Instead of leading with a pitch, Conceptual Selling encourages salespeople to research and listen to their prospects to build a mutually beneficial relationship.

The idea is to get the prospect to buy the concept of a solution rather than a specific product or service. In other words, salespeople should try to learn what the customer’s ideal solution is (i.e., their concept) and what their decision process looks like to better tailor a solution for them.  

The core of the Miller Heiman approach involves three steps:

1. Categorizing the different contacts/roles by their influence on the given sales cycle
2. Determining a potential client’s level of support for your proposition by flagging those who would support as well as those most likely to oppose the proposal
3. Influencing that chosen crowd to help them reach a consensus for their buying decision

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