Reviews ASTD Members Only

Consultative Selling Framework
By Dan Michaluk

In the last few decades there’s been a significant change in the way businesses sell. Organizations who sold increasingly complex products and services realized that what worked when selling encyclopedias door-to-door backfired when selling professional services, high-tech products, or financial tools.

Consequently, a body of research and practice has emerged around what is now variously called complex, strategic, relationship, or consultative selling. This school of thought emphasizes listening over talking, client need versus product features, and lifetime value of the customer versus the one-time sale. The only downside is that this style of selling is more difficult than traditional selling. It requires a disciplined process, the ability to ask the right questions, and a capacity to listen--all of which require training.

Linda Richardson, founder of Richardson, has been training salespeople for 25 years and has recently added e-learning to her company’s stable of offerings. Consultative Selling is a six-module, Internet-delivered course that teaches Richardson’s own six-step consultative selling process. The process is robust, focused, and conceptually sound. If you believe, as many do, that consultative selling is worth adopting, then this course deserves investigation.

Each of the six modules covers a step in Richardson’s selling process. Each module describes the process briefly, and users answer a multiple-choice question based on an appropriate scenario. They then receive feedback from the coach, Linda Richardson herself. Each module contains a QuickTools section with content summaries, further examples of the concept in action, and printable guides to using the skill in the real world.

For example, each module provides a printable checklist for use before and after a sales call to ensure that the salesperson has completed all of the necessary actions. I loved these printouts and expect to use them in my own sales work. They reinforce the process while allowing the user to customize the content to their selling environment.

Finally, each module wraps up with a four-question, multiple-choice assessment. The questions, like those in the content section, are challenging, though, after a couple of modules, users can easily beat the test. Following the assessment, the course recommends a development path incorporating the QuickTools and additional Richardson courses. The test, however, is too short and imprecise for these recommendations to be useful.

The interface is excellent--spare yet inviting. There is sufficient white space and never too much text on any given page. Navigation is straightforward; you always know where you are in the course. Download times are quick, and the audio is clean and well performed.

While the writing is professional and clear, it uses too much jargon to explain the sales process. One of the steps involves “credentializing” yourself. Terms like that make it difficult for users to absorb concepts quickly. Users would pick up the concept faster if the step were “Establishing credibility.” I also found it distracting that the text confuses the words complement and compliment--both ways. Those small oversights hurt an otherwise excellent job of Web writing.

Richardson has repurposed its live content for the Web and done an excellent job of it. The material is chunked appropriately and flows well. The modules make sense, and the examples are relevant and believable. However, the course isn’t very interactive. User involvement is limited to paging forward and answering multiple-choice questions. The tests are short, and there are no simulations. Users don’t get a chance to practice Richardson’s six-step consultative process during the course.

Recommendation

This is a very good introductory course for consultative selling. It will be especially helpful for consultants looking for a sales process that fits their style. Sales managers will also find it useful for re-training salespeople who follow traditional practices. Be sure to print out the QuickTools guides and use them for pre-call planning and post-call mentoring.

My major concern is price. At US$495 the course is expensive. While you do get three hours of learning for your money, the course is minimally interactive. The fact that the learning might be achieved inexpensively with a book and some mentoring compromises the value of the e-course.

	Consultative Selling Framework
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