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Robert Gonye
There is a common adage which says “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stressed; working hard for something we love is called passion.” When you wake up every morning and you say to yourself that you are the best at what you do, your passion has to be seen and felt in how you engage and consult with your stakeholders along the way.
However, the inability to consult can be stressful as it usually is the link to a successful sales process. Our subject matter today is on the ability to engage in successful consultative sale processes for meaningful sales and customer engagement since the best of the best organisations use the consultative sales process.
By way of definition, a sales process is, consultative when the stages and actions align with the customer’s buying experience and are defined in terms of the customer relationship. It then is only successful when sales leadership and the sales force execute with dedication and competence since it involves a process component and a human component to drive the framework to work.
A typical consultative sales process is made up of usually six stages which all seek to map out winning behaviours and strategies. The stages guide sale teams in qualifying, closing, expanding the business, and building relationships.
Each stage should define the objective, best practice activities, tools, models, and customer actions that signal readiness to advance to the next stage (for example, the customer agrees to a meeting in stage one or provides access to the executive buyer in stage two).
The stages must align with the buyer’s journey which seeks to make the buyer go through or become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service.
Stage 1: Target and qualify
The customer becomes aware of a business problem. Alternatively, the salesperson creates a pre-stage one opportunity by introducing an idea or challenge that is not yet on a customer’s agenda or raises the visibility of an issue the customer has underestimated.
For example, a salesperson speaking with a company that offers online educational courses might say: “Some of your competitors have seen a decrease in online course subscribers as our economy has come out of the recession. Luckily, I’ve been able to help them find new avenues for attracting new business.”
In this situation, the salesperson identifies a problem, or a potential problem, the company or its industry is facing and suggests a solution.
Stage 2: Explore and assess
Customers assess how much of a priority the issue is, determine their options, and develop decision criteria and decision process. Salespeople can help their prospects by sending them how-to blog posts, offering to run a consultative call, and sending them relevant content resources.
At this point, the salesperson would send case studies about how they’ve helped similar businesses overcome dwindling subscribers. They might also share relevant research or other articles that take a closer look at the state and future of online education.
Stage 3: Access and develop solution
Customers research, compare solutions, narrow down choices, and refine decision criteria. The salesperson must differentiate, focus on business outcomes, and prove value.
How will your solution differ from your competitors? It must be made clear to the prospect. In our online education example, this might look like the following: “Many of our competitors offer to help you buy email lists. We believe emailing thousands of people who have never signed up for your service is bad customer experience.
“Instead, we help you target relevant subscribers at the right events, with the right ads, at the right time.
“This allows you to build a relationship instead of pitching your classes before your audience even knows who you are and how you can help them.”
The salesperson has clearly outlined how they’re different from others in their industry and the unique solution they offer for their prospect’s business.
Stage 4: Present solution and follow up
Knowledgeable customers make their selection and negotiate. Skilled salespeople will have already involved procurement prior to this stage. That knowledge is crucial for presenting a solution with a realistic time-line.
Make sure you understand what the procurement process is and confirm that the solution you’ve laid out meets your champion’s expectations. By securing your champion’s agreement to the time-line, you have a more concrete plan forward, which makes follow up easier.
Step 5: Negotiate and close
Customers make the purchase. Salespeople support implementation and follow-up. When a close is imminent, it’s more important than ever to make sure your prospect feels supported.
You never want to lose a deal that’s close to the finish line because you took attention off of nurturing a “done deal” and shifted it to a prospect higher in your funnel.
Check in with your late-stage prospects regularly. Ask if they have any questions or concerns. And get ahead of any red flags that might arise. If you touch base with a prospect who says: “My manager has approved the deal but is dragging her heels to sign the paperwork,” ask if it would be appropriate for you to reach out directly to that stakeholder to answer questions or provide a gentle nudge.
Giving your champion prospect the backup they need is crucial at this stage.
Step 6: Implement, follow through, assess results and expand
Customers are in an evaluation mode. In the post-purchase stage, customers implement measure outcomes, and evaluate performance against the sales promise. They decide on the future of the relationship. Salespeople must discuss results, prove value, and build on the rapport they previously created.
It is at the intersection of the sales process and the buying process that sales are made. Marketing must step up to the plate and support the sales force not only with qualified leads but with knowledge sharing, research, and insights into industry and customer priorities, personas, and challenges.
At that point, it is up to salespeople to build on that foundation to understand their customers on an individual, granular level to solve their business problems.
It has been my experience in building sales processes that almost all sales organisations have the fundamentals of an effective process within their reach but most don’t attain. See you next week.
The views given herein are solely for information purposes; they are guidelines and suggestions and are not guaranteed to work in any particular way.
Robert Gonye is a Business Growth Influencer. He writes in his personal capacity. Comments and views: [email protected]
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