The Consultative Sale: Asking the Right Questions
To succeed in consultative selling, sales professionals must focus on the needs of the client rather than promoting themselves, their products, or their competitive advantages. While it may seem straightforward, many salespeople struggle with this. They often act like order takers, excelling when a prospect tells them exactly what they want but struggling to offer long-term solutions.
Avoid the Scripted Approach
Many salespeople come into meetings already knowing what they plan to sell. They’re not prepared to ask questions and discover the prospect’s needs. Instead, they rely on a pre-designed sales presentation with a scripted set of questions and statements, only occasionally pausing to seek “approval.” For instance, they might ask: “As you can see, we charge 10% less than our competitors, and you would like to save money, wouldn’t you?” Although this may seem like a technique, no one enjoys being sold to in this way. There are too many professionals out there who offer solutions instead of pitches.
The Power of Asking the Right Questions
In consultative selling, professionals focus on asking insightful questions to uncover the prospect’s problems. The goal is to explore what prevents the prospect from becoming more productive, profitable, or successful. We ask, “What keeps them up at night?” Only after understanding the prospect’s concerns do we offer solutions tailored to their specific needs. This approach leads to fewer objections, and price often becomes a secondary concern.
Real-World Example of Success
One of my clients, who sells forklifts, faced a situation where a prospect’s budget was frozen, and no new capital expenses would be approved until the following year. However, by asking the right questions, my client learned about the prospect’s daily fuel consumption and the yearly repair costs due to frequent brake and transmission failures. With this information, my client presented a forklift solution that saved 75% in fuel costs and eliminated brake and transmission repairs, which saved the company thousands of dollars annually. This solution led to a sale exceeding $50,000, and the client continued to purchase additional forklifts over time.
The Dangers of Leading with Your Product
Imagine how differently this situation could have unfolded if my client had started by talking about how great their company was or by offering a solution to a problem the prospect wasn’t even aware of. Too often, I’ve seen salespeople lead with their Unique Selling Proposition (USP), only to be shut down by the prospect. How can you offer a solution if you don’t first understand—and if the prospect doesn’t know—there is a problem?
