Virtual Training for Sales Support Professionals

Course Highlights

This sales training course for people who take inbound orders will:

• Outline the shift from order-taking to a consultative approach for better customer engagement.
• Share the GUIDES model for having impactful conversations.
• Offer strategies for asking meaningful questions to uncover customer needs and preferences.

Course Overview

“Beyond Order Taking: Asking the Right Questions for Stronger Sales and Better Customer Service” provides customer service and sales professionals with the skills to shift from a transactional, order-taking approach to a consultative, client-centered strategy. This instructor-led sales training program highlights the distinctions between order-taking and consultative service, illustrating how traditional order-taking can miss opportunities to build meaningful customer relationships. Participants will learn to recognize unproductive habits in customer interactions and explore the benefits of a consultative approach that prioritizes understanding customer needs and offering tailored solutions.

The course introduces the GUIDES model—a structured method for navigating conversations with clients by building rapport, uncovering needs, making thoughtful recommendations, and presenting tailored options. Through this model, participants will gain a roadmap for transforming customer interactions from transactional exchanges to valuable, consultative experiences. They will also focus on crafting purposeful questions that encourage customers to share insights about their needs, preferences, and potential challenges.

By the program’s end, participants will have tools to build deeper connections, respond to objections effectively, and ultimately boost customer satisfaction and sales outcomes.

Program Objectives

At this program’s conclusion, participants should be able to:

• Explain the difference between order-taking and consultative service and sales.
• Identify pitfalls that can occur with an order-taking approach.
• Work through the GUIDES model for building rapport, uncovering needs, making recommendations, and presenting options.
• Identify the questions needed to determine if a product or service is a good fit for a customer.
• Ask questions in an order that encourages open information sharing.
• Demonstrate the consultative service and selling process.
• Respond to objections and concerns with confidence.
• Discuss ten best practices for making the transition to consultative service and sales.

Program Modules

• Get Out Your Fishing Poll: From Order Taker to Consultant
• GUIDES: A Framework for Navigating Conversations
• What You Need to Know: Creating and Ordering Questions
• Hands On: Playing Through a Scenario
• Overcoming Roadblocks: Preparing Responses
• Helpful Reminders: Ten Takeaway Ideas

Target Audience

This virtual training program is designed for groups that want to:

• Transition from order-taking to consultative customer service and sales.
• Equip team members with tools for deeper customer engagement.
• Improve customer satisfaction and increase sales through consultative techniques.

Suggested Format

• Two-Hour Virtual Training Course

Questions This Course Answers About Consultative Service and Sales

• Where can I find a training course to help my team transition from order-taking to consultative selling?
• Who offers a program to improve questioning skills for better customer interactions?
• How can we prepare our team to respond confidently to customer objections?