A while back, I was in Las Vegas and decided to catch a comedy show. I do this a lot, so unfortunately, I can’t remember the comedian’s name that I’m about to quote, but he was hilarious. He described going to the grocery store, putting his purchases down, and the cashier saying, “Do you have our card?” He replied, “No.” She said, “Would you like one?”
He yelled to the audience, “NO! I DON’T HAVE YOUR CARD! I HAVE MONEY! I GIVE YOU MONEY, YOU GIVE ME MY STUFF! THAT’S HOW THIS WORKS!” It cracked up the entire audience, and why? Because we’ve all been there. You have too. The ‘rewards card’ used to be a cool thing; now it can be more of a nuisance when every place asks you if you have one, and all you want to do is pay and go. That’s but one example of how, with the best of intentions, businesses can become their own worst enemy when it comes to sales.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m used to being asked if I have ‘the card,’ and (since I never do), if the cashier simply says, “OK,” rings me up, and gets me out of there, it’s no problem. On the other hand, if the cashier acts offended, or worse, makes a contest out of it, then the transaction itself might not happen. At a bookstore last summer (I like bookstores), the cashier took things so far that I simply left my books on the counter, walked out, and I haven’t been back.
For the retail industry, I think some store chains have gotten so obsessed with data gathering that they’ve forgotten that their primary purchase is to sell their products and services. And, if the transaction becomes too inconvenient, the customer just might take their business to another store – or to Amazon.
That’s not the only instance of companies, or salespeople, getting in their own way. There are any number of others, and you might have committed some of them (I have.)
Defense first: Oftentimes, when we’re challenged by a customer, our first instinct is to defend, rather than to understand. A good example is this. There’s a bar and grill very near our house in Kansas City, and I do love a good bar burger. I typically don’t drink alcohol, so my wife and I ordered Pepsis. When we received them, they were flat. As a pancake. I said to the waitress, (politely) “I think your carbonation needs to be changed. These Pepsis are flat.”
The waitress immediately got her back up and defended, saying, “That’s just our Pepsi. All of our other customers drink it just fine.” In other words, there’s something wrong with me for wanting carbonation in my cola. I couldn’t help myself. I said, “You don’t really get the concept of Pepsi. You see, there’s no such thing as ‘our Pepsi’ and ‘their Pepsi.’ It’s supposed to taste the same everywhere.” We left. I would say that we haven’t been back, but we have – the place has undergone two changes of ownership since then.
The problem was caused by the waitress’ first instinct being to defend and fight rather than listen and understand. I have no doubt that she knows that Pepsi isn’t supposed to be flat, but for some reason, she picked a fight. This happens all the time when customers complain, and it can turn a minor issue into a lifelong customer loss.
Selling the product instead of the appointment: When you’re teleprospecting, in most cases, your object is not to sell your product or service, but to sell the appointment. Salespeople who are successful at teleprospecting know this, but salespeople who allow the conversation to go into heavy detail on prooducts and services can kill the appointment by giving the customer an opportunity to give a premature ‘no.’ When you’re teleprospecting, focus on getting the time with the customer, where you can do a quality needs analysis and presentation. (I’ll own this one.)
Upselling past the purchase: I’ll own this one, too, and it’s painful. We’ve talked a little about excessive ‘upselling’ in the retail world. It happens in B2B, too. Here’s what I did:
I had been working with a client on a Recruiting project. This was several years ago, when I was still recruiting. I gave them the proposal and we set a follow up appointment for two days later. During those two days, I thought about it a lot and decided that what the client really needed was a more comprehensive program that included recruiting. You can probably guess what happened. I went back in. They were ready to go on the Recruiting. I presented the other program. They deferred the decision and in fact, have never done business with me. I’m still kicking myself over that one.
When the customer is ready to buy, let them buy – and then worry about upselling.
I often wonder how much business is lost, or shifted, because salespeople won’t get out of their own way. I’m guessing quite a bit.
