Consultative selling Essay

For the last five years, I pull in held the full metre gross sales position of Client Partner with a performance gain origination. In this roll, I cheat on individual, team, and organizational solutions to mainly Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 organizations. My position as a Client Partner is a consultative sales job. I partner with thickenings facilitateing them achieve better results. Consultative sales atomic number 18 quite different and genuinely unique, from traditional or transactional sales. In the Consultative sales it is not about convincing the authorisation thickening that you kick in the product they need, or how you hasten the best price.Consultative sales are about results based parleys. Key concepts to Consultative selling are relationship building, useful perceive, and closing the sale. Within the persona of consultative selling, one must have the ability to build relationships, demonstrate effective listening, and hence close the sale in order to be s uccessful. I have been in this role for nearly five years. The last two years have been spent in the field, collision facet to face with clients and potential clients weekly. The face to face meeting is essential to the consultative sales role, as this is where the three appoint concepts are demonstrated.Prior to travel to the field, I had very limited experience in live on consultative selling. My frontmost year was really trial by error. I am confident in this stolon year I lost more sells and even client relationships due to my lack of aptitudes. However, I can recall one of the most satisfying consultative selling face to face client meetings where using all three key concepts, resulted in a large client engagement. The client was Orica they are the largest manufactures and full service explosive organization specializing in the mining and engineering fields.I received a call from someone in Orica, the individual was technical lead, and she was flavor for time manageme nt training. She did not necessity to spend much time with me on the phone, nor did she desire me to come out and meet with her face to face, she simply wanting the course outline and pricing to be sent over to her. This is the non-optimal consultative selling situation. However, two weeks later, I studyd back from her, stating she wanted to go forward with the time management training program. over again during this conversation, she limited how much information she wanted to go forth.All she communicated was this was for an engineering group of 25 employees who had challenges around working very long hours. In addition they were challenged with as well many emails in the day. Although any sale is very much appreciated, this sales situation is not optimal. With consultative sales we are looking to solve occupancy problems. If we do not fully view the problem (diagnose) we cannot solve it (prescribe). Most often when we land sales as these, the clients do not reach the crave d 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, hearing what the actual challenges this particular group faces. Throughout the program, I checked in with my contact and would implore however thing was going. Unfortunately, she would not have much to say. Shortly after the work session ended I received a call from my adviser who delivered the program. He communicated to me that within the group today the ungodliness President of Learning and Development for Orica had been a participant.At the end of the session, the Vice President asks our delivery advisor many questions about the particular solution, and its capabilities. Due to the lack of communication from my original contact, I was never aware this executive would be attending It was soon uncovered th at there was building interest. The fact that there could be additional opportunity was great news Two days later I called on the Vice President of Learning and Development for Orica, as soon as the conversation began, my conception was building a relationship.I called the Vice President asking for an particular date, with the intent of hearing his feedback on the work session along with giving a high level view of who FranklinCovey is and potentially have a deeper dive in conversation 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 immediately agreed to appointment. The next day I drove out to his office. In the key concept of relationship building, one of the bureaus to do this is with a face to face appointment.In addition one must lead with questions that are ad hominem, this always help to build rapport and allows me to really pop to determine the client. The second part to the oppugn is to demonstrate effective listening. As soon as I arrived for the appointment, almost immediately as we shook give 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 names inscribed on the bracelet are those friends who were killed.I spend the next hour really trying to understand him in person. I asked question, after question, the conversation liquefyed 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 build his trust. The questioning and effective listening have paid off. Through effective listening I navigated the conversations from personal question, to bloodline framed questions. I really began to question the current o rganizational strategies, and structure, and goals. When I demonstrated effective listening, the questions naturally flow.The conversation did not arduous interrogative, but genuine. Through this conversation, I uncovered so much more than just organizational time management necessitate. 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. Almost always when I schedule a face to face client meeting, it is always scheduled for an hour. This client appointment had at rest(p) nearly two hours and forty five minutes. The meeting thus far was spent building the relationship though effective 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 made a series of recommendations. My first recommendation is around the time mana gement needs, then project management, then I tie in all the global and manager needs. I held off on the execution needs for the time. At the final closure of the meeting, I make the promise 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 bid 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 industry 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 would have never had this account produce 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 kne w 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 set the tone for the remainder of the time to abridgeher. 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 enjoyable 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 lecture about 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 being face to face is vastly more valuable than a vi rtual 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 thick 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 reflect on the results of listening effectively, I realize how I was able to navigate the conversation 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 impressed by how specific and deep my notes were. I could now 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 through the solutions and then followed it up with the recommendation on next steps, the client was extremely 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 spot 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 resulting in a client agreeing immediately to the recommendation.As a result I know have a deep pervasive relationship with the client who is so fulfilling and rewarding. In addition to this joyous relationship, I also have a large revenue produc ing account. This is the dream of every sales person. Since experiencing such success in executing 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 condescension.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 applying 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 e xperience on how to grow 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 multitude it builds rapport that leads to trust and to the development 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 best interest. When engaging with client the universal truth Focus on the client is the key to acquiring what you want (Graffney 2010). When meeting with a client, we need to maintain this as a paradigm 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 tune is about-helping your client, not helping yourself (Graffney 2010). The top 10 percent know that they can however be successful if theyre focused on helping people rather than helping themselves making the sale. Consultative selling is about starting a dialogue to uncover a prospects 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 tidy listener s. Research 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 ascertain their problems, challenges, goals, and preyions then presenting solution options, which is customized to meet their specific needs and are designed to form undestroyable working partnerships with the client to maximize their investment (Bennett 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 competent 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 role model by applying the alike(p) concepts to both personal and professional relationships I can deepen 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 genuinely 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 communicat es 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 impress 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 sick 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 though 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 rela tionships requires being intentional. A quote that really strain this, is by former GE CEO, Jack Welsh Be interested, not interesting. The experience with this particular client taught me how true 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.