The complete guide to solution selling

Your best sales reps don't start with product features. They ask questions, uncover pain points, and position your solution as the answer to specific business problems. This technique introduces a guided conversation that is effective for complex B2B sales environments, where buyers need consultative guidance rather than generic presentations. 

It’s called solution selling: a methodology that prioritizes customer needs over product pitches. The approach builds trust, shortens sales cycles, and creates stronger customer relationships.

This guide covers when to use solution selling, how to implement it effectively, and where the methodology is most effective in sales.

What is solution selling?

Solution selling is a sales technique in which sellers focus on identifying a prospect’s needs and then recommend a particular product or service that addresses those needs. Instead of simply pushing their product or service on potential buyers, reps use solution selling to thoroughly diagnose a prospect’s problem and offer tailored solutions.

The term “solution selling” was coined in the 1970s by Frank Watts, who then began teaching his method to sales teams as an independent consultant. After receiving Watts’s training, salesman Michael Bosworth went on to found the Solution Selling sales training organization in 1983, which helped popularize the method moving forward.

There are many variations of solution selling, and the technique has evolved significantly over the last 50 years. But the foundation of the methodology remains the same: to provide a problem-led answer to a prospect’s concerns and holistically address how a product or service will achieve their intended outcomes.

Why is solution selling important?

Today's buyers do most of their homework before they ever talk to sales. Research shows that they do 57% to 70% of their research before contacting reps, which means they arrive already informed and somewhat skeptical of generic pitches. Solution selling works because it treats salespeople like consultants, rather than walking brochures.

The approach actually delivers results you can measure. Companies that use solution selling tend to experience shorter sales cycles, higher win rates, and customers who remain loyal for longer periods compared to teams that simply push products. When you understand problems before jumping into solutions, you naturally stand out from competitors who are all talking about the same features.

It's also just better for building real relationships. When customers feel like you actually understand fundamental and specific pain points of their role, they're way more likely to buy more from you later and tell other people about you. Plus, when conversations focus on solving problems rather than comparing specs, price becomes less of a deciding factor.

If you're dealing with complex B2B sales that involve multiple people and take a long time to close, solution selling provides a roadmap for keeping everything on track while helping your customers succeed.

Pros and cons of solution selling

Like any sales approach, solution selling requires creating a delicate perspective when setting up a new conversation. Here are a few pointers: 

Pros

• Builds stronger customer relationships: When you take time to understand what's really bugging your prospects, they see you as a trusted advisor rather than just another vendor. People appreciate feeling heard.
• Helps you stand out from competitors: While other reps rattle off feature lists, you're having meaningful conversations about business challenges. That consultative approach often wins deals even when you're not the cheapest option.
• Works well for complex sales: If you're selling something expensive with a lengthy buying process, solution selling provides a framework for navigating all the stakeholders and moving deals forward.
• Opens doors for bigger deals: Once you understand the full picture of what someone's dealing with, you can often solve multiple problems at once instead of just addressing one pain point.

Disadvantages

• Requires serious preparation: You can't wing it with solution selling. Reps need deep knowledge of products, industries, and how different features solve various business problems.
• Takes more time: All that discovery and customization means longer sales cycles and fewer prospects in your pipeline at any given time.
• It can backfire if done wrong: Nobody likes feeling interrogated. If your questioning feels pushy or manipulative, prospects will shut down fast.
• Less valuable with informed buyers: Today's buyers often research extensively before talking to sales, so they may already know their problems and potential solutions.

Solution selling methodologies step-by-step 

Ultimately, the merits of a solution-selling approach depend on your specific team. If, for instance, your sellers have excellent commercial capabilities, they’ll likely find great success in leveraging the technique, as it requires a great deal of interpersonal communication, active listening, product or service expertise, and confidence.

Solution selling can be an effective method for teams that have adequate face-to-face time with clients, like those with multiple outside or field sales reps. Because the technique demands in-depth knowledge and understanding of each prospect’s pain points, goals, and constraints, solution sellers must actually be able to interact with them on a regular basis.

For sales teams who feel this approach would be beneficial to their process and buying journey, it’s essential to follow some basic steps to get it right:

1. Research

Solution selling really depends on your team’s knowledge of its products and services. After all, sellers can only offer valuable, customized solutions if they know the ins and outs of what they’re selling. They need deep expertise in more than just basic features and jargon messaging: They must also master how those features can solve a wide array of customer challenges.

