In today’s environment, salespeople must earn their place in the customer’s buying process.
I was interviewing a salesperson recently who was looking to change industries. When I asked her why, she said, “Oh, because everybody buys their stuff on the Internet nowadays, there’s really no use for salespeople in this industry anymore.” Well, there are a couple of problems with this. First of all, I have clients in her industry. They have successful salespeople that work for them.
The second problem is that, when I asked her what she had done to combat the Internet, I was greeted with a blank stare. “Oh, you know, uh, price…” That’s the sign of a weak salesperson. Interview over. What I find is that salespeople complain and whine about price and the Internet without considering the most important aspect in the customer’s mind – a positive buying experience! A new hobby of mine (or maybe a new twist on an old hobby) perfectly illustrates this.
I’ve just gotten into motorcycles. Some of you who have read this space for years know that I’ve restored and customized cars for years, but bikes are new to me. Between me and my wife, we own a grand total of four vintage Honda bikes (it wasn’t planned that way, just sort of worked out that way). All of them need parts and work. And wonder of wonders, there is a Honda dealership near my house. When I say “near my house,” I mean that it’s closer than my closest grocery store. 3 minutes in the car and I’m there.
Not long after buying my first Honda (my wife already had two), I walked in to check the place out, drool a bit over the new bikes, and maybe find a resource for parts. After walking around the showroom a few minutes, a salesperson came up and said hello. He asked me if he could help me, and I told him that my wife and I owned three vintage Hondas, they all needed some restoration work, and I was also just wanting to look at the new bikes while I was there. His response went something like, “Wow, those are old bikes (note – the model years are between ’75 and ’82 – it’s not like they run on wood wheels or anything)! We don’t really do much with those old bikes, sorry we probably won’t be able to help you.” And then he walked away.
Now, I’ve told this guy, who sells for a Honda dealership, that I’m a new rider and I already own THREE products made by his company. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, I might be a prospect for a new Honda down the road (or Yamaha or Kawasaki, which they also sell)? Or that even if his people couldn’t sell me parts, that I might be able to buy gear there like helmets, saddlebags, etc.? I turned and walked out…quickly. That might have been the end of my local dealer experience, except that my wife wanted to check out some other dealers. So, we visited some others. At one, which is the exact farthest from us in the Metro area, we had a great experience.
When we walked in, the salesperson greeted us and we told him the same story. His response was, “Wow – those are some great old bikes! Before you leave, make sure you meet Jay in the parts department. He’s kind of our classic Honda expert, and if we don’t have what you need, he can probably find it for you. Meanwhile, if you want to see the new lines, I can show you what they’re making now in case you ever want to step up to a new one.” Result – we spent half an hour in the showroom talking with Mike, and between the two of us we spent around $500 with Jay in the parts department before we left. And we’ve spent more since then. I drive past three other dealers to get to this dealer to buy parts, and I’ve done so several times.
The point is that the second dealer treated us with respect, with consideration, applied expertise, and created a positive buying experience for us. That positive buying experience means that I’ll check with Jay before I buy parts on the Internet, and you can bet that if I do step up to a new or newer bike, I’ll shop there. They made a CUSTOMER, and formed a RELATIONSHIP.
When you’re competing against the Internet (or anyone else for that matter), you must ADD VALUE to the experience for the customer – if buying off a web page is as easy, convenient and pleasant as buying from you (or perhaps more so), then they’ll buy off the web. So before you complain about “Internet buyers,” ask yourself – or better yet, your customers – what the buying experience is really like. In the current time, salespeople must EARN their place in the supply chain. It’s not just given to us anymore.
