“By adopting a more consultative approach, you are far more likely to engage the more rational, calculated System 2 brain which our buyers will be engaging in order to make complex decisions.” – Simeon Atkins in today’s Tip 899
Why adopting a consultative approach will help you close more deals?
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Transcript
Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip comes from Simeon Atkins, and he’s self introducing so I’ll just let him take it from here:
Simeon Atkins: Hi, my name is Simeon. I’m an Industry Consultant here at Similarweb. The industry leader in sales intelligence data. Let me open with a rather bold and potentially provocative statement. You and I are all cave people. Now, if you’re not too offended by this claim and happy to listen on, I’d gladly explain exactly what I mean. As a sales rep listening to this, you’ve probably come across the term consultative sales and have a pretty good idea that this is an important concept to adopt. Your manager may be trying to promote a more consultative approach throughout their team. You may have read an article which stated that adopting a more consultative approach will help you close more deals. You may even have some personal success, where you’ve seen a more consultative approach has helped you forge stronger and longer-lasting relationships with your clients. But have you ever stopped to wonder why as human beings, we become far more defensive when people are trying to sell us something but are more receptive to salespeople who put the needs and goals of their clients ahead of their own?
Today, I want to put some solid theory and rationale behind why adopting a consultative approach is the right way to go. Courtesy of a cohosted webinar similar produced with via more consultancy. We as human beings are governed by 2-types of Operating Systems, our System 1 and System 2 brains. Our System 1 brain, otherwise known as our cave person brain has been the dominant force for hundreds of thousands of years in a very static environment where it was hugely successful. It works by generating automatic responses that give us a competitive advantage to survive and thrive. Our System 1 brain acts in a non-rational, fast, instinctive, automatic manner, which is great in the days where we’ve spent hunting for food and escaping saber tooth tigers. The problem is the world we live in today has dramatically changed. But our evolutionary brain has not. Non-rational, fast, instinctive, automatic responses are not some of the best traits we would associate with 21st-century living, and certainly not when buying a product or service.
In contrast, our System 2 brain acts in a rational, calculated, and intentional manner. Traits that seem far more compatible with today’s reality. Unfortunately, our System 2 brain only fully develops around the age of 25, where our System 1 brain is fully developed ten years prior to that. In short, we as human beings are primarily working on an outdated operating system that is poorly equipped to deal with modern living. We’re generating millions of automatic responses that are no longer compatible in the world we live in.
So how does all this relate to sales, I hear you ask?
Well, humanity has moved into a completely new reality, and as a result, sales has also gone through a major evolution. The days of moving from village to village, selling some poor sap, a jar of magic beans, and riding off into the sunset are long gone.
Today, not only are we living in a reality, we’re closing a deal is much harder than it’s ever been. We live in a world of licenses and contracts where you’re required to not only sell a product but go on retain and ultimately grow your relationship with that customer. This new reality of sales also requires our buyers to engage their System 2 brain far more than their System 1 brain. If your customer is making a one-time purchase of a relatively simple product, they can afford to make a much quicker, more instinctive decision. However, buying a more complex product which ties them into a longer-term commitment requires a more calculated and rational approach.
What this tells us is that to be effective in today’s sales, you cannot afford to be over transactional in your approach. This is because a transactional approach speaks far more to our System 1 brain, which is, as we’ve seen, not compatible to make effective decisions for our buyers around the types of products and services that many commercial reps sell in today’s world. Instead, by adopting a more consultative approach, you are far more likely to engage the more rational, calculated System 2 brain which our buyers will be engaging in order to make complex decisions.
Scott Ingram: To connect with Simeon and to learn more about how Similarweb is helping sellers become more consultative through their sales intelligence platform, just click over to DailySales.Tips/899 and we’ll have links for you there.
Once you’ve done that. Be sure to come back tomorrow for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!