Consultative selling Essay

For the last five yrs, I puzzle held the full beat gross revenue enhancement baffle of invitee Partner with a performance improvement origination. In this roll, I take individual, team, and organizational solutions to mainly Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 organizations. My position as a Client Partner is a informative gross revenue job. I partner with thickenings helping them achieve better results. consultative gross revenue be quite different and un pass equally unique, from traditional or transactional gross revenue. In the Consultative sales agreements it is non close convincing the electric potentiality lymph node that you pitch the product they need, or how you throw the crush price.Consultative sales be close results based chats. Key concepts to Consultative grassing are relationship expression, potent audience, and conclusion the sale. Within the role of informatory marketing, cardinalness mustiness have the expertness to get up relationshi ps, debate in effect(p) sense of hearing, and whence close the sale in order to be successful. I have been in this role for nearly five years. The last both years have been spent in the field, showdown face to face with lymph nodes and potential knobs weekly. The face to face confrontation is essential to the consultative sales role, as this is where the three key concepts are demonstrated. prior(prenominal) to travel to the field, I had rattling(prenominal) limited experience in live consultative selling. My graduation exercise year was really trial by error. I am confident in this outset year I lost m both sells and even thickening relationships due to my lack of skills. However, I idler recall one of the intimately satisfying consultative selling face to face thickening confluxs where employ all three key concepts, resulted in a large lymph node engagement. The client was Orica they are the largest manu particularures and full service explosive organization specializing in the mining and engineering fields.I received a call from somebody in Orica, the individual was technical lead, and she was serveing for meter wariness procreation. She did non fate to cast much time with me on the phone, nor did she want me to begin out and meet with her face to face, she simply abstracted the course compend and pricing to be sent over to her. This is the non-optimal consultative selling billet. However, dickens weeks later, I regardd back from her, stating she valued to go forward with the time management training program. A befool during this intercourse, she limited how much information she wanted to provide.All she communicated was this was for an engineering group of 25 employees who had challenges around working very long hours. In profit they were challenged with too m any emails in the day. Although any sale is very much appreciated, this sales situation is non optimal. With consultative sales we are looking to solve patrona ge problems. If we do non fully see to it the problem (diagnose) we cannot solve it (prescribe). Most often when we take sales as these, the clients do not reach the desired results, resulting in no future sales. During this work-session, I went out and sat in on the time management training.I joined in one of the tables. I began to participate to principals outlined in this session. This allowed me to hear the group responses to the questions, auditory sense what the actual challenges this particular group faces. Throughout the program, I checked in with my forgather and would ask however thing was going. Unfortunately, she would not have much to say. briefly after the work session ended I received a call from my consultant who delivered the program. He communicated to me that within the group today the iniquity President of erudition and Development for Orica had been a participant.At the end of the session, the vice President asks our delivery consultant many questions a bout the particular solution, and its capabilities. receivable to the lack of communication from my original contact, I was never aware this administrator would be attending It was soon published that thither was expression interest. The fact that there could be gainal opportunity was great news both days later I called on the Vice President of Learning and Development for Orica, as soon as the communion began, my intent was building a relationship.I called the Vice President asking for an naming, with the intent of hearing his feedback on the work session along with giving a lofty level view of who FranklinCovey is and potentially have a deeper dive in converse if he felt it was in alignment with Orica. I did not lead the conversation with what else I could offer Orica, but really wanting to hear his thoughts. He straight look agreed to appointment. The succeeding(a) day I drove out to his office. In the key concept of relationship building, one of the ways to do this is with a face to face appointment.In addition one must lead with questions that are individualised, this always help to build rapport and allows me to really begin to understand the client. The second part to the sceptical is to demonstrate effective listening. As soon as I arrived for the appointment, close immediately as we shook hands I notice he had a unique metal bracelet on with multiple engravements. I asked him about the bracelet, and this began a fifteen minute conversation, he explained that he served two terms in Afghanistan with the United States Navy as an E. O. D. (Explosive Ordinance Device). The name calling inscribed on the bracelet are those friends who were killed.I spend the conterminous hour really stressful to understand him personally. I asked question, after question, the conversation flowed so naturally. The conversation evolved to where I uncovered