Consultative selling
To be successful in complex B2B sales, you absolutely, positively must become an expert in consultative selling techniques. Your buyer has been empowered by a mouse, a keyboard, and nearly boundless online resources. She’s a mere Google search away from 
learning about your company, your products, and your services – as well as those of your competitors.
Thanks to the internet, some buyers may already feel that they understand how your services fit their needs. But do they?
Buyers are often focused on symptoms rather than causes. They have an immediate pain and they want relief NOW. Just as a doctor doesn’t prescribe before making a diagnosis a salesperson need to take the same thoughtful approach before offering solutions.
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Peel away the layers
Sales pros know that the stated problem may not be the real issue that’s driving a buying decision – in fact the buyer may not be aware of this gap either. The statement, “revenue is down” doesn’t tell us why sales have slumped. We need to peel away the layers to get to the heart of the issue.
- Drill down to underlying causes –and not just the symptoms
- Quickly determine if you’re the best fit for your buyer’s needs
- Record and track everything!
It’s thoughtful questioning that reveals personal objectives and concerns. “My job is on the line if I don’t get my numbers up” is an emotionally charged motivator in a way that “sales are down” is not. You need to understand your buyer’s personal stake in the issue. When we use a consultative sales process we stay focused on our prospects, not on our products or services. It’s the only way we’ll learn enough about our buyer’s need to help them. But some very interesting things are also happening during this process:
- As we uncover our buyer’s needs, we build credibility.
- As we show our interest and understanding, we earn trust.
- As we engage in the dialog, we demonstrate expertise.
This consultative sales approach lifts you head and shoulders above the old-school tactics used by your competitors. This is no small thing: when a prospect buys from us – when they’re saying yes to us – they are saying no to all the other options they’ve considered. We have our work cut out for us to earn that trust:
- Ask about goals and objectives.
- Find about roles and responsibilities.
- Ask about what’s working now & what’s been tried before.
- Determine a timeline.
- What – or who – might get in the way of succeeding.
- How will they measure success.
- Are you speaking to someone with the authority to proceed?
- Do they have or can they allocate the budget for the project.
Pick your prospects carefully
Consultative selling takes time. That means that you need to select your prospects as carefully as they select you. You can’t afford to waste time with anyone who’s not serious about solving their problems, and solving them in a reasonable time frame. Our next article on “assignment selling” is a powerful qualification step designed to educate your buyer while eliminating tire-kickers and time-wasters. When you’ve combined a consultative selling approach with assignment selling, you’ll be unstoppable!
(For further reading: Mahan Khalsa’s “Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play” or “Value Added Selling” by Tom Reilly.)
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