How can you provide feedback that encourages consultative sales?

1 Set clear expectations

Before you give feedback, make sure your sales team knows what consultative sales entails and what standards you expect them to meet. You can use a framework such as SPIN (Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff) or SOAR (Situation, Obstacles, Actions, Results) to define the key elements of a consultative sales conversation. You can also share examples of best practices, success stories, and customer testimonials to illustrate the benefits of consultative sales.

2 Use the SBI model

The SBI model (Situation, Behavior, Impact) is a simple and effective tool for giving feedback that is specific, objective, and actionable. You can use it to describe the situation where the salesperson demonstrated a behavior, the behavior itself, and the impact of the behavior on the customer or the outcome. For example, "In the meeting with ABC company, you asked open-ended questions to uncover their pain points, which helped you establish rapport and credibility." This way, you can reinforce positive behaviors and address areas for improvement.

3 Ask for self-assessment

One way to encourage consultative sales is to involve your sales team in the feedback process and help them reflect on their own performance. You can ask them to rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10 on different aspects of consultative sales, such as listening, probing, presenting, and closing. You can also ask them to share what they think they did well and what they could do better. This will help them become more aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and more receptive to your feedback.

4 Provide coaching and support

Feedback alone is not enough to improve consultative sales skills. You also need to provide coaching and support to help your sales team apply the feedback and learn from their experiences. You can use techniques such as role-playing, shadowing, mentoring, and peer feedback to help them practice and refine their consultative sales skills. You can also provide them with resources such as articles, podcasts, books, or courses that can help them learn more about consultative sales.