The Art of Consultative Selling

This article appead last year in BlastMaster Magazine. It should be noted that it barely skims the surface and doesn't cover teaching the techniques you need to sell in a consultative manner.

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What’s the most effective way to sell? There are many schools of thought, and plenty of books and tapes on this subject. It's a personal subject, and what's right for you, may not be right for someone else. But, there are some things to keep in mind when in front of the customer which hopefully will lead you to greener pastures.

Sales people are often stereotyped, and any time you use a hard close you run the risk of evoking the image of a used car salesman in the buyers mind. Now combine that with the stereotype that follows contractors of any sort around...and you quickly have two professional strikes against you. I’m not going to talk about hard sell closing techniques today, but what I am gong to share with you, is a consultative method of selling.

The consultative method is designed to place you in the roll of educating the consumer as a professional. The two most important things to remember about consultative selling are to listen, and to seek to understand by asking questions. It’s that simple. By asking questions about their needs, what they want done, and why it's important to them, you will quickly learn things you might not otherwise. Then just listen. Why? Because if you don't listen, you haven’t heard what's important to them. You can blather on all day about the job you say you can do, but if you don't hear the questions and statements, and if you don't understand why they ask what they ask, then you’ll miss the mark. "Seek to understand before you seek to be understood." Then, based on the answers, provide them with information, and educate them. Answer their questions and help rid them of fears, which may be there because the last guy burned them. Whatever you do, don’t just run your mouth and do all the talking. Listening means you let the customer talk to you about what is important to them, and why. It's more important to ask questions and provide fundamental information, than to blindly bombard them with your knowledge, not knowing if you covered the topics of interest to them. Watch their body language, listen to the tone of voice, and work as hard as you can to see their perspective.

Don't push for the sale right off the bat. Give them time to discuss it together, and let them come to you. Why? When you pressure someone, people have a natural tendency to shy away and back off. If they do sign they may regret it and try to get out of it, although not always. It can sometimes create fear-based problems in the relationship between client and contractor. However, when you don't pressure them and remain consultative, they simply remove their own objections - POOF - and move toward buying, because they are comfortable with forming the relationship. Objections are based on fear, and can be created by the sales person. Imagine that. We are often our own worst enemy!

It's pretty basic. If you feel at ease and comfortable your guard comes down and you're more likely to commit to buying the service. If the guard is up it becomes a wrestling match and you spend valuable time trying to get the guard down. If you ask them if they need time to think it over with their spouse or want to go ahead and get started, they seem to appreciate that you took into consideration that they might want time to make a decision without pressure. Give them room to feel positive about the decision they are making. It helps them feel more comfortable about having work done on the single biggest investment they have made. Their home.

Sure, you can tell them about chemicals and sealants till you’re blue in the face, and scare them in the process. But if all they really want to hear is that you'll cover the plants so you don't kill the prize winning rose bushes, then isn't that the place you need to be? Ask them why they’re not using your competitor anymore, you find out where their pain is. Solving the problem is based on healing their pain, and their pain, is where the objections lie. Try it.

Consultative selling is not at all about the "pitch" or the "close" but about the relationship and the customer overcoming their own objection. If you are talking with the client and answering questions, no pressure, and giving them all the time and space in the world, you’re using consultative techniques. People have enough stress in their lives, enough pressure to have to make yet one more decision at the drop of a hat because someone is standing in their doorway.

Of course, you should always follow up with them, but just a few points about doing that too. Do have a reason to call. Don’t just call to pester them. Get a commitment on the phone or face-to-face regarding the next step they wish to take. Always follow up when you say you will. Many folks out there show up late, don't return calls, and when they do show up look sloppy and unprofessional which doesn’t reflect a positive company image.

If you do these things based on what they are comfortable with the pressure is gone, and they feel better. Example. You talk to John Doe at ABC Widget Company about cleaning the exterior of his building. He's interested but says it's a few months out. At that point I would ask him several things. For one, is it in the budget to do this year, and of course next, I would ask him when would be a better time to follow up (30, 60, 90 days) and get him to tell you.

Then when you call him back you remind him that he asked you to call him in 30 days, and then ask if the project is still on track? NO, when do I call again? YES, well that’s great news, when can I do a site visit and provide you with a proposal? When do you expect to make a decision?

Having your prospect overcome their own objections boils down to leading the dance. Somewhere along the line you have to do a little research and ask some questions that many people find uncomfortable to ask or even to answer. You have to discover their "pain". Why are they looking for a new company? What didn't they like about the other one? Where did they fall short of meeting expectations? What you’re getting from all of this digging is finding out what their hot buttons are, what to do, and what not to do in order to get the business. From there, you should be able to position yourself so that your company appeals to them, and they won't even realize they told you how to do it.

That's why I say customers overcome their own objections. Also, if they ask a question about if you can do a particular thing, and you can't it doesn't mean you are out the door. The next question from you should be "does this mean we should not keep going?" "Is it going to be a problem?" Very often we perceive there is an objection, and there isn't one. When you ask that question and you are able to do 95% of what they want, well, suddenly that last thing may not be an issue at all. Maybe they want you to repot the petunias in the lobby of the building when you wash the windows. But, you aren't a landscaping company. It doesn’t mean they won't recognize it, and it really, is not an objection at all. It's all an education process for the both of you, and at the end of all the discussion you will either agree to give it a shot, or not.

To present your company well, make certain you know your product inside and out. Understand your customer’s needs and if the person you are dealing with is the decision maker or not. Look around you. Can they afford what you’re about to propose? You should be able to tell. Make sure you listen to the customer and never, ever interrupt them. Don’t give them a chance to say no. Show them the samples you have. Don’t ask to show them samples. It’s expected behavior to see them in a presentation. Present them with professional looking materials, and review all the materials with them. They’ll appreciate that you took the time.

Consultative selling is not at all about a pitch that's canned, its about discovering the clients needs, understanding their particular business and personal reasons for buying, and then using them to position your product or service, so they will buy it.