There’s a coaching exercise that takes about five minutes and consistently changes how salespeople think about their work. It starts with one question:
What was the last thing you had to buy?
Something that required thought and something that was not off the shelf. Maybe a car, an appliance, a home service, a phone plan. Something where you had to do research, weigh options, and trust someone to help you make a good decision.
Now the second question: What’s one thing you wish the salesperson had done differently?
Almost without fail, the answers center on the same few things. People wanted to feel heard before being pitched, they wanted someone to ask about their situation, not just quote features and pricing. They wanted to be guided through the decision, not processed through a transaction.
Here’s what makes this exercise powerful: every B2C salesperson already knows these things. They know them because they have experienced the difference between a rep who made them feel seen and one who made them feel like a quota. They carry that knowledge everywhere they go as a consumer.
They just don’t always bring it to work.
This is one of the most common disconnects we see in B2C sales organizations. Teams are often trained on process and product knowledge, but they overlook the opportunity to connect their own buyer experience to the way they show up in front of customers. The result is salespeople who intellectually understand consultative selling but somehow revert back to their own agenda.
The fix does not require a new training program. It requires a different kind of conversation.
Ask your team to think about a recent purchase. Give them a few minutes to genuinely recall the frustration of the research phase, the uncertainty of the decision, the relief when a salesperson actually helped. Then ask what one or two behaviors would have made that experience meaningfully better.
Write those down, because that list is your coaching agenda.
Going through this exercise will also remind them that making these types of purchases isn’t easy. It takes time, it requires patience, and it isn’t always easy to get from the starting line to the cash register. Thinking about their own experiences will help them bring more empathy to their customers. Focusing on setting the customer at ease can be a lot more important than explaining the value proposition of your product.
Thinking like a customer and focusing on the customer are always good strategies. The laboratory is already there. Remind your team to use it.
