters

But perhaps the technique is only the visible bit

The customer experiences the thinking behind it and that might explain why the same technique can create two very different conversations

(Pic of me thinking about life on a recent Ryanair flight)