As a sales executive, a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition is by helping clients manage the project your solution is supposed to help. While this is known as a "consultative sale" and might seem like nothing new, ask yourself: how many salespeople actually have a system for it?

Salespersons are trained to sell, not to consult. So most people do not do well in "consultative sales" despite what they said when they were interviewed.

Fortunately, those of you who discovere...