3DDTfS™

3D Design Thinking for Sales™

Embrace a new style of selling

Design Thinking identifies and solves problems creatively and iteratively, with a focus on the human need being addressed. Traditionally, the Design Thinking process has been associated with innovation and product development, but it turns out that it is also highly applicable in a sales context. A Design Thinking approach to selling – in essence, empathising with the customer’s need and then jointly designing sustainable solutions – can create superior outcomes to more traditional sales approaches, as it places both the buyer and the seller firmly ‘on the same side of the table’.v

3DDTfS™ Overview

The 3D Design Thinking for Sales programme will help your sales teams adopt a new approach to selling, where customer-centricity, trust and collaboration increase the value created for your clients. It is based on more than 20 years of quantitative, qualitative and field-based sales research. It forms part of Imparta’s 3D Curriculum, which helps sales professionals to create, differentiate, protect, capture, deliver and expand value around the whole customer Buying Cycle.

Completing this course will help participants know when and how to use the powerful tools in Design Thinking for Sales. They will explore the iDEATE sales process, a framework that guides them to identify problems worth solving, diagnose them, explore solutions, agree on the best solution(s) to pursue, test and prototype the solution, and finally execute and evaluate the result, learning from what works well and what doesn’t.

This highly interactive programme develops lasting consultative selling skills through a comprehensive set of application and real-life exercises, tools and reinforcement techniques within Imparta’s continuous improvement ecosystem.

Course Overview

Key training topics include:

High-level introduction to Design Thinking as a different type of selling; intelligence around how and when to use it.
The iDEATE process for Design Thinking for Sales.
Empathising with stakeholders to uncover unmet objectives.
Using Behavioural Economics to stimulate the need to act.
Problem definition techniques: problem statements, root cause analysis, and the creation of user stories.
Exploring solutions through creativity; assessing the value of those solutions, identifying and alleviating risk, and presenting recommendations.
Overview of prototyping approaches and how to select the most appropriate one to provide a low-cost, low-risk and rapid way to iterate towards a great solution design.
Managing effective implementation and adoption processes: Time to First Value and techniques to minimise it.

Impact

The 3D Design Thinking for Sales programme has been shown to improve:

Account penetration and entanglement.
Conversion, win and renewal rates.
Revenue and profit from new and existing accounts (share of wallet, up-selling, cross-selling).
Contractual periods and average deal size.
Customer, user experience.

Secondary benefits include:

Long-term sustainability of the solutions sold.
Creation of references and case studies that can be leveraged to generate further leads.
Differentiation as a Trusted Partner.

Imparta’s iDEATE Process

The diagram below summarises Imparta’s iDEATE process. Most deals iterate between different stages, often moving back to a previous stage as more information is uncovered. You can see how our 3D Advantage® framework of Insight, Influence and Trust informs each stage of the process.

	I	D	E	A	T	E
	Identify	Define	Explore	Agree	Test	Execute
	Identify and validate problems worth solving	Define the problem and diagnose root cause(s)	Explore possible solutions	Select and present the best solution	Use rapid prototyping to test the solution	Implement and follow up to keep learning
INSIGHT	Identify unmet business objectives using the Value Chain Identify unmet human objectives through Empathy Mapping	Define what, why, where, who and when Identify root causes Create User Stories to capture requirements	Set boundaries Don’t over-design “Yes, and…” Break the rules Reversal SCAMPER	Consider Strategic, Tactical, Political and Individual benefits Assess benefits vs. cost/ effort for each solution Identify & alleviate risk	Use rapid-cycle prototyping Select the right level of prototyping, and a suitable technology	Evaluate results Follow up: Could you use iDEATE better? Create effective user communications Skill, Will and Way
INFLUENCE	Ask, don’t just tell Explore Pain & Gain to build momentum & validate	Use problem definition to get closer to the customer and make a win more likely	•Co-create! •Collaborate with technical specialists	Present multiple options (avoid single option aversion)	Engage the customer in the prototyping process Gather data	Minimise TTfV ‘Wow!’ moments Engage customer in the evaluation loop
TRUST	Show empathy Listen actively	Business intimacy Be customer-centric	Bring credibility Low self-orientation	Realistic estimates Focus on the need	Gather customer viewpoint (intimacy)	Be reliable Follow up

3DDTfS™

Who is it for?

This programme is designed for salespeople and adjacent roles involved in consultative, value-based selling and/or solution selling for both products or services.

Design Thinking for Sales is particularly relevant where:

Buyers are not fully aware of their problems, or of possible solutions. (Design Thinking offers a very effective discovery process).
Salespeople don’t have access to buyers. (Design Thinking offers a very quick way to build trust).
Salespeople have very good access to buyers. (Design Thinking is also a great way to leverage strong existing relationships).
The need is complex, has a strong human element, The solution is complex, needs extensive configuration or requires creativity to design.

Formats and Duration

The programme is part of Imparta’s modular curriculum.

It is available as:

eLearning (full modules, plus individual assets that can be embedded into playbooks).
A 2-day instructor-led face-to-face workshop.
4 four-hour virtual instructor-led sessions.
Flipped learning where the classroom is used to focus on application.
Modules that can be combined with other courses.

The programme also includes competency definitions, application tools, measurement, and reinforcement tools including nudge questions and manager coaching guides to make the new skills stick.

Application Tools

Application tools (Canvases) are available in print, editable PDF and Excel versions. They are also available as native Salesforce tools and standalone tools within our platform.

The Canvases help attendees to embed their new skills, and to apply them to winning business and improving account profitability.

3D Sales Agility Foundation

Assess

Read the buying situation accurately. Map where the customer is in their nonlinear Buying Cycle and identify the key factors driving their decision.