To gain next-level proficiency, reps must conduct thorough research into their prospects, existing clients, and key decision-makers. They should study their target buyers’ industries, competitors, and the solutions they’ve already leveraged. Sellers should also reach out to existing customers to gain a deeper understanding of how their products or services have impacted their business.

With solution selling, it’s imperative to remain a step ahead of buyers. Reps should identify possible pain points before initiating a conversation to demonstrate their empathetic understanding of the primary challenges. They should consider how to thoughtfully position their messaging to prove that they’ve put the time and effort required to ensure their solution aligns with the buyer’s needs (rather than focusing on why their product is awesome).

2. Start with questions

Once the seller has successfully made contact with a prospect, it’s time to start identifying the problem. Be careful not to rush to the diagnosis too soon, though, as it can come across as pushy. Instead, ask thought-provoking questions that gradually increase in specificity, like the ones below:

• What are your business goals?
• Are your current solutions helping you achieve those goals? If not, why do you think that is?
• What obstacles are keeping you from achieving your goals?
• Why are you looking for a new solution, and what are your must-haves for that solution?

It’s important for the seller to carefully consider the prospect’s answers to determine if their solutions are a good fit for their use case. Don’t just pursue a buyer because they seem willing to make a purchase, as this will likely lead to issues in customer satisfaction, attrition, and brand perception down the line. Reps should take the time to first qualify the prospect, then develop a relationship that’s built on curiosity, honesty, and understanding.

3. Educate the client

Now that the rep has gathered all the pertinent information, they can easily build and present a value proposition that’s well-aligned with the customer’s needs. It’s crucial for sellers to provide a detailed explanation of how each of their products’ features will help move the buyer closer to their desired objectives. Rather than giving generalized information about their offerings, this is an opportunity for representatives to demonstrate their understanding of the customer’s pain points and goals — and that they know exactly how to bridge the gap between the two.

4. Provide value

Next, the rep must engage the client’s interest further by focusing on the ROI of their products and services. Sellers specifically share what the buyer can accomplish with their tailored solution as well as the savings they can realize in comparison to their current products or services.

At this stage, it’s important for the rep to think long-term and holistically and to provide substantial proof to back up their claims. They can share case studies from existing customers, craft a customized slide deck that outlines the numbers, and illustrate exactly how each feature compares to what the client currently uses.

The goal here is for reps to show prospects that it would be in their best interest to purchase their product or service, and that failing to do so would be a mistake. They should highlight all the ways in which the solution will eliminate the buyer’s problem (both right now and over time) and why that’s vital to the success of their business.

5. Close the sale

At this point in the sales process, buyers may jump ship for a variety of reasons. They might be uneasy about the value a rep has promised them; they might have budgetary concerns; they might not have proper buy-in from key stakeholders; or they might have any number of other concerns.

Solution sellers should understand how to get those waffling prospects across the finish line without being too aggressive. The key here is to consider previous lost opportunities and sales that have fallen through in the final stages of the process. Reps should have a list handy of all possible client objections and prepare appropriate responses for each. 

By relying on the information they’ve gleaned throughout the process and the rapport they’ve built with the customer, the rep can handle the buyer’s protests with authenticity and conviction. Once they’ve alleviated the buyer’s doubts, the seller can guide them to a mutually beneficial decision and ultimately close the sale.

Solution selling in action: A hypothetical case study

To help you gain an even clearer picture of how the solution-selling methodology might play out in the real world, let’s walk through a hypothetical scenario.

Jenna is an outside sales rep at a technology consulting and services firm. Her team uses the solution-selling approach because they interact in person with prospects and customers on a daily basis. Her manager has also chosen solution selling because the B2B technology sales cycle is generally longer and more complex, and their offerings have a relatively high price point. Thus, they need a technique that allows them to clearly illustrate their solutions’ value as they relate to their customers’ actual needs and objectives.

After receiving a lead from her marketing team, Jenna begins researching the lead’s industry and competitors and speaks to existing customers who operate in a similar space. She collects this information, then uses it to craft a personalized email to the lead.

