Consultative selling means helping the buyer make a good decision, even if that decision takes longer. In practice, it comes down to one habit: understand the problem completely before you recommend anything.
Ask about the situation, then the impact
Situation questions tell you how things work today. Impact questions tell you why it matters. Most reps stop at the first layer. Ask "What happens if this stays the same for another six months?" and listen carefully to the answer.
Let the buyer do most of the talking
A useful rule of thumb is that the buyer should talk for most of a discovery call. If you notice you are explaining features, pause and ask a question instead.
- Open with the buyer's priorities, not your agenda.
- Summarise what you heard before moving on.
- Confirm who else is involved in the decision.
- Agree a clear next step before the call ends.
Recommend using their words
When you do present, repeat the buyer's own language back to them. "You mentioned that onboarding new reps takes too long — here is how this shortens it" lands far better than a generic feature list.
For a full question bank and call structure, see the Consultative Selling Techniques Playbook.