3D Sales Agility Foundation

Choose

Select the optimal sales strategy for the current situation. Understand which of the four approaches gives the highest probability of winning.

3D Sales Agility Foundation

Execute

Balance Insight, Influence and Trust to create, differentiate, protect, capture and expand value at every stage of the Buying Cycle.

3D Sales Agility Foundation

Mindset

Develop Responsibility, Resilience and Rigor — the three mindset qualities that research shows separate top performers from the rest.

Mastering Virtual Presence Support

Mastering the Tools

Master the technical setup and tools for effective virtual meetings, from lighting and audio to screen sharing and collaboration platforms.

Mastering Virtual Presence Support

The Virtual Mindset

Develop the specific mindset required for virtual selling — higher energy, deliberate engagement, and the discipline to prepare differently.

Mastering Virtual Presence Support

The Science of Virtual Engagement

Understand the science behind attention, engagement and memory in virtual settings. Apply techniques to keep participants focused.

Mastering Virtual Presence Support

The Psychology of Virtual Influence

Apply the principles of Insight, Influence and Trust in a virtual environment where building rapport and reading signals is harder.

Prospecting Core

Define Target Profiles

Define the type of individual you would like to connect with using the five Ws of targeting (Who, Where, When, What and Why).

Prospecting Core

Inbound

Build an effective presence where your targets spend time, online and in person. Create and share the right content to attract inbound interest.

Prospecting Core

Outbound

Find individuals who meet your target profile. Connect using Insight, Influence and Trust to shape a compelling initial approach.

Prospecting Core

Selling the Meeting

Sell the value of an in-depth discussion with a Centre of Receptivity. Make the perceived benefits of a conversation outweigh the costs.

Creating Client Value Core

3D Advantage

Leverage Insight, Influence and Trust to add value and achieve desired outcomes at each stage of the Buying Cycle.

Creating Client Value Core

3D Mindset

Develop Rigor, Resilience and Responsibility. Recognise and influence your own mindset and behaviour, including the use of pattern interrupts.

Creating Client Value Core

Product/Market Knowledge

Build deep knowledge of your products, markets and competitors to fuel insight-led conversations with customers.

Creating Client Value Core

Identifying Opportunities

Explore the customer's objectives, challenges and goals. Map your capabilities onto these objectives to identify potential opportunities.

Creating Client Value Core

Account Entry

Take a strategic approach to account entry. Use social, digital and behavioural skills to find, connect with and engage Centres of Receptivity.

Creating Client Value Core

Establishing Needs

Create explicit needs by validating objectives, uncovering barriers and root causes, and identifying which of your capabilities could address them.

Creating Client Value Core

Building Momentum

Use Pain and Gain questions to shed light on the impact of not acting. Influence urgency through loss aversion and contrast bias.

Creating Client Value Core

Proving Value

Create a compelling Value Proposal to quantify impact in the customer's own terms — Strategic, Tactical, Political and Individual value.

Creating Client Value Core

Qualifying/Reframing

Qualify and prioritise opportunities based on attractiveness and achievability. Reframe the decision back to Need where appropriate.

Creating Client Value Core

Creating a Pitch Strategy

Bring insight into decision criteria. Understand perceptions against each criterion relative to competitors. Develop strategies to improve both.

Creating Client Value Core

Perfect Pitch

Combine deep insights with behavioural science and your pitch strategy, together with brilliant execution, to deliver the perfect pitch.

Creating Client Value Core

Managing Stakeholders

Map key stakeholders in terms of influence and alignment. Develop strategies to improve political support for your solution.

Creating Client Value Core

Alleviating Risk

Anticipate, uncover and alleviate risks at four levels: Strategic, Tactical, Political, and Individual.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Design Thinking for Sales

Use the iDEATE process to identify problems, define them, explore solutions, agree and test them, and execute and evaluate.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Identify Problems

Explore the customer's unmet objectives and empathise with key stakeholders to uncover their human needs.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Define the Problem

Define and redefine problems clearly using problem statements, 'how might we' questions, and root cause analysis.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Explore Solutions

Use insight and creativity to explore possible solutions, uncovering options with different levels of risk and reward.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Agree the Solution

Understand how customers assess costs and benefits. Use the cost/benefit grid to help them agree the right solution.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Test and Prototype

Select the most appropriate prototyping approach to provide a low-cost, low-risk and rapid way to iterate on solutions.

Design Thinking for Sales Advanced

Execute and Evaluate

Design implementation and adoption plans that minimise Time to First Value and create 'wow' moments for the customer.

Negotiating Client Value Core

WIN-win Negotiation

Understand the Zone of Potential Agreement. Combine principled (insight-based) and positional (influence-based) negotiation approaches.

Negotiating Client Value Core

3D Advantage in Negotiation

Apply Insight, Influence and Trust specifically in negotiation contexts to create and protect value.

Negotiating Client Value Core

3D Mindset in Negotiation

Develop the mindset for effective negotiation — managing emotions, maintaining composure, and staying focused on outcomes.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Identifying and Improving Your BATNA

Identify and improve your Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement in both perception and reality.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Profiling Your Counterparts

Identify your negotiation counterparts, know your own style, and profile theirs to adapt your approach effectively.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Anchoring & Framing

Influence perceptions through positive and negative framing, selective use of the decoy effect, and anchoring techniques.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Uncovering Interests

Understand each party's interests to make value-creating trade-offs. Generate a wide range of possible Gives and Gets.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Trading Gives and Gets

Create value by proactively suggesting trades. Respond to customer demands using a robust and scientific approach.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Managing Stakeholders

Map key stakeholders in terms of influence and alignment. Develop strategies to improve political support for your solution.

Negotiating Client Value Core

Defending Value

Defend against tricks used by aggressive or well-trained negotiators, maintaining composure and focusing on mutual value.