Selling Innovative Offerings

Consider the following scenario.  A company develops a new offering that is innovative enough to cause disruption in the market.  This company, excited about the opportunities and eager to turn the market on its ear, hires a new VP of Sales who, in turn, hires top-flight sales talent.  Everyone including the VP has a great track record of sales success in the same market (either for a competitor or working for the company itself).  With great fanfare the offering is launched.  Six months later, few if any sales have been made and the VP (if not fired himself) fires everyone and hires an new group.  Unfortunately, the pattern is repeated.  The product/service/solution is perfect for the market.  What is going on?

This question was the central point of a five year research project into what makes selling disruptive innovation such a challenge.  The results of that research were startling.  The data showed that successful sellers of innovative offerings approach the sales differently, do very different things and, in fact, even look different than their successful counterparts who sell into mature markets.  

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has seen this phenomenon.  We have a book on this topic being published by McGraw Hill this November.  We believe that it is the next step for anyone looking for advanced selling skills or strategies.  In future blogs, I will discuss some of the salient points from that book and that research.  For now, I would like to have comments or questions on the topic.