Why Consultative Selling Fails

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How many sales organizations try to position themselves as consultative vs. transactional?  The answer is, most of them.

We work with Chief Revenue Officers and VP’s of Sales. One of their most common (and biggest) challenges is helping their sales teams create value-based relationship with clients.

Getting beyond transactional sales is critical for driving profitable growth. Despite their best efforts, many value-based sales organizations find themselves routinely commoditized, battling price, and constantly having to renegotiate the business. A transactional relationship with clients erodes competitive differentiation and lowers margins.

The traditional solution is training salespeople to become more consultative sellers. The problem is, the training never sticks.

Research indicates 87% of new sales training is lost within a month. Sellers exhibit consultative skills in the classroom, yet back in the field, the transactional mindset takes over. 85% of sales training fails to deliver a positive ROI. I call this, the Ugly Uncomfortable Truth about Sales Training.

Our study of sales teams revealed:  The training is not the problem.

Consultative style selling works; the few who do it well are top performers. The research is clear; when sellers focus on customer objectives (instead of product pitches) they create more value, which results in bigger, sticker deals, and ultimately, a more differentiated market position.

Here’s the catch . . .

Consultative selling can’t survive in a transactional selling ecosystem.

Imagine this, a salesperson goes to training where they’re told: Focus on the customer. Put your pitch deck aside; listen to the customer. Find out what your customer is trying to accomplish. Connect the dots between your solution and their strategic goals. The seller learns skills to ask better questions, get deeper intel, and demonstrate more value to their buyers.

Then the seller gets back into the field. There’s a high stake deal on the table. What does their manager focus on? When are you going to close it, and how much is it going to be?

If the manager doesn’t focus on the value to the customer, neither will the seller.

And that’s just the start. The sales narrative is the tip of the spear. In our experience with clients all over the world, the ecosystem surrounding the seller is the biggest predictor of market success.

We’ve identified eight core elements of the sales ecosystem that have a profound impact on sales results. Moving from transactional sales to a consultative value-based approach requires adjustments in each of these areas.

The internal conversation becomes the external conversation. When the sales ecosystem is organized around internal sales targets, you create a transactional sales team. Said another way, if you treat your customers like a number, they’ll return the favor.

The stakes have never been higher. Saleforce’s annual State of Sales Report reveals 79% of business buyers agree, it’s easier than ever to take my business elsewhere. Yet at the same time, 78% of business buyers seek a trusted advisor that adds value to their business, not just a salesperson.

In a hyper-competitive hyper-connected world, transactional sales teams will struggle. It’s estimated 57% of salespeople are expected to miss their quotas this year.

Firms who elevate their sales ecosystem will win their markets. You can train salespeople all day long, but if you want real transformation, you’ve got to take a hard look at the sales ecosystem surrounding the team.

Is your ecosystem supporting a consultative sales approach, or is it sabotaging it?

This piece was originally published on Forbes.com.