his biggest challenge in moving to the civilian world which is finding purpose. There I had begun to buil d his leave. The wondering(a) and effective listening have paid off. Through effective listening I navigated the conversations from personal question, to business framed questions. I really began to question the current organizational strategies, and structure, and goals. When I demonstrated effective listening, the questions naturally flow.The conversation did not sound interrogative, but genuine. Through this conversation, I uncovered so much more(prenominal) than than just organizational time management needs. It allowed me to uncover the fact they are looking for a global time management solution, they needed a project management solution, an entry level managers training program, and even a solution to help them execute on their goals. near always when I schedule a face to face client brush, it is always scheduled for an hour. This client appointment had gone nearly two hours and forty five minutes. The meeting thus far was spent building the relationship though effectiv e listening.During the late portion of the conversation I looked down at my page full of notes, it is time for me to make my recommendation. I make a series of recommendations. My first recommendation is around the time management needs, then project management, then I tie in all the global and manager needs. I held off on the exertion needs for the time. At the final closure of the meeting, I make the augur to send him what we talked about and the associated pricing. He shakes my hand and communicates he has already made his decision, and he would like to start with the first phase immediately.Because I was able to build the relationship, demonstrate effective listening, I did not have to sell him on the data. He didnt need case studies, or perseverance comparisons, or how our solutions match to their competencies. He trusted me. He believed I did have the solution. He was ready to move. Had I not had the meeting with him, and was limited to the first contact within Orica I woul d have never had this account obtain what it has. When I initiated my face to face meeting with the potential client, I recognized almost immediately how well he responded to my personal questions.Walking into the meeting I knew what needed to be achieved, I needed to be closing a sale. I was aware of the key concepts behind a consultative sales role, but was unsure how I would achieve this. Opening the conversation with a personal question relating to his bracelet he was wearing, immediately fixate the tone for the remainder of the time together. It really was exciting to have the conversation flow so naturally. One question led to the next and the next after that. It was an adoreable conversation that allowed me to learn so much about the client personally and his background with the war.I also enjoyed hearing more about his transitions and its struggles moving from military to civilian organizations. During this time of the conversation, I was not concerned about talking abou t the solutions I could offer, or how I would close the sale, I was simply engaged in what the client had to say. With this appointment I was able to experience first hand why world face to face is vastly more valuable than a realistic meeting. Had I not been meeting with this client face to face, I would have not seen his bracelet, and chances are never had the opportunity to ask him about his background.I also realized that once I was in the midst of this personal conversation that was so very interesting, I was able to demonstrate effective listening. Because of the nature of the conversation, I was easily able to listen effectively. As I ask one question, how he responded would result in my next question. I was able to be very specific in my questions, really trying to understand the personal challenges he had face along with the new challenges as a result of becoming a civilian.As I smooth on the results of listening effectively, I realize how I was able to navigate the con versation to uncover many challenges within the organization. At the end of the client meeting, I looked down at the notes I had taken. I was genuinely move by how specific and deep my notes were. I could immediately make very specific recommendations. This really was an experience I had wanted for very long. The more specific and clearer understandings of what the clients needs are the clearer and more specific of a recommendation I can make.As I talked finished the solutions and then followed it up with the recommendation on next steps, the client was highly engaged. He was even surprisingly enthusiastic, that I was able to provide solutions to the challenges to which he had been tasked. What came as an even bigger surprise, he agreed to my recommendations on the blip He wanted to talk though the details of starting the implementation. This was the first client appointment I had experience where I had demonstrated building the relationship, through effective listening resultin g in a client agreeing immediately to the recommendation.As a result I fuck have a deep distributive relationship with the client who is so fulfilling and rewarding. In addition to this joyous relationship, I also have a large revenue producing account. This is the dream of every sales person. Since experiencing such success in kill the three key concepts, I have change and altered how I facilitate a face to face client appointment. I now see that the face to face appointment is more impactful and valuable to the sales process. Demonstrating the three key concepts at the meeting is vital to the success of my business.When meeting face to face with clients, I focus on building the client relationship by primarily focusing on the person to