Selling without the sales pitch

During my internship at a car dealership I was the rookie who could not get anything right. Mistake after mistake, I started to think I was not cut out for sales. I believed a good salesperson was someone who spoke well, had an answer for everything and knew how to “place” the product.

I was wrong. Selling is not about the gift of the gab. It is about understanding the customer, asking good questions, knowing what you sell and taking an opportunity all the way to the close.

This is usually called consultative selling: instead of pushing a product, you help the other person make a good decision. These are the eight principles I try to follow every day.

1. Listen more than you talk

If you do most of the talking in a meeting, you are presenting, not selling. Your job in the first few minutes is to understand, not to convince.

2. Ask questions that uncover the real problem

What the customer asks for at first is rarely what they need. Some questions that work:

• What made you look into this now?
• What happens if you do not solve it in the next few months?
• What have you tried before, and why did it not work?
• Who else is involved in the decision?

3. Really know what you sell

You cannot advise on something you have not mastered. Knowing what your service includes, what it does not and who it is not for gives you confidence, and that confidence shows.

4. Present based on what you have been told

Once you understand the problem, present only what solves it, using the customer’s own words. “You told me you lose customers because they cannot find you on Google. This is what we would do to change that.”

5. State the price without apologising

If you have understood the problem and your proposal solves it, the price is just another part of the conversation. Say it clearly, then stay quiet. Dropping it before anyone asks only signals that you do not believe in what you sell.

6. Objections are questions

“It is expensive” nearly always means “I do not yet see why it is worth that”. Instead of getting defensive, ask: “Expensive compared to what?”. The answer tells you what still needs explaining.

7. Always ask for the next step

Many sales are not lost: they are left hanging. End every conversation with a concrete step and a date: a call, a proposal, a decision.

8. If it is not a fit, say so

This is the hardest principle and the one that builds the most trust. If what you sell is not what that person needs, tell them. You lose a sale, but you gain someone who will recommend you and come back when it is a fit.

Partnership as the difference

For me, selling means building deals that benefit both sides. If it does not go well for the customer, it does not go well for me. That is why I approach every conversation with radical honesty, even when it means saying things the other person does not want to hear.

I do not come from a perfect track record, and that is exactly why I know how hard this is to learn. If you want to apply it to your business, tell me about it and we will see where to start: that is how the sales consulting works.