The power of intrinsic selling

One of the most significant lessons of B2B selling was published in a 1966 article. Harvard Business Review article titled “How to Buy/Sell Professional Services” by Warren J. Wittreich, who explains the differences between extrinsic and intrinsic sales tactics.

Extrinsic selling occurs, according to Wittreich, when a B2B seller relies on successful work that has been done for other clients, as a means of validating the seller’s capabilities and potential ability to perform for a prospective client. The weakness of extrinsic selling is that it requires the prospect to make a leap of faith; Believing that the service provider will provide a level of success that equals or exceeds the work performed for the seller’s current or past clients. Extrinsic selling is a “trust me” approach employed by a large number of B2B product and service providers.

In contrast, intrinsic selling does not not Requiring a prospective customer to base their selection of a vendor on work performed for others. Instead, engage the prospect in meaningful dialogue that:

• addresses your specific situation
• demonstrates, immediately and firsthand, the seller’s understanding of your situation, and
• validates the seller’s ability to help the potential buyer

Intrinsic selling gives buyers a significantly higher level of confidence in the seller’s abilities and leads to a commitment or sale much more frequently and quickly than extrinsic selling.

The task of the B2B marketer is to equip the sales force with methodologies and tools that help initiate and facilitate intrinsic selling. This is rarely accomplished through client/client “case studies,” which are widely used, rarely read by potential clients, and have the same level of credibility as references on a job applicant’s resume. (Would a company ever post examples of their past work that weren’t portrayed as highly successful?)

Create simple tools to attract prospects

A good example of the power of intrinsic selling was the introduction of energy derivatives by Phibro Energy, which allowed large companies to hedge the price risk associated with gasoline, jet fuel, and heating oil. Phibro’s CEO understood that to capture the attention of FORTUNE 500 CFOs and convince them that energy derivatives were a viable and prudent risk management strategy, his sales force would need to be equipped with more than fancy brochures. To buy into the concept, a CFO would need to understand exactly how energy derivatives could benefit their company.

To establish an intrinsic sales dynamic, Phibro Energy equipped its sales representatives with a simple worksheet to use in their face-to-face meetings with CFOs. The worksheet was designed to roughly estimate the range and depth of a large company’s energy price exposure. Based on past and projected volumes of jet fuel, gasoline, heating oil, etc. used by the prospect, and by applying an algorithm created by Phibro’s internal mathematicians, sales reps were able to show CFOs sitting across the table exactly how energy risk management would affect their company’s bottom line.

Phibro’s Energy Exposure Worksheet not only enabled their sales reps to establish an intrinsic sales dynamic, it immediately repositioned the role and stature of the sales rep. Having demonstrated the potential value of Phibro Energy in tangible terms, the CFO no longer viewed the sales rep as simply promoting products or services. In the eyes of potential customers, Phibro’s sales representatives took on the role of a consultant who could help their company reduce financial risk and operating costs.

Marketers at most B2B companies, as well as many B2C companies, have similar opportunities to create disciplines and tools that can empower their sales reps to harness the power of intrinsic selling.