Selling intangibles creates a very different sales environment from selling something a customer can immediately touch, test or use. When somebody buys a service, consulting engagement, training program or another intangible solution, they may pay today and wait months before they can fully measure the result. In that moment, they are investing in a promise about what you and your organization will deliver.

I see this in my own business. A company might ask me to train 20 salespeople, agree to the program and pay a 50% deposit before the training begins. I have the deposit, while they have an expectation about the capability of my team, the quality of the program and the business impact we will eventually create.

That changes the way we need to think about selling intangibles. The buyer has to develop confidence in more than the individual service being offered because there is often nothing tangible to evaluate at the moment the decision is made. Trust, credibility, organizational capability and the expected future outcome all become part of the sale.

How Average Salespeople Sell Intangibles

Years ago, Harry Beckwith wrote Selling the Invisible, which remains a useful book for anyone who sells services or other intangible offerings. One of the ideas I have used from that work is the difference between how average and exceptional salespeople approach an intangible sale. The sequence matters because it determines what the buyer is evaluating first.

Average salespeople often lead with price. Once price is on the table, they move into the product or service, describe the features and offer some fairly generic benefits. Eventually they talk about the organization, and somewhere near the end the buyer may learn more about the individual salesperson.

That sequence makes the sale fragile very early. If the price seems too high before enough value has been established, the opportunity can stop there. If the specific product does not immediately appear to fit what the customer believes they need, the conversation can end before either side has explored what else might be possible.

The salesperson has also allowed the buyer’s initial assumptions to define the conversation. The client decides what the problem is, identifies the solution category and asks the salesperson to price it. That may produce a transaction, although it does very little to establish the salesperson as a trusted advisor who can help with larger business decisions.

Following is an Infographic we developed on the core steps and best practices in selling intangibles in a B2B environment, click on the image for a high res. version:

Exceptional Salespeople Reverse the Sequence

Exceptional salespeople who are selling intangibles establish themselves first. Selling yourself in this context means demonstrating your value through the quality of your questions, the depth of the conversation, the expertise you bring and the insights you offer. The client experiences your credibility instead of listening to you describe it.

You do not need to spend 15 minutes walking through your accolades to make that happen. A thoughtful question about the customer’s business can demonstrate far more expertise than another slide about your experience. When you understand the market, recognize what matters and ask questions that help the customer think differently, credibility begins to develop naturally.

From there, you can establish confidence in your organization. Talk about what the company is capable of delivering, the expertise within the team and the capabilities of the partners or vendors connected to the solution. The conversation becomes broader than a single predefined product because the customer begins to understand what the organization can accomplish.

That broader confidence matters when the original solution turns out to be slightly wrong for the situation. A customer who trusts you and believes in the organization’s capabilities may be willing to explore another approach. They have faith that you can work with them to develop something that better fits what they are trying to accomplish.

Selling Intangibles Means Selling a Better Future State

The next step is understanding the better future state the client is actually buying. People invest because they want something to change in their business or their lives. The service is the vehicle that helps them get there.

A better future state can take many forms. It may involve stronger results, a specific outcome, goal attainment, problem solving, loss avoidance, risk mitigation, fulfilling a vision or creating an opportunity that does not currently exist. Your sales discovery process should help the customer define which of those outcomes matter and what they would mean for the business.

This is where consultative selling becomes much more strategic. If we understand the customer’s desired future state, we can begin mapping the relationship between their current situation and where they want to go. We can also explore the barriers, risks and gaps that may prevent them from getting there.

Once the future state is clear, the conversation about money has much more context. Now we can discuss value, return on investment, potential gains, reduction in risk and the business case for making the purchase. Price becomes one element in a much larger decision about what the customer is trying to accomplish.

Great Solution Providers Learn to Sell the Problem

There is another part of this that sometimes makes salespeople uncomfortable. Great solution providers often need to become problem sellers because customers do not always arrive with an accurate diagnosis of what is happening in their business. They may recognize a symptom and assume they already know the underlying problem.

