The second profile in the Alchemy of Sales model, the Detective’s role centres around a deep understanding of the client’s context. They take a ‘zoom-out’ approach in three steps:

1. Scoping deeper than the surface information to understand a client’s initial needs
2. Getting insights into the client’s organisation to understand their decision-making process and team dynamics
3. Leveraging industry trends and market research to get a clear understanding of the client’s broader position

These clear steps deliver crucial information to your sales team about the real-world challenges your clients face. They also uncover what barriers might prevent a sale, allowing them to feed the Solutionist’s imagination in devising a creative solution to overcome them and close a successful deal.

Take a closer look at the skills that make the Detective so important to your sales cycle:

Data Analysis

In sales, Detectives revolve around data and analysis. They thrive on information input, breaking it down and enhancing their understanding. They don’t rely on broad, surface information. Detectives will go a step further to find deep-seated insights and qualitative data that help inform solutions that bring value to the customer.

Their keen eye for detail is crucial as they analyse data to form their theories on the root cause of a challenge. These skills are particularly important as your salespeople make sense of their clients’ needs. Utilising the Detective’s analytical skills at this stage can build a robust foundation for the Solutionist and Maximiser to build on.

Highly Contextualised Insights

A sales Detective’s eye for detail extends further than just their client to growing contextual knowledge. By monitoring wider industry trends and leveraging market research, they can get an even deeper understanding of the context that their client is operating in. It has been shown in research¹ that salespeople with more context-specific knowledge perform better than those without.

Considering their customer’s challenges in the context of the bigger picture allows them to pinpoint root causes, and these insights inform meaningful solutions. On top of this, by monitoring quantifiable customer behaviours they are able to track sales progress in a way that provides impactful data back to the business.

Understanding The Decision-Making

Detectives go one step further in understanding their client’s universe by getting familiar with their organisation. Structures, hierarchies, team dynamics and procedures all play a big part in the decision making process. Any of these things could be the barrier to a successful sale, so the Detective’s knowledge is crucial to overcoming internal problems.

Learning the internal structures and procedures that impact decision-making and spend benefits the entire process. Identifying key players and blockers allows Activators to work in unison with Engagers to leverage supportive stakeholders and overcome blockers. Research² shows that an individual’s knowledge about a customer’s business model is a stronger indicator of sales performance than other types.

Detectives are essential in the hunt for information and contextual knowledge when it comes to your clients. Their skills in digesting and analysing key data are crucial to build a broad and full picture of the world your clients are navigating. The insights that a Detective is able to uncover highlight all the ways your business can help. They can inform the solutions that will be developed and also provide context about a client’s organisation, helping you to identify key players and blockers in the decision making process.

Build The Detective Skills Of Your Salespeople

The Detective is just one of five roles in our sales framework. They co-exist – sometimes in harmony, sometimes with tension – to form a balanced, high-performance team. In the modern age of business it is vital that your people are equipped with a breadth of skills and the confidence to leverage them, which is where Alchemist can help.

Embarking on a blended learning programme with Alchemist means your talent are provided with learning that feels personal. Building skills against roles, such as data analysis and developing contextual knowledge like the Detective, can enhance the performance of your sales function. Contact us today to find out how our Sales Enablement Framework can ignite transformative change in your salespeople.  

¹ Leigh et al (2014)

² Böhm et al (2020)