Quick, who makes more money: a salesperson or a consultant? Most of you would respond in favor of the consultant, and you’d be correct. The statistics bear that out.

In a recent survey of 3,119 organizations that have made a recent office technology purchase, 8 out of 10 had no idea those dealerships offered services beyond the traditional copier lease.

In the office equipment business, there has been a longstanding effort to evolve in the direction of solution selling instead of just selling products or hardware. The increasing role of services in the industry is partly the cause. However, the biggest need for change is less about your service mix and more about customer needs.

But consider this:

In a recent survey of 3,119 organizations that have made a recent office technology purchase, 8 out of 10 had no idea those dealerships offered services beyond the traditional copier lease.

It’s a fact that consulting with a solution is preferable to selling a product, and with the economy powering forward, now might be the best of all times to shift to a consultative sales approach.

Here are a few differences between consulting and selling:

• Consultants listen more; salespeople talk more
• Consultants offer insights about performing better; salespeople sell specs
• Consultants shape the customer need; salespeople respond to RFPs
• Consultants solve problems discovered by asking great questions; salespeople quote and hope
• Consultants think long-term and build relationships; salespeople think about month-end and closing the next deal
• Consultants are trusted advisors; salespeople work hard to get meetings

So, are you selling or consulting? Are you solving problems or “bidding”?

At LEAF, we make your solutions more affordable. We want you to know we’re here to help you continue to build your reputation as a trusted consultant and advisor to your customers.

While tons of office equipment sales teams speak confidently on specs, we help sales teams strengthen their position as real financial partners crafting solutions to meet challenging budget or capital issues. I guess you could call us…consultants.