What does a sales consultant do in an Inside Sales operation? How to apply?
Have you ever stopped to think about what makes a sales consultant and how to become that professional?
Answer quickly: do you care about the success of those who buy what you sell ? If the answer is no, you are not applying consultative selling concepts in your company's Inside Sales operation .
If the answer is yes – good! You are on your way to becoming a sales consultant . But what does it mean? What does a sales consultant do ?
In the B2B market , we see two types of activity under the same sales consultant heading. The first is the professional hired by a company to provide consultancy to it, pointing out the bottlenecks in the operation and in the sales process , where there is room for improvement, assisting in monitoring results, etc.
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It's a job done for a year, normally, and the company that hires reaps the rewards.
On the other hand , the sales consultant from the consultative selling perspective is the sales professional, or Rep, who acts in a consultative manner with his prospects .
That is, it applies a methodology such as SPIN Selling or BANT Sales in order to:
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>diagnose possible pain,
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>define whether there is a fit between the prospect's company and the solution being offered,
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>if there is a chance of success with the hiring,
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>close the deal.
Do you see the difference between a salesperson and a sales consultant? Do you understand what a sales consultant does and what a salesperson doesn't do?
In this text, we will only address the activities of the sales consultant who works with Inside Sales within a company and operates in the B2B market, ok?
Definitely understand what a sales consultant does:
What does a sales consultant do and how important is consultative selling?
As we've already talked about here on the blog, consultative selling means “helping the consumer to find the best option within what he's looking for”.
The best option may be the product or solution offered by your company, of course, when there is a fit, but it could be something totally different.
What does a sales consultant do in this context? It is the sales consultant's duty to know the difference between what is best for the customer and what is best for him and the company , and always put the customer first.
This is, after all, the main difference between traditional and consultative selling.
One of the first episodes of Casts for Closers, our podcast , was precisely about the importance of the customer-centric sales process . We'll link below for you to hear!
Consultative selling is important as it focuses on customer experience, satisfaction and success . Let's go back to the Relationship Marketing concepts ?
According to David Meister's 1st Law of Services, customer satisfaction depends on the customer 's perception (observed value) and their expectation.
P = Customer Perception. E = Customer Expectations. David Meister.
We spoke in our post “ What is consultative selling ” about the gap in the consumer experience that exists between B2B and B2C sales. Consultative selling reduces this gap somewhat by promoting a better relationship between sales consultant and prospect, more attention to their situation and pain; and better guidance on the most suitable solution. With that, the chance of satisfaction increases!
The 5 Pillars of the Sales Consultant
Now that you know what a sales consultant does and the difference between a salesperson and a sales consultant, let's get down to what it takes to be a great salesperson of this type.
1. Build a trusting relationship with the prospect
The sales consultant, to do his job well of offering the best solution to the prospect, needs one thing: trust.
Without that, it won't be possible to get key information, build rapport or sign the contract.
Focus on being transparent and sincere, without sinning where the traditional salesperson sins: focus on the sale and not the customer.
2. Pay attention to the prospect's situation
In SPIN Selling training, you will likely learn to ask situation and problem questions to determine if there is pain that your product or solution solves. But are you really paying attention?
In consultative selling, the contact with the prospect should be fluid, a conversation between two people and not just follow through a string of questions in order to “qualify” them and push them to the next step.
That's why a good sales consultant should practice active listening, effectively understanding what the person on the other end of the line is saying, being able to absorb the information, referencing it, and even guiding the questions in order to get to the pain you need be resolved.
For this, however, it is important that the consultant knows the prospect. And how to do this? In the video below we talk more about the topic in a quick, complete and direct way.
3. Offer the best option/solution always
Of course, as salespeople, the goal is always to reach the end of the month with a hit goal. But this goal cannot come at the expense of bad deals!
Insisting on prospects who are not fit with your company can waste your sales time, which could be better spent on better fit opportunities.
And in the case of closing the contract, bad deals tend to churn quickly, which ends up hurting your company.
For this reason, it is important that the sales consultant be aware of the prospect's interests and be able to guide him with the sole objective of making him successful in his operation.
4. Commit not to sell unsold
We've talked several times throughout this text about what a sales consultant does, about the importance of selling only to those who can really extract results from that transaction. This is one of the principles of consultative selling, of course, but it is the salesperson who must police himself daily and at every call or meeting to comply with it. Remember that, okay?
5. Be part of customer success
We talked about success, or desired outcome since the sale, with Lincoln Murphy in one of our Casts for Closers episodes. Press play below! Listen and learn even more about what a sales consultant does.
Being a sales consultant means being part of the customer's success . You, in fact, should be the first step towards it. The rest will be done by your onboarding, support and customer team.
But remember: you will always be the first point of contact and it is possible that this customer will return with a problem.
Providing a good experience after closing is essential for satisfaction and can even generate other opportunities. So, never forget a deal after signing the contract!
Understand what a sales consultant does? So it's time to study!
We have separated some contents that will help you in the execution of your daily activities:
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>4 Consultative Selling Techniques That Will Dramatically Help Your Sales Team
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>How to use persuasion techniques in consultative sales
Main questions about what a sales consultant is
What does a sales consultant do?
A sales consultant prospects for new customers for the company, prioritizing the identification of the needs of these potential customers and offering the best solutions according to the prospect's demands and his/her fit in relation to your offer. The objective is to identify and win customers who will have excellent results with the solution sold, ensuring satisfaction and retention of these consumers.
Difference between salesperson and sales consultant
Consultative selling is important as it focuses on customer experience, satisfaction and success. While a traditional salesperson's main mission is to beat the company's goals, winning and converting new customers, the sales consultant is much more linked to the quality of the customers conquered than to the quantity. The sales consultant must prioritize the alignment between the product or service sold and the potential customer's need, identify fit, assess the solution's ability to help the customer achieve success and only then apply the sales pitch, offering the solution to the consumer.
Benefits of consultative selling?
Among the main benefits of consultative selling are: reduced churn rate, increased customer retention, increased customer lifetime value and increased satisfaction. All of this, consequently, leads to higher average ticket, increased billing and reduced customer acquisition cost.
Understand what a sales consultant does? Is the difference between salesperson and sales consultant clear? Also take a look at our beginners material at Inside Sales !
This is a course created by Meetime that offers an Inside Sales certification . In the course you will learn how to:
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>speed up onboarding;
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>develop the ramp-up in Inside Sales;
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>have greater regularity in sales activities;
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>create to reach the goals of the month;
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>get continued growth in sales and more.
Interested? In the video below we talk a little more about the course. See if it fits your needs.