Mastering the Art of Sales Conversations: How to Create Value, Be Consultative, and Establish Expertise

In the competitive world of B2B sales, the difference between winning and losing a deal often hinges on the effectiveness of your sales conversation.

What We Mean: The Critical Importance of the Sales Conversation

Far too often, we underestimate the value of the sales conversation when it comes to winning deals. The reality is that you have never won a deal without a meaningful sales conversation, nor have you ever lost a deal without one. The conversation itself is the vehicle through which deals are won or lost. Yet, many sales representatives wrongly believe that their solution is the star of the show. They assume that if they present their solution effectively, success will follow. However, your competitors have solutions that closely match yours, resulting in a kind of solution parity.

Consider this: If your competitors argue that their solution is better than yours, and you do the inverse, you both end up competing on features and benefits alone. You also both wind up having the same conversation, from the client’s perspective. This is not how differentiation happens. The real differentiator is the sales conversation—how you engage, guide, and enable your client to make a significant decision that they need to get right the first time. The ability to facilitate this rare and critical decision is what separates the winners from the losers.

By focusing on the quality of your sales conversations, you can differentiate yourself in a way that no solution alone can achieve. In the end, it's the salesperson who enables their client to make an informed, confident decision that wins the deal—not necessarily the one with the best product or service.

What We Mean When We Talk about Creating Value

When we discuss creating value for the client, it’s essential to understand what that truly means. Creating value is about educating and enabling your client to make a decision that ensures their success. It's not about promoting your company, your products, or your existing clients. Many salespeople waste valuable time talking about their accolades, company history, or past successes, mistakenly believing this establishes credibility. To your client’s ear, these topics often sound like a sales pitch—something they’ve heard countless times before.

Creating real value requires a different approach. To truly differentiate yourself, you must provide your client with insights and information they don't already possess. This involves identifying the gaps in their knowledge and delivering something new, something that allows them to view their challenges and opportunities in a fresh light. For example, you might provide market trends, best practices from other industries, or insights into how your solution uniquely addresses their pain points.

Additionally, asking high-gain questions is a crucial aspect of creating value. These are not just surface-level questions that anyone could ask but rather questions that challenge your client’s assumptions and cause them to reflect on the implications of their current decisions. For instance, instead of asking, “What are your current challenges?” a high-gain question might be, “How do your current challenges impact your ability to meet your long-term strategic goals?” This line of questioning drives deeper thinking and sets you apart as someone genuinely invested in your client’s success.

What We Mean When We Talk about Being Consultative

Many salespeople claim to be consultative, but when you ask them what that really means, they respond by saying they ask questions and avoid using high-pressure tactics. While these are elements of a consultative approach, they fall far short.

When we talk about being consultative, we are referring to something much deeper: the ability to lead the client through their decision-making process with confidence. Being consultative means you provide advice, recommendations, and guidance that is tailored specifically to the buyer’s context and needs. This goes beyond simply asking questions; it involves offering insights and recommendations that challenge the client’s current thinking and open their eyes to new possibilities.

A truly consultative salesperson doesn’t just take orders or respond to requests; they lead the conversation in a way that helps the client navigate complex decisions, especially when multiple stakeholders are involved. By positioning yourself as a trusted advisor who can offer solutions that align with your client’s objectives, you increase your credibility and strengthen your relationship with the client.

For example, if a client is unsure about investing in a new technology, instead of merely presenting your product’s features, a consultative salesperson might guide the conversation toward discussing how this technology could impact their business outcomes and help them achieve their strategic goals faster. In this way, being consultative is about demonstrating genuine concern for your client’s success rather than pushing for a quick sale.

What We Mean When We Talk about Being an Expert and an Authority

In my book, Elite Sales Strategies: A Guide to Being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative, I introduce the concept of “Being One-Up.” This concept is rooted in the idea that to succeed in sales, you must position yourself as an expert and authority in your industry. Being One-Up doesn’t mean looking down on your clients; it means understanding that because you sell every day, while your client buys only rarely, you possess a level of expertise and authority that your client lacks.

This dynamic is crucial because your clients are often required to make high-stakes decisions with limited experience. They turn to you because they recognize that you’ve navigated similar situations many times before. To leverage this position effectively, you need to demonstrate the knowledge and confidence to guide your clients through uncertain territory.

For example, let’s say your client is trying to decide whether to invest in a solution that could transform their business. They may have a lot of questions, concerns, and even doubts. By being One-Up, you position yourself as the authority to guide them through this decision. This isn’t about being arrogant; it’s about recognizing that your accumulated experience and insights put you in a unique position to advise your clients effectively.

When you approach the sales conversation with this mindset, your clients will see you as more than just a salesperson—they’ll view you as a trusted advisor whose opinions and recommendations carry weight. This is the essence of being consultative, creating value, and winning the sales conversations that matter most.