Free Advice

Are you giving business away?

At first I laughed when my friend relayed this sad but true story to me. A junior and a senior sales rep (my friend) were on a joint call. The prospect liked their presentation and said he wanted to move forward with the sizable investment. The junior rep told the prospect that since it was such a big decision he would probably want to sleep on it. (You can probably sense my friend about to erupt.)

This was repeated recently when we took my dad in for some devices that will make his life easier and more enjoyable. The person we dealt with loved her job and she was great at it. She told us about the product, gave us tips to help my dad and shared with us why she chose her profession and the satisfaction it gave her.

Be confident

After testing, samples and discussion it came time to talk price. She immediately became uncomfortable. After writing model names and numbers along with prices on a sheet of paper she gave the paper to us and said, “You’ll want to take this with you to help make your decision.” Whoa! Don’t you want our business? Aren’t you even going to ask us if we want to buy?

Solve the problem

Let’s back up. Before whipping out the prices, she should have asked us if her product helped solve my dad’s problem. This means reinforce his need. Confirm that he feels better off with her product than without it. My dad obviously felt there was a big difference because he asked me if I thought he should get them.

You all know (or at least should know) the reasons why your customers buy from you. Use that information to help your customers and yourself. First figure out their problem. Then confirm how they will benefit if the problem is solved. Finally, make sure they understand that your product or service will solve the problem and get them to realize the value to solving the problem.

Don’t be afraid to ask

We did her job by asking questions about the features, advantages and potential benefits of the product. We then zeroed in on two alternatives and picked the one that we felt did the best job. Never once were we asked to buy.

We were, however, asked if we wanted to make a deposit. Here’s how it was phrased, “I’m supposed to get a deposit but if you don’t want to make one that’s okay.” We replied that we could make a deposit. “I’m supposed to get half but if you only want to do 20% that’s okay.” We told her we could leave half. “Good,” she said, “then I won’t get in trouble with corporate.”

Selling is not easy. That’s why so many people do so poorly at it. That’s why so many purchases are made in spite of the sales rep. You don’t have to be pushy or inconsiderate but you do have to ask the right questions and show enough aggressiveness to let the customer know you’re proud of your product or service.

© Copyright John Martinka 2003. All rights reserved.