How to Become a Trusted Advisor in Sales: 8 Essential Obligations

Elevate your sales career by mastering the art of becoming a trusted advisor with these essential obligations.

If you proclaim that you want to be a trusted advisor, you will have to do the work required to occupy this role. There are a number of obligations you must fulfill before you can rise to a higher level.

1. Establishing Expertise and Authority In Your Industry

Charlie Green would tell you that to be a trusted advisor, you must be credible, reliable, intimate, and have an other orientation. But for our purposes, you will need to be an expert and an authority in your industry. Become an expert and an authority.

2. Developing a Deep Set of Insights

You will also need to have a deep set of insights gained over the time you have spent helping your clients make changes. Most of your peers and mine are more interested in selling their solutions. They miss how important it is to compel change before it becomes necessary. Without meeting this important obligation, you will have less status compared to those who have organized their knowledge and experiences. Build a deep set of insights.

3. Recognizing What Your Client Needs to Know

Too few look through a higher-resolution lens that would permit them to recognize what their contacts need to pursue change or solve some confounding problem. When we talk about creating value, we mean providing an education about their problem and enabling the rare decision that they need to get right the first time. This means you use your information disparity to help your client understand. You might believe that discovery is about asking questions, but your contact needs to discover certain things to succeed in the future. This means that your questions and recommendations are critical in helping them understand their problem. Make a list of things you know that your client needs to know to succeed.

4. Implementing a Consultative Sales Approach

Consultative doesn’t mean what most salespeople believe. It does not mean asking high-impact questions and avoiding outdated pressure strategies. In a consultative approach, you provide your counsel, your advice, and your recommendations. In short, you lead the client to ensure their future success. Many of our brothers and sisters still believe that the client is in charge simply because they will make the decision to buy from you or not. Use a consultative approach to lead your client through their buyer’s journey.

5. Researching the Client’s Company Thoroughly

One of my favorite stories is a rep that sat down and opened with the question: “What does your company do?” Needless to say, it was a short first meeting that was also his last. In the past, you might have been forgiven for not knowing much about the company. Since the dawn of the internet, there is no excuse for not reading everything you can about your prospects and clients. This research will help you design high-gain questions for your discovery. Make a list of things you can use to improve your first meeting, and every meeting after the first meeting.

6. In-Depth Research of the Client’s Industry

You must research the client’s industry. You might start by asking your peers who have already won clients in this industry to educate you. But even though you talked to other reps, you will still need to identify the headwinds and tailwinds that will help you to compel change. Most of your competitors will not talk to their teammates or do the heavy lifting of learning the client’s industry.

7. Continually Reading for Your Clients’ Benefit

I used to buy consequential books to gift to clients. When I would meet with them months later, I would see the books gathering dust on their bookshelves. After being disappointed that they never opened the books, I started to talk about the topics I believed were of value to them by sharing the highlights. This way, I could keep them aware of what I could see, which happened long before they noticed. You should constantly and consistently read for your clients. Pick up a substantial book to share with them and do the work of extracting the highlights that they need most.

8. Ensuring Your Client Changes before They Fail

Many salespeople still believe a prospective client needs to have a problem before they can attempt to engage with them. Many disqualify prospects way too early, causing them to miss opportunities. Your obligation here is to protect your clients by helping them to make changes before they are forced to. Get there first and introduce the factors and trends before clients fail.

If you are a salesperson, you now have a way to think about elevating your role to that of a trusted advisor. These eight obligations will keep you on a path that will have you doing better work as a salesperson and a trusted advisor.

If you are a sales leader or sales manager, share this powerful way to help your sales team become someone your clients will prefer to buy from so you can win over your competitors.

Do good work and become your client’s trusted advisor to lead them to success. This is your obligation.