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The Consultative Process
Overview
Today's business challenges require better products, customized services, and complex solutions. As organizations meet their customers' needs, technical professionals play a critical role in creating and implementing solutions for clients, whether internal or external.
While they are experts in their areas, many technical professionals are not equipped to handle the business side of the project. They need consultative problem-solving skills to create value for clients. Service providers need to integrate their technical skills into a consultative process.
A technical fix with little or no attention to interpersonal or work process issues rarely produces a satisfying solution. By developing skills as a consultant and helping clients find ways to solve business problems, the technical professional becomes a real source of competitive advantage.
The Consultative Process introduces a problem-solving mindset and presents an effective process for consulting with both internal and external clients. It helps technical professionals become comfortable in their role as consultants, and helps them generate greater alignment and commitment with customers by using a win-win problem-solving approach.
Program Overview
Technical professionals, project managers, service providers, and salespeople can better support the needs of their customers and their organization if they act as both technical experts and consultants. A clear focus on client communications and business problem-solving skills will lead to more productive client relationships and solutions.
Program Details
This three-day, instructor-led program examines a business relationship from the customer's viewpoint, and addresses the four "NOs" that restrain the client from willingly engaging in the recommended solution, service, or product. The four NOs include: No Trust, No Need, No Help, and No Satisfaction. Knowing how to effectively address each situation can mean the difference between a successful relationship and an unproductive interaction.
The program comprises five units. The first unit introduces the problem-solving mindset and presents an overview of the consultative process. Each subsequent unit covers the concepts and skills of each phase in the consultative process.
Outcomes
The Counselor Approach unit teaches participants a process for increasing consulting competence, and explains the four phases of the consultative process and the obstacles that typically accompany each phase.
The Relating unit helps participants understand the No Trust barrier, and how relating can address it. Participants learn to initiate the consultative process in a way that communicates empathy and understanding, which builds credibility throughout the process.
The Discovering unit shows participants how to recognize customer behavior that indicates No Need. They learn to understand the client's problem as the difference between the "Have" and the "Want" sides of the Gap Model, and practice using questioning and listening skills to gather information about the problem.
The Advocating unit teaches participants how to understand and recognize the barrier of No Help. Participants can use task and personal appeals to communicate how the solution solves the client's problem, and ask for agreement to the solution.
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