Successful selling has traditionally been closely associated with building strong customer relationships. Many sales methodologies assume that a salesperson must first establish trust, then identify the customer’s needs and subsequently offer an appropriate solution. This approach continues to form the foundation of many commercial education programmes and sales training courses.
Over the past decade, however, the commercial landscape has changed fundamentally. Decision-makers now have basically unlimited access to information. Before engaging with a supplier, prospective customers have often already visited websites, consulted industry publications, compared suppliers and reviewed the experiences of other organisations. Numerous studies have shown that a substantial part of the purchasing process has already been completed before the first meeting with a salesperson takes place.
As a result, the role of the salesperson has also changed. When customers can obtain most product-related information independently, the added value of a sales conversation no longer lies solely in answering questions or presenting solutions. According to the Challenger Sales Methodology, also referred to by some as the Challenger Sales Model, developed by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson (2011), commercial value is created by helping customers view their own organisation, challenges and opportunities from a different perspective. Rather than focusing primarily on the product or service, the emphasis is placed on generating new insights that enable customers to make better business decisions.
The following sections explain how the Challenger Sales Methodology was developed. Next, the five sales profiles identified by the underlying research are presented, followed by an explanation of how Dixon and Adamson used these findings to develop the Challenger Sales Methodology. The underlying philosophy is then discussed, together with the three core competencies needed and the six stages of the Challenger sales conversation. Lastly, several important considerations regarding the methodology are discussed.
Development of the Challenger Sales Methodology
As mentioned above, the Challenger Sales Methodology was developed by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson in 2011. At the time, both authors were employed by the Corporate Executive Board (CEB), an international research and advisory firm that was later acquired by Gartner. Their research was driven by a question that concerns many commercial organisations: why do some salespeople consistently outperform their colleagues, despite not necessarily having the greatest experience or the strongest customer relationships?
To answer this question, CEB analysed thousands of sales professionals across a wide range of industries and examined which behaviours were consistently associated with superior sales performance. The research focused primarily on complex B2B sales environments, where multiple stakeholders are involved and purchasing decisions often have significant financial or strategic consequences.
The findings challenged one of the prevailing assumptions in sales. For many years, relationship-oriented salespeople had been regarded as the highest performers. The research, however, revealed that another type of salesperson consistently achieved superior results. Rather than merely responding to existing customer needs, these salespeople challenged customers with new insights and encouraged them to view their own organisation from a different perspective. This finding formed the foundation of the Challenger Sales Methodology.
The five sales profiles
Based on their research, Dixon and Adamson identified five dominant sales profiles. Although every salesperson exhibits characteristics of multiple profiles, one style is generally dominant in practice.
1. The Hard Worker
The Hard Worker is characterised by discipline, perseverance and a strong work ethic. This salesperson prepares thoroughly for meetings, follows up sales opportunities consistently, and is willing to invest more time and effort than many colleagues. In addition, rejection rarely discourages the Hard Worker, who continues to expand the customer base through consistent effort.
Although these qualities contribute to stable sales performance, Dixon and Adamson concluded that hard work alone is not a distinguishing success factor. High levels of effort do not necessarily result in superior commercial performance when the underlying sales approach differs little from that of competitors.
2. The Relationship Builder
The Relationship Builder focuses primarily on establishing and maintaining long-term customer relationships. Considerable time is invested in building trust, being approachable, and fostering collaboration, while conflict is avoided whenever possible.
The research nevertheless shows that this profile is relatively underrepresented among the highest-performing salespeople in complex B2B sales environments. Relationship Builders are often reluctant to engage in difficult conversations or challenge customers’ existing assumptions. As a result, sales conversations frequently remain centred on existing customer needs, while opportunities to create new commercial value remain unexplored.
3. The Lone Wolf
The Lone Wolf relies heavily on personal intuition and experience. This salesperson develops an individual sales style, regularly deviates from standard procedures and often achieves excellent personal results. At the same time, this profile is difficult to manage because its effectiveness depends largely on individual characteristics and is therefore difficult to replicate across other members of the sales team.
4. The Reactive Problem Solver
The Reactive Problem Solver excels in customer service. This salesperson responds quickly to customer enquiries, resolves problems efficiently, and ensures that existing customers remain satisfied. As a result, the Reactive Problem Solver makes an important contribution to customer retention and long-term business relationships.
