Consultative Selling: The Top Sales Process For AEC Professionals
It’s always important to be mindful of how you’re making your prospects feel as you’re selling to them. This is especially true if you’re engaging in sales activities on behalf of your firm.
If your current approach is high-pressure, full of outdated tactics or salesy there’s a good chance you’re making them uncomfortable to say the least. This can only serve to paint a poor image of your firm in your prospect’s minds.
In fact, everything about the interaction – from how you engage the conversation, to how you uncover your prospect’s requirements and arrive at a solution – all affect their perception of you and your firm.
Thankfully, addressing these factors doesn’t have to be complicated, you just need to take the right approach.
Multiple Approaches To Sales
There are arguably hundreds, if not thousands of different strategies and tactics you can employ when selling.
Which ones you specifically choose to employ will be the determining factor of whether or not your prospect views you as professional, or salesy.
Sometimes, your approach may be predetermined by your employer and sometimes you’ll get to choose it yourself.
In other cases, your approach will be primarily dictated by the nature of the product or service that you’re selling.
Regardless, it’s important to note that some of these approaches are more effective than others.
You’ll want to do everything in your power to ensure you’re implementing the sales process that is going to produce the best results for you and your organization.
To get started, it’s helpful to understand that there are two high-level approaches that all sales processes fit into:
- The first is a traditional (fixed) approach to selling
- The second is a collaborative (consultative) approach
I would like to make the case here that the collaborative, consultative approach is superior, and should be used whenever possible. In this article, we’re going to explore consultative selling in detail, so you can also understand its advantages over more traditional sales approaches.
We’ll start by defining the terms and discussing the advantages of consultative selling over traditional sales approaches. Once we’ve covered the basics, I’ll walk you through the Sales Diamond™, a powerful consultative selling process that has helped countless salespeople secure hundreds of millions of dollars in business for their organizations.
Traditional (Fixed) Selling
In traditional sales, the salesperson comes to the conversation with a predetermined solution in mind. This may be because their firm only offers a fixed solution, or they may not be comfortable modifying their offer out of fear it will make the transaction less profitable.
Fixed selling is short-sighted, focusing on ‘getting the sale’ immediately as opposed to developing a long-term profitable relationship into the future.
- The pitch relies heavily on self-promotion
- The salesperson is forced to overcome every objection
- In-depth discovery findings are inactionable, so the process is omitted
- The interaction is a one-way presentation, rather than a two-way conversation
- The salesperson feels pressure to sell the offer, even if it’s not the best solution
- The prospect’s feedback is irrelevant, so the salesperson does all the talking
- The relational component of the sale is non-existent, replaced by specs and features
- The prospect experiences a series of increasingly aggressive attempts to ‘convince’ them to buy
When To Employ A Fixed Approach
The only time you should take a fixed approach to sales is when there’s no way for you to modify your offer to better meet the needs of your prospect.
If you take this approach, you’ll have to convince your prospect that your predetermined offer is the best solution to their requirements. Most notably, any objections from the prospect will have to be overcome or you’ll fail to make the sale.
Consultative (Collaborative) Selling
In stark contrast to traditional sales, consultative selling is flexible. The salesperson may arrive to the sales conversation with a solution in mind, but they simply view it as a starting point. They know that their firm has given them the authority to modify their offer to best address the prospect’s requirements.
This collaborative approach considers more than the present moment, seeking to deliver the highest value solution in order to establish and nurture a long-term, highly-profitable business relationship.
- The pitch arrives at the end as the natural conclusion to an in-depth discovery process
- The salesperson views objections as helpful feedback
- The sales conversation is a two-way discussion, rather than a one-way presentation
- The salesperson doesn’t feel pressured to sell an offer that doesn’t serve the prospect
- The salesperson does less talking and more listening to the prospect’s needs
- Specs and features are seen as a benefit of the newly established partnership
- The prospect experiences a series of increasingly helpful insights as the salesperson leads them to an informed buying decision
When To Employ A Consultative Approach
Any time you have the ability to adjust your offer to better meet the needs of the prospect, you should.
It doesn’t make sense to try to sell them a predetermined solution, when you could simply elect to collaborate with them to produce a solution that is both more valuable to them and more profitable for you.
The Main Advantages Of Consultative Selling
Flexibility
When it comes to flexibility, there’s no debating that consultative selling comes out on top. In traditional selling, the salesperson can only sell the offer they’ve decided to bring to the conversation.
In consultative selling, the salesperson is able to collaborate with the prospect to arrive at a customized, high-value, high-impact solution that may look quite different from what the salesperson originally had in mind.
Objection Handling
If you face objections in traditional selling, they could very well prove to be deal-breakers. You must prove to the prospect why they are wrong and convince them to buy in spite of their concerns. This type of sales can quickly become frustrating and even disheartening for the salesperson.
In consultative selling, objections are not seen as obstacles to tear down, but rather, feedback to guide the conversation toward the best solution for the prospect. When asking for the sale, you can actually bring up the prospect’s original objections and explain how the final collaborative solution addresses them.
