Are They Open to a Sale?

No Sale Sign on Cash RegisterSelling a product is a hard job. It’s certainly not a job I would want. Sometimes though, I think sales people make it even harder for themselves. It’s drilled into their head that they can’t let anything stand in their way of making a sale and their customers feel it.

Recently, we had a door to door salesman that really started off on the wrong foot and missed all three of the areas below.  We have no soliciting signs and really don’t take kindly to those who choose to ignore them therein riling up our dogs.  The other day we had just arrived home when before we could even get out of the car we had a salesman who rushed over to try and talk about roofing. 

Needless to say, he wasn’t very warmly welcomed.  First off, our roof is in good shape so we’re not interested.  Second, we don’t buy from door to door salesman, regardless of what they’re trying to sell.  Third, his approach completely put us on the defensive and slammed shut and bolted a door that was already closed to him.

I’ll admit, for some people, an aggressive sales person may win out in the end, but at what cost?

It seems like it’s the rare sales person that tries to determine whether a customer is even open to a sale.  I would put several factors under being open to a sale including interest, financial and approach.

Interest

Has the customer expressed any interest whatsoever in your product?  Are you assuming they’re interested?  Why waste time trying to sell someone a product they have zero interest in or use for? Are you trying to sell them the wrong product based on you assumptions?

For example, say you sell backyard playground equipment.  You spot a woman walking near by, you approach her and before she has a chance to say no, she’s not interested, you launch into your spiel.  By the time you finish she’s flustered by your approach and frustrated by you wasting her time, especially as she doesn’t have kids.

Believe it or not, I see this sales approach happen a lot.  Yes, you could argue that every person you come in contact with is a potential customer either now or in the future, but if you start off on the wrong foot with them, they will remember the less than positive experience they had with you more than your product.

Financial

Can they afford your product?  Are they willing to spend what your product costs? Are they even the decision maker? Are they still narrowing down their options?

Now, I’m not saying you should pass judgment on whether or not a potential customer can afford your product based on looking at them.  You’d be surprised how often you can be wrong using that as a factor.  But simply asking questions to determine whether your product might be a good fit for them will give you valuable insight, especially as many customers may be able to afford to spend the amount you want, but they’re not open to doing so.

Approach

Personally, I think this is one of the most important factors.  Personally, I don’t like overly push salesman.  If the product is good, it will sell itself.  Patronizing me won’t get you a sale.  Ignoring no soliciting signs probably isn’t going to start you off on the right foot.  Interupting a conversation to try and sell your product probably won’t get you far although many mall cell phone salesman seem to think otherwise.

As I said, sales is a hard job, but why make it harder for yourself by not qualifying your customers with a few questions and tailoring your approach to fit the customer and the situation?

Customer Complaint Isn’t a Swear Word

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Have you ever given much thought to customer feedback?  It certainly incites a wide variety of feelings in most people, both good and bad.  Customer service is certainly a frequent topic of discussion.  But do you really listen to your customers?  Or does customer feedback simply go into the circular file, written off as it’s them, not us.

One of the things that my marketing research professor said that’s really stuck with me was that marketing surveys are inherently skewed because unless people feel strongly one way or the other, there’s no motivation for them to respond.  In general customer service is the same way.  If a customer is taking the time to contact you about your product or service, more than likely they have strong feelings about it and more often than not are contacting you because they want you to make it right.

Know what turns an angry customer into a storm of negativity?  Treating their issue like it’s unimportant or worse, ignoring them completely.

Know what can turn an angry customer into a brand advocate?  Taking the time to truly listen to them and when possible addressing their issue.  While a customer certainly will appreciate a company that goes above and beyond to address their issue, sometimes, just having the company acknowledge their opinion and take it into consideration is enough.  Remember, if they didn’t care, they wouldn’t bother.

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5 Reasons Zappos is Killing Customer Service

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It’s hard to not have a conversation about customer service and not mention Zappos, but I have to say, they’re wrecking customer service.

1. They make you expect a real person when you call instead of numerous levels of automation hell.

2. Not only do you expect a real person, you expect someone who is friendly, speaks your language and is knowledgeable about their products.

3. You expect your issues to actually be dealt with rather than shunted from person to person until someone finally “accidentally” disconnects the line.

4. You expect your items to arrive within a timely manner.

5. You expect to be treated as a valued customer.

Customer service is truly an important part of every business, but entirely too many companies cut corners and think of it more as a side note.  What kind of experience are you providing your customers?

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