y last article covered how to open a sales call with a sound bite, which is a succinct, compelling statement about who you are and what you have to offer. This article explores the technique of consultative selling.

For many people, the word "salesman" calls to mind a pushy, fast-talking hawker of used cars. They envision a smarmy person monopolizing the conversation to manipulate them into buying something they don't want.

Unfortunately, this is also the image many salespeople have of their profession. Yet, most of the successful sales professionals I know do not fit this image.

They do more listening than talking, and they don't need to push to close deals. They use consultative selling.

The consultative approach

In simple terms, consultative selling is finding out what customers need and then offering them solutions that best meet those needs. So how do you do this?

After you've gotten a merchant's attention with your sound bite, set the agenda for the remainder of the discussion. When you set the agenda, you control the sales call, and the prospect knows what to expect.

Here's an example of agenda setting:

"I would like you to take a few minutes to tell me about your payments program. Tell me what you like and don't like about it. I will likely have questions about your program, and then I will tell you in general terms what I can do to save you money and help you make more money. If you like what I have to say, I will collect some information from you and then prepare a formal proposal. The whole process should take about 15 minutes. Does this sound all right to you?"

This step-by-step explanation lets prospects know what will occur in the meeting. It briefly explains where things will lead if prospects are amenable to proceeding.

It gives potential customers the justification for spending valuable time on a sales call: to save them money and/or help them make more money. With this approach, prospects also know just how much time they are committing.

The final question gets prospects to buy into the process. This step is important so they are committed to giving you the requisite time and attention.

Ears in gear

When prospects tell you about the pros and cons of their payments programs, it's very important that you listen to them. Don't dominate the conversation. As prospects speak, ask probing questions and take notes.

Ask likely candidates for gift and loyalty cards about their gift certificate programs. Also, find out what cards your prospects accept, how they handle checks, what their losses are, their average ticket size and bankcard volume.

If you encounter merchants who don't take American Express Co., Discover Financial Services or PIN debit cards, find out their reasons. Make sure they tell you what they like and don't like about their current programs; this will reveal their hot buttons, both positive and negative.

Once you have a good feel for your prospects' programs, suggest changes that might improve their operations or that will pique their interest. If pricing is the main issue for a particular merchant, then you should mention you can very likely lower his costs.

Don't mention lower rates, because you may be able to save the prospect money without lowering rates. If a merchant is focused only on lowering rates, however, you may have to offer that possibility.

Proposal prequel

You don't have to get too detailed yet, because you don't have all of the data you will need to present an effective proposal. Just give enough information to get your prospects to buy in for the next step, which is the formal proposal.

You can obtain commitment from prospects with questions like, Do these ideas sound like something that would be of interest to you? or, If I can save you money, would you be interested in seeing a proposal?

After securing your prospects' agreement, obtain merchant-account statements so you can analyze their programs. Then schedule a day and time to present your proposal. It's important to set the follow-up meeting at this point because it's often difficult to reach merchants to set appointments.

Now you have set the stage for the proposal presentation: You have identified the hot buttons for your prospects. You have bounced some prospective ideas off of them. And you have all the information you need to put together a compelling proposal and win their business.

You have approached your sales from a consultative perspective rather than that of a pushy salesperson. Try this technique, and you will discover consultative selling is a whole lot easier and more successful than the old hard sell.

Ken Boekhaus is Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for Electronic Exchange Systems, a national provider of merchant processing solutions. Founded in 1991, EXS offers ISO partner programs, innovative pricing, a complete product line, monthly phone/Web-based training and quarterly seminars. For more information, visit EXS' Web site at www.exsprocessing.com or e-mail Boekhaus at kenb@exsprocessing.com . EXS is a registered ISO/MSP for HSBC Bank USA, N.A.