Starting several decades ago, the term “consultative selling” became a popular concept in selling circles. Gradually gaining popularity over time, the term became a popular way to describe a sales methodology where the salesperson showed interest in his prospect, engaged the prospect in conversation to understand his needs, and then presented specific product or service offerings that meet the specific needs of the prospect. In reality, this is just plain good selling practice, it’s not consultative selling.

All of those activities were admirable decades ago, as they are today. “Consultative selling” remains in use today in the lexicon of the sales industry. But I think it may be time to retire it. Here’s why: Being a “consultative salesperson” is not the same as being a “consultant.”  

Sometimes salespeople, in an effort to use “consultative selling” techniques, begin to act as if they are a consultant. The problem is this: a consultant receives compensation, usually on an hourly or project completion basis, for providing expertise and knowledge to his clients; A salesperson receives compensation, often on a commission basis, for generating revenue from her customers. These are two entirely different roles.

Salespeople must first and foremost have expertise in the generation of revenue. Commission salespeople don’t get paid until they sell something, and every hour invested in activities that don’t result in the creation of revenue is an hour the salesperson will have worked, but for which he will never receive compensation.

The primary product of the consultant is knowledge in his area of expertise. An hourly consultant gets paid for every minute of effort he spends on his client, as agreed upon between the client and the consultant. Of course, consultants must have customers, so selling their prospect to buy their services also enters into the picture, and salespeople must also have expertise in their product area so they can advise their customers, but the differences between the salesperson and the consultant remain, and each has a distinct identity. So if you sell for a living, go ahead and embrace the tenants of consultative selling. But don’t confuse consultative selling with being a consultant.

If you’re an Interior Designer working as a consultant, you get paid an hourly or project rate. You’ll do whatever the client wants you to do in exchange for your fee. The client is buying your time. You’ll use your time to design or select products or advise your client. Even if the advice to the client is difficult for the client to swallow, or the client decides not to purchase the products you’ve recommended, you will still get paid, because you’re getting paid as a consultant.

On the other hand, if you’re a salesperson (in this case, let’s choose furniture as the product since it’s in a similar realm as interior design services), you have to exchange your product for your customer’s money in order for you to get paid. You don’t get paid to offer advice or generate quotes or select fabrics. You get paid when a customer places an order.

In the course of my career as a sales trainer and management consultant, I’ve run into many salespeople who have confused these two roles. The problem with confusing the two roles is that the salesperson can easily act like a consultant, but when he gets paid like a salesperson, you have a potentially disastrous situation – one that is possibly even a career-ending.

I’ve witnessed salespeople many times who tell the customer everything they know about their product (to keep in the same product area, let’s choose upholstered furniture, for example). They explain the differences between available sofa spring systems, information about foam cushions and fabrics, differences in arm and back styles, and they may even recommend a particular product because it’s “good design” or “perfect for your room.” Yet, when the customer doesn’t buy from the salesperson, he is left with an empty bank account, even though he has shared his expertise with the prospect. Repeat this scenario too often and the salesperson will either leave her position because she’s not earning enough money to meet her own expectations, or her manager will make that decision for her.

Imagine the difficulties a football team’s quarterback would have in achieving his goals if he confused his modus operandi with that of a defensive end. The quarterback’s responsibility is to get the football into the end zone, yet the defensive end’s role is to rush the quarterback on passing plays. The quarterback would experience constant internal conflict, and nothing would get accomplished. It wouldn’t take long for team management to pull the quarterback from the game.

Just like any members of any organization, salespeople need clarity of purpose to be able to maximize their performance. One of the biggest points of clarity for every salesperson is to know, without any question or doubt, that their role is to generate revenue. If you’re a salesperson, develop this singular focus and you’ll likely find yourself using your time and energy in a way that is congruent with your goals. If you manage salespeople, make sure you achieve this same clarity in the minds of all your direct reports. This is especially important if your salespeople have the word “consultant” in their title (such as “Design Consultant” or “Product Consultant” or whatever).

Salespeople do many things in their day-to-day job roles, but their number one task at all times is to create revenue.

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