Why Marketing to the Consultative Sale?

We’ve all been inundated with information, training and demand for consultative sales. There are literally hundreds of classes, methods and approaches to teaching sales reps how to sell in a more consultative fashion. The quest to earn “Trusted Advisor” status is so overstated as to almost be a cliché, but the number of reps actually able to serve in this fashion is a small elite group at any company. Even more rare, and more valuable in my opinion, are marketing professionals working specifically with consultative selling in mind. Marketing for a consultative sale is a very different activity from any other marketing focus. Teaching you how to build marketing programs for these elite consultative sales reps will be the focus of this blog.

Sales reps selling in a consultative fashion are typically your company’s “elephant hunters,” who have several accounts already earning them the bulk of their commission, but who are also forward thinking and motivated enough to get off their butts to go hunting for fresh game. This caliber of sales professional does not have the time or desire to participate in “spray and pray” or otherwise unqualified sales engagements. Junior reps appreciate “warm” opportunities to build their pipe and hone their skills, which is what most marketing programs provide. A consultative caliber of rep is a valuable company resource and simply does not have the bandwidth to participate in anything but the most well thought out and productive sales engagements. This caliber of individual always takes the time to research each opportunity thoroughly in an effort to earn “trusted advisor” status with each prospective client. This rep probably ignores the majority of initiatives coming out of your marketing department because there is little reason to believe they be relevant.

The more you can do to properly qualify prospects and prepare your elephant hunters for the opportunities you provide them, the more respect they will have for you, and more likely they will be to participate in and support your efforts moving forward. The support of the most successful sales reps is crucial for your success as a marketing professional within your organization. Any good marketing manager needs the support of their most senior sales reps to maintain the ROI needed to continue to obtain funding, to ensure positive feedback from sales about your initiatives, to obtain good reviews and promotions, and to secure high levels of participation from the entire sales team.

Once you have the respect and enthusiasm of your highest performing sales reps, the rest of sale team will beat a path to your door. Consultative marketing, however, is not the best vehicle for every sales rep. The majority of your team will be happy with more traditional marketing programs:; those selling product “features and benefits,” those who play the numbers (sheer number of attempts), spray and pray marketing to open doors and the like. I would go so far as to say that these non-consultative sales reps have no business in front of a “C” level prospect (VP, COO, CEO, etc.) and they are best served through old-fashioned marketing programs.