The primary focus, however, remains on solving existing problems. Comparatively less attention is devoted to creating new insights or identifying additional commercial opportunities.
5. The Challenger
According to Dixon and Adamson, the Challenger is the highest-performing profile within complex B2B sales. Challengers possess in-depth market knowledge, understand the strategic challenges faced by their customers and are willing to question existing assumptions.
Rather than simply answering customer questions, Challengers introduce new perspectives. They help customers view their challenges from a different angle and make opportunities or risks visible that had previously gone unrecognised. This not only creates greater understanding but also increases the customer’s willingness to seriously consider change.
A common misconception is that Challengers confront customers merely for the sake of confrontation. The essence of the methodology is that they create genuine commercial value through meaningful insights. Customers are challenged only when doing so contributes to better understanding and better decision-making.
The Sales Methodology
It should be noted that the five sales profiles do not constitute the Challenger Sales Methodology itself. They rather represent the research foundation upon which Dixon and Adamson developed the methodology. Once the research had demonstrated that the Challenger consistently outperformed the other sales profiles, the next question was why this particular profile proved to be more successful.
The answer to that question forms the core of the Challenger Sales Methodology. According to Dixon and Adamson, the Challenger’s distinguishing capability does not lie in personality traits, but in the way commercial value is created during the sales process. Whereas many salespeople respond to existing customer needs, the Challenger first seeks to change the customer’s way of thinking. Customers are encouraged to view their organisation, challenges, and opportunities from a different perspective, thereby revealing new ways of addressing their underlying issues.
According to the authors, successful selling therefore does not begin with presenting a solution, but with changing the way customers understand their own situation. Based on this principle, Dixon and Adamson developed the philosophical foundations of the methodology. These underlying principles form the basis of every aspect of Challenger Sales and consist of four interrelated principles: (1) commercial teaching, (2) insight selling, (3) constructive tension, and (4) reframing.
1. Commercial teaching
The central principle underlying the Challenger Sales Methodology is commercial teaching. This means that a salesperson genuinely adds new knowledge during the sales conversation. The objective is not to explain the features of a product or service, but to provide insights that enable customers to make better strategic decisions.
The salesperson therefore positions themselves not merely as a supplier, but as a subject-matter expert who understands the customer’s industry, market and business challenges. A traditional salesperson often begins a conversation by asking questions such as:
“What are you looking for?” or “What challenges are you currently facing?”
A Challenger adopts a fundamentally different approach. Rather than starting with the customer’s existing needs, the Challenger introduces a development of which the customer may not yet be fully aware, demonstrates how this development affects comparable organisations and explains why existing assumptions may no longer be valid. As a result, the conversation shifts away from the product or service and towards the customer’s organisation. According to Dixon and Adamson, this is where the greatest commercial value is created.
2. Insight selling
Commercial teaching is closely linked to insight selling. Insight selling is the commercial approach through which the underlying philosophy is translated into practice. Traditional selling starts with an existing customer need. The salesperson seeks to understand that need as thoroughly as possible before proposing an appropriate solution.
The Challenger Sales Methodology follows the opposite sequence. The salesperson first introduces a carefully developed new insight, referred to as a teachable insight. This insight encourages the customer to view their own situation differently. As a consequence, customers often recognise needs that they had not previously identified themselves. The sales conversation therefore revolves not around answering existing questions, but around raising entirely new ones. In essence, the Challenger creates a new way of thinking before discussing potential solutions.
3. Constructive tension
An important component of insight selling is creating what Dixon and Adamson refer to as constructive tension. This does not mean that the salesperson deliberately creates conflict or discomfort. Rather, the tension arises because the customer is confronted with information that challenges existing assumptions.
For example, an organisation may believe that rising personnel costs constitute its primary challenge. A Challenger may demonstrate that the underlying cause is actually an organisational structure that lacks scalability. In this situation, increasing personnel costs are not the problem itself, but rather the consequence of a more fundamental organisational issue. This creates a tension between the customer’s current understanding and the new insight presented by the Challenger. According to Dixon and Adamson, this tension is the primary catalyst for change. Only when customers recognise that their existing perspective is incomplete do they become willing to seriously consider alternative approaches.