whom the meeting is focused. If I can build repoire by effective questioning and listening, the recommendation, and making the sale will come much earlier. This experience has also resulted in deeper personal relationships. In addition to applyin g these principles in a professional environment, I have now begun to practice these concepts in personal relationships. I spend time really focusing on gaining deeper relationships through effective listening.I have now gained the experience on how to put forward deep pervasive relationships. An essential element of sales is building client relationships. The fastest way to get what you want is first to help others get what they want (Gaffney 2010). The best behavior change we can make as a sale professional is to simply get over ourselves and start focusing on our client and their needs. Commonality of purpose unites you with battalion it builds rapport that leads to trust and to the ripening of a long-term, profitable relationship (Graffney 2010).The key first step of the sales process is establishing trust though development of the relationship. The client or potential client is not interested in what we have to say or what we are selling, unless they see how it is in their b est interest. When engaging with client the public truth Focus on the client is the key to getting what you want (Graffney 2010). When meeting with a client, we need to maintain this as a figure building the client relationship and not falsely pretending to be interested. The interest generated prior to the sale must be intentional and genuine.A clients sustainable success is based on the principle success in business is about-helping your client, not helping yourself (Graffney 2010). The top 10 percent know that they can only be successful if theyre focused on helping people kinda than helping themselves making the sale. Consultative selling is about starting a dialogue to uncover a dioramas problem and then helping them solve the problem in the best way possible. In order to uncover the problem we must have the ability to not only ask questions, but to demonstrate the skill of effective listening. Listening is both a behavior and a skill (Bonet 2001).Many believe they have the skill of listening. Effective listening is receiving information, giving meaning to the information, deciding what you think or feel about that information, responding to what you hear (Bonet 2001). Most of us are not good listeners. look indicates We listen to 25% of our potential which means, we forget, ignore, distort, or misunderstand 75% of what we hear (Bonet 2001). When we are able to listen effectively we are able to understand problems, and build relationships (Bonet 2001).If we are not effectively listening to prospects or clients how is trust established? Without trust there is no client relationship. Consultative selling, in a nutshell is the art of effective questioning, listening, and probing the client to effectively feel their problems, challenges, goals, and objections then presenting solution options, which is customized to meet their specific needs and are intentional to form long-lasting working partnerships with the client to maximize their investment (Benne tt 2006).Consultative selling us focused almost exclusively on the clients rather than the product they are selling. The object is to understand the clients situation to the degree that the sale and implementation of the product or service becomes a seamless integral part of the clients ongoing business operation (Bennett 2006). It is apparent when the sales individuals executes successfully on building the client relationship through effective listening, advancement of the sell through suitable recommendations is inevitable.The success I experienced from the client face to face meeting has the potential to change almost all of my personal engagements with others. For example by applying the equivalent concepts to both personal and professional relationships I can switch and broaden these relationships. The skillset of being intentional on building relationships through effective listening can transform almost any relationship. People enjoy talking about themselves.If we genuinel y want to develop and grow any relationship, personal and professional, by taking the attention off of ourselves, and focus on the learning about others, people respond positively. The behavior of effective listening communicates to the individual that they are unique and special. I have learned that people are accustomed to only talking about themself. People are often pleasantly surprised when they learn you are not there to talk about yourself, but rather learn about them Prior to this experience I would be very nervous and almost swan over high value appointments.I was under the belief that I need to have a strong business case, and with that alone, I would be able to make the sale. This experience demonstrated that focusing on the client through effective listen is the most effect way to gain sustainable results. I will now have the confidence and ability to meet and work with larger more complex clients. By applying the same principles of building the client relationship thou gh effective listening, I can make competent recommendations, that the client will trust.This will allow me to grow my business and the depth I am able to penetrate. Finally since this experience, I am now aware the building relationships requires being intentional. A quote that really emphasis this, is by former GE CEO, Jack welch Be interested, not interesting. The experience with this particular client taught me how neat this statement is. I have since experienced the same success in the personal setting as I did in the professional. I look forward to additional successes, based on this model.