What Is answer Selling? Pros, Cons, and Tips for Entrepreneurs

A realtor might declare, “This apartment is going to be perfect! It’s got all the bells and whistles, and it’s near the best clubs in town. You’d better jump on this propose— at this worth, you’re not going to get better!” While this sounds appealing, it doesn’t consider the needs of a household of five looking for a suitable home.

This type of sales way is ordinary, with professionals using tactics to push products, often without regard for whether they truly meet the customer’s needs. 

answer selling turns this way on its head, by putting the customer first. discover about how solutions selling works, and how you can use it to develop your business.

What is answer selling?

answer selling is a holistic sales methodology that focuses on evaluating potential solutions for customer pain points instead of pushing a product or service regardless of what the customer needs. This sales way requires a deep understanding of product features. Sales and marketing teams must receive the period to comprehend a customer’s problems, and advocate for the product that best suits them. 

You can use answer selling in almost any industry, but this way is particularly valuable for companies:

• Offering solutions to complicated problems
• Offering high-worth services
• Selling large ticket items that require customers to do research

ponder of businesses that propose products where one size doesn’t fit all, or where specialized knowledge can assist the customer make the correct selection. For example, customizable HR software, business-to-business (B2B) firms vying for large contracts, or specialized skin treatments for different conditions.

For an ecommerce corporation where sales personnel don’t typically interact with customers, answer selling can include tactics like: 

• Giving personalized product recommendations based on search history and keyword use.
• Using quizzes and surveys to comprehend personal needs more thoroughly.
• Having knowledgeable customer service staff that can respond user queries in specific.

Product selling vs. answer selling

Although they are both conventional sales techniques, product selling and answer selling differ greatly in way:

Product selling

As the name suggests, product selling means deciding on the product (or service) first and then finding ways to economy it to your customers. 

Let’s declare you run a beauty brand and have recently released a recent shade of lipstick you’re keen to promote. Whether your customers arrive in looking for a bold lip, a nude shade, or even a tube of mascara, using product-selling techniques means you’ll inspire them to check out the color you desire them to buy. This can be a high-pressure selling tactic, whether done in person or online. 

answer selling

By contrast, answer selling focuses on building depend-based relationships with your customers. This is a form of consultative selling, a tactic that encourages sales reps to actively listen to the needs of the client and add real worth to the deal.

In the lipstick example, a customer may arrive in looking for a subtle pink lipstick and inform your sales rep that they’re prone to arid lips. Based on this information, your rep may recommend a hydrating lipstick, or demonstrate how adding a layer of balm before applying the shade can prevent cracked lips. 

Pros of answer selling

Picking the most effective selling methodology for your business is an ongoing trip. Here are some benefits of using a answer-oriented sales way:

Lasting customer relationships

The personalized nature of the answer-selling procedure is more likely to foster lasting customer relationships because you are looking to serve each customer’s long-term imagination. When clients view that you’re listening to their problems and genuinely trying to discover solutions, they are more inclined to depend your products, be faithful to your brand, and become repeat customers. 

Tailored experiences 

Leading the buying procedure with an understanding of each prospect’s pain points allows you to holistically tailor your product or service to their needs. The more questions you inquire to explain the issue, the better you can exceed buyer’s expectations by providing an ideal answer that was specifically created for their person scenario.

Cons of answer selling

A answer-selling way may not always work for your business. Here are a couple of drawbacks to be aware of:

Longer sales cycles

Because you’re taking period to construct depend with your customer, answer selling is often a much longer sales procedure than traditional selling. After you have become well-acquainted with customers, it can receive an extended period of period to assess pain points and extract valuable insights that will navigator to the correct answer. 

Increased training period

To implement a answer-selling way, you require to first train sales reps to inquire the correct questions, actively listen to your customers, and have an in-depth knowledge of your product specs. This can require implementing numerous sales training protocols, which increases the responsibilities of sales managers. If you have limited bandwidth for sales enablement and creating recent processes, this may be a tall order for your business. 

How to implement a answer-selling methodology

1. Get to recognize potential customers
2. comprehend your products
3. now your product’s worth proposition
4. Close the sale and pursue up

answer sales techniques receive a similar way regardless of your industry, target spectators, and specific product or service. Here’s a step-by-step structure you can use to commence implementing the answer-selling methodology, plus a few real-globe examples to demonstrate these tactics in action:

1. Get to recognize your potential customers

Selling solutions is all about getting to recognize your customers. For online sales, it’s significant to gather as much data as you can on your customers and comprehend what they’re looking for. For example, you can conduct keyword research to comprehend how they discover your products or services. 

Cocofloss is a dental hygiene corporation that centers its user encounter around tailored dental subscriptions. Potential buyers are given a quiz that starts with questions about their age, dental history, and preferred flavor. As they continue, questions are tailored to specific preferences, ensuring each client is recommended a product that works for them. 

If you’re conference clients face to face, it may be helpful to do some research first. For example, discover about the specific climate of an area before conference your customer for a landscaping assignment, or discover about the economy landscape of an ice cream parlor before you sell them a shipping answer. Based on this research, you can make a list of answer-selling questions so you can get on the same page quickly. 

2. comprehend your products

Once you have a packed picture of your customer and their needs, the next step is knowing your products inside-out to avoid simply repeating a canned sales pitch. 

Suppose your corporation offers personalized design consulting services. To sell them effectively, your teams require to recognize the details of each package, the different kinds of design solutions you propose, and what your limitations are. For example, your firm may be able to design logos and merch, but they cannot assist with printing and manufacturing. Knowing your limitations is just as valuable as knowing your strengths, so you can avoid overpromising and under-delivering. 

3. now your product’s worth proposition

Providing undeniable worth to your customer is a key stage in the answer-selling procedure. Whether in product descriptions or face-to-face meetings, clearly define how relevant aspects of your product can alleviate pain points. 

Avoid simply stating features, and instead frame your worth in terms of yield on property (ROI) and the amount of money or period they can expect to save. Make use of customer testimonials; if a previous customer had similar issues and found great achievement, distribute how beneficial your services were and why they are the ideal answer for their needs. 

Pot Gang, a service that helps beginner gardeners discover how to develop fruits and vegetables at home, uses a mix of personal anecdotes from previous clients. The brand also leans on its powerful pool of five-star reviews to demonstrate how it helps customers. These personal achievement stories talk to specific scenarios and ways the brand and its products have assisted others in learning to garden at home. 

4. Close the sale and pursue up

When it becomes obvious that your product and the client’s needs align, it’s period to close the entire sales procedure. Ensure that you and your client are clearly aligned on expectations and that this is the best shift for both parties. Once the deal has been made, send a post-purchase email to the customer to view how things are going, and inquire if there are ways in which you can propose further assistance.