with these traits (which i\u2019m sure many sales personnel would disagree with) it\u2019s no wonder that cpas find the prospect of selling distasteful and terrifying. most of them don\u2019t have the typical product sales personality.<\/p>\n

selling professional services requires the opposite traits from product selling. it’s consultative selling. it\u2019s all about helping prospects and advising them how their problems can be solved and their needs met.<\/p>\n

here is what you need to know about consultative selling:<\/strong><\/p>\n

understand what we all want in life. <\/strong>sorry if this is too spiritual, but it\u2019s really important. prospective clients, like all of us, are always looking for ways to make their lives better, whether personal, business or both. prospects may say<\/strong> they want an audit or a tax return, but what they really want is peace of mind. always remember this.<\/p>\n

there should be no cold calls. <\/strong>selling professional services is most effective when the prospects have been qualified in some manner. common examples are meeting people through referrals or at networking and charitable events, service clubs, professional organizations, etc.<\/p>\n

the relationship comes first.<\/strong> at the onset, the professional should strive to form a relationship with the prospect. unlike product sales personnel, professionals should never dive right in and say, \u201chere\u2019s what we do.\u201d as prominent cpa industry marketing consultant gale crosley says, \u201crelationship precedes revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n

seek first to understand, then be understood. <\/strong>this will be familiar to many of you \u2013 it\u2019s habit #5 from stephen covey\u2019s legendary \u201cseven habits of highly effective people.\u201d everyone loves talking about themselves. get the prospect to do 80 percent of the talking and limit yourself to 20 percent. the best way to do this is by asking questions. the goal is to learn prospects\u2019 business and what their needs are. then and only then will you know how what to say. remember, listen has the same letters as silent.<\/p>\n

beware the scattergun approach, part 1. <\/strong>most cpas provide many services, some of which prospects don\u2019t need (or aren\u2019t aware yet that they need). in consultative selling, when it\u2019s your turn to talk, describe only services that meet the prospects\u2019 needs, which you learned by listening patiently and silently. this technique lets you customize your selling approach to appeal to what the prospect needs the most.<\/p>\n

beware the scattergun approach, part 2.<\/strong> i\u2019m sure we can all agree that the most pleasant way to sell is to not have to sell at all. how do we do that? by having expertise in an industry or service that appeals to the prospect so that the prospect approaches you. it\u2019s a lot easier to sell a niche or specialty than generalist services.<\/p>\n

create a little pain. <\/strong>this may be advanced selling for some of you, but it is very effective. when you do your 80 percent listening and asking questions, there is a good chance that you will identify things the prospect is neglecting or doing wrong. example: \u201cdo you have a will? without a will, your estate may not be distributed to your liking and your heirs may pay unnecessary taxes.\u201d or: \u201cyou should consider hiring a controller to perform financial duties instead of doing them as the owner. this frees up your time to make more money for the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

matthew dixon and brent adamson wrote this in their book \u201cthe challenger sale: taking control of the customer conversation\u201d:<\/p>\n

there is a very good chance that your company stresses building relationships with customers to help boost your sales. but this traditional approach no longer works in a world of sophisticated and risk-averse customers.<\/em><\/p>\n

in a study of more than 6,000 sales professionals, the reps who followed traditional relationship<\/strong>-building tactics, like getting along with everyone and being generous about giving time to help others, came in dead last and represented only 7 percent of all-star performers.<\/em><\/p>\n

in contrast, those sales professionals who challenged customers’ thinking and offered new insights or solutions proved to be four times <\/strong>more likely to be top performers and represented nearly 40 percent of all-star performers in the study.<\/em><\/p>\n

the good news is that challenger reps are not only born, but they can also be made. in fact, up to 80 percent of sales reps have the ability to become challenger reps when armed with the right tools, training and coaching.<\/em><\/p>\n

challengers take control of the overall sales conversation.<\/em><\/p>\n

learn from the pros. <\/strong>if you’re new to business development, try to accompany partners on their sales pitches. this is not to suggest that you copy the partners\u2019 style. it simply makes sense to watch experts. in some ways that are obvious and in some that are more subtle, you will learn how to develop your own style.<\/p>\n

do team selling.<\/strong> going on a pitch with one of your colleagues may reduce the anxiety that both of you feel about selling. when two people make the pitch, you convey to prospects that they will be serviced by a team, not an individual. and the team approach serves the client better because two people have broader expertise than one.<\/p>\n

think win-win. <\/strong>this borrows from habit #4 of covey\u2019s \u201cseven habits\u201d book. when professionals do business development, the attitude and demeanor should be to close deals because both parties will win.<\/p>\n