Are you a sales person or consultant?

What does it take to be the best in direct selling? Not just good enough, but THE BEST?

Well, for one it means changing how you approach your business and the sale. Selling for the sake of merely moving inventory is not sustainable nor is it recommended. You won’t win long-term customers. Instead, it’s purely transactional and not built on a relationship. It’s only a matter of time before your business dries up because the customer sees you as someone with perhaps greedy or self-serving motives.

Consider that, with a sales person-only mentality, your concern is rooted on one and only one task: closing the sale. However, when you see yourself as a consultant, you’re positioning yourself as someone who cares and who’s interested and invested in their success — and that can take you far. Here’s a look at how the two approaches differ, even in the remote work environment we’ve navigated over the last year:

• Salespeople are taught to be good listeners. Consultative sellers harness their energy into asking the right questions that identify customer problems solved by the product or service at hand. They’re problem-solvers by nature.
• Salespeople are overly concerned about their competition and act sometimes shortsightedly. Consultants, on the other hand, are confident in their competitive advantages so that selecting their product seems like the natural choice to consumers. In other words, they let the product sell itself instead of over-compensating for their lack of confidence.
• Salespeople are fixated on the product price. Consultants are driven by their value behind their product. Ask yourself: How can it make someone’s life better?
• Salespeople learn the art of “closing the sale.” Conversely, consultants know to foster a conversation that creates the ideal atmosphere and conditions for customer self-selling. Think of it as the short vs. long-term gain approach.

How might this consultative sales style inform the way you approach prospects? You might consider sharing this article with your team, as it can help them grow professionally and create a sustainable book of sales.

And just as your sales team is the driving force behind your success, so is the right infrastructure that helps you motivate and grow them. If you’re looking for reliable, high-end technology services, please contact us at Thatcher Technology. Our Prowess platform supports improved MLM retention by making the experience better for your sales force and customer base. How can we help you succeed?