A lot of damage has been done to the profession of sales — and capitalism in general — because business people often think their objective is to “make a sale” or “maximize shareholder value.”

For many people, the very words “sales” and “selling” convey pushing something that is not in the best interest of the buyer. Perhaps when people are in desperate need of money, this is understandable. But in most cases, it’s shortsighted. None of us wants to be “sold” anything.

The selfish desire to push something we want is a problem of human nature that exists in all professionals. There are physicians who push unneeded procedures on patients and there are used-car salespeople who serve the best interests of their customers. Professionalism is demonstrated by serving customers, not exploiting them, by helping them accomplish their objectives, not pushing our products or services. This is particularly important if we sell expertise because we no one will accept or buy our expertise unless we demonstrate that we are trustworthy.

Increasing value

Many professional service providers are good at executing on a project once it has been sold, but not very good at conducting a customer diagnosis upfront to determine the right solution, and sell it. Conducting a good customer diagnosis upfront earns trust, uncovers opportunities, ensures the right solution is proposed, delivers more value to customers, closes more sales that are higher value sales, and increases customer satisfaction. That’s a lot of value!

Here are six steps that will help you conduct a good customer diagnosis and increase your value to customers whether you’re new business or product development:

1. Identify the economic buyer (the person who can write the check)
2. Develop a solid professional relationship with him/her
3. Gain mutual agreement about the buyer’s objectives
4. Determine why the desired results are important, personally and organizationally
5. Determine where and why they are currently struggling (their important unsatisfied needs)
6. Consider how the buyer will measure success

Don’t we all want our professional service providers to establish this information with us before they propose a solution? When done well, doesn’t this demonstrate expertise, professionalism, and build trust better than any sales presentation ever could? It’s important to understand that, as professional service providers, we are rendering expert service to prospective customers simply by asking good questions. Asking good questions helps customers understand their situation and options better. This delivers great value to customers even if they don’t move forward to work with you. We should never be bashful about helping clients understand their challenges and options better.

Like learning any new skill, getting good at executing these steps in a conversational way takes practice. But even when our questions are clumsy, which they often will be, people will still appreciate our effort to understand their objectives and situation before we suggest a solution. This skill is often what separates leaders from the pack. Leaders have the good character, knowledge, and skills to determine the right solution for each customer. Other service providers simply sell what they know how to do.

No one wants to be sold anything, but everyone wants to acquire value. Maybe it’s time to stop pushing solutions and start asking more questions.

(A version of this article first appeared in The Business Journals, November 6, 2016)