Lost A Customer---mad As Hell

Bill Z

This is a great topic, everyone has some good ideas. Darwin's thought about going straight to the source to find the answer makes a lot of sense.

As you read all the comments above, you can begin to see that we all have something in common.... none of us want to be SOLD. There's just a slimy feeling when you are SOLD, you just don't feel right, there's a lot of buyer's remorse.

Yet we all BUY things, including big ticket items and we end up perfectly happy. So what's the difference between BUYING things and being SOLD things?

One of the sales gurus I've listened to over the years says something like... "You can't make people do what you want them to do, all you can do is create an environment in which they want to do the same thing you want them to do".

That may describe the difference between how if feels to be SOLD and how it feels to BUY. If it's the customer's idea and they do it for their reasons, it is BUYING. If it's to satisfy the salesman's needs, it's being SOLD.

So to me, selling is creating an environment in which the customer wants to do what I want them to do. It means I create an environment in which they feel totally confident in my company's ability to deliver as promised. It means they trust what I''m telling them, that the product is the best match for their particular circumstance, and that the price is FAIR, not the lowest price, but one that is fair and gives them the value you they are seeking. That's when people BUY.

As a salesman, if I'm worried about getting my quota by Friday, so I need a sale bad enough to cram something down the customer's throat... that's SELLING.

It's a fine line, and really the first thing that is required to help people BUY from you, is a total belief that you, your company, price and product are the best solution for that customer.

Sales techniques are about training yourself to discover the customer's criteria and focus your efforts on aligning your presentation (and the project specifications) with their desired outcome. It's about developing a plan, a track to run on, so that you never fail to educate your prospect on the value of doing business with your company. It's about committing yourself to do what's best for the customer (which includes you making a profit) and using straight talk to deal with their questions. Do these things, and the importance of price will fade away and the question of first call, 2nd, or 3rd will answer itself.

Whether you already have a professional sales approach that works for you, or you need to improve your sales skills, you can easily agree that we can all grow and benefit as we place more focus on how we approach the customer. Make sense?

Darwin

new tag.thanks Bill Z.

Bill Z

Credit where credit is due: I think it's from Dave Yoho...at least that's where I got it 25 years ago.

Darwin

Your complete post makes sense to me. Great post. Thanks.

enforcer

as soon as i was told they went with another contractor i IMMEDIATELY sent an e-mail inquiring why they chose another..i told them i would appreciate their honesty as it will help my company in the future..of course they never responded,...i also tried calling. i take a rejection very seriously and use it to improve my skills. i actually got a job last night which i thought was dead in the water.i think the rejection fueled my fire and put my determination into overdrive..perhaps i never would have got this new job had it not been for the rejection.

TimberTom

Yeah from what I've seen people can be really deceptive with this. The person probably behaved the same way to the contractor they hired and anybody else they were talking to. These things happen, but don't let it get you down.

DavidC

http://www.remodelbuddy.com/sales-process-podcast

Reposting this link because I finally found the time to review it myself. If you are not using a sales system then this might be what your missing. Thanks to Remodel Buddy for making it available.

A quick summary of our system would be; sell yourself first, sell your company next, sell the product last. Each step of the way has sub steps to work through and a trial close before moving on. The prospect will many times initiate the final close because they want to do business with you.

Generally speaking, clients that ignore all else to focus on the price are not good clients. If that is the deciding factor then you win by losing.

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

DavidMoore

Outstanding suggestion! Can do this on the phone as well. This way you can learn how to improve and always leave the door open.

AJAX

Prospecting, qualifying, needs analysis, solution presentation, proposal, negotiation, close(ABC's of closing. Closing throughout) and follow up.

I like it!

eastend

don't know about you, but if a contractor questioned me as to why I didn't choose him/her, especially if they framed it as "helping them improve their business", I wouldn't give them the time of day!!.
Why should I have to explain my choice, or point out their failings, or admit I made selection based on zero info, or a whim, or because I didn't know why I picked! Or a dozen other reasons!
Why do so many contractors think it's their "right" to get this info from a prospective client? Sure , it's nice to know, and sometimes could possibly help your marketing efforts, but this approach, and the whole " one-close" concept seems such an imposition on a potential client, it's not the way I'd want to go.
Bill Z's got it right. Help them make a buying decision, offer solutions to their needs and wants, make the client feel comfortable with their choice.

DavidC

Well then, helping them make a buying decision is the best way to go and easy enough to say that's what you did when you have made a sale. If you offer them the solution that meets theirs wants and needs and they are comfortable with it then you are the choice and you did make the sale.

But backing up a bit to the last one you lost, it only makes sense to try a figure out where you went wrong so you are better prepared going forward. Asking the question does not mean you assume the right to an answer. I've had people tell me it's none of my business and/or hang up on me. No harm, no foul, I tried and they didn't want to cooperate.

Many more times people will engage themselves in the conversation. It has been shown that most people like to help other people. (Look at the success of forums) If you phrase your opening question as a request for help you are more likely to get it. So in some cases you will be able to glean a bit of useful information for your time and effort. Oddly enough you will even pick up an occasional sale that you would not of had a chance at otherwise.

You won't make every sale. You don't want every sale. But if you look well enough into how and why people buy from you the results will be that you get more of the sales that you do want.

Good Luck
Dave

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www.CookContractingLLC.com

skyhook

Ask for the job.

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mikeswoods

This is the second time today that some one here suggested calling a lost sale and asking," Why didn't you pick me?"

Complete fool----what an idiot----

You would sound like a sniveling 8th grader who didn't get invited to the dance.

There are to many reasons a customer chooses one over the other--chances are you wouldn't get the truth any way.

It's not the customers job to educate you.

I had a supplier do that to me once,That question opened up a floodgate of ridicule out of my mouth-even I was surprised!

He asked me for a job a month later . ----DON'T ASK THAT QUESTION

skyhook

He ask for closing techniques on the first visit.
That is when to ask for the Job. Then, not later.
If you walk away after the first visit without asking
for the job, it's over.
Get a clue

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Tom Struble

ya gotta swear so much on a sunday?

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Tom

skyhook

Sorry.

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Tom Struble

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Tom

Rio

David C wrote:
"Generally speaking, clients that ignore all else to focus on the price are not good clients. If that is the deciding factor then you win by losing."

When you start getting ground on is the time to pick up and get out of there. The trick is to have a lead generation system that keeps cranking out qualified leads. If all things are equal the client will pick the salesperson they are the most comfortable with.

I think what was frustrating in losing this sale was being strung along by the customer and wasting time while being misled on the actual situation. This brings up the question of how much time to put in on a client.

Anti-wingnut

I hate to say it, and I am fortunate in that others do the selling for me, but that sort of spiel normally turns me off. Whether at Firestone Tires, Radio Shack, Sprint, or some schmoo trying to sell me something in my living room. I tell them, give me your numbers, let me do my own due diligence, and I'll get back to you. If someone doesn't want to give me numbers, they don't want to do buisness

AJAX

Personally I find that when I get "the call" that I didn't get the job, people tell me right off as to why. I think if they don't call or call back after a message, or send an email telling me. Those are not the people I want to do business with anyway. I'm not gonna hound them for an answer. Because if they can't tell me why or just say "you didn't get the job or I going another direction", the low ballers that got the job can have it!

Most of the time these days it's about price. Then I ask, "is there anything I can do to get your business?" And if they politely say no, I thank them for there time and let them know (as I'm sure they do) if there's anything in the future that I can do for them to just give me a call. The whole time I'm thinking when the "other guy" F***s it all up can I come over and laugh at you, you cheap F***.