Thursday, May 31, 2007

Consultative Selling and the China Sales Team

This was a recent post on the China Solved Blog which discusses the ways in which Chinese managers would be best utilized in the business world. It goes onto show that a groups of Chinese sales people might be the best approach.

There are many buzzwords flying around the business world, and most of them can be dismissed as over-simplifications, ineffective or just plain silly. One such phrase that sometimes gets thrown around too carelessly is “Consultative Sales” — and it’s a pity because the concept is so important for China-based sales teams.

The China market needs a consultative sales approach because traditional Chinese salespeople are not natural problem solvers, but many potential buyers are in serious need of expert advice. If you manage a sales or marketing team in China, then you should consider training your people to sell less and consult more. It may make a big difference to your bottom line.

Consultative Sales is about taking business problem-solving to a new level. The value-adding salesperson already knows that he has to present his product offering as a solution to a business problem – and not just negotiate based on price.

Let’s take a quick look at the Consultative Selling process, and describe how it applies to the typical Chinese sales team.

  1. Analyze the Decision Making Unit to determine how THEY understand their business challenges.
  2. Understand the company’s business model.
  3. Identify the company and industry ‘business drivers’.
  4. Present a creative, effective solution.
  5. Follow up to see what worked – and what didn’t.

To view the entire article at its original location click on the title of this post.

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