What is Consultative selling and how different it is from content selling?
Consultative selling came into existence two decades back and is still popular compared with other selling techniques. Consultative selling focuses on the needs and requirements of the customers. In this type of selling the salesperson acts as a consultant and identifies the needs of the customer by asking several questions. He then proposes the product that fits the customer requirements. In content selling, products are pushed to the customers without considering the customer needs. Content selling focuses on product selling irrespective of the whether the customer needs it or not. Consultative selling considers the customer needs before proceeding to sell the product to them.
The three core principles of Consultative selling are:
1) Focus on needs of customers,
2) Probe further into their needs and
3) Convince them that your product will help them make their job easier.
In this type of selling, since the salesperson identifies with the customers and their needs and is not pushing the product, the success rate is high. Here the salesperson dons the role of problem solver or a consultant making him more highly regarded and relied upon than the normal salesperson.
When and where do we use Consultative Selling?
Consultative selling is best used when the product or service offered is complex. The consultative salesperson helps the customer to choose the right product or services that suits the customer requirements from the range of services or products offered. Consultative selling is most effective with high cost infrequent purchases such as a home or a car. Purchasing of homes and cars is not done very often and this is where consultative selling can be used since the buyer is not experienced as a buyer in such cases and he may welcome and need guidance in making the right choice. Also in scenarios where the cost of failure is high, consultative selling is the best approach.
How can I know more about Consultative Selling?
Best seller books like “Consultative Selling” by Mack Hanan or “Unleashing the Power of Consultative Selling” by Richard Grehalva will give you in-depth knowledge of consultative selling. Many sales courses are available online and offline from websites such as www.consultativeselling.com, or www.topra.org who will train you in different types of selling techniques. You can enroll in any of several sales courses to find out more about Consultative selling.
