Our customers have immediate access to all the information they could possibly need or want. If they want to learn about eighth century Ireland, a quick search online and about 15 minutes of reading will put them in the top 1% of scholars on the topic. That’s scary. If they can learn about a random topic so quickly, how fast can they find answers to questions they used to ask their sales reps? Now, that’s even scarier.
In today’s world of selling, the only type of sales professional that is great is one that can become a trusted advisor. Customers are dying for a bright sales professional that will help them be smarter and better. They don’t need any more friends, and they can get pricing anywhere. If your customers are working closely with you today, it’s because you’re making them smarter and better. Which leads us to our first of the three worst things a sales person can say …
“I’m just a sales rep. Let me bring in the smart guys to answer that.”
If you think you’ll ever get a return call after making that statement, then you really are just a sales rep. Your customers are dying for a trusted advisor - someone that can take them away from their 100 emails and 500 articles they receive every day. One person that can update them on the industry and technology. If you position yourself as “just a sales rep”, you’ll never be that trusted advisor.
If you don’t know the answer right away, make sure you fully understand the question. Let your customer know that you want to go back to the office or make a phone call to figure out the answer. Then, you get back to them. Make sure you understand the answer enough to be able to have a dialogue and answer follow-up questions. If you bring the question to the smart guys, that’s ok. The key factor is to continue to own the customer relationship and their pursuit of knowledge. It doesn’t matter how you receive the answer, as long as you’re the source of the information.
… And whatever you do, never make light of your intelligence or your capabilities to answer a question. In 2002, it was endearing and your customers appreciated your honesty. Today, it’s a sign that they’re wasting their time with you.
Tune in tomorrow and Wednesday for the runner-up and number 1 very worst thing a sales person can say.
What do you think? Am I being too extreme about this? Leave a Comment below...
