SaaSy Talk S01.09: Gap Selling and Beyond: Mastering the Art of Problem-Centric Sales with Keenan

About The Guest(s): Keenan is A Sales Growth Company’s CEO/President and Chief Antagonist. He’s been selling something to someone for his entire life. He’s been teaching and coaching almost as long. With over 20 years of sales experience, which he’ll tell you he doesn’t give a shit about, Keenan has been influencing, learning from and shaping the world of sales for a long time. Finder of the elephant in the room, Keenan calls it as he sees it and lets nothing or no one go unnoticed. Keenan’s passion for problem solving reaches well beyond the sales and business world. He is the celebrated author of Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century That Nobody’s Teaching You and Gap Selling: Getting the Customer to Yes: How Problem-Centric Selling Increases Sales by Changing Everything You Know About Relationships, Overcoming Objections, Closing and Price be successful, you must learn the new rules for success. Gap Selling has been voted among the sales community as one of the best sales books of all time. Father of 3 amazing girls, PSIA Certified Level 2 ski instructor (see, more coaching) and avid Boston sports fan, Keenan keeps crazy busy when he’s not focused on A Sales Growth Company. Summary: Keenan discusses the importance of understanding the customer's needs and the gap between their current state and desired state. He emphasizes the need for salespeople to focus on solving problems and providing value rather than relying solely on product-led growth strategies. Keenan also shares his journey into sales and how he developed the gap selling methodology. Key Takeaways: Salespeople should focus on understanding the customer's needs and the gap between their current state and desired state. Product-led growth strategies are not a substitute for effective selling and understanding the customer's problems. Hiring the right salespeople is crucial, and individuals with critical thinking skills and problem-solving abilities make great salespeople. Building a strong company culture and providing challenging opportunities can help retain top sales talent. Quotes: "Really good selling is training, is to baseball." "You need a hustler, someone who is not afraid to kick down doors and do different shit." "The best salespeople understand that every single person who bought their product bought it for a different reason." "Start looking at the person and stop using stupid rubrics." "Build a culture and only hire people who fit that culture." ​Chapters:  (00:02) Keenan explains how the concept of gap selling came about. (00:05) Keenan emphasizes the need for differentiation beyond the product. (00:06) Keenan dismisses the idea that product-led growth is effective. (00:09) The importance of understanding the "why" in sales (00:10) The need to hire sales reps before sales leaders (00:12) Training salespeople on the business before the product (00:15) The transition from individual contributor to sales manager (00:18) The importance of bringing your ideas to the table for promotion (00:26) The impact of AI on sales and its potential future (00:33) Keenan's hiring process and what he looks for (00:41) Attacking behaviors, not people (00:42) Quick Fire-Round Subscribe on Spotify:  SaaSy Talk Unfiltered | Podcast on Spotify  Subscribe on YouTube:  SAASY TALK UNFILTERED - YouTube   Subscribe on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/saasy-talk-unfiltered Subscribe to our Newsletter: SaaSyTalkUnfiltered | Substack Visit our Website:  SaaSy Talk Unfiltered (transistor.fm)    Follow Ricky Sevta on Linkedin:  Ricky Sevta | LinkedIn   Follow Sean Diljore on Linkedin:  Sean Diljore | LinkedIn