What is the Way of the Funding Pro?
This great article on deBanked about the power of consultative selling describes the approach that separates top performers from the rest.
What is the consultative approach?
The consultative approach is a holistic method rooted in building strong relationships with prospects, not through flattery or gab, but through deliberate discovery and understanding of buyer needs to more effectively fulfill them with customized solutions.
But how important, really, is the consultative approach?
Well, we first have to look at what most sales left to their own devices descend to if the consultative approach is not deployed:
B2B sales can be very transactional, but if this is all they ever are, over time there’s a lot of revenue left on the table. Transaction approaches are pushing products’ features and benefits with little to no concern for how these align with, or can help address, buyer needs.
Well, how is this approach working out for most outfits?
According to Gallup’s 2019 B2B poll:
71% of B2B customers are not engaged and indifferent towards the company they are with.
Only 29% are engaged (does not indicate they are happy).
Nonetheless, B2B companies with high customer engagement scores on average experience:
50% higher revenues/sales
And
34% higher profitability
Not bad.
Simply put, companies across all industries are at risk of being replaced – not because of their products or prices, but because they are failing at delivering the experience their customers want/need.
“The consultative approach is the only one that works. Today, everything is about the customer experience. People are making more-educated, better informed decisions. What’s more, with the consultative approach clients keep getting smarter,” says Jared Weitz in the article.
Its all about the customer experience.
What does that really mean?
Hubspot’s 2016 sales experience survey found these results when asking “what can sales reps do to make their experience positive?”
69% – Listens to my needs
61% – Is not pushy
61% – Provides relevant information
51% – Responds or gives information in a timely manner
49% – Provides a range of options even byond his/her business offering
45% – Cares about the success of my business project
37% – Details the ways s/he can help me succeed
What have you found to be effective for being that Trusted Advisor to your clients?
-FundingStrategist
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