How to Use a Consultative Approach in B2B Sales Meetings

A rep called me frustrated. "I ask all the right questions, but they clam up after 10 minutes. Discovery feels like pulling teeth." I listened to her last call. She was doing everything "right" according to most sales training. Except for one thing. She was treating discovery like an interrogation instead of a conversation. Here's what I told her: Stop trying to get everything in 30 minutes. You're not a police detective gathering evidence. Instead, go deep on what matters most → their pain. Three questions that changed her entire approach: "What's driving this to be a priority right now?" "What happens if you don't solve this in the next 6 months?" "How is this impacting you personally?" Notice something? No questions about budget. No stakeholder mapping. No buying process. Just pain. Deep, emotional, get-them-talking pain. Here's what happened on next call: Prospect spent 20 minutes explaining their challenges. Shared things she never heard before. Got emotional about the daily frustration. Old Rep would've panicked: "I didn't get the buying process info!" New Rep said: "Based on everything you've shared, this sounds complex. Let's schedule another call to walk through how companies typically solve this." Prospect immediately agreed. Why? Because she proved she understood their world. The follow up call? Prospect brought their boss. Shared budget range. Outlined their evaluation timeline. All because the first call was about them, not about her information gathering checklist. Look, I get it. Sales methodology says you need certain data points. But prospects don't care about your methodology. They care about feeling understood. When you nail the pain, everything else flows naturally. The reps's close rate went from 18% to 29% just by changing her discovery approach. Same questions. Same product. Different mindset. Sales VPs: teach your reps to be consultants, not interrogators. The reps who master this thinking close bigger deals because they uncover the real emotional drivers behind every purchase decision. Ever noticed how your best discovery calls feel more like therapy sessions than sales calls? Strange, isn’t it? 😎 — How 700+ clients closed $950 million using THIS 6 step demo script: https://lnkd.in/eVb32BUx

I interviewed 150+ B2B buyers in the last 6 months. Here’s the most surprising thing I learned: AE's asking for a 30 minute demo call kills pipeline For a buyer, 30 minutes is a HUGE ask. And if you are using a scheduling link and making them wait 2 weeks for that call, you're dead on arrival.    There are over 1,000,000 sales reps in the United States. These 30 minute demo calls add up to millions of decision maker hours every month. You need to use your buyers time (and attention) more responsibly Buyers want instant answers. They do not think 30 min is fair ask just to get clarity on a few questions The problem isn’t the demo but how and when you do it. Here’s what's actually working for sellers today: 1. ChatGPT: Get the answers to your qualifying questions on ChatGPT and spare the buyer with obvious questions 2. Trust : Use the time to build trust and “really” understand the buyer needs. Ask “What value can I provide you with today to earn the right to another call?” 3. Actively Listen: Let the buyer speak. Listen between the lines. Record the call and listen to it again. 4. Reduce time: Reduce the time for discovery calls to 15 min but try to do it within 24-48 hours 5. Solve problems : 30 minutes isn’t enough to build trust. Trust develops over repeat interactions through consistent problem-solving. Get the process started. 6. Many 15 min calls: Try to do multiple 15 min calls with emails or slack. Use the cadence that works best for the buyer to get immediate value. 7. Provide Micro Value: In every call try to deliver something of value - content, free demo, insights, recommendations or introductions. Ask how you can be useful. When buyers reach out they are often looking for expertise and not a demo Sooner they get the answers, the faster they can move through the buyer’s journey Don’t try to slow them down with relentless qualifying questions or irrelevant demos. The future of sales will not be driven by 30 min demo calls It will be won by sellers that respond fast, solve real buyer problems and earn trust in every interaction.  At Zeer AI, we are building research tools that make this future possible. Until then review your content for the 30 min demo calls and keep earning the right to your buyers time.

I had Nick Glimsdahl on the Negotiate Anything Podcast and we were talking about skepticism in the world of business and sales. The conclusion we came to was that since many of us feel like we are constantly being marketed to, we shut down much faster when we sense this happening. This is a frequent occurrence for those in the sales industry. Potential clients start to feel like the only reason you are being friendly is so that you can sell them something. So how do we overcome this skepticism? By breaking predictable patterns. So, here’s an example: Let’s say in a typical sales interaction, you would begin by offering some free advice or asking them about some problem they are having. There’s a high likelihood that many of the people you speak with will assume that you are only offering to help them as a tactic to eventually persuade them to purchase something. This only increases their skepticism and blocks their willingness to listen to what you have to say. In this case, the predictable behavior would be doing just that. Simply asking questions with the goal of turning the conversation towards a sales pitch. So here is something you can do instead. Be genuinely generous, not strategically generous. Create goodwill in the relationship by helping people without expecting something in return. Then, follow your genuine curiosity with authentic advice. One thing Nick likes to say in situations like this is: “Regardless of which company you decide to go with, [Product X]  would be a good decision because of….” It’s the consultative sales process that helps you to be seen as a trusted advisor. Once they realize that you are offering advice without the expectation of anything in return, it makes them more likely to trust you. Ironically, this increases your odds of securing them as a client, in the moment or at some point in the future. #Negotiation #Sales #Business

The best discovery move you’re (probably) not using: The Red Pen Exercise. I’ve watched this technique transform skeptical prospects into vocal champions. And the best part? It’s not about pitching harder. It’s about getting corrected. THE WHAT: Before a discovery call, you put together a 1-slide POV with 3 simple sections: 1) Current State: What you think they’re dealing with 2) Business Impact: The consequences of that problem 3) Future State: Where you believe they want to go Then you say something like: “This is what I gathered based on my research. Can you take a red pen to this and tell me where I’m off?” Frame it softly: “This may be off—but I’d love your feedback on what I got right vs. where I missed.” And then... magic happens. Why it works (7 reasons) 1) People love correcting others Behavioral psychology 101: we’re wired to spot errors. By inviting correction, you lower defenses and trigger engagement. 2) Prep = Respect 82% of B2B buyers say sellers are unprepared for meetings (Forrester). Showing a POV proves you’ve done your homework. That earns trust and elevates you above 82% of sellers who ask lazy, generic questions. 3) Co-Creation Now the prospect is helping build the case for change with you. This makes your solution feel more like a joint decision, not a pitch. 4) Gets Them Talking Average sellers ask weak questions like “What’s keeping you up at night?” and get 1 word answers. Red pen sellers do not. 5) You Learn More You get validation or correction instantly. You take the guesswork out. 6. It accelerates urgency Once you build a shared understanding of the current problem and ideal outcome, it’s easier to bridge the gap and create urgency. Read Gap Selling if you don't know what I'm talking about. 7.Sales Process Discovery is not a stage, it's a process. This info is CRITICAL in running a proper sales cycle with qualified buyers and will help you disqualify non-ICP fits. TAKEAWAY: The Red Pen Exercise isn’t about being “right.” It’s about being useful. Show up with a hypothesis. Let them sharpen it. Now you’re solving problems together. Give it a try this week.