Connect Better with your Customers using Consultative Sales Skills

Develop a following of Loyal and Engaged Customers with Effective Salespeople

 

Do you have a vision for how sales should look in your business? Does this involve plenty of delighted customers who buy from you regularly and who provide recommendations and endorsements to others. Is the relationship with these clients either one of provider of solutions or better still, as a trusted partner? If this sounds like your business, you must be good at the art of Consultative Selling.

It is now widely acknowledged by sales professionals that when trying to sell high-quality solutions, a relationship built on trust, rapport and a genuine understanding of your customers’ needs is a far more effective, not to mention ethical, approach to selling!

The benefits of a Consultative Sales strategy are:

 

✔️ Increased customer loyalty leading to higher customer satisfaction ratings

✔️ Maximising revenue from existing customers meaning you can cross-sell different products and/or services

✔️ Increased focus, discipline and resilience in your sales team, meaning you can retain talented salespeople

✔️ Higher conversion rates once prospects are engaged, leading to efficient use of time and effort

✔️ An enhanced reputation for your business based on the high quality, relevant and tailored solutions offered

✔️ Increased referrals due to a higher level of satisfied customers meaning you spend less money on acquiring new customers

 

Consultative Selling aims for the ultimate level of customer engagement and loyalty. The end goal is to develop a long-term, profitable relationship where both your customers and your business gain lots of value. Here are five primary differentiators that mark out a Consultative Salesperson:

 

✔️ They ask more questions and more of the “right” questions

✔️ They listen more effectively; they listen more than they talk!

✔️ They provide customized not generic solutions

✔️ Their meetings are more interactive, focused and client led

✔️ They provide valuable insights to their prospects and customers

 

In Consultative Selling, the salesperson learns about customer needs, wants and aspirations before talking about a product or service. The knowledge the salesperson has about their product or service is transformed into a tailored solution - delivered and positioned based on the customer’s needs and language. The approach is not price or product driven, its about being a provider of solutions or, for some customers, being seen as a trusted partner.

 

 

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Consultative Selling in a Nutshell

To connect with your customers at a deeper level and develop the relationships needed to become a provider of solutions or a trusted partner requires a 5-stage approach. Based on our own experience of working in a professional sales environment we have developed Zentano’s own Consultative Selling Model “Consult with D.A.V.I.D.” to provide you and your team with the knowledge, skills and mindset needed to open up and sustain a profitable dialogue with your customers.

 

 

Our Consultative Selling pathway is built around developing competency in each of these areas. You will develop practical skills and knowledge grounded in validated theory and practice giving you the confidence and skill to maintain consistent sales performance.

 

Click on the buttons below to find out more about each module

 

 

 

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Connected Salesperson Model

 

Our Consultative Selling approach focuses on developing “Connected Salespeople” with capability in five key areas:

Purpose & Direction – Giving your salespeople a strong sense of direction and ensuring individual and team goals are aligned with company vision and strategy.

Capability – Instilling a focus on continual improvement and personal development by embedding the right habits coupled with strong interpersonal and influencing skills.

Connected – Focus on relationship building and managing those relationships with the appropriate balance of support and challenge.

Productivity – Holding themselves to account with a focus on translating goals into consistent levels of productivity.

Mindset – Developing a flexible and adaptive mindset that actively seeks opportunities to learn and develop and is responsive to customers’ needs.

 

 

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Consultative Selling Pathway

SHORT MODULES – Your salespeople embark on a 6 to 12-month journey to develop the knowledge and skills they need for their role. The content is delivered in short modules comprising of relevant knowledge and fun, work-related activities and exercises. The modules can be delivered via online or face-to-face workshops. Each module is designed to build upon the previous one in a logical order to create a progressive learning experience.

FLEXIBLE TIMING - We recommend the modules are delivered monthly with at least 3 weeks between each one (i.e. one module per month). This allows for the learning in each module to become embedded and gives time for any additional supporting activities. Timeframes can be flexible to meet changing operational demands.

MENTORING AND COACHING INPUT – Pathfinder can be supported by in-house mentoring and coaching or using Zentano’s experienced team of qualified experts. This input is crucial to ensure transfer of learning and helps embed a consultative sales culture throughout your business as well as driving personal responsibility and accountability.

CUSTOMISED CONTENT – Each workshop can be customised to the values and culture of your business so that it uses recognisable language. We work with your Sales Leaders to ensure we understand the typical challenges experienced in your business and align the activities and exercises to scenarios people will recognise.

SELF-DRIVEN LEARNING – Outside of the workshops and coaching conversations, learning is self-driven. This gives people a sense of responsibility, autonomy and accountability that allows for the perfect balance between people flexing their individual creativity, skills and insight whilst maintaining consistency of sales practices. Reflective learning activities are encouraged and provided between workshops.

 

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Module Snapshot

Module No	Module Name	Module Description
Workshop 1	Customer Focused Selling	Understanding and implementing a customer focused Consultative Selling approach to delight customers and increase sales. Topics covered; The 5-step sales process and what standards need to be met at each stage Understanding how a buyer’s mindset works Aligning with Bob Burgs’ 5 laws of stratospheric success The importance of reflective learning and goal setting Understanding motivation and how to use this to influence decision-making
Workshop 2	Engaging at a Deeper Level	Applying the concept of Whole Brain Thinking to engage with customers more effectively. Specific areas of focus include communication, problem-solving, decision-making, building trust and clue-spotting. Uses the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI).
Workshop 3	Transforming Core Sales Skills	Consistent and highly effective use of questioning, listening and informing skills. Using probing questions and summarising skills to uncover the issues that really matter to customers. Pre-empting and handling reasons not to buy. Identifying upselling and cross-selling opportunities.
Workshop 4	Matching Solutions to Needs	Matching Solutions to Needs - being clear on your own Value Proposition and how it meets customers’ needs and their reasons to buy. The 3 rings of service – delighting customers. Understanding a customer’s Value Proposition when preparing.
Workshop 5	Managing Focus and Time	How to be productive rather than busy by adopting a proactive mindset that focuses not on effort expended but on value created. Includes priority planning and time management skills.
Workshop 6	Selling to the Unconscious Brain	How to connect better with concepts and people at a deeper level. Focuses on using storytelling, metaphor and visual images. How to help your customers visualise their world using your solution.
Workshop 7	Building Effective Relationships using Emotional Intelligence (SELF)	Using self-awareness and self-management to enhance well-being, presence and personal effectiveness. Includes a Trait Emotional Intelligence profile that shines a light on areas of strength and areas for development in terms of building effective relationships.
Workshop 8	Building Effective Relationships using Emotional Intelligence (OTHERS)	Using social awareness and relationship management skills to relate to others in an effective manner, improve personal presence and become more influential. Helps to improve customer satisfaction ratings, build networks and create business partnerships.
Workshop 9	The Importance of Language	The importance of language (internal with self & external with others). Focus on recognising helpful and unhelpful language. How to reframe unhelpful language. How to use language to be more influential (priming).
Workshop 10	Keeping Accurate Records	Key principles and methods of notetaking including practicing various methods. Understanding the impact of your mental filters and assumptions.
Workshop 11	Gaining Referrals	How to find the best source of leads through a robust approach to asking for (and receiving referrals).
Workshop 12	Understanding and Embedding Keystone Habits	The 5 keystone habits for a Connected Salesperson and how to sustain the performance gains made from attending the Consultative Selling Pathway