Engaging Business with Consultative Selling Michele Martin, The Bamboo Project, Inc.
Jul 16, 2015
Let’s Connect!
Name
WIB Area/Organization
Role
What is one thing you’re passionate about when it comes to serving your business customers? What do you pride yourself on?
Michele Martin
5 years HR/recruitment for 2 Fortune 500 companies
20 years in WFD
17 years as small business owner using consultative selling strategies
Passionate about helping my customers ask the right questions to connect with the right opportunities.
Website
www.michelemmartin.com/consultative_selling Username: pwda Password: pawork
All slides and handouts
Follow-up resources/information for implementation
Questions/Issues that are coming up
Follow-up conversation
To implement successfully. . .
Clearly articulated goals, priorities and outcomes
Skills & Tools
Work flow/systems
Rewarded for using consultative techniques
Time to change habits!
This training is . . .
Based on the assumption that you have and are using many of the skills it takes to create and maintain great relationships.
Part of a longer-term dialogue about what “business services” and “business engagement mean under WIOA.
An invitation to conversation about what shifts we might need to make to become more consultative.
If you want to build a long-term, successful enterprise, you can’t focus on “closing the sale.”
You have to focus on opening the relationship.
Consultative Selling is NOT . . .
Establishing rapport and getting businesses to like us
Informing about our services
Job development
Getting customers to register in Job Gateway or sign up for an OJT.
Find: Needs “Hot Buttons” Trends
Provide: Help (from customer
perspective) Customized solutions Insights Opportunities
Which can lead to. . .
Job development
Getting businesses to register on Job Gateway
OJTs
And a lot more!
So our KEY question is. . .
How are we using our offers and interactions to engage with our ideal customers and move them through the phases of engagement--from not knowing who we are to recommending us to other businesses and partnering with us to co-create?
“Trying to sell products and services without understanding your ideal customers is like driving with your eyes closed.”
Profiles/Personas
Describe a broad category of type of customers.
Tell a story.
Are like a “comprehensive how-to guide to reaching your ideal customers.”
Some Key Elements
Broad Description—Industry, Role in Company
Key Quotes
Unique Goals, Problems and “Hot Buttons”
Hesitations and Objections
Best ways to engage
How do these ideal customers find you?
What keeps them coming back?
Ideally. . .
Done with WIB/CareerLink staff as an OVERALL strategy.
Shared with everyone.
Reviewed/revised on ongoing basis: Same customers? Where are the new markets?
How to Use
Evaluate everything according to “What would that ideal customer say/do/want?”
To plan for interviews/meetings
In strategic/operations planning
The Hourglass
Way to look at entire customer experience.
Different messages, types of information and levels of contact for each stage.
We must be strategic for each phase.
As we review. . .
Follow along on handout
Identify some of your customers at this phase
What problems/issues do customers encounter at this phase How might we be disappointing them? What concerns do they have?
Phase 1: KNOW
First impressions count!
How do customers find out about you? Are you capturing your leads?
How inviting/welcoming are your interactions, website, materials, etc.?
Phase 2: LIKE
Do you seem to “get” their issues, needs, etc.?
Do your interactions seem customized/personalized to their problems?
Have you overcome any initial negative perceptions they may have about working with a government agency?
Phase 3: TRUST
Just because they like you doesn’t mean they TRUST you!
Are you knowledgeable and credible?
Do you ask questions that make them think and that help them develop insights?
Do you provide them with resources, information, connections, materials, etc. that add value—whether or not they are related to your services?
Phase 4: TRY
What could they “sample” to entice them to actually buy?
What can we do that minimizes their investments of time and/or their perceived risks?
Phase 5:
When they’re ready to use a service—post on Job Gateway, participate in a Job Fair, work on a recruitment event.
Expectations are everything! What expectations are you setting? What are their expectations?
How are you DELIVERING on your promises and DELIGHTING customers with the experience?
Every aspect of the process will influence their opinion—can either move you forward or 3 steps back.
Phase 6: REPEAT
Use the same services?
Use new services (cross-selling)?
How are you engaging with customers to uncover new needs and respond?