4. Reframing
The mechanism through which the Challenger introduces this new way of thinking is known as reframing. Reframing involves viewing an existing problem from a different perspective. The underlying facts remain unchanged, but their interpretation changes. In essence, the problem itself is redefined.
Suppose an organisation indicates that it is struggling to recruit sufficient employees. A traditional salesperson is likely to focus primarily on solutions aimed at addressing the labour shortage.
A Challenger, however, first poses a fundamentally different question, for example:
“Why has the organisation become so dependent on hiring additional employees in order to achieve further growth?”
This shifts the discussion away from labour market shortages towards issues such as process optimisation, automation, organisational design, and scalability. Similarly, an organisation primarily focused on cost reduction may instead be encouraged to consider the design of its operating model or the way in which it creates value.
The purpose of reframing is not to contradict the customer, but to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the organisation’s actual situation.
The three core competencies of a Challenger
According to Dixon and Adamson, a Challenger must possess three core competencies in order to apply both the philosophy and the methodology successfully in practice: (1) teach, (2) tailor, and (3) take control.
1. Teach
According to Dixon and Adamson, a Challenger distinguishes themselves by teaching customers something they do not yet know, but which is directly relevant to their organisation.
Achieving this requires in-depth knowledge of the customer’s industry, market, and business environment. A Challenger continuously studies market developments, competitors, legislation, economic trends, and practical experience in order to identify patterns that may be strategically important for customers.
The objective is not to demonstrate how much knowledge the salesperson possesses, but to provide new insights that enable customers to make better-informed decisions.
For this reason, a Challenger rarely begins by presenting a product or service. Instead, they first explain which developments are influencing organisations and why existing assumptions may no longer be valid. According to Dixon and Adamson, this is precisely where genuine commercial value is created.
2. Tailor
Although a Challenger consistently applies the same core insights, these insights are adapted to the specific stakeholder involved in the conversation.
A Chief Financial Officer evaluates an issue from a different perspective than a Human Resources Director or a Chief Executive Officer. Whereas a Chief Financial Officer is primarily concerned with profitability, cash flow and cost control, a Human Resources Director is generally more interested in talent development, organisational culture, and sustainable employability. A Chief Executive Officer, in contrast, is primarily focused on strategic growth, competitive positioning, and organisational continuity.
A Challenger therefore continuously adapts the message to the interests, responsibilities, and objectives of the individual stakeholder. The underlying insight remains the same, but the way it is communicated differs. As a result, the same message becomes relevant to every decision-maker.
3. Take control
This competency is frequently misunderstood. It does not imply that the salesperson should behave in a dominant or aggressive manner, nor does it mean placing customers under pressure to make a purchasing decision. Take control means accepting responsibility for the quality and direction of the sales conversation.
A Challenger does not simply allow the customer to determine the course of the discussion, but actively guides the conversation while maintaining a clear focus on its central theme. The Challenger is prepared to address difficult topics, question existing assumptions, and engage with resistance whenever this contributes to better decision-making.
Conversations about price, risk or an organisation’s willingness to change are therefore not avoided. Instead, the Challenger ensures that these issues are discussed within the appropriate context. After all, an investment only becomes meaningful once the customer understands the value it creates or the problem it resolves.
Take control is therefore not about exerting pressure, but about professionally guiding the customer’s decision-making process.
The Challenger sales conversation
Once a salesperson has mastered the above mentioned core competencies, it can be applied during the actual sales conversation. Dixon and Adamson describe six consecutive stages for this purpose. Unlike the three core competencies, these stages represent a logical conversation structure. Each stage builds upon the previous one and is designed to guide the customer step by step from an existing way of thinking towards a new insight and, ultimately, towards an appropriate solution.
Stage 1: The warmer
The conversation begins by establishing credibility through expertise. Unlike traditional sales approaches, this stage is not centred on small talk or building a personal rapport. Instead, the Challenger immediately demonstrates an understanding of the customer’s industry, market, and strategic challenges. By doing so, the salesperson establishes credibility and creates the foundation for introducing new insights.
Stage 2: Reframe
The Challenger then introduces a different perspective on the customer’s challenge. The salesperson demonstrates that the underlying cause of the problem may differ from what the customer initially believes. As a result, the conversation shifts from discussing symptoms to exploring root causes. This stage represents the turning point of the entire sales conversation.
