We’ve all been there. Something went wrong, and our customer’s expectation will not be met. As the sales person, many times it’s our responsibility to deliver the bad news. Since a great percentage of sales people have a people-pleasing, positive state of mind, their instinct is to be upbeat and put a positive spin on the scenario. Below is an example:
Sales Person: “I’ve got great news – an amazing opportunity has come our way. Our project schedule has slipped four weeks, and the material costs have increased by 5%. We’ll have four more weeks to make sure we’re doing this correctly and embrace the experience. Also, we’re going to pass along the material increase to you, so you can feel the benefits of paying for premium products. I love paying a little extra for my Mercedes every month.”
Obviously, I’m exaggerating the magnitude with this monologue, but not the direction of a typical conversation. Unfortunately, most customers don’t have Zig Ziglar’s natural optimism, and will likely resent a sales person trying to put a shiny spin on their nightmare. The best way to start a difficult conversation with a customer is completely opposite from the direction a traditional sales person’s instinct guides them… and there lies the problem.
The best way for a sales person to start a difficult conversation with a customer is to be remorseful, and a little extreme in describing their customer’s potential reaction. In the example above (which is a very difficult conversation to have), a better opening may be: “I’m sorry to bring this news to you. In fact, I’m a bit embarrassed because I believe you selected us because we’re not the typical integration company. However, this is probably going to seem typical to you.”
Below are some strong opening statements that you can use. Some are better than others, depending on how critical the bad news is to the customer. Please note that these statements are simply the opening of the conversation. The goal is to position the customer to listen without their guard raised. Even if the scenario is 100% the fault of the customer, starting the conversation with a statement similar to one of these will help you meet your objective.
- I’m sorry.
- I wish I had better news.
- We’ve got a ton of reasons for why this happened, but first let me tell you about the solution.
- We’re must appear to be an incompetent manufacturer, and I’m sorry for the way this is turning out for you and your customer.
- You’re going to hate me.
- You were right, and we were wrong.
- I’m going to be real annoyance with this request, and I’m sorry.
There are dozens of others, but the important thing is to relay to the customer that you understand the significance of the problem, and that you’re on their team to find the best solution. Try one of these openings in your next difficult conversation, and let me know how it goes!
