The future belongs to businesses that educate before they sell, said renowned entrepreneur and business strategist Er. Pankaj Jaiswal while delivering an insightful session on ‘Sales Ka Jugaad Shastra’ at the Vidarbha Management Association's (VMA) weekly knowledge session held at Chitnavis Centre, Nagpur on Sunday. Drawing upon his extensive experience in retail, wholesale, and manufacturing businesses, Jaiswal highlighted the significant shift in consumer behaviour over the past few years. He observed that today’s customers prefer to understand a product or service thoroughly before making a purchase. As a result, businesses must move away from traditional selling methods and embrace consultative selling.

 

Explaining the concept, he said consultative selling begins with diagnosing the customer’s problem, asking the right questions, listening carefully to the customer’s needs, understanding their requirements, recommending suitable solutions, and finally serving the customer. “Selling is not just about closing a transaction; it is about solving a customer’s problem,” he remarked. Jaiswal stressed the importance of systematic sales planning and encouraged entrepreneurs to become active members of business networking platforms to expand their reach. He also shared a key business mantra: “Sales may go up and down, but service stays forever.” Emphasising customer retention, he added that a sale does not end once the payment is received; it actually begins with after-sales service and long-term relationship building. At the outset, Jaiswal shared his perspective on the economic challenges faced by businesses in recent years, beginning with the post-demonetisation slowdown in 2016 and extending to the global uncertainties arising from geopolitical conflicts, including tensions in the Middle East. The session was moderated by Yogesh Khandelwal. Sunil Bajaj spoke about Whatsapp group usage for business purpose.