How are you continuing to engage with them to connect to relevant resources, information and people—even when they aren’t currently “buying” from you?
Phase 7: REFER
How do you make it easy for them to advocate and refer?
How are you engaging them so well they are willing to invest time in planning/co-creating with you?
How Do We Use?
Think in terms of relationship building, not “selling”
Plan our interactions more strategically, including customer “Calls to Action”—next steps.
Plan offers for different customer types/phases of engagement.
Your Offer = What You Are Selling
Newsletters, webinars, articles
Events
A conversation or meeting with you
Post a job in Job Gateway
Hire a job seeker
Messaging & Experiences Count!
What message(s) does a customer need to hear and what experiences do they need to have to move from one phase of engagement to the next?
Impact of Proper Messaging
“Would you be willing to donate?”
“Would you be willing to donate? Every little bit helps.
28% donated50% donated!
Your Offers Should . . .
Connect to ideal customer profile—(WWRD or WWMD?)
Build relationships based on phase of engagement—don’t be at “Buy” when they are at “Like”!
Identify and encourage Call to Action—”Best Next Step” Overcome “Action Paralysis” Make it EASY Make it OBVIOUS Give them tools and resources to follow up
The Traditional Offer
These are our services.
These are the features of our services.
This is how our services will benefit you.
Do you want to buy?
Traditional Offers
Start with your services
Emphasize features and benefits , rather than solutions and results.
Usually more “generic”
Don’t always connect to customer problems, aspirations, what they value and their stage of engagement.
The Consultative Offer
This is where you’re at in the process.
These are your problems and goals.
These are your “hot buttons.”
These are the results you need/want to achieve.
How can I help?
Consultative Offers Start with customer problems and/or aspirations.
Show your interactions and services as the solution to a problem.
Paint a picture
Connect to customer “hot buttons.”
Are personalized, based on your ideal customer profiles and where the customer is at in terms of engagement.
Identify results
Are appropriate for the stage of engagement.
Ultimately, you want to . . .
Use your offers to keep them engaged and to help them make good decisions.
In consultative selling. . .
We have offers for each phase.
We have offers for different customer types.
You can create initial offers, based on phase and customer type.
You can use conversations with customers to revise existing offers and develop new ones.
Let’s Practice
Use Offer Worksheet to design some initial offers based on current services for your ideal customer (Rachel or Mike)
Work in pairs with someone who has same customer profile.
Compare: Other pairs with same profile Other pairs with different profile
Insights
How Do We Use?
Thinking in terms of offers restructures our approach—gets us thinking in terms of THEIR needs, not our own.
Plan initial offers based on customer profile and phase of engagement.
As conversation tool with customers—gives something to react to/work with in interviews.
Building Block Insights
How is what you’ve learned so far: Same as what you currently do? Different from what you currently do?
How can you apply what we’ve learned so far to your current work?
What questions do you have?
What concerns do you have?
Do you plan before. . .
Attending a networking event?
Meeting with a new business customer?
Meeting with an existing business customer?
Responding to a call re: a job posting/filling a job?
Planning helps you become. . .
LESS
Reactive
Transaction-oriented
Generic
Focused on telling
MORE
Responsive
Relationship-oriented
Customized
Focused on asking
You need clarity about. . .
Customer Profile
Phase of Engagement
Goals for your Interaction—what do you want to accomplish?
Call to Action—What next step(s)?
Power Questions you will ask
Preliminary Offers
Let’s Practice!
Customer Contact Planning Draw a Phase of Engagement With a partner who has the same profile, plan a meeting
with that customer to get them to the next phase. Make up any details you need to.
Get with a pair that has the same profile and compare notes.
Get with a pair that has the other profile and compare notes.
What is the same? What is different? Why?
Goals for Every Interaction
Grow relationship and invite ongoing interaction.
Get deeper into their world (not make them understand our world).
Learn something new about the customer, his/her situation, needs, goals and/or trends impacting him/her.
Listen for . . .
Problems—Even (or especially) if they aren’t related to workforce development
Hot buttons—what they seem to most value
Aspirations and goals—personal, professional, departmental, company-wide
Expectations—what will they be looking for in their interactions with you?
