Consultative selling is all about knowing how your customer is going to use your product or service and, more importantly, helping them identify previously unknown areas of need they may have. Now, it seems simple, but something get lost in the translation in many companies. This week, I saw that the global giant Unilever is getting out of the household cleaning category in the US (All, Wisk, etc.) by selling off their brands. What I found amazing was an article in Advertising Age talking about how their CEO and other top people had not been in a laundry room in years. It’s unbelievable how the top people of a major company could not find the time to know how their customer’s really use their product.
With this fact in mind, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that they’re selling this business. The key lesson: Make sure you take the time to really know how your customer and your customer’s customers use your product or service.
