From Funnel Techniques to Business Understanding: What Really Drives Sales Success
The sales profession has undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades. Each shift in buyer behavior has triggered new methodologies, training programs, and “breakthrough” techniques. But looking at this evolution reveals something interesting about what actually works—and what it demands from today’s sales professionals.
The Funnel Era
In the early days, sales training focused heavily on questioning techniques. The approach was systematic: start with broad, open questions and progressively narrow down to closed ones until the prospect reached the desired conclusion.
The theory was sound—guide the conversation toward a logical endpoint where your solution was the obvious choice. Sales teams practiced these funneling sequences religiously, memorizing transition phrases and follow-up questions.
While this approach generated results, it often felt mechanical. Customers sensed they were being led down a predetermined path, which sometimes created resistance rather than buy-in.
The Presentation Phase
As buyers became more sophisticated, the industry shifted toward polished presentations. Discovery remained important, but the focus moved to handling objections and perfecting the closing sequence.
Assumptive closes became popular: “Would you prefer the standard package or the premium option?” The logic was that by avoiding yes/no questions, salespeople could maintain momentum toward a purchase decision.
When these techniques stopped working consistently, the industry doubled down with intensive closing training. Books and seminars promised to revive “old-school” effectiveness through better technique execution.
Personality-Based Selling
The introduction of personality profiling systems like DISC marked a significant evolution. For the first time, sales methodologies acknowledged that different people respond to different approaches.
This was genuinely helpful. Salespeople learned to adapt their communication style—being more direct with results-oriented buyers, more detailed with analytical types, more relationship-focused with people-oriented customers.
The improvement was noticeable. Customers felt more understood, and sales conversations became more natural.
The Hidden Challenge
However, personality adaptation only addressed part of the puzzle. What remained largely unrecognized was how business context shaped buying decisions.
A startup founder and a corporate executive might have similar personalities but completely different evaluation criteria. The founder might prioritize speed and cash flow impact, while the executive focuses on strategic alignment and risk management.
This business context—company stage, competitive pressures, financial constraints—often mattered more than individual personality traits.
The Consulting Evolution
Today’s most successful salespeople operate more like business consultants than traditional vendors. They understand their customers’ markets, challenges, and strategic objectives deeply enough to provide genuine business insights.
This shift has created a new dynamic. Instead of prospects evaluating vendors, customers increasingly seek advisors who can help them navigate complex decisions. The relationship becomes collaborative rather than adversarial.
Some sales professionals now find themselves writing purchase orders for their customers—not because they’re pushy, but because they understand the customer’s needs better than the customer’s own procurement team.
New Roles, New Realities
The industry has responded to this evolution by creating new positions that embody the modern approach. Business Development Managers emerged specifically to replace traditional sales roles that couldn’t adapt to the new reality. These professionals focus on holistic customer relationships rather than closing techniques.
The fundamental shift is in accountability. Instead of being responsible solely for turnover and personal bonuses, these new roles embrace responsibility for client success. The focus moves from extracting value to creating it.
Similarly, Revenue Operations (RevOps) managers have emerged to bridge the gap between sales, marketing, and customer success—taking a systematic approach to the entire customer lifecycle rather than just the transaction moment. Nevertheless, it all comes down to one reality: find customers and make sales.
What Really Matters
Through all these methodological changes, one factor has remained constant: at the top of their industry are those salespeople who truly understand their customers’ business situations.
But there’s a skill gap here. Understanding business dynamics requires knowledge that goes beyond traditional sales training. It requires insight into how companies operate at different stages of development, how market forces shape priorities, and how business networks influence decisions.
The Professional Development Imperative
This evolution creates a profound challenge for sales professionals: the consultant role demands serious, ongoing education that most salespeople have never pursued.
Unlike previous eras where mastering a technique or script was sufficient, today’s successful salespeople must develop genuine business acumen. This means:
- Understanding financial statements and business models
- Learning about industry dynamics and competitive forces
- Studying organizational behavior and decision-making processes
- Developing strategic thinking capabilities
- Building knowledge of market trends and economic factors
This isn’t casual learning—it requires the same dedication that other professionals invest in continuing education. The days of relying solely on product knowledge and personality are over.
Sales professionals who fail to make this investment will find themselves increasingly marginalized. Those who embrace serious business education will discover unprecedented opportunities to create value and build lasting relationships.
The Adaptation Question
The central question facing every sales professional today is: Can you understand this evolution and adapt to the new reality?
This isn’t about abandoning everything from the past. Old-school sales isn’t dead—it has evolved in a remarkably positive direction. The fundamental skills of understanding people, building relationships, and creating value remain essential. But they must now be applied within a much more sophisticated business context.
Those who can make this transition find themselves in an incredibly rewarding profession where they genuinely contribute to their customers’ success while building sustainable, profitable relationships.
Addressing the Business Stage Challenge
Recognizing this critical need for business understanding, I am just finishing my new book “Business Stage Selling: Tailoring Sales to Fit the Business Evolution.” The book addresses how sales professionals can recognize the maturity stages of companies and adapt their sales acumen, approach, and consulting accordingly.
The core premise is simple but powerful: a startup thinks, buys, and operates completely differently from a growth company, which differs dramatically from a mature enterprise or portfolio organization. Yet most salespeople approach them all the same way.
Understanding these business stages—and adapting your methodology to match—represents a new stepping stone. It’s about moving beyond personality types to understand organizational psychology and business context.
The Future Direction
The evolution seems clear: sales is moving toward business consulting and advisory relationships. The future salespeople will be those who can provide genuine business insights, not just product information.
This suggests that future sales success will depend less on perfecting closing techniques and more on developing business expertise. Understanding company maturity stages, competitive dynamics, and strategic pressures will become core competencies.
The goal isn’t to manipulate prospects into buying, but to provide enough genuine value that customers actively seek your involvement in their business decisions.