THERE IS ALWAYS A REASON

I was reading an article today about employees of companies and the reasons they are hired and the reasons they are fired. The article was quick to point out that the 2 reasons are very seldom if ever the same.

Putting a sales spin on this idea, think about the reasons your customers buy from you and the reasons they stop buying from you… the reasons are very seldom the same.

Customers buy for a long list of reasons, but it usually comes down to a few key points. Either they needed what you were selling, your value was better than others selling the same type of product, or they liked you.

Now think of why customers stopped buying from you, it may have been because they didn’t need your product or service any longer but that is a long shot. Maybe the value of your product wasn’t as you presented it and the customer found better value somewhere else, this could happen but usually something drives the customer to start SHOPPING again. Finally, maybe the customer stopped liking you, I have seen this but I will say it is rare at best.

There must be other reasons, and there are. The number one reason that customers stop buying from a vendor is SERVICE! The service promised or the initial service becomes NO SERVICE. If the customer has trouble resolving issues they will always find another vendor that is willing to provide the service they expect. The second most popular reason is DIFFICULTY OF DOING BUSINESS. Sometimes companies make changes that make the employees job a little simpler while making the customers job much more difficult. If doing business with you becomes a “chore” (remember I am from the south) the customer will look for a vendor that makes things easy. As a matter of fact STAPLES Office Supplies has built their entire organization around the EASY BUTTON, and from personal experience they do a great job. The last reason I am going to talk about is QUALITY. In today’s economy many companies are looking for ways to cut costs so they can increase profits. Don’t get me wrong, I am a capitalist to the bone and I love to see companies make profits, however if making profits comes before quality, the profits will be very short lived.

So let’s make 2 lists and compare them

Reasons customers buy                                                                          Reasons customers stop buying

NEED                                                                                                     SERVICE

VALUE                                                                                                   DIFFICULTY DOING BUSINESS

RELATIONSHIP WITH REP                                                                     QUALITY

It is pretty easy to see that these lists don’t match up at all.

As a sales rep if you know why customers buy it should make the sale a little easier to make, if you know why they stop buying you can be on the lookout and make sure these things don’t happen.

Lorin