In the Design phase, salespeople help their customers create and understand the solution. It is a collaborative and highly interactive effort to help customers sort through their expectations and alternatives to arrive at an optimal solution.

In a more conventional sales approach, design equals presentation, and, in presentation, the customer is not involved in the design of the solution. As a result, the customer does not develop a significant degree of ownership of that solution. The conventional salesperson may say, “This is the product we offer that is best suited to your situation.” Then, the salesperson proceeds to reel off a litany of features and technical information specific to that solution.

In the Prime Process, however, the Design phase is not focused on a specific solution. The goal of the Design phase is to get salespeople and customers working together to identify the optimal solution to the problems that were uncovered and quantified in the Diagnose phase.

There is an important distinction here. An optimal solution does not mean that the product or service that you are charged with selling right now is best suited to the customer’s problem. Rather, the optimal solution is a series of product or service parameters that minimize the customer’s risk of change and optimize return on investment. If you stay true to the objective of a quality business decision for the customer, where that solution will be found is a secondary consideration at this stage in the process.

The tasks included in the Design phase are aimed at establishing and understanding the decision criteria the customer will use to find a solution to the problem. This aim requires sales professionals to establish the solution results the customer will expect, the quantifiable business values for those outcomes (and thus, the available funding), and the timing in which the solution must be delivered. You manage customer expectations during the Design process by introducing and exploring alternatives, including solutions offered by competitors. You also teach customers the questions they should be asking of all potential suppliers to assure their quality decision.

In the Design phase, you want your customers to perceive a high degree of integrity in all your behaviors. You establish your integrity by creating a solution framework that best solves their problems. It frames a set of decision criteria that you would unhesitatingly use to determine what to select for yourself or would recommend without hesitating if your best friend were experiencing this particular problem.