Stage 3: Rational drowning
After introducing the new perspective, the Challenger substantiates it with facts, benchmark data, research findings, and practical examples. The objective is not to overwhelm the customer with data, but to demonstrate that the new insight is based on objective evidence rather than merely the salesperson’s personal opinion.
Stage 4: Emotional impact
The Challenger then makes the consequences of inaction tangible. The analysis is translated into concrete implications for areas such as profitability, competitive position, organisational growth, customer satisfaction or organisational capability. The central objective is to ensure that the customer genuinely appreciates the consequences of maintaining the status quo. This creates a sense of urgency and increases the willingness to take action.
Stage 5: A new way
Only after the customer recognises both the problem and the need for change does the Challenger introduce an alternative approach. At this stage, the salesperson’s own solution is not yet the primary focus. Instead, attention is first given to explaining which new way of working is required to address the underlying cause of the problem.
Stage 6: Your solution
Only in the final stage does the Challenger present the proposed solution. Because the customer now understands why change is necessary and which direction is appropriate, the proposed solution follows naturally from the preceding conversation.
According to Dixon and Adamson, this represents a fundamental difference from traditional sales approaches. The solution is not the starting point of the conversation, but rather the logical conclusion of the thought process that the customer and the Challenger have gone through together.
Considerations regarding the Challenger Sales Methodology
Although the Challenger Sales Methodology has had a significant global influence, several observations and limitations can be identified. The following overview is not intended to be exhaustive.
- An important point of criticism concerns the generalisability of the original research. The findings are based primarily on complex B2B sales processes involving multiple stakeholders and substantial investments. Consequently, it cannot automatically be assumed that the same approach will be equally effective in relatively simple or highly transactional sales environments.
- Furthermore, it can be argued that the methodology places relatively high demands on the expertise of sales professionals. A Challenger must possess not only strong commercial skills but also in-depth knowledge of the customer’s industry, organisation and relevant market developments. Only then is it possible to provide genuinely valuable insights that contribute to better decision-making. Without this substantive foundation, there is a risk that salespeople present opinions rather than well-founded insights, causing their credibility to diminish rapidly.
- Another consideration is that the methodology can easily be misunderstood. The term Challenger sometimes creates the impression that salespeople should constantly challenge or confront customers. In reality, the methodology is not about disagreement or contradiction, but about enriching the customer’s thinking. When organisations fail to recognise this distinction, a Challenger approach may generate resistance rather than trust. In addition, there is a risk that too much emphasis is placed on delivering insights while insufficient attention is paid to listening to the customer. An effective Challenger combines substantive expertise with genuine curiosity about the customer’s organisation and its specific context. When salespeople focus exclusively on presenting their own perspective, important signals, customer needs, or internal organisational sensitivities may easily be overlooked.
- It may also be questioned whether every customer benefits from a Challenger approach. Some organisations are primarily seeking operational support or a practical solution to a clearly defined problem. In such situations, an extensive Challenger approach may prove unnecessarily complex and may not align with the customer’s expectations, potentially producing exactly the opposite effect. This is particularly true when customers have little interest in being challenged in the first place.
- Another consideration is that the methodology requires a considerable amount of preparation. A Challenger can only create value by possessing relevant industry knowledge, up-to-date market intelligence and a thorough understanding of the customer’s strategic challenges. Consequently, the approach is more time-intensive than many traditional sales methodologies. Organisations must therefore be willing to invest in knowledge development, preparation and coaching for their commercial teams.
- Finally, there is a risk that the perceived distinction between relationship-based selling and Challenger Sales is overstated. Although the methodology strongly emphasises the creation of new insights, trust, credibility, and long-term customer relationships remain essential prerequisites for successful collaboration. New insights are only accepted when customers trust both the expertise and the intentions of the salesperson. In practice, substantive expertise and strong customer relationships therefore reinforce one another rather than being mutually exclusive.
REFERENCES
- Adamson, B., Dixon, M., & Toman, N. (2012). The End of Solution Sales. Harvard Business Review, 90(7–8), 60–68.
- Dixon, M., & Adamson, B. (2011). The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation. Portfolio/Penguin.
- Dixon, M., Adamson, B., & Spenner, P. (2015). The Challenger Customer: Selling to the Hidden Influencer Who Can Multiply Your Results. Portfolio/Penguin.
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