Book Summary: Built to Sell by John Warrillow
May 4, 2025Gap Selling: Keenan’s Problem‑Centric Sales Methodology That Transforms B2B Revenue Growth
What Is Gap Selling and How Does It Work?
Gap Selling is a modern sales methodology created by sales strategist Keenan. Instead of pitching features, sales‑people diagnose the gap between a buyer’s current state (problems, pains, inefficiencies) and their future state (desired outcomes, ROI, business goals). Closing deals becomes a process of helping customers bridge that gap, not convincing them to buy a product.
At its core:
- Current State – Where the prospect is now, including root‑cause problems and measurable impact.
- Future State – Where they want to be, expressed as specific business outcomes.
- The Gap – The size and cost of the distance between those two states. Larger gap = higher urgency = higher willingness to pay.
When sellers quantify that gap, the value proposition is self‑evident: “Fixing this problem saves you $X, delivers Y % efficiency, or unlocks Z revenue.”
Why All Sales Are About Change — And Why Buyers Resist It
“Customers don’t like change… until they perceive the future is worth the cost.” – Keenan, Gap Selling book
Every deal requires a buyer to abandon comfortable processes, switch vendors, or reprioritise budgets. Change management (sales context) therefore sits at the heart of Gap Selling. The methodology confronts resistance by proving—with data—why sticking with the status quo is riskier and more expensive than moving to the future state.
Key insight: Buyers act when the business outcomes of the future state decisively outweigh financial, operational, and emotional switching costs. Your job is to expose that imbalance.
3. Mastering the Gap Selling Discovery Process: Asking “Why?” Until It Hurts
Traditional frameworks like BANT skim the surface: budget, authority, need, timing. Gap Selling dives deeper with sales discovery questions that reveal:
| Discovery Layer | Example Gap Selling Questions | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Symptoms | “What’s prompting you to look at solutions now?” | Surface problem |
| Root Cause | “Why is throughput down? Which workflow breaks first?” | Identify true source |
| Impact | “How much revenue is lost each month because of slow onboarding?” | Quantify gap |
| Emotion / Motivation | “How does missing that KPI affect your team’s morale?” | Uncover intrinsic ‘why’ |
| Future State | “If this bottleneck disappeared, what would success look like?” | Paint compelling outcome |
Discovery Best Practices
- Lead with curiosity. The seller speaks 20 % of the time, listens 80 %.
- Validate constantly. “So if I’m hearing you correctly…” ensures shared understanding.
- Probe impact, not just features. Customers buy outcomes—efficiency, revenue, risk mitigation—not dashboards.
- Document the gap in dollars, hours, or competitive position. Hard numbers trump vague benefits.
Quantifying the Gap: Turning Problems Into a Business Case
Future State – Current State = The Gap. Once quantified, that equation becomes a mini‑ROI calculator. For example:
- Current State Cost: Manual data entry errors cause 4 % revenue leakage ($200 k/yr).
- Future State Benefit: Automated workflow reduces errors to 0.3 %, saving $185 k/yr.
- Gap Value: $185 k annual upside vs. $40 k subscription fee → 4.6× ROI.
When you present numbers drawn from buyer journey mapping and their own metrics, price objections dissolve—the economic logic is undeniable.
Prospecting the Gap Selling Way: Earn the First “Yes” With Problem‑Centric Messaging
Cold outreach often fails because it shouts product features. Gap Selling prospecting flips the script:
- Lead with potential problems you’ve solved for similar firms.
- Offer a “net‑positive trade”: a 15‑minute call that could identify $XYZ hidden costs.
- Personalise with a surprise insight that triggers the buyer’s pattern‑interrupt (“oh‑shit circuit”).
Example email opener:
Subject: Are onboarding delays quietly costing [Company] $2M+ this year?
That single, provocative question positions you as a trusted advisor before the meeting even starts.
Driving Momentum: The “Next Yes” Framework for a Predictable Sales Process
A sales pipeline advances through micro‑commitments: demo, deeper discovery, stakeholder workshop, proposal review, etc. Gap sellers label each stage’s micro‑commitment the Next Yes and articulate its buyer value:
| Stage | Next Yes | Buyer Value |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | “Yes, let’s map processes together.” | Clarity on hidden inefficiencies |
| Demo | “Yes, show me workflow automation with my data.” | Visual proof of fit |
| Business Case | “Yes, co‑build ROI model.” | Justification to leadership |
| Closing | “Yes, we’re ready to proceed.” | Roadmap to desired outcomes |
If the Next Yes is unclear—or the buyer sees no value—deals stall. Gap sellers never leave a meeting without agreeing on the next calendar block and its purpose.
