In part 1 of this post, I presented the pro side of the chief argument of The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation–  the Challenger salesperson does a much better job of selling than the Relationship salesperson. In part 2 of this post, I will present the con side.

Brian Burns is the author of The Maverick Selling Method: Simplifying The Complex Sale. Mr. Burns is one of the harshest critics of The Challenger Sale. In his videos below, he argues that you can’t trust research conducted by people who have never sold, and flatly states that the Challenger Sale does not work. Beyond his videos, I couldn’t find anything in writing from Mr. Burns that he adds to his arguments from his videos.

Here are his videos –

Another Critical Take on “The Challenger Sale” –

Linda Richardson, author, and sales trainer, in her blog “Challenger’s Missing Link,” believes the book has contributed to “underscoring the need for salespeople to take advantage of research and data available to them.” Ms. Richardson argues that the book is inspiring Marketing Departments to provide better knowledge sharing to help sales teams engage and add more value to customers.

However, Ms. Richardson says that the missing link in the book is the “validation of the customer’s perspective through questioning and dialogue.” While salespeople may know about an industry than most customers, she says you still need to know how customers think, and what’s important to them before you can sell to them.

Ms. Richardson argues that a salesperson must combine knowledge “with even stronger dialogue skills to become a true thought partner with their customer and build long-term relationships and close more deals – which is still the name of the game.”