I travel around the country a great deal in my role as CEO of Kiss the Fish Ltd, and I get to work with a huge variety of salespeople, from those considered to be at the top of their game in FMCG to those starting in an SME without any training. They all have one thing in common: They are convinced that they are practising what is widely termed “consultative selling.”
Ask your team if they consider themselves to be ‘consultative salespeople’ and I’m pretty sure they will all answer in the affirmative and with an undercurrent of pride.
You see everyone knows that it is where we as salespeople should be – it is logical and commendable in this day and age that we ‘consult’ with buyers to understand the problems they are trying to solve and to offer ‘solutions’ that make their lives better and happier.
I’ve got some bad news for people reading this article, however: when I watch experienced people sell (as a coach), I realise that most people who consider themselves competent ‘consultative’ salespeople are nothing more than hopeful ‘solution sellers’ at best.
By the term “solution sellers’ I mean that although a sales exec may think they are asking good questions and finding problems to solve, all they are doing in practice is asking questions to find the problem that ‘fits’ their solution. In other words, the sale is pre-packaged, and questions aren’t really designed to be ‘consultative’, rather they are for the salesperson’s benefit to allow them to pitch as they need to close a deal.
This is not terrible selling but it isn’t consultative and it isn’t as good as it could be.
To better understand what it means to be consultative, consider the medical guys who ask you detailed questions to get to the root cause of why there might be pain somewhere in your body. Sadly most salespeople are more like pharmacists who sell pills for pain relief to deal with what looks to be the problem (the pain right?), rather than find out what the cause of the pain is and offer something more substantial than pills (full treatment).
To be consultative a salesperson has to show up for the right reason – not to sell something but to help the buyer in their role. It isn’t about ‘telling’ the buyer what we need them to know about our products, it is only about asking the buyer ‘where the pain is?’ and then finding out why there is pain (in the organisation) in the first place.
If you want to help your sales team, go out with them, resist the urge to take over the sales meeting and just watch and listen. When you come away from the meeting ask each other what problem you were there to solve. Did the buyer say those words or have you assumed? Selling tends to go wrong (and fails to be consultative) in the opening 20 minutes of the meeting. Ask if the questions are being asked to help the seller or the buyer.
A consultative salesperson is asking questions (and having a conversation – not an interrogation) for the buyer’s benefit.
Think about shining a light on the buyer and their business to fully understand how what you represent may add to what they do in a way to impact profitability positively (and I’m not talking about a low price). You have to be aware of the value your business adds or you will just end up in the buyers eyes, as being ‘just another salesperson’ – trying to flog stuff.
The salespeople I meet who consider themselves consultative but clearly are not, are those who think the light should be shone on themselves and their products..that the sales meeting is set up for that reason so they can ‘sell’.
Here are the simple steps that you as a manager can offer to help your team.
- Unite your sales team behind a meaningful purpose – what does your company do for the world? What problems was the company set up to solve? What are the values that make it all possible?
- Remind your sales team that we ask questions to help the buyer understand what value they need and what real value is. Find out about the person in the room –find ways to compliment them and their company and find out how the business makes money and why it might be investing in products like yours.
- Prepare a value proposition specifically for that client – think about the ‘heart of the matter’ in the client’s terms and define your solution in value that means something to the buyer (using their words/description of the problem).
- Before going to the meeting train your salespeople to always consider three things about the person who they are meeting with (and find out the answers)
– What is their mindset (what is their subconscious focused on?)
– What does success look like for them?
– What can you do the make them more successful in their terms?
Being truly consultative will add ££££’s to your bottom line because your team will show up and sell for the right reasons. They will be very appealing to the buyers and your business will become well known for what it does for generations to come.
If your team are not hitting their targets and you have a product that is distinctive in your market, it will be because they are not selling to their true potential.
At Kiss the Fish Ltd all of my team have the skills and knowledge required to help you so Call me on 07880 558000 or email me at Andrew@kissthefish.net for a chat in which I’ll offer you a view. My aim is to help you, not sell to you.
T: +44 (0)7880 558 000
