MyNextClient

While out having lunch with my son, he asked me what I do. “I coach consultative selling”, I answered. “Huh?” replied my dazed 17 year old. “See those French fries?” I asked him (Houston's, his favorite restaurant, is famous for thinly cut fries that are difficult to resist). “If you were working here and were asked to be in charge of French fry sales, you could walk around telling everyone how delicious they are, how many are in a serving, and how much they cost. That's one way to sell.”

“Suppose instead you sat at a customer's table and learned he can't eat too much fried foods, is allergic to peanuts, likes a "meaty" potato, and must have complex carbs in his diet.  During this discussion, the customer senses you want to help him and, as he starts to trust you, you both come up with a heart-healthy solution:”

- 100 grams of thickly cut potatoes
- Fried in olive oil and sprinkled with garlic salt
- Sliced in cubes and mixed with rice

"Cool!" said my son, who had just started selling bicycles for his first job and was beginning to feel that special thrill when his customers showed delight with his recommendations.  "Here is question for you, Greg: might you come up with a special price for such a solution?"  Always ask your customer (in this case my son!) to envision a better future by virtue of your involvement with their problem.

The example may be trite or simplistic, but storytelling is one way to illustrate a principle, especially to a boy just embarking on his incipient sales career.  Even if he turns out to be a doctor, I hope he will remember how to build a solution with his "client" by listening.  Especially if he becomes a doctor!

Consultative selling is becoming more necessary in the Internet era, yet I observe we  are doing less of it.  The empowerment of anyone to sell anything to anyone else from anywhere in the world means more and more that companies and individuals who succeed must purposefully embrace consultative selling as their marketing and sales strategy, irrespective of product or service, as a way to create discriminators.

In our coaching practice, we build a comprehensive selling methodology that spans beyond a single deal or series of transactions.  We hold to the belief that contrary to a sales rep's instinct to describe his product relentlessly, to scramble for the perfect PowerPoint presentation, to make the deal and move on, the rep must build lasting relationships first.

In any industry, reps have only two things to sell: integrity and expertise.  We submit that deals follow to the extent this foundation is laid firmly. Only then, can consultative selling start.