The Challenger sales methodology: Everything to know

Revenue leaders such as yourself don’t get much breathing room.

You’re tasked with driving outcomes, enabling GTM teams, and scaling what works, all while proving every decision earns its keep. The pressure is constant. The stakes are always high. The window to rethink strategy is smaller than ever.

That’s why the Challenger sales methodology remains so popular at enterprise go-to-market organizations like yours today. Put plainly, it equips reps to teach, tailor, and take control of the conversation with intent, raising the bar for how they engage key decision-makers and shape demand.

Getting going with the Challenger sales process helps unify marketing, sales enablement, RevOps, and support around one purpose: GTM performance.

And if you’re serious about empowering each sales rep, that means you must train them to deliver a value proposition that makes prospects see what they’re missing, handle push back without skipping a beat, and drive toward closed-won with conviction, confidence, and clarity across each sales cycle stage.

Whether you adopt it for some, most, or all your sales professionals, Challenger helps teams sell with urgency, stand out in complex deals, and deliver tangible ROI while still providing a top-tier customer experience for active opportunities.

Pair it with the right technology—notably, an agentic GTM platform with a native AI and analytics engine—and you’ve got a modern system that can scale.

What is the Challenger sales method?

Developed by business experts Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson, the Challenger sales methodology is an approach that teaches sellers to reframe buyer priorities, lead with commercial insight, challenge assumptions early, and guide purchasing groups toward decisions aligned with strategic impact across complex.

Using the Challenger selling model, GTM teams can standardize messaging, equip sellers to lead deals, and measure adoption across revenue motions without. Modern B2B sales organizations continue to rely on the Challenger method to drive consistency in execution, enable scale across regions, and improve plans.

The 3 T’s of modern challenger selling

The short-and-sweet version of the Challenger sales model is that it helps reps:

• Teach buyers something fresh about their market, costs, or growth path so meetings feel useful fast, framing issues leaders already feel while showing implications they rarely connect across teams or planning cycles
• Tailor insight to each buyer role and deal moment, shifting language, proof, and framing so leaders hear relevance instantly without generic slides slowing meetings or draining attention spans large buying groups globally
• Take control by guiding buyers through tension and tradeoffs, setting pace and direction so meetings advance with purpose, authority, and mutual respect rather than reactive back and forth across stakeholders

“If you teach without tailoring, you come off as irrelevant,” Dixon and Adamson wrote in their book. “If you tailor but don’t teach, you risk sounding like every other supplier. If you take control but offer no value, you risk being simply annoying.”

All three facets of the Challenger sales methodology are dependent on one another and essential to steering the customer conversation toward the optimal, desired resolution: deciding to move forward with your products or services.

Challenge sales ‘choreography’ steps	What this sales pitch step involves
The warm-up: Getting insight into the buyer’s world and what matters to them	Start by demonstrating strong knowledge of their business, industry shifts, and challenges tied to strategic growth, team performance, or market pressure.
The reframe: Introducing a new vantage point to potential customers	Shift focus away from what they expected to discuss and guide them toward a bigger issue or untapped opportunity they haven’t fully explored.
The ‘rational drowning’: Teaching prospects why inaction is a big problem	Lay out the stakes using credible data and logical arguments to show how the status quo creates unnecessary strain on goals and business impact.
The emotional impact: Making the challenge personal to your buyers	Show what’s at stake for their team, their role, and their brand if things stay the same and how much better life looks with a smarter approach.
The new way forward: Presenting a path to improving business operations	Help buyers picture a smarter, faster, or more scalable approach that aligns with company goals while reducing complexity across teams and tools.
The present solution: Explaining why your offering is the one to choose	Tie your capabilities directly to the new path you just outlined, showing how your approach delivers against both strategic and day-to-day needs.

Why GTM teams continue to use the Challenger sales model in 2026

Look no further than Highspot’s own customers—go-to-market and revenue orgs across countless industries—for examples of enterprise GTM functions that are embracing (and seeing value from) the Challenger approach.

Our Marketplace offers Challenger-centric packages that help these teams:

• Enhance their reps’ chances of win selling moments that matter
• Help their SDRs’ apply Challenger seller methods in prospecting
• Embed Challenger sales training right into reps’ daily workflows

Utilizing the Challenger method, toolkits like these—and an AI-powered sales enablement platform with agentic capabilities like Highspot—gives GTM teams at financial services firms, life sciences companies, manufacturers, and other businesses their sellers the mindset and tools they need to show up smarter.