Perception
Because traditional sales involves a non-negotiable offer, salespeople often come across to their prospect as slimy, salesy, and desperate. Their do-or-die quotas drive them to push their offer on the prospect even when it’s not really what the prospect needs.
Collaborative selling removes this pressure, removes the desperation, and allows you as the salesperson to come across as professional and clearly acting in the prospect’s best interests. This in turn puts the prospect’s mind at ease, and they’ll be much more excited to work with you and your firm compared firms that try to push cookie-cutter solutions on them.
The Sales Diamond™ Consultative Selling Process
If consultative sales is something you would like to pursue further, a great place to start is by learning a consultative sales framework.
At Growth Through Learning, we teach the Kison Sales Diamond™, a consultative sales framework that has helped countless salespeople secure millions of dollars in revenue for their organizations.
The Sales Diamond is made up of a top half, Earn The Right, and a bottom half, Secure Commitment. Earn The Right consists of the Engage, Qualify, and Discover stages. Secure Commitment consists of the Solution, Alignment, and Commitment stages.
Let’s take a deeper look at each of these steps in greater detail.
Step 1: Engaging The Prospect
The main factor that will distinguish you as a respected sales and business development professional from those who are viewed as ‘salesy’ is the approach you take to selling – and one of the defining components of your approach is how you choose to engage with prospective clients.
The key here is to recognize that your role as a sales professional is to guide and facilitate a discussion that leads your prospect to an informed buying decision.
Operating under this mindset, you’ll be able to inspire your clients with your solutions and get them excited about doing business with you.
As a result of applying the Diamond process, you’ll create meaningful connections with your clients, and they’ll view you as the expert who can guide them to their desired and hopeful outcome any time they need what you offer.
An important mindset shift before attempting to apply the Diamond is to remember that this process is all about your clients, not about you. When you take this approach, you’ll set yourself up for greater rewards as well.
Don’t rush into the sales process assuming that you know what they want or what they need.
Don’t assume that they know what they want or what they need either, because often, they’ll be coming from a perspective of “this is what’s worked for us in the past, why not just stick with the same?”.
By engaging your prospects effectively, you’ll set the stage to Earn The Right to challenge them on the status quo, to present a better alternative – a more valuable solution for them and a more profitable solution for you.
Perhaps the way you’ve looked at Sales and Business Development in the past has not been the way that it really can be and should be.
The Sales Diamond framework will equip you to be different – different in a good way, providing value to your clients and positioning yourself as someone who they want to follow.
As you engage your clients remember: it’s not about selling them a predetermined solution, it’s about how you can co-create the best solution to meet their requirements.
Step 2: Qualifying The Opportunity
The Qualify stage is the start of the logical, sequential evaluation of opportunities, priorities, requirements, desired outcomes, as well as things that the prospect wishes to avoid.
This will enable you, later on in the Diamond, to put together a solution that hits all the marks and then some.
Qualifying provides us with the information we need to begin designing our solution and building our case for why the client should work with us. It also serves to break the ice. In new business relationships, a prospect will often be looking for you to prove yourself to them.
Remember, Qualify is one of the three steps we follow in order to Earn The Right. Our objective for the top half of the Diamond is building a strong sense of trust. You should also use this stage to determine whether or not proceeding through the Diamond with this client is going to be a good use of your time and effort.
Step 3: Discovering The Prospect’s Requirements
Now that we’ve Engaged and Qualified our prospect, the Discover stage is where we go deeper, seeking to understand the “why” behind each of our prospect’s requirements.
Too often, people skip the Discover stage by offering a solution immediately after qualifying. They try to go from “What is it that you need?” to “Let me tell you how I can fix it.”, but this rushed approach often leads to an incomplete or under-informed solution.
For some of you, this is going to seem counter-intuitive. You might think, “Well Ralph, I know what we might do or how we might help them, so why can’t I tell them?” You need to fight the urge at this point in the process.
By conducting a thorough Discovery process, you may learn that your assumption or perception of what you should be doing is slightly off (or maybe really off).
Additionally, maybe there are more opportunities.
When you ask good questions and dig deeper, you often find more than you knew was there to begin with.
By really getting to the “why” of your prospect’s requirements, you establish yourself once again as a thoughtful professional. In fact, the way you become a true “rainmaker” – as opposed to a salesperson, transactor, or order-taker – is by differentiating yourself from your competition and delivering exceptional value.
Once again, this all comes down to your approach.
A thorough Discovery process allows you to position yourself as an expert and as a leader because you now really understand what’s going on as opposed to assuming or hoping you’re going to get it right. It is only after completing this process that you can present a meaningful, high-value, impactful solution.
Step 4: Presenting The Solution
We’ve now completed Earn The Right (Engage, Qualify, and Discover) and we’ve arrived at the Solution stage – the first step in Secure Commitment.
Let’s begin by discussing the importance of framing your offer as a solution rather than simply as a product, service, or idea.
