Contrary to popular opinion, the discussion should not be consultative selling vs transactional selling.
Instead, both types of sales techniques are needed during the sales cycle to successfully engage customers and close the deal.
The latest State of Sales report by Salesforce shows that 87% of buyers expect sellers to act as trusted advisors. The important thing is to be able to bridge the gap between consultative selling and transactional or product selling.
In this blog, let’s review each of these selling types, and how they will converge.
Consultative selling is a customer-centric approach that involves deeply understanding your prospect’s needs, challenges, and goals. You act as a trusted advisor, guiding the customer toward the best solution for their specific situation.
For example, imagine you’re selling software to a business. In a consultative approach, you would first engage in a conversation with the potential buyer to uncover their pain points. You might discover that they struggle with data management and security. You then tailor your product presentation to address these specific concerns, highlighting features that directly solve their problems.
Transactional selling, on the other hand, is a more straightforward and direct approach. In this method, the focus is positioning the products and services you are selling, with less emphasis on in-depth needs analysis or relationship-building.
Consider the same scenario we covered before of selling software to a business. In a transactional approach, the sales process is more direct. Instead of engaging in lengthy consultations, you present your products and services, draw a general linkage with the benefits that the client can see, and then wait for the customer to decide how to engage. While you may try to understand the customer’s pain and current situation, your process and sales enablement is not geared to support a detailed discussion.
Thus, in transactional selling, by not engaging in a clarity and roadmap discussion based on the 3-step process, we are giving up control of our customer engagement. We are not taking charge. We are leaving it up to the customer to decide how to engage us. That’s not a great option because customers are struggling too. They will gravitate towards either the party who gives them clarity, or what they are already comfortable with.
Now, you might wonder if one sales method is superior to the other. The truth is, neither is inherently better; their effectiveness depends on the context.
Successful salespeople recognize the need to switch between consultative and transactional selling to keep the sales cycle efficient and productive.
Balancing both approaches ensures that the sales cycle doesn’t drag on indefinitely. Instead, it progresses smoothly, adapting to the customer’s changing needs and preferences. This flexibility helps maintain momentum and increases the likelihood of closing the deal successfully.
Imagine you’re selling marketing services to a potential client. Initially, you take a consultative approach by conducting a thorough needs analysis using Evalinator’s needs assessment tools. You discover that the client’s primary goal is to increase website traffic and generate more leads.
In the consultative phase, you develop a customized marketing strategy, highlighting they can meet these goals. You engage in discussions, answer questions, and provide educational content to build trust.
However, as the relationship matures and trust grows, the focus shifts towards action. The client is more open to engaging with you to actually help them execute. So you need to switch quickly from consultative to transactional selling too. The client may request specific deliverables or ask for a detailed proposal with pricing and timelines. At this point, it’s essential to switch gears and provide the information they need promptly.
Example 2: Software Sales
Imagine you’re selling software to a business. Your initial approach is consultative, aiming to deeply understand the client’s needs and objectives. You begin by conducting a thorough needs analysis, which reveals that the client’s main goal is to enhance their digital customer experience and use data insights better.
In the consultative phase, you collaborate closely with the client to craft a tailored solution roadmap. To do that you engage in discussions, share case studies, and provide educational content to build trust. As a result of these, you may also nudge them along by suggesting short term actions they should take to get a better grasp on the roadmap. If clients need, you also give them candidate technology stacks to shortlist and consider.
As the relationship matures and trust solidifies, the client and you will need to shift towards a more transactional approach. They may request specific details or a more detailed assessment. In that case you would switch to presenting your services more directly and send them proposals, pricing, delivery timelines, and technical specifications. This shift indicates their readiness to move forward and make a decision.
It’s important to recognize this transition. This transactional selling phase streamlines the decision-making process, as the client now has the necessary information to move forward confidently.
In this way, you effectively merge consultative vs transactional selling tactics to meet the client’s evolving needs. The consultative phase builds trust and aligns the solution with their unique requirements, while the transactional phase provides the essential details for a seamless decision-making process.
This joint adaptive approach ensures that the sales cycle progresses efficiently and increases the likelihood of a successful deal closure.
Next Steps
In conclusion, the debate between consultative vs transactional selling is more a question of when to use which technique. Both of these are valuable techniques in a salesperson’s toolkit.
The sales enablement and the needs assessment tools required for both is different too.
By understanding when to apply each approach and seamlessly transitioning between them, you can optimize your sales process and achieve better results.
Remember that effective selling is about meeting the customer where they are and guiding them toward a solution that benefits them. Starting with consultative selling’s 3 step process sets a broader context and build trust, and then transactional selling methods close the deal as soon as possible for the benefit of both parties.
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