It’s Friday, the end of another work week. You know what else it is? It is the end of the time when many customers told you they would get back with you about a sale. What are you going to do? Let’s face the facts; many of you were depending on those sales to make your week.
You felt confident that you made a good presentation, and you know the customer well, if he/she said they would call you by the end of the week you know they will. BUT!!! They didn’t, so now what? Should you follow up with a phone call? Maybe you should stop by and tell them, “I was in the neighborhood” that line always works, right?
This is a very common scenario for sales reps. What we sometimes forget is that “I will call you this week” in most cases means I don’t have the guts to tell you to go away!
Now don’t get me wrong, I love all customers big and small, however, I know that everyone except a small group of people will do all they can to avoid conflict and stress.
If the customer tells you no, what are you going to do? If you are any good at all you are going to start probing to find out why the customer said no and then make your case for placing the order now. This probing can be very stressful for both you and the customer.
How many reasons can you think of that would cause a customer to say no? I can think of about 25 off the top of my head and could add to the list if I really took some time to analyze the situation. The reasons range from “I really don’t need anything right now” to “I need a bunch of stuff right now but I don’t have the money to buy them”.
Some of the reasons would be easy for a customer to say to you but others would get caught in the customer’s throat if they tried to say them out loud. Can you see a customer telling you “I can afford to buy things I need to run my business”?
So the easy way out is to tell you, “Let me call you back by Friday”. Nothing wrong with this method of avoiding stress and conflict as long as YOU DON’T DEPEND ON THE SALE! Let’s face it 9 out of 10 customers who say this to you are simply saying no in a nice way. If you know this fact then you will stop having the expectation that you will get a call. Also if you know this fact, you won’t make a fool out of yourself by “Just being in the neighborhood” and stopping in, or making that call. I love listening to reps make this call, I feel sorry for them, I try and talk them out of it, but if they call I do get a chuckle when they say, “Hi Mr./Ms Customer, I was just thinking about you and remembered you told me you were going to place an order today, what is it you need?” and 90% of the time the reply is, “I have been so busy I haven’t had a chance to look at what I needed, I will get with you NEXT WEEK.” Once again the customer is trying to avoid conflict and stress.
To quote a great Italian actor, when a customer says I will call you back, “FORGETABOUTIT” and go about your business as if it never happened.
Reps can handle conflict and stress really well. In most cases, conflict brings out the best in us and we become even better sales reps. DISAPPOINTMENT is another animal. Disappointment will knock you to your knees faster than a George Forman uppercut. Disappointment robs your confidence, makes you question your ability, and in your mind, reduces your value.
The best way to avoid the disappointment is to not set yourself up for disappointment. You need to understand the psychology of selling. You need to understand the mentality of your customers. You need to read between the lines and know the difference between all the meanings of I will call you by Friday. Was it a sincere message? Was it a blow off? You need to trust your gut and make the decision. Let me give you a hint, IT WAS A BLOW OFF! If you think anything else you are on your way to disappointment.
Over my years as a sales trainer I have helped reps build self confidence and helped them better handle most situations that sales puts you into. But I have never been able to teach a rep to ignore disappointment. All I can do is hope that I can teach a rep how to avoid it.
I hope this helps you avoid it.
Lorin
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