Consultative selling is when the salesperson acts as an expert consultant during the presentation of a product or service. Through questions, the salesperson identifies the customer’s needs and conducts the negotiation based on this information.
This type of sale has been gaining more and more prominence because it improves the customer’s experience with the company, helps to build loyalty and increase the average sales ticket. After all, it is much safer to buy from a specialist.
What is Consultative Selling and how does it work in practice?
Telemarketing was perhaps the first type of robotic approach and sales that is already undergoing modernization. Nowadays, it is common to receive calls from robots (recordings) offering products, making collections, making warnings, and other actions that were previously performed by a person.
The goal of this content is to help you update your way of selling. Becoming essential for your client’s decision-making. The more efficient your sales consultancy is, the more professional success you will have.
A Real Example As A Consumer
I have two pets that are like my children. I often take them to the pet shop for baths and grooming, to buy treats, to the vet, etc. Near where I live benefits of using a sales system for distributors to control orders and inventory are several places that offer all of these services, approximately 15 places within a 3km radius.
As a consumer it’s great because I have the possibility to choose.
Precisely because of this ease, I ended up bargaining. Bathing and grooming in one place, food and treats in another, and medicine in a third place. Always the same three for more than 2 years. Even though the three places offer the same services, I rarely do everything at once, so it’s okay if I buy from one today and another tomorrow.
But one day I was careless and the food ran out. Since it was the middle of the week and I had a busy schedule, I ran to the usual place. After all, I knew the prices, the brand is always the same.
As soon as I entered, I passed by 4 attendants who greeted me cordially. I went to the dog food section and started choosing which type I was going to take.
After 5 minutes I noticed that none of the attendants were around. The 4 remained in the same place as when I entered. Note, on their cell phones.
The product of the brand and type that
I wanted to take was on top of 6 other 15kg bags of food.
I spent some time looking and gesturing towards the attendants but to no avail.
I’m a salesman, an entrepreneur, and at that b2b reviews I felt that if I spent my money there I would be devaluing myself. After all, all they had to do was take an order, help me remove the other 15kg bags from the top so I could take them, and that was it, I would pay and leave.
There was no sign of “goodwill” from the staff, so I thought it best not to buy anything. As I was leaving the place, I passed by the attendants again and said goodbye, still hoping that someone would ask me if I needed help. No, nothing. I got in my car and decided to try at the other place.
Arriving at the second location, I followed the same process. I went in, greeted the attendants and headed towards the food section.
The scenario was the same, several products piled up, and the one I wanted was in the center of the pile.
Conclusion
Comparing the two types of services, it is easy to understand why consultative selling is on the rise. Taking orders or simply delivering products worked in the past.
Soon software and robots will do all the manual work, the big difference lies in the creativity and perception that we can and should apply.
I decided to describe this situation from a consumer’s perspective. Here you can find several pieces of content that will help you put this method into practice, but just as important as the techniques applied is putting ourselves in the customer’s shoes.