You can win the first sale, and yet destroy the relationship attempting a second.
Sometimes, the best sales war stories come from non-salespeople. I heard one yesterday that was a doozy. I was visiting one of my best friends at an apartment complex that she owns (she’s been in that business for fifteen years). My friend is smart, educated, and most of all, business savvy. She’s also loyal to a fault, unless you give her a reason not to be. She told me about a salesperson who gave her reason not to be.
Several months ago, she had new windows installed in her house. She liked the salesman and respected him, and the company did a good job. Now, her apartment complex needs some windows. Sounds like a great opportunity (there are many more windows in the apartment complex) and nearly a slam-dunk for the salesman, right? Yes, it should have been. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, and the reason was the way the salesman handled the call.
The salesman discovered what windows she needed, presented some options, and then started in on the high-pressure “buy today or the price will go up” tactic. This is, of course, one of the oldest tactics in the world. It’s cheap, heavy-handed, and customers spot you coming a mile away. More importantly, it’s almost always a lie. My good friend and I have one big characteristic in common. Once you lie, we brand you a liar, and remove all credibility from what you have said. She ordered the salesman out, and he will never return as long as she owns that complex.
So, where did the salesman go wrong? He messed up in several areas. Let’s look at them:
Not assessing the customer’s needs: The salesman’s assumption was that my friend wanted to do a mass window replacement, doing all or nearly all of the windows in one shot. That wasn’t the truth. My friend wanted to ‘stage’ the replacement, doing a few windows at a time to manage her cash flow. That’s not uncommon in this business. Why didn’t the salesman know this? Because he never asked. Questions unasked are answers unheard, and sometimes the key to the sale can lie in those answers.
Not understanding the time frame: The salesman assumed that there was a high sense of urgency to the purchase. There wasn’t. My friend was willing to start the project in a short time frame, but needed to run some numbers first. The salesman, however, assumed that the customer’s sense of urgency in buying matched his sense of urgency in selling. It did not (and really, it seldom does). The salesman wanted the sale right now, and attempted to make that happen.
Not understanding the relationship: He treated my friend like any first-time customer. In doing so, he did both himself and my friend a major disservice. He did my friend a disservice because he didn’t accord her the respect earned by a repeat client. He did himself a disservice because he had progressed beyond the “Occasional Buyer” relationship level and on toward the “Habitual Buyer” or maybe even “Loyal Customer” level. By not recognizing that, he torched his relationship.
Using outdated sales tactics: The old “buy today so the price doesn’t go up” is called “the old” because it is exactly that – old. It’s been around since salespeople have been around, and what’s more is that customers have been educated to it. It’s almost always a lie. I’ll never forget the first (and last) time I was called on the lie. The customer’s name was George. He was looking at a brand new 1990 Thunderbird, and it was a Saturday morning. I had been selling for about four months. George really liked the T-Bird. As my close, I confidently said, “And, George, if you buy now, I can get you this price, but that won’t be good after today.”
George looked me in the eye and said, “So, if I come in here Monday with a check written for that amount, you won’t sell it to me?” I was dumbfounded. George was right and I’d just lied. Of course we’d sell it to him. What could I do? I just sat there silent for a minute, processing this….and then I laughed. “You’re right, George. You caught me. And let me tell you this – no customer will ever catch me that way again, because I’m never going to use that again.” George smiled. I could tell he believed me. I asked him what he had planned for the weekend. “I’m going to go to the lake,” he said.
“Sounds like a good time. Tell me, would you rather do it in this new Thunderbird or in your old car?”
George smiled and said, “That’s why I’m here.”
Thirty minutes later, he drove out in his new Thunderbird. Now you’re wondering if I’ve ever used the ‘buy before the price goes up’ tactic again. The answer is yes. About a half-dozen times in the 23 years since. And every time, it’s been the truth. Most of the time, manufacturers were about to change pricing and it was out of my control. In those cases, I felt that it was only right to give customers the advance knowledge. Twice, I’ve let prospective clients know that my speaking fees were about to go up, and that the proposal in front of them would no longer be valid in a few days. One booked at the lower price. One attempted to catch me in a lie…and they ended up booking at the higher price.
So, what are your take-aways from this? First of all, forget the old, hackneyed tactics. Those hurt you with every customer. Second, make sure to assess the situation (yours and the customer’s) before you define your sales approach. Your customers will thank you for it. The salesperson had won the first sale to my friend (her house) but managed to destroy his relationship attempting the second sale.
