The word ‘consultative selling’ was first appeared in the 1970s book on Consultative Selling by Mack Hanan. It examines the selling technique in which the salesperson acts as a professionalist consultant for their prospects and asking questions to determine what the prospect needs. The salesperson, consecutively, uses that information to select the best possible product (or service) to meet a need.
In Consultative Selling and the Needs-Based Selling, the salesperson learns about customer needs before talking product.
Consultative selling frequently works on hand-in-hand with the value-added selling. An approach in which a salesperson show customer-specific benefits related to their product. A consultative approach, if properly executed, often unearths a great deal of information. This will be beneficial for the salesperson to take adirations that matches with advantages related to the product that a person is selling.
Establishing Trust
The biggest benefit of the consultative selling is that it comforts the salesperson to build compatibility. Alongside presenting themselves as a professional resource for their prospects. The rapport-building arrives from the salesperson’s willingness to share helpful and information with prospects without querying for anything in return. Once a seller validates their expertise, a potential buyer will reach to meet them again whenever there is any concern about that area of expertise.
How to Become an Expert
Because presenting yourself as a professional it is a crucial part of the consultative selling approach. You’ll need to take time to build yourself before getting evoked. First, you have to achieve that expertise which is a lot easier than most people think. You probably already have some knowledge about a subject related to what you sell. Building on that knowledge will quickly put you in a position where you know more about the subject than your prospects do, which is all you need to position yourself as an expert.
The second part of becoming an expert in establishing credentials for yourself to support your claim. It can be accomplished by writing blog posts and social media posts as well as collecting testimonials from previous customers. Depending on your area of expertise, you may want to work toward getting certified through a brick-and-mortar or online training program.
Consultative selling techniques?
Consultative Selling is a technique, process and focuses on creating clients versus customer. Consultative selling is a need satisfaction presentation format that focuses on problem identification. Here the salesperson serves as an expert on problem recognition and resolution.
The Consultative selling techniques are all about the dialogue between the salesperson and the customer. The word dialogue comes from the Greek and means “to learn.”
Here are some techniques for Consultative Selling is as follows:
-
Do Your Research
This means that could looking up reading their latest blog posts, prospects, profiles on social media, or by simply Googling them. Whatsoever you decide to do; research can help you:
- Qualify prospects
- Provide starting points for conversations
- Back up conversations with custom insights
- Understand the competition
-
Questions must be asked
Understanding prospects need essential in consultative selling, but the only way you can start to perceive them is to ask the right questions. Formerly you make that call or meet with a prospect, formulate a list of “general” questions that you can use to start the conversation, and, if necessary, fall back on. At the same time, you need to be ready to think on your feet and ask custom questions based on prospects responses. Always bear in mind that prospects are likely to be rushed and willing to answer only a few questions, so choose them carefully.
-
Improve your rapid listening skills
Some people are naturally skilled at active listening. Instead, we listen “passively.” This means we hear what people say, but we don’t register or interpret it.
This is a problem because it affects our ability to remember conversations, and in the context of consultative selling, to appropriately match a product to a prospect’s needs.
-
Be Authentic
You can’t sell a high-ticket item using a consultative or any other sales method without trust. To build trust, you have to be open and virtuous with prospects. That means, first and foremost, being your must be authentic to self.
-
Always ask for the feedback
Although the sales process, you must be regularly checking that prospects. Understand your ideas and propositions by asking them what they think. It helps prospects stay hooked and gives you the best opportunity to address the concerns. And clear up misapprehension as, when they arise. This also helps to demonstrate that you’re actively listening to what they say.
-
Be Patient and Follow Up
Very few sales are closed following the basic conversation. Be understanding of the fact that it typically takes much time for prospects to come to a decision, There may be a lot of up and down before that happens.
Data shows that it at least takes an average of 5 to follow-ups to close a sale and this is just an average assumption. If it is assumed that more a prospects spending, the more times, you’ll need to follow up before successfully closing.
Consultative Selling Best Practices
Mostly the mid-market companies are looking for their sales team to create high growth without the benefit of a large sales footprint or global brand recognition. As providers of customized consultative selling training for more than two decades, we can give you the “keys” to improving sales.
- Create a clear, believable and implementable sales strategy
- Create an understandable and consistent high-performance sales culture that leverages your sales strategy
- Adopt a common sales process and methodology
- Establish the “critical few” leading and lagging metrics for performance
- Meet regularly
- Maintain a healthy pipeline and accurate forecasting
- Hire and develop the right sales talent
- Give reps the right tools
Conclusion
The high performing sales teams expand consultative selling skills programs to bridge their sales performance gaps. This enables greater calibration between their salespeople and their customers. Some organizations realize that if they better equipped their salespeople are to develop authentic, good relationships with their customers. The better customer value they will be able to create, and hence, the more competitive advantage they will build up.
