Editor’s note: Paul Kirch is CEO of ActusMR Inc., a Lewisville, Texas, business and sales consulting agency. Kirch can be reached at 214-295-6111 or at pkirch@actusmr.com.
As a salesperson, no matter what industry you work in, it’s crucial to earn and keep customer loyalty. But customer loyalty takes time and requires a strategy to keep the client engaged and keep your company top-of-mind when the next opportunity arises. Even if the client had a great experience working with your team, the salesperson still needs to focus on the relationship. However, many sales professionals focus so much on avoiding seeming salesy that they miss the opportunity to upsell, resulting in a lost opportunity to provide better service and receive additional revenue.
Embracing “consultative” selling is important if you want to stand out as a go-to person for clients when they have questions or challenges. The more they see you as a resource, the greater the trust in you. Trust can build strong bonds and when that trust goes beyond just one person in the client company, there is a great opportunity to create real customer loyalty.
Most companies want their sales team to be consultative but face two challenges. First, the people they hire don’t have the experience to advise or guide their clients. Second, they often don’t provide training that’s appropriate to help their salespeople fit into a consultative role. Both cases can lead to frustration by senior management, the client and, of course, the salesperson. Customers become irritated that they’re working with someone who can’t help them do things better.
Better serve clients
There are several things that can help position your sales team to better serve clients. Providing them ongoing training can improve skills and give more talking points. The training needs to be focused on the benefits of your services and products. In other words, what is the customer getting from you? Too often we train people on the features of our offerings. Shift the focus from what it does to why customers need it. By putting a little bit of energy into a training program around why clients should care about the features of your offering, you can transform your salespeople into consultative reps. They don’t have to have all of the answers but they can’t always be telling customers, “Let me get back to you.” Armed with enough knowledge, sales reps become problem-solvers and help come up with creative suggestions. When that happens, they can drive real loyalty.
Another element of being consultative is related to the questions the sales representatives are capable of asking. Questions are the key to uncovering needs. They also allow salespeople to appear more knowledgeable than they are, especially if their questions get the customers talking. Unfortunately, too many times, the questions that reps ask are weak. Getting better at asking questions and knowing the types to ask is not a difficult task but it does require some time and knowledge. (If you’re interested in receiving my Askology booklet, e-mail me at pkirch@actusmr.com.)
An assumptive position
One of my favorite ways to be consultative may at first seem contradictory to a consultative selling approach. Oftentimes, there is an opportunity to upsell during the bidding stage or when the project is awarded by taking an assumptive position. The scenario I like to use relates to dining at a restaurant. Perhaps you went to a nice restaurant and at the end of the meal your waiter asked, “Would you like anything for dessert?” When I hear that question, I almost never partake unless I had already decided I was going to order dessert. In fact, I’d say a large number people decline when asked that way since they don’t want to seem gluttonous and if one person declines to order, most of the table will also decline.
Let’s take that same scenario but with a different approach by the waiter. This time, he doesn’t ask you if you want dessert. Instead he brings the desert tray and starts walking through each one, describing all of the wonderful things about each. In this example, he has assumed that you’re treating yourself to a nice meal and will indulge in dessert. This approach wins me over a much higher percentage of the time and I walk away having enjoyed the experience, feeling as if I received great customer service. After all, we love it when we feel like we’re taken care of. How does this apply to your business? Quite simply: By assuming your customers need additional services you offer, you can provide them greater value and make their project more successful.
Being assumptive, if done correctly, isn’t about being pushy. Instead, it is about being more consultative. If you understand clients’ needs and assume that they’d want an additional service, you can change the way they see you. If that service provides value to them, you will stand out in their eyes. The secret is to dig in and ask questions to understand their needs. Then, if you leverage your own knowledge of the products and services you offer, you can give them a level of service most don’t provide. The real icing on the cake is that this approach adds revenue to the project. Even if it’s a $20 add-on, over time, if you continue this approach, the impact can be significant.
Providing value
The phrase “never leave money on the table” is one many buyers hate. It’s also one that has given so many sales people the “pushy” label. If you follow the example I laid out, it can actually help you become more consultative since you’re providing value. After all, customers often lose track of all of the services a vendor supplies. If that vendor reminds them and helps share what the benefit is to the buyer, you position yourself as a trusted advisor for a loyal customer.
Be grateful for your clients and their business. To thank them, be consultative in your approach. Listen to their needs and learn to ask better questions so you can be seen as a valuable resource. Learn to exercise assumptive selling and, if you do it right, they’ll be the ones thanking you.