When you sell “stuff”, that’s all that it is – stuff. It becomes a commodity and you end up getting beat up by both buyers and competitors over price. On the other hand, when you position a product, service, or idea as the solution to your customer’s requirements, you can sell based on value, differentiating yourself from your competition.
This makes all the difference.
A common trap that you’ll want to avoid during the Solution stage is falling into the mindset that you’ll just say and do what your competitors are already saying and doing. You need to recognize that this is an opportunity for you to really distinguish yourself, your company, and your products and services.
Don’t be complacent.
As you go into the Solution stage, understand that what you’re presenting is not just the products or services that your firm is providing, but yourself as well.
In fact, for some of you, you are the solution that you’re selling in the form of your knowledge and expertise.
If you’re a veteran in an industry where decades of experience and perspective is absolutely essential and incredibly valuable, don’t undersell yourself. Conversely, if you’re just getting going, don’t undersell yourself either. Remember, the flipside of a pile of experience is a fresh perspective.
I like to call this “fresh eyes”.
If you’re coming in with fresh eyes, don’t apologize for presenting a unique or alternative perspective that someone who’s done it for a long time might not have.
As you approach the Solution stage, you should view it as an opportunity to connect your “Why” with your prospect’s “Why”. When you’re able to accomplish that connection, the relationship can operate on a philosophical, value-based level. This is where your positioning, approach, and value proposition all come together into a presentation that sets you apart.
Step 5: Confirming Alignment
This is one of the shortest, yet most significant steps in the entire Diamond process because it’s the final step before asking for the sale.
Done well, Alignment sets everyone up for a successful business agreement. It ensures a stress-free transition to the implementation of your plan and the delivery of your products or services.
You can envision Alignment as two paths coming together: two train tracks or two roads merging into one. There are two philosophies (or two parties), moving in a similar direction, that need to merge and align on one single outcome.
Dictionary.com defines alignment as “a state of agreement or cooperation among persons, groups, nations, etc., with a common cause or viewpoint.”
This definition provides valuable context on how to achieve alignment and why it is a critical step that must be completed before we can realistically expect clients or prospects to advance to Commitment.
Budget, the schedule, project teams, the installation plan, delivery, product training, and many other factors all influence your prospect’s readiness to make a buying decision.
You need to ensure alignment on all of these.
As the definition stated, “a common cause or viewpoint” is the key for success. When aligned, all parties involved are in agreement, prepared to cooperate, and moving forward toward a common and beneficial outcome for everyone. Without this level of alignment, the type of commitment that results in positive and profitable outcomes is simply not achievable.
Step 6: Securing Commitment
We’re at the final stage of the Diamond now – Commitment.
What I’d like you to keep in mind is the fundamental difference between professionally Securing Commitment and simply ‘Closing The Sale’.
Think back to a time when a salesperson was ‘Closing The Sale’ on you – whether you were buying a TV or a washing machine or a car. They may have used various tactics and techniques to apply pressure, and they may have even resorted to manipulation.
These behaviors are all good signs that the purchase is in their best interest, not yours.
Sure, they know you need the solution or at least want it, and they’re there to help you, but often the motivation is greater for them than it is for you. This is especially true if they’re able to upsell you to make a higher commission.
In this case, they’re not leading you to an informed commitment based on what makes sense (or what’s best) for you. If you didn’t enjoy those tactics and techniques when they were applied to you, you can be sure your prospects won’t enjoy you employing them either.
Instead, lead your prospects to informed buying decisions – equipping them with everything they need to confidently commit to make a purchase and, effectively, close themselves.
Applying and mastering this concept will ensure you never get labeled as “salesy” by your prospects. Remember, this is simply the logical and positive conclusion to the journey you and your prospect have been on together.
Bonus – Step 7: Following Up
We’ve completed the Diamond now, so the process is complete, however, your work isn’t done.
If you’ve secured commitment, and you’re delivering or have completed the delivery of your solution, the key to your long term sustainable success is to stay connected.
You need to follow up.
This is less about process and more about relationship. This is less about skills and more about YOU.
Sure, you can communicate by texts and email and that’s great – and you should do so, but you can’t rely on an electronic medium to sustain the relationship.
Your larger strategy should be to stay connected in more meaningful ways. By going back and showing a genuine interest in that person, company, team, group, division, etc. you will continue to build trust.
As with relationships in your personal life, a trust-based relationship with a client must be earned.
You can become more trustworthy in their mind by showing that you care for them and for the success of their business. When you take an interest in your clients and get to know them personally, you end up doing business with friends rather than strangers.
Follow up is a behavior and a mindset on your part that will differentiate you from your competition. Don’t skip this opportunity to become a long-term partner for your clients.
Next Steps
If you’d like to dive much deeper into consultative sales and the Kison Sales Diamond™ framework, we invite you to consider investing in a membership to Growth Through Learning Academy, where you’ll gain access to our full Sales Diamond™ course.
The course will take your understanding of consultative sales to the next level with insightful video lessons, quizzes, and exercises all designed to increase your confidence and take your career to new heights.
Sign up for the Academy today and receive instant access to our entire library of courses on consultative sales, business development, personal branding, and priority management.