Page 18 - Consultative Selling

ROLE PLAY BY CONSULTATIVE SALESMAN

In having to play a different role and manage relationship between

the two organizations, the consultative salesman has got to be
sensitive to manage a lot of soft issues and take several factors into
consideration.

One of the key factors that has got to be managed and addressed by the
salesman is the difference in the language and cultures of the two
organizations. No two organizations will have common culture or outlook.

Every organizational culture and language would be different. In such a
situation, it becomes important to understand each one’s expectations and
style of thinking and find common approach to create a fruitful partnership.
It is but natural that the Buyer Organization would always speak the sales
language recognizing and pushing for sales while the customer would look
not only at the product or service that they are buying but the value
addition that they would get by associating with the buyer’s Organization
and the product. While the seller Organization keeps looking at incremental
sales or the price, the buyer is always looking at discount or cheaper price
and service. In such a situation it becomes the responsibility of the sales
manager to manage both the parties’ expectations and build relationship

based on win-win approach.

In current times, no seller can be aggressive or coerce the client to buy.
Any overtures or explicit exhibition of power or position as a buyer
does not go well with the customers. There is only one way of engaging
with the customer which is by building relationship based on superior
value proposition. This approach can work only with consultative mode
of selling. Understanding of the role of consultative salesman provides

useful direction for the grooming of tomorrow’s sales and marketing
managers.

Consultative Selling - A new
2/5/2019 18
Approach