Most of us have done something similar with our own health. We notice a symptom, look it up online and quickly arrive at our own diagnosis, sometimes with fairly dramatic conclusions. Customers do the business version of this every day.

They come to us and say they need a specific product, program or solution because they have already decided what is wrong. The easiest response is to agree, take the order and move on. That feels efficient, especially when questioning the customer’s diagnosis creates the possibility of slowing down or even losing the immediate sale.

A stronger sales discovery process requires enough confidence to tell the customer the truth and ask the harder questions. There will be situations where protecting the long-term relationship means challenging the customer’s original assumption and accepting some short-term friction. That is part of earning the role of trusted advisor.

Selling Risk Means Helping Customers See Their Blind Spots

Some of the biggest opportunities in B2B sales exist in areas the customer has not identified yet. They know about the problem that brought them into the conversation, while another risk, gap or opportunity may be sitting just outside their current field of vision. Great questions help bring those issues into the conversation.

This is what I mean when I talk about selling risk. The salesperson uses business acumen and thoughtful questioning to help the client explore what could happen if an issue remains unresolved, what they may be overlooking and what the impact could be. Where appropriate, we can then help them quantify that impact and determine whether the issue deserves action.

That requires genuine expertise. We have to understand the customer’s world well enough to know which questions are worth asking and which risks are meaningful. Creating unnecessary fear is a poor substitute for business insight and will eventually damage the credibility we are trying to build.

The goal is to create greater clarity for the customer. They should leave the conversation understanding their business better than they did when they entered it. When that happens, you have already created value before the proposal or product presentation begins.

Let the Customer Narrate the Story

One of the biggest temptations for experienced salespeople is telling the customer the story too quickly. We understand their business, recognize the problem and can already see where our solution fits. It can feel efficient to simply explain our analysis and tell them exactly what should happen next.

A better discovery conversation gets the customer narrating that story in their own words. Ask questions that help them describe the current situation, what is driving it, what it is costing them and what might happen if they leave it alone. Then continue exploring until they begin connecting those pieces themselves.

One of my favourite moments in a sales conversation is when somebody says, “I’ve never thought about that, no one’s ever asked me that question about my business.” That response tells me the conversation has moved beyond gathering information for a proposal. We have helped the customer examine their business from a perspective they had not considered before.

There is significant business value in creating that kind of shift. The customer hears themselves talking through the problem, risk or opportunity, and the insight becomes part of their own thinking. You are participating in a strategic conversation rather than trying to persuade them to accept an external sales argument.

Trusted Advisor Selling Requires the Courage to Ask

This is one of the reasons trusted advisor selling is difficult to reduce to a script. Scripts can provide structure, and good B2B sales training should absolutely give people frameworks and processes they can rely on. The salesperson still needs the judgment to listen carefully, recognize an important answer and decide where the conversation should go next.

They also need enough expertise to earn the right to challenge somebody. A hard question without business understanding can simply feel confrontational. A hard question supported by insight, curiosity and a genuine desire to help can cause an executive to stop and reconsider an assumption they have carried for years.

That is where partnership starts to become visible. The salesperson is willing to have a conversation that serves the customer’s interests, even when simply accepting the order would be easier. Over time, that behaviour builds the kind of credibility that creates deeper relationships and larger opportunities.

For sales leaders, this should influence how we develop our teams. Product knowledge, objection handling and presentation skills remain useful, while sales discovery training, business acumen and strategic questioning deserve much more attention. Salespeople need the ability to create value inside the conversation itself.

Four Ways to Improve How You Sell Intangibles

1. Review the sequence of your current sales conversations. Look at whether your team starts with price and product or spends enough time establishing credibility and understanding the customer’s business. Listen to a few real calls and identify where discovery stops and presentation begins. The sequence will tell you a lot about whether your process supports effective selling of intangibles.