Once Jenna has her foot in the door with the prospect, she meets with them face-to-face and begins asking thoughtful, specific questions, which helps her to prove she won’t be force-fitting a product or service that won’t actually suit their needs. Through her questioning, she learns the prospect is currently facing the following pain points:

• An overall lack of automation within their workflows is slowing down their operation
• A lack of adequate communication channels with hardware and software vendors
• Inflexible purchasing processes due to rigid partner agreements and inadequate procurement resources
• Disparate tools and systems, which are causing data silos within their tech stack and inefficiencies in their workflows

After actively listening to these concerns, Jenna pivots the conversation to uncover what the prospect is looking to achieve. She finds they want to resolve their technology challenges without having to purchase from so many vendors, since it’s costly, inflexible, and ineffective.

At this point, Jenna takes stock of the prospect’s issues and goals and evaluates whether or not her company can offer a viable solution. It’s an important part of her solution-selling process because it helps her avoid wasting her prospects’ time or running into customer satisfaction issues in the future.

Fortunately, her organization’s holistic technology solutions can address this particular prospect’s needs. While a seller using a different methodology might simply offer the prospect sales collateral or a feature list at this stage, Jenna focuses on crafting a unique value proposition for the buyer. She builds a presentation that demonstrates exactly how a solution from her company can solve the customer’s challenges. Her custom solution offers:

• A one-stop shop for purchasing, implementing, and maintaining hardware and software
• A dedicated team of data engineers, technical architects, and project managers who can deploy tailored technology solutions
• A streamlined tech stack, wherein all systems are connected and can be updated over time, as needed

After presenting the solution, Jenna also communicates the ROI of her offering. She explains how the customer will save both time and money by investing in her company’s solution, since they’ll no longer need to deal with a variety of hardware vendors and software providers to manage their operation. She also conveys the value of working with a single team that can implement and maintain these technologies, since they can easily pivot without knowledge loss.

Jenna’s experience in solution selling helps her at the next stage of the sale, too. As is typically the case, the buyer raises several objections and concerns about her pitch. But Jenna is prepared to handle the opposition because of her deep product knowledge and ability to clearly and confidently express her solution’s benefits.

After some back and forth, Jenna and the buyer are able to settle on agreeable terms, and the deal closes. She’ll continue to look for opportunities to even better support this client, and will use the knowledge she gained throughout the process to continue building on her solution-selling skills.

While Jenna's manual approach worked, the time she invested in research, note-taking, and follow-up tracking could be dramatically reduced with the right platform foundation.

When solution selling doesn't work

Solution selling isn't right for every situation. It works poorly for simple, low-cost purchases where buyers just want to get things done quickly. High-volume, transactional sales environments don't have time for extensive discovery either.

If you're selling commodity products where price is the main differentiator, or dealing with buyers who prefer self-service research, solution selling can actually backfire. New sales reps often struggle with the methodology, too, since it requires strong questioning skills and industry knowledge.

When decisions need to happen fast, there's no time for the relationship-building that makes solution selling effective.

Elevate your solution selling game

Solution selling is just one of the many popular sales methodologies that teams can implement to improve the customer experience, shorten their sales cycles, and boost their revenue. It offers a more customer-centric approach than other traditional techniques, and helps reps sell with their clients’ challenges and objectives in mind. But if your team doesn’t have the proper tools for support, a solution-selling approach can still only get them so far.

Outreach’s Unified AI Revenue Workflow Platform eliminates the time-consuming, repetitive sales tasks that hinder your sellers’ ability to focus on what’s really important: their customers. With deal health scores, buyer engagement signals, and an AI-powered virtual assistant, Outreach helps your team leverage AI to win more deals — and reap the many benefits an effective solution-selling approach has to offer.

Learn more about how you can unlock seller productivity across the sales cycle, or request a demo today.

Frequently asked questions about solution selling

Solution selling vs consultative selling: What's the difference?

Solution selling starts with identifying specific problems and positioning your product as the answer. Consultative selling is broader, focusing on becoming a trusted advisor who might recommend solutions that don't involve your product at all. 

Solution selling is more sales-focused, while consultative selling prioritizes the advisory relationship above making a sale.

Solution selling vs product selling: Which approach works better?

Product selling leads with features, benefits, and specifications, using the same pitch for most prospects. Solution selling flips this approach by starting with discovery questions to understand problems before presenting any solutions. 

Product selling asks, "How can I sell my product?" while solution selling asks, "What does this customer actually need?" The difference often determines whether you're seen as a vendor or a trusted advisor.