I wonder if the lady at the tanning salon really knew the meaning of her title embossed on her name tag in bold letters: Tanning Consultant. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I’m kind of pasty white. You know the person you worry about when you see them at the beach. I have three skin types – white, red, or peeling. All this to explain my first trip to the tanning salon. Before you judge me, I had a perfectly logical, even medical reason for visiting the salon. I was working on a little base before heading to Hawaii in the middle of winter. I even had a prescription - tan three times before leaving on my trip.

I’m greeted by a really tan teenager, a little too tan, who has that stare. You know that look adolescents sometimes have when forced to talk to us parental types. But out of the corner of my eye I see her name plate. Awesome! I should be fine. She’s a consultant! I quickly explain my dilemma, knowing she would praise my strategy.

“How long do you want?” She asked beginning her consultative interview.

“Uh, uh…not really sure. I’m kind of new at this. What do you recommend?”

“We just put in new bulbs.” She warned.

Great, sounds exciting, I thought. But not sure what that means. She can tell I’m confused.

“Tans faster.” She said, staring. Waiting on me like I now know what to do.

“How long do you think I need? I’m not that dark,” over stating it a bit.

“Depends. Some people go for 10 minutes and some people for 30.”

Clearly I wasn’t getting any help. I was surprised because her name tag clearly said - Tanning Consultant. I’ll try one more time. “Well I just don’t want to get burned.”

“You could use this lotion.”

“What’s does the lotion do?” I asked, now more confused.

“Some people like it.” She offered as little explanation as possible. I was clearly on my own.

“Let’s just go with 10 minutes.” I acquiesced.

“Booth 5.”

After the blisters went away, every layer of skinned peeled off. I spent the first three days in Hawaii hiding from the sun. For one simple reason: I was in charge of determining the best solution. I owned the problem. And I had no clue what I was doing.

Maybe they should change the title on her name tag?

Sales consultant is a title that gets thrown around a lot. It’s just a better label. But what does it really mean to be a sales consultant?

In every buyer-seller interaction there is a problem to be solved and someone owns that problem. Whether it’s the best way to get a little base before heading to the beach or determining the solution to inefficiencies in operations, someone has to own the problem. And there are only two options.

If you are a consultant, regardless of what your title is or what the customer says, your desire and approach to every interaction is to own the problem and not just be a dispenser of information.

A consultant leads. A consultant looks at all aspects of the problem, related or unrelated to what they sell, and does everything in their power to determine the best path forward.

If the customer owns the problem, then you are simply in a support role: a resource to gather data, answer questions, educate, provide pricing, get coffee, etc. Which is fine if lots of people are walking into your tanning salon and there isn’t a tanning salon next door.

In your next meeting with a customer or prospect, ask yourself a few questions: Who is leading? Who is more invested in the outcome of this initiative, you or the decision-maker? Are you looking for other solutions beyond what you offer to ensure the best solution? What would you do if you owned their company? Do you know how your solution fits into the bigger picture, impacts the whole organization?

The answers, not your business card, will reveal your title.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in November, 2014.