By: Mollye Rhea
Consultative sales, also known as needs-based selling, is a sales approach where relationship managers act more like advisers than salespeople to unlock more value for both parties. The long-term relationship is the priority, not just a single transaction.
For Momentum offers consultative sales training (CST) that is effective because it goes beyond theory. We walk in practitioners’ shoes every day. We’ve built effective prospecting and partnership discovery techniques over 20 years in providing services to nonprofit clients.
Our training has been tried and tested across hundreds of workshop participants and their unique skill-building needs. Each curriculum is customized to the nonprofit’s:
- Training needs
- Learning objectives
- Target audiences
- Budget and timing
“I love that the instructors have been in the field. It adds trust and credibility!” — Arthritis Foundation CST Attendee
Training Snapshot: the Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation hired For Momentum to deliver a two-day CST workshop to nearly 100 employees. The group included a range of national development staff in corporate, major gifts and special events, as well as field leadership including executive directors and associate directors.
In preparation for a customized approach to this training, For Momentum reviewed a wide range of the Foundation’s materials including sales process tools, collateral materials, development goals, organization team charts, position descriptions and other relevant content.
This review helped us uncover customized focus areas for the training:
- Master the four components of the consultative sales cycle—prepare, explore, create and steward
- Learn effective questioning and active listening techniques
- Develop customized solutions for prospect needs
- Enhance negotiation and objection-handling skills
- Gain insights into individual and colleagues’ unique communication styles
- Foster stronger teamwork and collaboration
- Enhance leadership skills and adaptability
- Improve overall workplace communication
“I learned a lot and have a solid background in corporate sales and marketing. Things change and evolve and I learned updated techniques that will now help me be more efficient in my outreach.” —Arthritis Foundation CST Attendee
The learning objectives for this team were delivered via a dual focus over the two-day training. The first day led the Foundation employees through an interpersonal communication style assessment and series of team-building exercises. These focused on improving team communications both internally and externally when selling and building collaborative partnerships.
Day two focused on interactive training where the Arthritis Foundation staff learned how to build meaningful relationships with corporate collaborators, actively listen to their partners’ needs and tailor solutions to address specific business goals and challenges. Our expert facilitators guided their team through interactive sessions. These included role-playing exercises and real-world scenarios to equip teams with the tools needed to excel in consultative sales and expand partnership success.
“Very informative. Helped me see myself in a new light and re-think how I should interact with some coworkers to be more efficient for each of our working styles.” —Arthritis Foundation CST Attendee
Training results:
The goal of the Foundation’s CST course was to expand team sales effectiveness through workshop attendance and team building.
The Arthritis Foundation team reported they learned:
- How to create win-win relationships with corporate partners and sponsors.
- Techniques to better connect with colleagues and prospective partners based on their communication style.
Workshop attendees also provided strong feedback through our evaluation surveys that the training was engaging, relevant and provided practical tools that will directly help them in their development roles.
“This training unlocked new approaches to our sales process that will enable our team members to build and maintain strong relationships with our corporate partners,” says Cari Crady, Arthritis Foundation’s vice president of national partnerships. “We also gained valuable insight into our personal communication styles and how to use them to produce more impactful proposals and meaningful partnerships.”
The information and strategies presented over the two-day CST training not only provided immediate learning opportunities but also facilitated the integration of CST principles and concrete post-workshop supervisory tools that the Arthritis Foundation team can use for years to come.
About the Arthritis Foundation
Arthritis affects nearly 60 million adults and hundreds of thousands of children. The Arthritis Foundation is boldly pursuing a cure for America’s #1 cause of disability while championing the fight to conquer arthritis with life-changing science, resources, advocacy and community connections.
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