The high-value, high-touch sell is a human process that may be enhanced by AI but is inherently a question of 'people buying people'. Think of this as a progressive conversation between buyer and seller that goes through four things: Receptivity; Rapport; Trust; and, Truth.

In the first step it's Receptivity: often from a cold start, as outbound lead generation, this is where a 'Pierce Point' message has to cut through to get the buyer's attention. If the value proposition in question is genuinely innovative then it is highly unlikely that the buyer can understand its value by adopting an arm's length approach to procuring a well-defined solution to an equally well-defined problem. Here, the buyer does not know all and relies on more than AI-powered online research to determine the solution to the problem.

If the Pierce Point message makes sense to the buyer as a potential solution to a compelling problem, what follows is a need for the seller to offer a 'Proof Point' validation of the solution as a credible option. This requires an initial human Receptivity between buyer and seller to become Rapport. At this point, we have genuine, meaningful engagement between buyer and seller.

As you can see in my Innovate Journal post, the ability to generate Receptivity, Rapport, and Trust between all stakeholders also requires Reflection. Over time, Trust is build between buyer and seller if Rapport is underpinned by a quantification of the solution: Value Engineering² that will provide a Proof Point as a solid Return On Investment ROI) argument that becomes the Truth.

Demand Creation Selling.

Demand Creation Selling is the opposite of Demand Fulfilment Selling: proactive, not reactive; and, ideal for innovators, where buyers cannot know all and specify requirements in an arm's length Request For Proposal (RFP). This approach is all about Mutual Value Discovery.

Mutual Value Discovery sessions to determine the cost of buying (versus NOT buying) your Value Proposition. This includes generating a ROI Model from Value Engineering that determines the time-based win-win value you create. Underpinning the Value Engineering is Design Thinking¹, which helps you to maximise Receptivity, Rapport, Trust and Truth among the broadest scope of stakeholders on both the buyside and the sellside.

As illustrated above, Demand Creation Selling enables Buyside Forecasting. Simply put, this means that the two values crucial to sales forecasts in Salesforce CRM - Opportunity Amount and Close Date - are submitted by both buyer (via a Web Form) and seller (as Salesforce User).

References

1. The Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. (2004) Stanford d.school. https://dschool.stanford.edu/about
2. Miles, L.D. (1947). The Lawrence D. Miles Value Engineering Reference Center Collection.
   https://minds.wiscon.edu/handle/1793/301