My wife and I are doing a bit of a remodel on our home and as part of that we need to get some new windows. The good news is that this is not our first house project and so I have learned by now that it will, unfortunately, likely take longer and cost more than I want. That said, because we have never done windows before, I also anticipate a learning curve. So we are in the process of interviewing contractors.
Most of the contractors we have met have been great ? helping us to understand the different sorts of products that are out there, why we might want one versus another, and why their product makes sense for us. No problem there.
You may have noticed I said that ?most? of the contractors have been like that. Most is not all. ?Bob? certainly was not like that by any means. In fact, he was so bad that I am writing a blog about him today as a cautionary tale. Bob reminded me of why some people should not be in business for themselves. While he clearly knew his stuff, he equally seemed to know nothing about sales or customer service.
Bob made two major sales mistakes. First of all, he loved jargon. I mean he really loved it. Half the time I actually had no idea what he was talking about. Now, I know from experience that this is an easy trap to fall into, after all, I used to practice law, and if there is any profession that loves jargon more than lawyers I don?t know what it is.
Attorneys use jargon for the same reason Bob did ? it makes them feel smart, and they think it makes them sound smart. Of course, the truth is, it doesn?t. It is also lazy ? it is easier sometimes to speak insider language than to have to explain something to someone in plain English. ?That was the case with Bob. He was so steeped in his own knowledge that he couldn?t really see what a newcomer didn?t know.
While I stopped Bob and asked him what he meant a few times, he never seemed to catch on that his job was not to try and impress me with his knowledge, but actually his job was to help me solve my problem, my need for new windows.
If he had helped me, he could have sold me.
And that brings me to the second mistake Bob, as a salesman, made: He tried too hard to sell me. I don?t know what it is that makes any salesperson think that the hard sell will work, but the fact is, it doesn?t. No one likes to be pressured, especially when contemplating a large purchase. What works is to remember that people come to you because they have a problem or need and hope you can help them fix it.
Question: Why do people buy drills?
It is not because they need a drill. It is because they need a hole. If you help them understand the best way to solve that problem, they will reward you, but if you spend your time pushing them to buy the most expensive drill you have, they will very likely move on.
So Bob the builder is a good reminder great salespeople sell the solution, not the drill.
Source: http://www.bizengine.com/steve-strauss-sales-mistakes/
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