BY ROWENA CROSBIE, president, Tero International

COVID-19 is causing unprecedented change in every industry, profession, and in everyone’s personal life. Changes for the sales professional and the sales process are no exception.

How do we sell in a time of crisis?

The salesperson who is useful in this time of uncertainty is the one who before the crisis embraced a consultative approach to the customer relationship.

A consultative approach is where the salesperson realizes that the immediate short-term tangible factors and a single sales transaction are not as important as the long-term needs and intangible factors weighing heavily on the customer’s mind.

A sales professional who prior to this crisis made the shift in focus from transaction to consultation now has relationships in which customers value them. The customer can count on their sales professional because they know this person has helped them think through their most pressing issues and problems.

The true consultative sales professional educates and challenges customers while also building trust. Thus instead of just being a salesperson in these chaotic times, they are more. They are a trusted partner, and someone who in a time of crisis is a welcome voice.

None of us were prepared for the crisis we are experiencing. Yet those who embraced a consultative approach are prepared to offer great value and comfort to customers, and sustain these important relationships.

It could be said we are all salespeople. Some of us sell a product, others sell ideas. Through this time of crisis as work goes on amid challenging circumstances, we can all improve our ability to be consultative. Here are three ways.

Watch the Tero Tips Video “What Trait Makes a Sales Professional More Successful?”

Are you a good listener? The kind people can trust? Do you ask questions that help you be compassionate toward others’ situations? Read the Tero Articles on listening and asking questions to increase your ability to be consultative.
Listening – The Overlooked Communication Skill
Asking Instead of Telling

Please watch this video on compassion from Tero’s leader, Ro Crosbie. We all need compassion now, and we need to learn how to give it.

Rowena Crosbie View Bio