The UNICORN Model for Enduring Sales Leadership

Physicians sell patients on a remedy. Lawyers sell juries on a verdict. Teachers sell students on the value of paying attention in class. Entrepreneurs woo funders, writers sweet-talk producers, coaches cajole players. Whatever our profession, we deliver presentations to fellow employees and make pitches to new clients.” – Daniel H. Pink, To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

Selling was always difficult…

..and it’s becoming tougher by the day.

Just ask anyone whose primary focus is to get customers to choose their product, solution or service in a hyperactive market, inundated with competitors.

In the past, it was relatively easy to identify competition and contrast the product or service.

Today, competition may come from a completely unrelated industry.

Overnight, the offering could become obsolete or easily replaced by a competitor whose value far exceeds your own.

Also, there isn’t an answer or approach that provides a “one-size fits all” selling model, due to the diversity of products/services, industries and customer types.

So, how does one ensure that the offering rises to the top of the heap in the mind of the customer?

The UNICORN Sales Leadership Model

The UNICORN model outlines a seven step methodology that is more suited for situations or customers that need a “value-added” or “consultative” sales approach.

The UNICORN model operates in a virtuous cycle which does not end after the sale has been completed but continues to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with the customer.

It creates a “customer-for life” relationship, moving beyond the transactional nature of most sales interactions.

The seven steps in the UNICORN model include –

1. Uncover – the market environment through the application of integrated insights obtained by rigorous analysis and research. The objective is to gain a thorough understanding of current and possible future competitors, current competitors’ goals, resources, and assumptions, current and expected future strategies of competitors, future competitors, competitor product positioning, pipeline and competitor strengths and weaknesses.
2. Navigate – the customer ecosystem by mapping the role of various external stakeholders such as distributors, buyers, suppliers and government/public agencies and their impact on customer preferences. List the key decision makers and their impact on the buying decision.
3. Interact – with the customer(s) and/or key external stakeholders to validate the insights from Step 1 and Step 2. The resulting analysis will reveal the gaps between customer expectations and competitor offerings which can be used to supplement the product offering.
4. Connect – with internal stakeholders and enlist their support to refine the offering and customize it based on the customer preferences.
5. Operate – within the customer buying environment by presenting the final offering to the key decision makers. Undertake or coordinate all pre- and post sales activities to enable the customer to utilize the offering, as intended,
6. Renew – the customer relationship by continuing to interact with all key decision makers to continue improving the current and future offerings.
7. Nourish – the knowledge base that constitutes the market environment (Step 1) and customer ecosystem (Step 2), thereby anticipating the customer needs and preferences as well as taking advantage of future opportunities or mitigating anticipated risks. This lays the foundation of the next version of the sales cycle when a new offering or an extension of the existing offering will become available for the customers.

Conclusion

In the new hyper-competitive environment and an information based economy, traditional selling models are becoming less effective.

The UNICORN sales leadership system lays emphasis on preparing the ground-work in Steps 1 to Steps 3 (Uncover, Navigate, Interact) in advance of presenting the offering to the customer .

In addition, Step 7 (Nourish) lays the foundation and rekindles a fresh selling cycle for new opportunities.

Most sales process systems either skip one or more of the first three steps (Uncover, Navigate, Interact) or do not expend appropriate time or resources to build up the knowledge base that constitutes these steps.

Salespeople are well-versed with and do a great job on Step 4 to Step 6 (Interact, Connect and Operate), as these activities are an integral part of most traditional selling models.

By adopting all seven steps of the UNICORN sales leadership model, salespeople can customize and re-frame their offering in the context of the market environment and customer ecosystem, enhancing their chances of success.