Consultative selling refers to a sales strategy that focuses on the client’s needs, rather than the product or service being offered. To retain customers, many companies use consultative selling. Consultative selling allows companies to be more proactive with the sales process and provides better customer service.
The future of sales is dominated by consultative selling. Salespeople have learned to connect with customers and manage their business needs. This has helped them make better business decisions. To make customers’ lives easier, salespeople are encouraged to use value-based marketing. Both of these sales methods complement one another.
Consultative selling, also known as customer-centered sales, is a simple concept. Instead of trying to sell products or services to customers, consultative selling (also known as customer-centered selling) is about demonstrating the value of what you offer. Listening to your customers and offering them value through useful information and a service is a great way to do this. Then, leverage that relationship to sell the product or service.
A consultative sales strategy is essential for a well-oiled sales team. My opinion is that the distinction between conventional and consultative sales is similar to one between a therapist or a doctor.
What is consultative selling and how does it work?
Consultative selling involves conducting research. Instead of telling prospects what they want you ask them thoughtful questions that help them understand their problems. Prospects will ultimately make the best decision by themselves using a consultative selling strategy.
Benefits of using a consultative approach to sales
- Increased income from existing and new customers
- Sales cycles are shorter.
- Your competitive edge over your rivals
Your job as a sales representative is to be helpful and sympathetic to prospects so they can make informed purchasing decisions.
Transactional selling is the opposite of consultative sales. Transactional selling is all about achieving revenue goals. Consultative selling, while it is focused on meeting revenue goals, does so by assisting clients in achieving those goals. It makes all the difference.
A consultative sales strategy evaluates your performance on the basis of the impact you have on clients, their success, and overall success. Instead of focusing on your advantages and features, focus your message on the data. Never treat clients as if they were numbers. Instead, see yourself as a trustworthy source of information.
This is what customers want, especially when they are purchasing complex and expensive solutions.
Buyers prefer consultative selling
The most important characteristic of successful consultative selling A consultative sales process is built on curiosity. I think today’s salespeople are not able to ask great questions and get excellent answers.
Sales leaders must emphasize the importance of intelligent inquiries in order to open up the sales process in a world where likes, followers, and selfies have taken precedence over human connection.
Consultative selling is all about the selflessness of the salesperson. It’s not about showing that your product is the best; it’s about helping customers find the best choice for them.
This is not always the easiest route for sales executives or their teams. However, the rewards could be amazing. If you want to make your sales team more consultative, these are some best practices that you can implement right now.
This first point may seem too simple to be true. Simply asking better questions will lead to a better bottom line.
This struck a chord with me when Lessonly interviewed Katie, a potential employee for a sales position. During her presentation to the team, she challenged us to play “The Question Game”.
It’s something that anyone who enjoys improv comedy will recognize. We were asked questions to see how long it took us to communicate with another person.
It was quite eye-opening. You can learn a lot from someone if you ask the right questions. Katie, who was the game winner, asked nearly 15 questions in succession. The game had a profound effect on our team. Katie is now the Director for Enterprise Sales at Lessonly.
After Katie was hired to create Lessonly sales enablement courses, our sales executives met up shortly. They discussed asking better questions and bonded. This training is now available to every account executive. This training has been a huge success for our sales staff.