information from the customer, the value wont appear to offset the cost and no business will be transacted.

One consultant in the high-tech field recommends to consultative software salespeople that they keep their briefcases shut until they know what information to offer based on the information theyve first pulled from the customer. The consultative method of selling, the pull style, is necessary in todays business world, because a consultative salesperson is only as good as the value she or he can create for customers. Unless she or he creates value, the salesperson serves no purpose that couldnt be fulfilled by less expensive means, such as inside salespeople, customer service personnel, or distribution channels for goods and services.

Changing from a push style to a pull style can be a challenge to some people. But it is a challenge that they will have to win. In tomorrows sales world, the era of the salesperson functioning as a talking brochure is over, says Neil Rackham.23

Research conducted by John DeVincentes and Neil Rackham predicts a reduction in the number of outside salespeople that companies will use in selling their products, because consultants only add to the cost of doing business.24 Todays clients dont want to spend money unless they see considerable value in doing so. Consultants who dont know how to create value by thoroughly exploring the customers needs wont sell much in the future.

ACTION POINTS

4 Be a puller. Pullers create the best value for their clients by asking lots of good questions. Pullers have a brighter future in selling than pushers.

4 Pushers are a dying breed. Pushers are walking brochures that communicate value instead of creating it. (See Sales Trap 11.)

SALES TRUTH 14: Salespeople come in two types, pushers and pullers, and you cant sell anybody anything unless the buyer has a need for it. Pushers are not as effective as pullers because they dont seek out the customers needs as well.

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sales trap 15: Offer Solutions Early

Heres the conventional wisdom: Dont wait too long before you offer a solution to the customer because the customer will lose interest unless he or she sees the value your solution will provide. This thinking assumes that customers are eager for these solutions, so salespeople must introduce them early in the sales call or sales cycle. If this werent the case, why should the prospect want to see the salesperson? The conventional wisdom doesnt take into account either real-world experience or research. Some salespeople even offer potential solutions in the opening stage of a sales call or midway through the investigative stage in order to demonstrate that they can be of value to the customer. This is bad.

Whats wrong with getting the solutions out early? The salesperson doesnt have a clear sense of whether the solution he or she will offer has sufficient benefit or value to the customer to offset the price the customer will have to pay. The results, as in the following situation, are all too common.

Chris Carter, a loan officer at Fidelity Federal, a medium-sized southeastern bank, makes a sales call to Princeton Printing Services, a potential client with a growing printing and graphics business. This is Chris Carters initial visit to Princeton Printing Services, but he knows Pat, the senior manager, from a previous job. The sales call lasts about an hour and a half. Chris asks the following situation-type questions:

What made you decide to get into the graphics business? Why did you select this particular location? Do you have any other partners or investors? What kind of revenues do you expect to be generating five years