Planning your consultation is a vital first step towards higher customer satisfaction. The following aspects should be considered:

What are your clients' expectations?
The first time a client walks through your door, what perception do you have of his / her expectations? Do you observe the client and imagine what they might be looking for? How does that influence your approach to them?

What does it take to achieve customer satisfaction?
During a consultation, listening is more important than talking! This is the conclusion of a massive research study performed by Neil Rackham, a behavioural psychologist in the US. 

The study, which involved 35,000 sales calls to a number of large US organizations (including Kodak and IBM), showed that the most successful businessmen preferred to ask questions about their customers' problems and needs rather than talk about product features.

How do you earn your client's trust?
Candour, concern and competence are the three most important keys to winning your client's trust. 

Candor 
 - because customers value honesty and appreciate being dealt with in a straightforward manner. 

Competence 
- because knowing the products and services and understanding their applications are crucial to every consultation. 

Concern 
- because customers need to feel that you are sufficiently interested in their needs to be able to recommend the most effective solution.

When you feel sufficiently well prepared, it is time to find out more about the four consultation stages and how they can be used to support a successful consultation.