What is Counselor SellingSM ?
The Sales & Counselor SellingSM Series
“Listen. Serve. Repeat.”
—Jennifer StJohn
Editor’s Note: If you’re not a salesperson you may be wondering if the ‘Sales & Counselor Selling Series’ applies to you. We suggest Yes! As the series unfolds, consider ways you can apply the concepts to how you conduct your business meetings, your discussions with the family, and other areas of your professional and personal life.
Any sales meeting should “move the ball forward” for both the client and seller. But, if the seller is more interested in presenting than in discovering and achieving a mutual benefit, there’s a much smaller chance of a meaningful outcome.
Counselor Selling℠ is a nuanced approach to building long-term relationships based upon trust. It’s not about a quick sale. Rather, it’s an ethical process of sales communication: a continuous loop of asking questions, listening to responses, understanding the client, sharing a solution that fits the client’s needs and agreeing on a plan for moving forward.
The best sellers are often the best listeners – they pull information. They’re not just waiting to speak – to push the latest campaign or sales idea. Instead, a true counselor seller can “empty their cup,” listen to what is being said – or not being said, as evidenced in the other person’s body language and tone of voice. They have a genuine interest in the client to discover their actual wants and needs. And in our view, what’s good for your client will also be good for your company and you.
Using Fusion’s Probe, Present, Plan® process, the Counselor Seller finds out about the client, helps them clarify their needs, positions a solution, then they both agree on next steps to help achieve the best and most beneficial outcome possible. It’s a higher and loftier vision of the sales process than the traditional “push” view.
Probing is about asking questions and actively listening, without preconceived ideas. Counselor Sellers are willing to dig deeper, getting to the core of the client’s needs.
Presenting is not a rehash of features and benefits. It’s articulating a solution in an organized manner based on what the client has said. And welcoming interchange and questions along the way. Sometimes the seller may not have a solution to offer. The willingness to say so builds trust in the relationship.
Planning is more than the immediate action or sale. It’s about continuous agreements for now, mid-term and long-term. It requires a vision for a longstanding relationship.
As a result, a Counselor Seller becomes a trusted advisor and the cycle continues. “Listen, Serve, Repeat.”
The “Sales & Counselor Selling Series” will cover the following areas:
1. Probing
2. Presenting
3. Planning
4. Managing Sales Practice & Building Relationships
5. Series Wrap-up and Next Steps
During this series we will also touch upon other areas in which Counselor Selling can offer new, profitable insights: Pitching, Story Development, and Branding.
Whether you’re selling in person, on paper, on the phone or through electronic media, a fundamental willingness to “wait for it” distinguishes the unique Fusion counselor approach.
When you’re able to listen and understand, both you and your client will reap greater benefits. Using this process will make you more powerful in your practice and deliver results for your clients. It’s a new way of thinking and we invite you to test the concepts both professionally and personally.
Counselor Selling…Listening Your Way to a SaleSM!
Beginning next week, we focus on the Probing process which starts with listening. We look forward to sharing this series with you!
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