More to the point, this combo of methodology, resources, and technology:

Helps reps come prepared to deals with commercial insights tied to leads’ business goals

A Challenger sales rep steps into meetings equipped with commercial context that maps to each lead’s business goals. They connect economic drivers to specific business opportunities in ways that buying committee stakeholders notice fast.

Insights feel relevant, grounded, and actionable. Nothing feels canned.

When sellers show they understand both the priorities and the pressures, they create space for a serious sales engagement. Buyers stay receptive because the conversation feels familiar but somehow fresher than everything else.

Empowers sellers to shift the conversation by offering new perspectives to buyers

A Challenger rep earns attention by seeing what others overlook.

More specifically, they show buyers something they haven’t fully considered, then guide them to a smarter way of thinking about the same problem.

Sellers who reframe discussions in these moments separate themselves from the pack. They don’t mimic competitors. They reset the tone completely.

Buyers leave those meetings with a new way to approach their issues and, more often than not, gain a new appreciation for the rep who helped shape it.

Assists SDRs in their efforts to relay the emotional implications of making a change

Some sales messaging hit harder than others with leads. Challenger helps reps tap into what’s at stake personally and professionally for buyers, whether that’s fear of falling behind, pressure from leadership, or worry about wasting budget.

When sellers can touch on the emotional impact of making a change to a partner or vendor tied to prospect’s pain points, they shift the conversation.

That shift creates gravity.

Emotion sells because it sticks in ways facts alone never will.

Gives B2B sales professionals the chance to position their company as a trusted advisor

With the Challenger sales model, members of their sales force transition from product experts into true strategic partners. Reps ask better questions, propose stronger ideas, and tie everything back to outcomes that matter.

That earns trust—fast.

Buyers want someone who knows their business, not just their needs. Sellers who step into this role consistently position their organization as a trusted advisor that is committed to long-term impact beyond a single quarter or contract.

Ensures sales teams differentiate in crowded markets without relying on discounts

In competitive markets, every SDR (and account executive) needs an edge.

The Challenger approach helps enterprise reps deliver distinct value that doesn’t revolve around pricing gymnastics. They frame each problem facing a lead with authority, challenge old thinking, and connect every insight to economic upside.

That turns transactional sellers into reps that buyers listen to and trust.

The sales professionals who master this become self-motivated storytellers who deliver memorable sales pitches that make the case for change. What’s more, they make buyers see the positive future in which the decision feels easy.

Challenger sales model vs. other sales methodologies: Which is best for you?

Each sales model exists for a reason. They all work beautifully in specific environments, deal dynamics, or team structures tied to how your buyers operate.

Some lean on trust, others on speed or empathy, and a few rely heavily on frameworks that steer reps toward highly detailed discovery or technical depth.

For instance, there’s:

• SPIN selling: Uses smart, layered questions to uncover high-priority needs
• SNAP sales: Simplifies complex choices to help buyers decide faster
• Sandler Sales: Builds peer-level trust through mutual accountability
• Solution selling: Matches offerings to specific problems buyers articulate
• Value selling: Connects offerings to goals that drive business growth
• Consultative selling: Guides buyers with insight throughout the entire deal

Each approach rewards different seller instincts, strengths, and sales DNA. Some play to structure, others to adaptability, storytelling, or pure stamina. The challenge isn’t finding a perfect system. Rather, it’s knowing which one aligns with how your buyers buy and how your reps tend to sell under pressure.

It all comes down to the kinds of sales reps you have on your team (or the kind of mindset you prefer they have when engaging B2B buyers). There’s:

• The hard worker, who consistently puts in extra effort, follows up relentlessly, and sticks to process without needing reminders, rewards, or hand-holding from leadership.
• The relationship-builder, who wins trust early, focuses on rapport over pressure, and plays the long game by connecting on shared values, priorities, and outcomes.
• The lone wolf, who works independently, resists structure, trusts their instincts above all, and often delivers based on talent rather than repeatable process.
• The problem-solver, who jumps in fast, loves untangling complexity, and aims to be the go-to person buyers call when plans shift or priorities suddenly change.
• The challenger seller, who teaches something new, pushes buyers to rethink priorities, and leads with insight that ties directly to strategic and financial upside.

No method wins every deal. That said, certain models sync better with fast deal cycles, long committees, or industries driven by timing and macro change.

Some sales teams blend playbooks, while others commit fully to one approach. It all depends on how you want reps to show up in high-value, high-stakes deals and the specific sales strategy you implement for a given fiscal year.

