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Selling Services

A product is tangible. You can see it and touch it. A service, by contrast, is intangible. In fact, a service does not even exist when you buy it.

Before you try to sell to the company, understand and satisfy the person. Most professionals think their clients are buying expertise. What they are really buying is the relationship. They want to feel valued.

Buying services (or choosing not to buy) isn't just a rational exercise in problem solving, it's a response to a perceived risk. The risk in buying professional services is very personal. The product is intangible, the stakes are high, the "product" being bought is partly people, the range of outcomes is wide and unclear, and the seller has command of technical expertise that the buyer does not. There is pure financial and business risk, but there is great emotional and political risk as well.

Sales of products, that are largely rational in nature, should focus heavily on credibility and reliability. It's a linear process of problem definition, alternatives generation, and criteria-based selection. Selling is a distinct discipline, consisting of helping the buyer by clarifying information, answering questions and offering implications. The whole process is highly rational.

Selling professional services is different from other selling. It is more psychological and more personal. The professional services sale is by no means an irrational process, but neither can it be described in rational terms alone. The data, our belly, in this case, are right. Sales of services, that have more non-rational issues at stake should put more emphasis on intimacy and self-orientation.