2. Define the better future states you commonly create. For each ideal client type, identify the results, outcomes, risks reduced, problems solved and opportunities your organization can realistically help create. Use those insights to improve your discovery questions rather than turning them into another generic pitch. The objective is to help the customer articulate which future state is meaningful to them.

3. Identify the blind spots your best clients often miss. Ask your experienced salespeople, consultants and subject matter experts which risks or opportunities clients commonly discover after working with you. Turn those insights into thoughtful questions that can be used during discovery. Strong consultative selling gives customers an opportunity to identify important issues earlier and make better-informed decisions.

4. Coach your team to create an “I’ve never thought about that” moment. Review the questions your salespeople currently ask and look for places where greater business acumen could improve the conversation. Help them develop questions that encourage clients to narrate their situation, challenge assumptions and examine the consequences of their current path. When you consistently create that level of business value in a conversation, selling intangibles becomes much more about partnership, trust and helping the client make the right decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes selling intangible services different from selling physical products?

When customers buy consulting, training, professional services or other intangible solutions, they are often paying before they can fully experience or measure the result. That means the sale depends heavily on trust, credibility, confidence in the organization and belief in the future outcome. The salesperson has to create confidence in what will happen after the purchase, not simply explain what is being sold.

Why is sales discovery so important in B2B selling?

Customers do not always have an accurate diagnosis of the problem they are trying to solve. They may recognize a symptom and arrive with a solution already in mind. Strong discovery helps uncover the real business issue, the desired outcome, potential risks, barriers and opportunities before deciding what solution makes the most sense.

How do you sell value instead of competing on price?

The key is to understand what the customer is trying to accomplish before focusing on the solution or the investment. Once the salesperson understands the customer’s current situation, desired future state and the business impact of solving the problem, price can be discussed in the context of value, return on investment, risk reduction or opportunity.

What does it mean to sell the customer’s future state?

The future state is the business result the customer ultimately wants to achieve. That could mean stronger revenue, lower risk, improved productivity, better capabilities, solving a significant problem or creating a new opportunity. The product or service is simply the vehicle that helps move the customer from their current situation toward that outcome.

How can salespeople become trusted advisors?

Trusted advisors create value during the conversation itself. They understand the customer’s business, ask thoughtful questions, listen carefully and help customers identify issues or opportunities they may not have considered. They are also prepared to challenge assumptions when necessary rather than simply accepting the customer’s original diagnosis and taking the order.

How Shane Gibson and the Professional Sales Academy Can Help

How can B2B sales training improve the quality of customer conversations?

Effective B2B sales training can help salespeople move beyond basic needs-analysis questions and develop stronger discovery, listening and strategic questioning skills. The goal is to help salespeople understand the customer’s business more deeply, uncover the issues that really matter and create value before they ever present a solution.

How can Shane Gibson and the Professional Sales Academy help sales teams improve discovery?

Shane Gibson and the Professional Sales Academy work with sales teams to develop practical discovery frameworks and better questions around customer goals, business challenges, risks, opportunities and desired outcomes. These can be adapted to the organization’s actual customers and sales environment rather than relying on generic scripts.

Can the Professional Sales Academy help a sales team sell value instead of price?

Yes. A major focus is helping salespeople understand and communicate business value before the conversation becomes centred on price. This includes identifying the customer’s desired outcomes, understanding the impact of the current problem and helping the customer build a clearer business case for taking action.

Can the Professional Sales Academy help build a repeatable sales process or sales playbook?

Yes. The Professional Sales Academy can help organizations turn these principles into a practical sales process or sales playbook. That may include discovery frameworks, strategic questions, sales stages, common customer challenges, desired outcomes and coaching guidelines that give the team a more consistent way to sell.

How can Shane Gibson and the Professional Sales Academy help make sales training stick?

Training works best when the ideas are reinforced in real sales conversations. Shane Gibson and the Professional Sales Academy can help sales leaders turn the training into practical tools, coaching frameworks, playbooks and reinforcement activities. The objective is to make stronger discovery, questioning and value creation part of how the team sells every day.