What is a Consultative Sales Process?

Asher Strategies has taught the consultative sales process to well over 50,000 individuals in more than 1,200 firms over the last 35 years, all over the world. Our current expansion into Asia reflects our commitment to serve companies on a global scale and help them overcome today’s sales challenges.

But, what exactly is a consultative sales process?

Here are some of the characteristics which differentiate this sales methodology from previous efforts:

Listen more than you speak

The sales advisor needs to ask questions and then let the prospect speak without interruption. This is in stark contrast to the old “pitch man” type of sales which might work in a bazaar or a carnival but not in the complex and high-stakes world of business-to-business sales.

Asher sales training emphasizes role playing, where salespeople get to practice asking guiding questions, listening, and using the answers to steer towards the close.

Use a formal sales process

We stress that sales organizations should develop formal sales processes which guide a sales team from the identification of prospects, to the researching of and development of internal coaches, all the way to closing arguments. If you can plan out the sales process from beginning to end, you have a much greater chance of closing the sale.

At Asher Strategies, we teach both a 10-step sales process for general use, plus a much more in-depth 20-step new business capture process for large sales, both of which have been proven to capture more business.

Become an extension of their business

The best salespeople actually become thought of as extensions of a business, in that they are expected to provide solutions for and manage a certain aspect of a customer’s operations so that they no longer have to worry about it anymore. This is a powerful position to be in, but it can only be brought about through establishing trust, and that begins with a consultative sales process.

Long term view instead of transactional

The top sales organizations know that it is more efficient to sell to existing customers instead of constantly hunting for new business. As such, their salespeople seek to develop relationships which last for years, instead of just one commission check.

We teach that in order to truly make the “big bucks,” salespeople need to look at each prospect as a potential revenue source for many years to come. As part of this, we incorporate long-term CRM and social media strategies into our marketing training, ensuring your people are up to date with the most modern selling tools that provide “customers for life.”

Sales has become much more than presenting a list of features and “being a pest” until you close. While both presenting and persistence are valuable skills, with the sophistication of the modern buyer, a new approach is required in order to be taken seriously. And it involves no trickery or “outsmarting” of prospects, but instead working with them to help them solve their business issues and become more successful.

At Asher Strategies, this is exactly what we teach. We are experts in the consultative sales process, and we’re ready and excited to teach your staff how to leverage it for greater success.

Contact us today to discuss how our selling solutions can bring greater profits to your firm in the very near future.