Most companies practise a transactional approach to selling: a pitch built around the product’s promise, repeated from one meeting to the next. An alternative has since established itself, consultative selling.

The principle fits in one sentence: the salesperson adopts the stance of a consultant, seeks to understand the real need before proposing anything, and only brings a solution if they have one.

Here is how to run an interview in practice using this approach, in five steps. If you would rather understand what sets this approach apart from the others, we covered it in our article on the principles of consultative selling. The team behind our automatable and flexible CRM tells you everything.

Where consultative selling comes from

The term appeared in 1970, in the book of the same name by Mack Hanan. In it he describes a technique where the salesperson positions themselves as an expert on a subject, asks a series of questions to understand their contact’s needs, and builds the relationship from there.

The book remains a reference. Its main value, for a salesperson today, is to act as a mirror: it lets you measure the gap between your real reflexes and this stance.

Before the interview: prepare

Before any contact, gather what you can find: business sector, type of customers, products or services marketed, the company’s recent news.

This step is not documentation for the sake of it. It lets you anticipate the questions your contact will ask you, which are almost always the same:

• have you already handled this type of project, or worked for customers in this sector?
• what do you know about our organisation and our context?
• what sets you apart from your competitors?

A hesitant answer to any of these three questions instantly puts you back in the category of sellers, and the interview changes in nature.

During the interview: ask the right questions

Most of the time must be devoted to questioning. This is the point that most visibly distinguishes this approach from the others.

A golden rule goes with it: your questions must never look like an interrogation. The aim is to create a bond, not to fill in a grid. A prospect put in the position of being assessed closes up.

• What are your needs, as you express them?
• What difficulties are you facing today, concretely?
• What objectives are you trying to achieve, and by when?

A simple technique helps to go beyond the first answer: asking “why” several times in a row, working back up the chain of causes. The first problem stated is rarely the real problem, and that is precisely what you are looking for.

During the interview: bring value

Do not try to present your offer for the sole purpose of selling it. Inform, clarify the points that remain unclear, show through your answers that you are there to meet a need.

Be transparent about the real capabilities of your solution: what it does, and above all what it does not do. It is counter-intuitive, but nothing builds more credibility. A prospect who discovers a limitation after signing never forgets it; a prospect to whom you announce it beforehand trusts you on everything else.

During the interview: define the next steps

Once the subject is covered, decide together what comes next: the project stages and the interim action plan.

A tip that makes the difference: systematically give your contact a task. Passing on a document, obtaining information internally, making a decision, consulting a colleague.

The benefit is twofold. It moves the project forward, and it measures their real commitment. A prospect who never does what they committed to do is telling you something their words do not.

After the interview: follow up precisely

Keeping to the agreed action plan demonstrates your seriousness and your genuine interest in the project. It is also what most clearly sets you apart from one supplier among others.

It simply requires not forgetting anything, and therefore recording actions and their deadlines rather than relying on memory. An up-to-date pipeline is enough to turn this good intention into a regular practice.

Your questions about consultative selling

Is this approach suitable for every type of sale?

It makes the most sense for complex sales and long cycles, where the customer has to be helped to express their need. For a simple, recurring sale, it is a time investment that is hard to make pay.

How many questions should you ask before proposing a solution?

It is not a question of number but of understanding. As long as you cannot restate the customer’s problem in their own terms, you have not asked enough.

What should you do if your offer does not meet the need identified?

Say so, and give up on that deal. This is what gives weight to all your other recommendations, and it often brings the prospect back to you later, on a need you really do cover.

How do you avoid the interrogation effect?

By alternating questions and contributions. After two or three questions, give something: a finding, an observation from a comparable case. The exchange becomes a conversation between professionals again.

Should you train your salespeople in this approach?

It requires different reflexes from classic selling, so yes, at least some coaching. A salesperson used to running through a pitch does not switch spontaneously to a questioning stance.