Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/549054
AUGUST 2015 14 THE JOURNAL Misreading Customers Means Missed Sales BY JOHN GRAHAM SALES MARKETING Selling is never easy. Never. But salespeople often make it even tougher for themselves by sending customers away empty-handed. It isn't that customers don't find what they want or what they're looking for. It's just that they don't want to deal with the salesperson. With the 800-pound Internet gorilla lurking over every sale, today's customers are much more demanding when dealing with salespeople. If the experience doesn't meet their expecta- tions, they're gone. More often than not, misreading customers causes them to look elsewhere—missed sales. It doesn't need to happen and here's how to avoid it: 1. Be sure you're speaking with the right "customer." Wrapped up in every customer is a handful of different customers, who behave dif- ferently depending on the situation. The first job is figuring out which of these customers you're dealing with at the moment so you can respond correctly. Here they are: • The "I want to know more" customer. This cus- tomer requires patience, so ask clarifying ques- tions and get them talking. Don't push, but gently pull them along until they're comfortable. • The "I have all the answers" customer. Let this customer talk and tell you all about it; don't cut them off. This person wants to be the salesper- son so let them feel they made the buying deci- sion on their own. • The "I know what I want" customer. By listen- ing carefully to these customers, you may find inconsistencies in their thinking. Then by asking them follow up questions, these customers may recognize that what they thought they wanted was not a good idea after all. • The "I can't make up my mind" customer. Here, the salesperson becomes a resource, of- fering options and comparisons and making note of the customer's responses so the person can recognize the best solution. By making sure you're talking with the right customer, salespeople take a big step toward making the sale rather than losing it. 2. Think individuals, not groups. Even though everyone is unique, we lump people into groups—doctors, servers, business owners, blue collar, boomers, Gen Z, old people, Hispanics, and on-and-on. In reality, we know that all Hispanics, accountants, or electricians are not the same. For example, out of the nearly 80 mil- lion 18 to 35 year-old Millennials, there's a seg- ment of 6.2 million with an annual family income of $100,000 or more. They're the Af- fluent Millennials and they're quite different from the other 62 million non-affluent Millenni- als of the total group. According to a study, Money Matters: How Affluent Millennials are Living the Millennial Dream, this group is in a second phase. "Com- pared to non-affluent Millennials, affluent Mil- lennials over index when it comes to changing jobs, buying a home, and making home im- provements in the last 12 months," and they also "over index when it comes to expecting a child in the next 12 months," states FutureCast, the study sponsor. It's clearly good to be cautious when making marketing and sales assumptions about any group. Basing decisions on opinion, inaccurate information, or hearsay leads to misreading cus- tomers—and missed sales. 3. Don't stop with first impressions. A mar- keting manager called about meeting to talk about working with his company. After a 400- mile drive, he arrived in a near-ancient pick up truck, wearing ragged jeans, a wrinkled shirt, and dirty boots. There was little doubt about that first impression: the meeting was going to be a waste of time. Not recognizing it, we instantly pigeonhole customers—and that can be a mistake. First im- pressions may not tell the whole story. The man in the dirty boots is a good example. He was for real; his company became our largest account. Never get carried away with first impressions, and be prepared to discard those that don't fit. 4. Always offer options. There's a lot to learn from companies that do a great job captur- ing customers by offering options. The Honda Accord, for example, comes in several models, each with a basic price: LX, Sport, EX, and EX- L. Choices engage customers so they don't go away. To be effective, options must be realistic and not so many that they become confusing or frus- trating to customers. A financial advisor may present three scenarios for a client's considera- tion, while a real estate agent may show a client several styles of homes. Options should create discussion and further interaction. 5. Don't tell customers what to think. "Do you love it?" asked the interior decorator after delivering the reupholstered sofa cushions. The couple murmured a few words, "It's bright and different." But at that moment, one thing was certain; they didn't love it. Far too often, salespeople make the mistake of trying to "guide" customers, tell them what to think: "This a great buy." "Isn't this a perfect floor plan for your family?" "Don't you just love the color?" "This is going to look great in your home." Customers want help and suggestions, but they don't want salespeople telling them what to think. When that happens, it's a turn off. 5. Forget about customer loyalty. It's only human to believe that we have loyal customers. When some leave, we make excuses as to why they left. It's tough seeing customers leave. It's as if they are rejecting us. It negates everything we've done for them. Breaking up is painful, particularly after making customer care a top pri- ority and bending over backwards to satisfy them. We think that customers show their appreciation by being loyal to a company, brand, or salesperson. However, what we label as loyalty may be some- \ 23