Being Consultative
It’s one of life’s ironies that as a marketer I am probably subjected to more sales pitches than anyone else in the company. I suppose you could call it cosmic justice that the marketer is also on the receiving end of marketing communications.
The pitches come from many different solicitors and arrive in person, by mail, via email, telephone, and the odd package.
Those who know me professionally know that one of my core tenants is: “marketing enables sales.” By necessity I am a student of both. I find that by participating in the sales cycle of others I learn just as much as I do from my own marketing programs.
One outcome of this philosophy is that, as a general rule, I take cold calls.
Why?
- Am I a glutton for punishment? - Perhaps.
- Am I a nice guy? - Yes, guilty as charged! (I’ve found that it’s just as easy to play nice in business as it is to be a jerk. The added bonus is you sleep much better at night.)
- Do I learn something from every one of them? - Absolutely…that’s why I do it.
Let me illustrate. This morning I received two telephone cold calls, both before 9am.
The first was from a well known publication in the Human Capital Management space looking to sell advertising and some feature editorial coverage in an upcoming issue. The caller? She was a polished telesales representative who had a smooth and well rehearsed pitch. Their basic package started at $25,000 and went up from there.
The second call was from a local university radio station that was looking for local businesses to sponsor public service announcements. The caller? He was young and inexperienced. His pitch was rough and he was clearly reading it for what sounded like the first time. The basic package he was pitching was about $2,000.
Now here’s the amazing part. Despite being on polar opposites of experience and sales skills, they were both equally awful. Here’s why:
- They both followed a script. They each had something to say and were going to say it, no matter what. I stopped both of them mid-way through their presentations to ask a clarifying question which clearly signaled where and how they were missing the mark with me. Both insisted on finishing their pitch instead of answering my question.
- Neither one asked me about my marketing strategies or priorities.
- Neither one had done any research on M Squared Consulting.
- As media outlets, neither one really gave much thought to the audience we would be interested in reaching.
Why am I sharing these field sales stories? To make the following point:
If you’re going to be successful in sales, you must first and foremost act like a consultant.
If your product or service does not solve a problem, remove pain, or somehow move the client to a better place you will not make a sale. Period.
But you won’t know these things unless you do some homework before you call and ask intelligent questions during your call. Like a skilled consultant, marketing and sales professionals must constantly probe to uncover the real motivators of their prospects. Then, and only then, can we effectively pitch.
It should come as no surprise that we take the same approach when we’re talking with clients and prospects at M Squared Consulting. As a consulting firm, we have to take a consultative selling approach with our clients. We need to understand their company and their industry. We need to gain a clear understanding the issues and challenges they’re facing, and what they’re hoping to achieve. Once we know the opportunities they want to capitalize on, then, and only then, are we in a position to propose solutions.
I only wish more sales people would take the same approach before they call me!
