Depending on the complexity of your product and the maturity of the market, there are three phases of selling. The Evolution of selling Phase 1: product selling Smart people selling a product for a good price leads to high margins. High margins attract rivals who charge lower prices, which depresses margins. Phase 2: solution selling Now companies combine multiple products to create solutions as differentiators. To sell such a solution, you need to solve a problem. In this scenario, all vendors ask the same question repeatedly about those pain points, which annoys prospects. Phase 3: insight selling What customers look for today are vendors offering a piece of wis- dom—something they haven’t seen before, have overlooked, or un- der-estimated. Provide them with such an insight and you, the sales- person, will be seen as a trusted advisor. This positions you perfectly to sell to the prospect because you have built a strong, insight-based relationship. As the box out demonstrates, insight selling is an extremely powerful way of closing deals. Here are six key ways to successfully adopt it in your business: 59