Are You Really?
Let's make sure you're using consultative selling the most effective way. Consultative selling is one form of value-added selling. Other forms include Business Function Selling, Application Selling and Solution Selling. Make sure you're not really using one of the other types.
Consultative selling means that you explore the key areas where you have expertise, uncover customer problems, qualify them, quantify them and then offer a solution.
What's the Difference?
Consultants typically look at the customer's entire operation. Consultative salespeople concentrate on their areas of expertise and/or influence.
Consultants typically conclude their work by offering the customer a recommendation after a diagnosis. Consultative salespeople conclude by offering their customer a solution following their diagnosis.
(You may have noted the different pronouns above: "the" and "their". Salespeople tend to take greater ownership of their relationships with customers.)
CONSULTANT > DIAGNOSIS > RECOMMENDATION
CONSULTATIVE SALESPERSON > DIAGNOSIS > SOLUTION
Who's More Objective?
The argument can be made that consultants are "agnostic" and do not necessarily favor one solution over another. Whereas consultative salespeople are compensated when the product or service they offer is sold.
The best consultative salespeople can actually enhance their credibility when presenting their naturally biased solution. Here are some tips to remember:
Tips
- The customer already knows you're biased and they invited you in anyway. They expect you to present your solution in the best possible light. Anything short of putting your best effort will be seen as a sign of weakness on your part and a strength for the competitor.
- Speaking of competitors, remember, they are already familiar with the competition.
- You cannot win anything by making the competition look bad. Make them look good and yourself look best.
- They may know a lot or a little about what you do. Make sure you uncover their level of understanding about your products and services during your needs analysis. This is probably not their first rodeo and you do know something they don't know. What is it?
- In your needs analysis phase, the consultative part of your effort, determine how you will qualify and quantify the value of your solution.
Qualify and Quantify
This has been covered in previous issues so I'll give you the "CNN version" here:
QUALIFY: in your needs analysis determine 1) which problems you will be able to address and, 2) how/where each of those problems manifest themselves.
QUANTIFY: once you have your list of the ways the problems affect the customer's business, go back and quantify the actual cost in real dollars. When you add up the total dollars, it will be a larger number than your selling price.
Working With or Around Consultants
A few years ago there were eight major consulting firms in the United States, known affectionately as the Big Eight, along with hundreds of smaller ones. Today, due to mergers,acquisitions and a couple of missteps, there are four remaining, known as the Final Four, and thousands of smaller ones.
If your customer has already brought in a firm, work with them if at all possible. The big guys will use a formulaic approach many times. Learn the formula and remember, they use it because it works. The smaller firms are less predictable. If you do not agree with their diagnosis and recommendation, present your alternative without criticizing the other work. If you agree, be prepared to demonstrate why your solution best meets their recommendation.