GDA's Consultative Selling

...Structured Sales Call Methodology with Customized Role Plays

Time and again, GDA’s Consultative Selling attendees tell us that this is the finest sales training they have ever experienced. It is difficult to determine if this happens because they have never had instructors who simplify the sales process so clearly as GDA instructors do, or because they never expected to enjoy a class so much. We do know there is a great deal of value in attending the class.

• Is there a wide gap between your best sales producer and your least?
• Do your competitors have better relationships with your customer executives?
• Does every rep discover business needs well enough to sell solutions?
• Can everyone turn your worst objections into your best sales advantages?

GDA’s Consultative Selling – featuring "In-The-Zone" Planned Sales Calls throughout the Logical Selling Process

Consultative Selling uses role-play to exercise attendees on the six components of a structured sales call at various points in the logical selling process.

• The Opening: building the relationship and trust required for open interaction
• Creating Interest: why should the customer pay attention to you right now
• Establishing Need: helping define needs, shutting out competition before you present
• Presentation: interactive solution discussions, with feedback!
• The Close: commitment to move forward, no fear or stress
• Handling Objections: turning them to your advantage

The effective use of Consultative Selling calls for the sales person to connect with the customer, establish credibility, and understand the customer's needs before attempting to sell anything. In fact, until the salesperson identifies and understands the needs of the customer, there is really nothing to sell. By presenting products and services as a solution to the customer's needs, however, selling becomes problem solving, and a welcomed opportunity by the customer.

During this three-day Consultative Selling Class, students learn techniques for each of these components and are required to illustrate their skills during evaluated practice calls. In addition, students observing practice calls complete written structured evaluations for every call observed and participate in group discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the practice call.

Call GDA at 800-966-4321 for more about Consultative Selling.

Consultative Selling can be combined with Epiphany ^™ - GDA’s new Field Sales Skills Tuning program featuring Continuous Sales Best Practices

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Three days is a long time to take my people out of the field. How can I justify the lost revenue? Graduates of GDA’s Consultative Selling report that they are able to find larger and more strategic opportunities; they develop higher level executive relationships; they shorten the average sales cycle; they make more sales calls; they enjoy higher close ratios; and they have a better understanding of how to accomplish the sales roles assigned to them. If required, GDA will be happy to deliver Consultative Selling over weekend days.
2. Can we complete the class in two days instead of three? Yes, but it should be a last resort. For the same cost as a three-day class, the class hours can be extended, and one of the role plays can be eliminated to accommodate a three day format.
3. Should our sales support and service teams participate in this class? Absolutely!!! Most of our classes are attended by sales representative, sales support reps, systems engineers, field engineers, applications consultants, technical service representatives, proposal writers, and managers. In short, everyone who is directly involved in providing direct service to the customer will benefit greatly from this class. This enables effective team selling on those occasions when cross-functional resources are required in a customer sales meeting. of the account team are able to effectively sell the services closest to their area of expertise.
4. Everybody seems to have a Consultative Selling offering. What makes GDA’s any different? There are numerous unique and exclusive characteristics inherent in GDA’s Consultative Selling course. Curriculum placement: Consultative Selling is designed to integrate with other GDA key components needed to establish a self-sustaining sales culture. Pre-class customization includes pre-class interviews with management, employees and customers to establish product or solution focus; strategic initiatives; industry terminology; relevant examples and analogies; and case study role plays. This level of customization makes the training come to life for the attendees. Course content: The key components in all GDA classes like Consultative Selling include: Interactive group discussions, real-world examples and live illustrations, group practice session, customized case studies based on current company and customer issues modeling of best practices and repeatable references and successes, small-group evaluated role play, follow-up field implementation activities and follow-up field assessment plans. Delivery style: GDA instructors have been trained to utilize an entertaining “discovery training method” that keeps the audience engaged and attentive. GDA instructors rely upon years of experience in sales and sales management situations to execute this training method. Post class, in-field reinforcement options: including audio-tapes, also available on the Apple iPod, Encore™ (60 day Classroom Refresher); and Epiphany™ (Continuous Sales Best Practices survey.)
5. We have room to hold this class in our office. Why does GDA recommend an off-site facility for this class? Classes held on-site can be subjected to a never-ending compilation of disruptions. The local attendees find that they absolutely must check their e-mail or return customer calls which means they are guaranteed to return late from lunch and breaks.
6. Should our sales managers participate in this class? Absolutely. The class is designed to refresh sales and coaching skills for the managers as well as the sales force. It is not uncommon to hear managers saying things like, “I never realized what it must be like to sit on that side of the desk” and “By serving as a call-taker in this class I am far better prepared to continue the skills development process with my ‘guys’ after the class.” They also observe that this in-depth involvement in the class makes them acutely aware of which students “get it” and which ones need help beyond that provided by the class.
7. Is GDA’s Consultative Selling as beneficial to non-technical industries as it apparently is for information systems and telecommunications industries? Yes it is. GDA is very honored by the largest segment of companies who have selected GDA as a partner– including major IT manufacturers, software providers, and telecom providers around the world as well as colleges, insurance, health care, sports marketing, recreation, finance, and government.
8. Our company has a training department. Will GDA license our trainers to deliver the Consultative Selling course content? Yes. We deliver certification through our Pathfinder program. Licensing depends on the size of the client organization and whether or not the client wishes to report on the number of attendees for each class.
9. Our sales offices are located in countries all around the world. Can GDA support a global rollout of this class? Absolutely. A three-day, customized class such as Consultative Selling could be rolled out within as little as several weeks by a GDA team of instructors. GDA has delivered a complete sales training curriculum worldwide to attendees from twenty-seven countries in a matter of months with just two of its instructors.
10. How do your clients measure the value they get from Consultative Selling? Our primary focus is developing the requisite sales culture through training and infrastructure, and we can establish course specific, measurable objectives with your management including year to year revenue growth, growth by market, product mix close rates, average size of the deal, after-the-sale growth exceeds initial sale, qualified leads in the pipeline, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, executive contacts with opportunities underway, higher margins, or reduction of discounting.