Teach Don't Sell: How Educating Your Customers Is Better Than Pitching

Most customers don’t like to be sold to. It is just a fact of modern-day business. The overbearing used-car salesman might be a trope of the past, but an aversion to aggressive pitches practically universal in today’s customer preferences. The shift from the traditional, transactional, and arguably archaic tactics of the past have evolved and refined the sales process into one much more committed to customer education.

Rather than pushing a product of service onto lukewarm prospects, consultative or education-based selling provides customers with the knowledge they need to make informed purchasing decisions. This approach enhances value, improves loyalty, and underscores your brand’s identity. Incorporating educational efforts into your sales process also allows you to share your company’s mission, values, and culture – which in turn helps you build a tribe of aligned customers with whom these ideals resonate.

Take for example outdoor apparel giant Patagonia. The company’s sales and marketing strategy is based on not just selling clothing and gear, but also educating customers on the socially conscious topics the company values, like the environment, sustainability, and the importance of outdoor sports and recreation. When their gear shows signs of wear and tear, rather than simply encouraging their customers to purchase new products, Patagonia offers instructions on how to repair and extend the life of those items. This is all part of an education-based sales and retention process. And thanks to this approach, Patagonia's buyers feel better seen, more informed, and truly valued.

The Positive Effects of an Education-Based Sales Process

The arguments for building an education or consultative-based sales process in your business are numerous and the effects can be profound. Here are a few invaluable results of implementing an education-based sales process:

Increased Customer Trust. By providing your customers with the information they need to make informed decisions, you and your sales team build credibility and better position yourselves as industry or product experts.

Better Customer Retention. Well-informed customers are far more likely to remain loyal to your brand. And the learning process doesn’t necessarily end with the sale. It is important that your customer service reinforces your values and provides purchasers with the information they need to adjust their services or return items. While these post-sale activities are not officially part of the sales process, the ease in which they occur definitely affect customer retention.

More Empowered Customers. By giving buyers the information they need throughout the sales process, you provide them greater agency in their customer experience and reinforce their confidence in making smart purchasing decisions they can feel good about.

Top Tips for Implementing an Education-Based Sales Process

If your sales process needs makeover, the following are some proven ways to implement an education-based approach.

Content Marketing. Overhaul the messaging on your website, social media, and blog posts to reflect more customer-centric, value-based content rather than featuring fire-sale or hyped-up messaging. Remember, don’t sell. Teach.

Know Your Customers. You can gain a lot of insight by listening to your customers’ pain points, concerns, and objections. By understanding their needs, you are better able to provide them with information about your products or services that resonates with them.

Take a Consultative Approach. Active listening is a key skill in consultative-based selling. Ask questions, listen purposefully, and consider your customers’ unique needs and circumstances. If you maintain a one-size-fits-all approach to selling, you risk alienating your buyers.

Provide Free Resources. Product demonstrations, tutorials, and webinars can provide your customers with a first-hand experience of your offerings. Make these resources easily accessible whenever possible by including them on your website. You might consider placing this type of content behind a gated page to capture leads.

Offer Follow-Up Info. Make sure that your sales team reaches out to customers with important updates, new products, or just to check in. Make sure these conversations are more relational than transactional. Connect by phone, email, or even a regular customer newsletter.

Give Them the Big Picture. Explain to your customers not just how your products or services answer their immediate needs, but also how they fit into a broader context. For instance, if your company manufactures office furniture, your customers might be equally interested in both the style of the office desk and the fact you use sustainable materials to build it.

As you implement an education or consultative-based sales process, make sure to monitor and track changes in important customer data including engagement, conversion, and retention. By analyzing this information, you will gain invaluable insight into the preferences of your customers and better understand the information that resonates with them.