Are you looking for our consulting portfolio? Click on the button for more information about our consulting services.
Consulting services relating to machine, system and process performance are an excellent way to increase the efficiency of production processes. Implement offers in the area of after-sales consulting and expand the standard portfolio of your service department! Choose one of the 5 different forms of consulting.
Value-added services are becoming increasingly important. You can no longer differentiate yourself from the market with standard services and therefore have to regularly discuss the price of your services. Instead, offer services that are individually tailored to the customer and involve them more closely!
In after-sales consulting: closely connected with the customer!
As with all Value Added Services you must also be deeply rooted in the client's processes for the success of consulting services. At the same time, the customer must actively participate in the provision of the service and make their knowledge available to you. The extent to which this should take place must be decided according to the situation.
Be clear about what you want to achieve with your after-sales consulting and use the 5 different approaches presented below as a guide. It is not important to stick 100% to the guidelines. Nevertheless, you should consciously choose the consulting relationship to ensure maximum success depending on the situation.
5 different forms of advice
Delegation approach
Sometimes the customer simply wants to outsource a tedious task to you. The entire provision of the service is then assigned to you. This approach is essentially used in 2 cases.
Either the customer does not have the necessary capacity to provide the service (e.g. in the case of complex market research) or the customer does not have the confidence to provide the service due to a high degree of complexity (e.g. in the case of legal and tax advice). In pure after-sales consulting, both scenarios are rather rare.
Mentoring approach
In mentoring mode, the service provider guides the customer through the entire consulting process. However, all decisions lie with the customer. They are merely guided by the specifications given to them by the consultant. Possible solution options are discussed, but the decision-making process is not tied to them.
Of course, this approach requires some know-how on the part of the customer. The consultant's task here is to simplify the problem and its solution so that the customer can find the right individual solution themselves. However, you do not turn them into experts. In this way, you can secure a constant, sustainable source of revenue.
The consulting intensity is very high and the customer often approaches you with new questions. From a sales perspective, the mentoring approach is very positive. However, it only works if your customer does not want to build up expert knowledge in the company themselves.
Partnership approach
A consulting relationship at eye level. In the end, the customer bears full responsibility for the result achieved. The service provider, on the other hand, reduces its input to the contribution of expert knowledge. Teamwork and a continuous, high-frequency exchange are important.
The customer determines all aspects. As a rule, the partnership approach cannot be realized remotely. The physical presence of the consultant is absolutely essential. As a consultant, you are most challenged in terms of content in this relationship, as the client is playing at eye level with you. Your job is to bring a second perspective to the process, to challenge the client's approaches and to enrich the concepts with your input.
Coaching approach
The coach focuses on keeping the customer's interest and motivation high. They also ensure that the goals set are achieved. The consultant encourages the client to think about issues, provides the necessary feedback and leaves the decision to the coachee. After some time, coaching should lead to the client's independence.
This is the most intensive form of consulting. However, it has the consequence that the customer learns to solve their problems independently and no longer needs the service provider in the long term. At least if it is not possible to switch to a partnership mode and continue to improve the customer's approach through professional feedback and expertise.
Validation approach
The approach with the least intensity. The customer only approaches the service provider in specific situations to obtain a second opinion. Short, topic-specific workshops without a longer-term character are typical for this approach. Nevertheless, this form of consulting can also qualify them for follow-up orders if the client is not so well positioned in other areas and is looking for a more active sparring partner.
Which consulting approach is the right solution depends on the scenario in question. However, these 5 approaches will help you to consciously decide which approach to take. In this way, your after-sales consulting will be far more targeted and you will better meet customer expectations.
