Meet Our “Influencer of the Week,” Patrick Boucousis!

Patrick Boucousis, High-Performance B2B Sales Coach and Trainer at The Sales Natural

Nominated by: Brynne Tillman

Career in B2B complex sales. Initially in construction and mining machinery e.g. Caterpillar, and then Enterprise IT e.g. Oracle Systems. In roles as diverse as Seller, Sales Management, Regional Management, and CEO. I led four business turnarounds. I have built a number of sales teams, all of which I trained and coached personally, transforming them from under-performers to teams that outperformed their company and industry peers by considerable margins. So much so, that I was regularly approached by other companies to coach their sales teams, which I did on an ad hoc basis until demand led to me codifying my methods formally as ‘Same Page Selling’. I then formed The Sales Natural as an online training and coaching program created to teach the SPS method, which is about growing high levels of trust with buyers to gain deep insights that enable Sellers to become exceptional sources of value to those buyers. It challenges the stereotype of sales being about push and pitch techniques designed to manipulate buyers into saying ‘yes’. Techniques that alienate rather than attract buyers. The SPS method is value, rather than needs-based. It is an approach that attracts buyers because Sellers engage with them naturally, authentically and transparently.

Connect with Patrick on LinkedIn, Youtube, or through his website.

Patrick’s Insights

What is your first conversation with a new prospect? I’m guessing it is a Needs Exploration. Is that the best starting point though? I suggest not. Value Discovery is.

What is the difference? In simple terms, Needs Discovery is about defining a solution where Value Discovery is about clarifying the result you want from the solution. You could say, needs are about inputs. Value is about outputs. Compare the difference between needs-based and value-based questions:

Needs: ‘what are you looking for in a new suit?’

Value: ‘How you would like to look and feel in your new suit?’

Needs: ‘What do you need in a new phone?’

Value: ‘Tell me about the experience of owning your new phone. What will you now be able to do that you couldn’t do before?’

See the difference? Needs questions result in straightforward answers, like a specification or set of requirements. Essentially, inputs to address problems or challenges. And they provide no insight into the buyer. Value conversations on the other hand reveal desired outcomes, and unlike needs explorations, they rarely have straightforward answers because they encourage buyers to give more expansive and aspirational answers about what they really want. Bottom line? You gain real insight that then enables you to create innovative solutions to deliver those outcomes.