What they DON’T say--Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know.
Structure
Establish/re-establish rapport (Profile+Research+Stage of Engagement)
Get to point of meeting (based on goals/CTA)
Work through questions
Clarify agreements and expectations
Establish timeline/parameters for follow up
Close with next steps on both sides
Documenting
Pages 3-5 of Customer Contact Planning Form
Take notes while they are talking, but keep eye contact
After you leave, IMMEDIATELY review/respond to questions so you don’t forget.
Closing the Meeting
DO
Clarify all expectations and timelines
Promise (and provide!) an email summarizing discussion/agreements
Keep the relationship open—find a way to maintain engagement
DON’T
Promise anything you’re not POSITIVE you can deliver—UNDER-PROMISE and OVER-DELIVER!
Think you have to have all the answers now—NOT having all the answers allows for customization!
Let’s Practice
Get with another team that has your same profile.
One person will be the interviewer, the other will play the role of the customer.
Go through the “meeting” based on your planning. The two who are not assigned roles will be observers—look for what works/what doesn’t work. Also monitor the listening/talking ratio of both parties.
Do the same with someone who has a different profile.
Debrief
What happened?
How did it feel?
How did the customer feel?
What did you learn?
What came up as potential issues/problems?
12-24 Hours: Know/Like/Trust
Personalized LinkedIn Connection request (where appropriate)
Email with useful article, resource, connection, etc.
Offer to deepen connection (where appropriate): “Learned a lot and would love to pick your brain over a cup
of coffee.” “Think you’d really enjoy meeting Jane Doe who’s dealing
with similar issues---maybe we could arrange a call with three of us to discuss XYZ.”
Know/Like/Trust Ongoing
Master the “ping”—regular contact schedule to continue/deepen the relationship.
Use LinkedIn to set reminders.
Focus on adding value according to customer perspective and values.
How are you continuing to connect and add value for this customer, even if he/she isn’t “buying?”
Try/Buy/Repeat: 12-24 Hours Are you the right solution? If not—focus on the
relationship!
Follow-up internally (where appropriate)
Email summarizing meeting and any new info Key agreements/expectations/timeline/other people Next steps, including planned next communication
Provide customer with user-friendly documents/materials that can make execution go more smoothly.
Execute—make sure that what needs to happen is happening.
Try/Buy/Repeat Execution
Don’t disappear!
Monitor what’s happening internally and pro-actively identify and communicate about problems. Tell about problem AND solution at same time. Use “We can do better” language, not “Blame” language.
Call first-time users of a service What worked? What didn’t work? How can we do better?
Do relationship repair when customers are disappointed
Try/Buy/Repeat Ongoing
How can you maintain contact with customer even when they aren’t “buying” from you right now?
How can you deepen the relationship—what step are they now ready for?
Let’s Practice
In pairs, discuss what follow up you would do after your customer interview.
Talk with another pair about their follow-up—what’s the same? What’s different?
Customer Learning Builds Relationships!
Demonstrates empathy and understanding of their business.
Can become new source of credibility and “insider knowledge”
Creates new service and engagement opportunities.
Consultative Selling=Customer Learning
What did we learn about that individual customer that should be used in future interactions?
What did we learn about that individual customer that indicates they need something other than our services?
What are we learning about trends and issues ACROSS customers? New needs/challenges New goals/aspirations Trends in hiring/training Trends in business, industry
Regular Conversations About. . .
What are we learning?
What does this tell us about: Changes to customer profile(s) or focus on new markets? Issues with stages of engagement? Issues with execution? Need for new connections? New opportunities?
Share Information with. . .
WIB/CareerLink staff
Partners
Customers! “Here’s what we’re learning from our customers” “This is what we’re hearing from healthcare providers” “We asked and you responded!”
In consultative selling. . .
Establish relationships (Know/Like/Trust)
Maintain relationships (Trust/Try/Buy)
Deepen relationships (Repeat/Refer)
Your Plan
Refer to individuals you identified during the Stages of Customer Engagement exercise.
Identify 2-3 individuals to: Establish Maintain Deepen
Identify goals/strategies