Conversational Selling | What it is, Benefits and Best Practices | 2024 Reveals

Are you struggling to close sales despite having plenty of leads coming in? It could be because your potential customers miss the human connection and interaction they need to build trust with your brand.

That's where conversational selling comes in. Using a personalized, two-way dialogue approach, conversational selling can help boost your sales efforts and increase your conversion rates. 

In this article, we'll explore what conversational selling is. What benefits it offers? And the most effective techniques for achieving successful outcomes.

Overview

Table of Contents

• Overview
• What Is Conversational Selling?
• Benefits Of Conversational Selling
  • Build trust and relationships
  • Provide Personalized Solutions
  • Improve Sales Performance
• 5 Best Conversational Selling Techniques
  • Use Active Listening Skills
  • Show The Empathy
  • Use Positive Language
  • Ask Open-Ended Questions
  • Leverage Online Platforms
• Key Takeaways 

Tips for Better Engagement

• Type of sale
• B2B sales
• B2C sales

What Is Conversational Selling?

Imagine you're talking with a good friend - you both listen actively, ask questions, and share feedback. There's no dominating or controlling the conversation. And it flows naturally based on your responses and reactions. You exchange information and ideas, and the discussion evolves over time.

In conversational selling, it's the same idea. 

Conversational selling is a sales approach that prioritizes building relationships with potential customers through personalized, two-way conversations on online platforms like chat, social media messaging, email, or website. In conversational selling, the salesperson listens attentively to the potential customer, asks questions to understand their needs, and offers personalized solutions based on their responses.

Instead of pushing a product or service, the goal is to build a connection and earn the customer's trust.

Benefits Of Conversational Selling

Conversational selling is an efficient sales strategy that not only helps salespersons improve their skills, but also helps businesses build lasting relationships with customers, differentiate themselves from competitors, and drive growth and revenue.

Here are some benefits that Conversational Selling brings:

Build Trust And Relationships

Conversational selling allows businesses to interact with potential customers on a more personal connection. Therefore, they can build trust and rapport that can lead to long-term relationships by engaging in two-way conversations and actively listening to customers' needs without pushing them to buy something.

Provide Personalized Solutions

Through conversational selling, businesses can better understand customers' pain points and provide personalized solutions that meet their unique needs. This approach helps to differentiate businesses from their competitors and positions them as trusted advisors rather than pushy salespeople.

According to McKinsey and Company's research, customers today regard personalization as the default level of engagement. 

• 71% of customers want businesses to provide personalized experiences, and 76% are upset when this fails. 
• 72% expect businesses to recognize them as individuals and understand their interests. Consumers asked to explain customization relate it to feeling appreciated and special. They are more likely to respond positively when brands display an investment in the relationship rather than just the transaction. 
• Companies that thrive at personalization create 40% more revenue than regular players from these efforts.

Improve Sales Performance

As mentioned above, by focusing on personalizing purchasing needs and building relationships with customers, conversational selling can lead to improved sales performance. In addition, when customers feel appreciated and unique, the chance of closing deals can also increase significantly.

At the same time, by taking a consultative approach and offering solutions that address customers' needs, businesses can position themselves as problem-solvers and build a reputation for delivering results.

5 Best Conversational Selling Techniques

Here are some conversational selling techniques that you can use to engage potential customers and close deals:

Use Active Listening Skills

When listening actively to a customer, you can identify their needs and concerns and sense their feelings to provide solutions that meet their needs. This makes the customer feel understood and valued, rather than like a random stranger making a purchase.

Some questions that can assist you in eliciting customer needs and listening better are:

• "So if I understand correctly, you're looking for a solution that will help you streamline your workflow?"
• "I want to make sure I understand your needs correctly. Can you clarify what you meant by that?"

Show The Empathy

Empathy is a crucial skill in conversational selling, as it allows you to put yourself in the customer's shoes and understand their perspective.

When the customer feels empathized, they are more likely to trust the salesperson and open up about their concerns and pain points, which then be used to provide customized solutions that meet their needs.

Showing empathy means showing the customer that their needs are important and they are much more than just a sales target. It can help to build a strong trust relationship between you and the customer, which creates long-term loyalty.

Here are some ways to do that:

• Repeat and paraphrase. After the customer has finished speaking, repeat and translate their concerns to demonstrate that you have understood their point of view and you value it.
• Acknowledge their feelings and emotions. It can be as simple as "I can imagine how you must feel".

Use Positive Language

Language is an important aspect of conversational selling, especially in online platforms where the conversation is text-based. Here are some tips and examples for using language to have an effective sales conversation:

Use a friendly and conversational tone:

• "Hi there! How can I assist you today?"
• "Thanks for reaching out! I'm happy to help."

Avoid using jargon and technical language:

• "Our product is easy to use and doesn't require any technical expertise."
• "We offer a simple solution that doesn't require complicated installation processes."

Using positive language:

• "Our product will help you save time and increase productivity."
• "You'll love our service because it's designed to make your life easier."

Keeping it concise:

• "Our solution is designed to save you time and increase efficiency."
• "Our product is user-friendly and doesn't require any complicated setup."

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Asking open-ended questions is a conversational selling technique that encourages the customer to share more information about their needs, expectations, and challenges. It allows the salesperson to gain a deeper understanding of their customers, and offer tailored solutions that meet their specific needs.

Some examples of open-ended questions that you can use include:

• "How would you describe your ideal outcome?"
• How do you see this [solution] fitting into your overall goals?
• "Can you tell me more about your specific needs?"

Leverage Online Platforms

Whether it's taking care of or closing deals with online customers, you must understand the platform you're using, understand customer behavior, and take advantage of its features. Here are some tips:

• Quick response time: Customers expect a quick response time in an online conversation. So you need to respond promptly and avoid making the customer wait.
• Use multimedia: Incorporate multimedia such as images, videos, and interactive content to make the conversation more engaging and memorable.
• Use social proof: Social proof, such as customer reviews and testimonials, can build trust and credibility online. Incorporate social proof into the conversation to help the customer feel more confident in their decision-making.

Key Takeaways 

Conversational selling is a powerful approach that can help businesses build stronger customer relationships and close more deals. By focusing on establishing connections, actively listening to customers, and providing personalized solutions, salespeople can create a positive and engaging buying experience. 

And don't forget to use AhaSlides to create interactive presentations to train and improve your team's sales skills! Our pre-made templates and features will help your audience engage and help to gather valuable insights in real-time better than ever!