Overcoming Objections Without Becoming the Customer’s “B*TCH”
Keenan’s provocative advice means: remain an asset, not an order‑taker. When prospects demand premature pricing, free pilots, or custom RFPs, respond with respectful challenge:
“I’m confused—earlier you said reducing error‑driven costs is priority #1, yet we haven’t defined what those costs are. Could we quantify that first so any pricing discussion is meaningful?”
This reframes the ask around the buyer’s motivation, re‑asserts your credibility, and keeps the conversation anchored to the gap. Saying “no” (or “not yet”) can elevate perceived expertise.
Gap Selling vs. SPIN Selling, Challenger Sale, and Solution Selling
| Methodology | Core Focus | Primary Strength | Potential Weakness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gap Selling | Current vs future state gap | Quantifies ROI, highly buyer‑centric | Requires advanced discovery skill |
| SPIN Selling | Situation, Problem, Implication, Need‑Payoff | Easy question structure | Less emphasis on ROI math |
| Challenger Sale | Teach, Tailor, Take Control | Provokes new insights | May feel confrontational if misapplied |
| Solution Selling | Match solutions to expressed needs | Consultative mindset | Risk of feature‑dumping |
Many teams blend elements, but Gap Selling provides the clearest economic narrative—crucial for complex B2B sales where multiple stakeholders must justify spend.
Implementing Gap Selling in Your Sales Training and CRM Workflow
- Standardise discovery call scripts around current‑state, root cause, impact, future‑state, intrinsic motivation, and ROI.
- Embed “Why?” fields in your CRM. Reps cannot progress stages until answers are filled.
- Run weekly deal reviews focused on: “Is the gap quantified? What’s the next yes? Does the buyer’s why still hold?”
- Coach reps to record calls, score curiosity, and iterate questions—sales performance improvement is continuous.
- Align marketing: produce case studies that spotlight before/after metrics, reinforcing the gap narrative.
Key Takeaways From the Gap Selling Book
- The Gap = Value. No gap, no sale.
- Discovery wins or loses the deal; invest disproportionate time there.
- Ask “Why?” relentlessly to surface intrinsic motivation and create urgency.
- Quantify problems in dollars, hours, or risk; numbers change minds.
- Micro‑commitments drive momentum; always define and schedule the next yes.
- Maintain expert posture; credibility outperforms likability in high‑stakes B2B.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gap Selling
Is Gap Selling effective in 2025’s hypercompetitive market?
Yes. As buyers face information overload, methodologies that clarify ROI and cut through feature noise gain even more traction. Case studies show shorter sales cycles and higher average deal sizes after teams adopt Gap Selling.
Who should use Gap Selling?
Any B2B organisation with complex offerings—SaaS, manufacturing, professional services—where quantifiable business impact decides purchases.
How long does it take to implement?
With committed coaching, teams can recalibrate discovery and proposal templates within 60–90 days. Full cultural shift to a commit culture with accurate forecasting may take two quarters.
Can Gap Selling coexist with account‑based marketing?
Absolutely. ABM research fuels more tailored discovery questions, while Gap Selling’s ROI framing sharpens ABM content.
Where can I find Gap Selling discovery question examples?
Keenan’s book and his online sales training modules provide deep libraries. Start with root‑cause probes: “Walk me through your current onboarding workflow step by step.”
Final Thoughts: Why Gap Selling Delivers Sustainable Sales Performance
In an era where buyers Google solutions long before speaking to reps, the salesperson who can diagnose rather than pitch wins trust. Gap Selling equips reps to become genuine business consultants—mapping problems, revealing hidden costs, and charting a clear path to the buyer’s desired future state. When the gap is quantified and the value proposition unmistakable, the close feels less like a negotiation and more like a logical next step.
Adopting Gap Selling isn’t just a technique upgrade; it’s a mindset shift from “how do I sell my product?” to “how do I create undeniable value by erasing my customer’s biggest impediments?” Teams that master that shift consistently outperform, forecast with confidence, and build long‑term, credibility‑based relationships that competitors can’t easily dislodge.