Pros of challenger sales methodology	Cons of challenger sales methodology
Equips reps to lead with insight instead of waiting for buyers to name the exact problem	Requires sellers to bring strong business acumen and fluency in market dynamics early
Helps teams frame urgency around business gaps others overlook in their sales approach	Demands regular coaching and oversight from managers to keep usage sharp over time
Gives leaders a repeatable model to scale strategic messaging across teams and regions	Adds pressure to sales managers during SDR onboarding and enablement planning phases
Creates space for high-impact learning during deals, not just during onboarding or training	Can create pushback from buyers who prefer collaborative, consultative selling dynamics
Makes deals less reactive by steering the buyer toward a clearly defined decision path	Needs clear internal alignment so marketing and reps speak to the same commercial themes

Sales training and change management: Essential to win with Challenger sales

Teaching reps to oppose, defy, and event contradict buyers in your sales pipeline is one thing. Getting them to do it consistently, from the first chat with a lead to the final step of deal negotiations is something else entirely.

Challenger sales training only works if your enablement, marketing, RevOps, and sales leaders work together to guide adoption of the methodology, reinforce expectations with SDRs expected to use the approach, and build systems that scale:

• Reps sell insight only after training drills match deal moments, and the best AI sales tools trims the fluff so practice mirrors live selling fast, guided by leaders who set expectations early and keep reinforcement steady during onboarding.
• You can guide change by weaving AI into sales onboarding so Challenger selling feels native to every seller from day one, with leaders modeling expectations, reinforcing learning paths, and keeping adoption steady without heroics required.
• Sales managers asking for tailored pitches owe reps practice that mirrors tough buyer pushback, and AI sales role play delivers fast feedback loops that build selling muscle without endless meetings, leaders expect quick cycles.
• Challenger theory fades unless managers share a common lens, and AI-powered sales coaching aligns standards across teams so guidance stays consistent from onboarding through late stage deals, led by GTM owners company wide.
• Artificial intelligence shines during training change led from the top, turning Challenger ideas into repeatable drills that scale fast, while leaders reinforce usage, expectations, and accountability over time with leader sponsorship.

Conventional sales wisdom says to train early, coach often, and hope it all clicks under pressure. That’s too slow for the market you’re in now.

To win with the Challenger sales method (and consistently), you need best-in-class platforms that work in tandem with other sales techniques and tactics. Notably, you need AI-driven solutions that help reps adapt fast, pitch stronger, and achieve real business outcomes that buyers remember.

If you’re serious about turning capable reps into ‘star performers,’ it starts by giving them modern enablement tools that are powered by AI and purpose-built for go-to-market teams like yours.

At the end of the day, it’s the go-to-market orgs who continually evaluate and adjust their sales processes to drive more deals, faster, and deliver a consistently enjoyable B2B sales experience that builds strong customer advocates.

The Challenger method can get you some of the way toward achieving this sales goal—but don’t ignore the other side of the GTM coin: your sales tech stack.

How can we evaluate Challenger selling success across each role, segment, and territory?

Evaluate Challenger selling by connecting deal velocity, rep-led messaging, and close rates to role and region. Review patterns across initiatives, buyer motion, and execution quality to uncover where your team delivers consistently or needs support.

When should leaders adopt Challenger selling across enterprise revenue motions today?

Challenger selling fits when deals stall due to indecision, outdated playbooks, or passive pitch strategies. Start adoption once your org targets accounts requiring sellers who reframe thinking and link insight to meaningful business upside.

Which systems best support Challenger sales measurement during enterprise rollouts?

Challenger sales works best with systems that combine enablement data, pitch patterns, and training metrics into one cohesive view. Choose platforms that connect execution quality to deal flow across team types, deal cycles, and key territories.

How does Challenger selling influence deal control at senior leadership levels today?

Challenger selling creates structure reps follow under pressure, enabling faster movement through complex buying groups. It gives leadership clearer oversight into which seller inputs affect timing, buyer alignment, and close rates.

Does Challenger selling require different leadership operating models at scale today?

Challenger selling requires leaders to manage through observable data, consistent guidance, and peer-to-peer coaching frameworks. At scale, leadership must reinforce strategic priorities while modeling clear standards across regions and revenue teams.

How can platforms reinforce Challenger sales execution across distributed teams today?

Challenger sales execution improves when teams use systems that embed training and guidance into day-to-day workflows. Platforms should help managers compare initiative performance and usage across verticals, product lines, and regions.

What change management scope supports Challenger selling adoption at scale globally?

International Challenger selling rollouts demand structured onboarding, executive reinforcement, and regular deal coaching. Change takes hold when sellers feel supported by consistent messaging and see programs evolve with account needs over time.