Customers can do a better job of dealing with sales people

I got this idea from a networking meeting I attended a few weeks ago. There were about 6 of us sitting around a table discussing how frustrating it can be to deal with customers. This wasn't about getting a lead , this was about  someone who says " yes I'll meet with you" and the challenges that go with it. First, I understand that there are many unethical sales people out there that have taken advantage of people in the past. Sales people aren't going away and neither is the sales process so here are some good tips to Non sales people when they have to deal with us.

First: Stop lying. In short most sales people can tell when a customer is lying to us or holding back information. Stop it. It does you no good. All it does is make the negotiation more difficult. Here are some examples: you wont share a current invoice with us because you just want us to give you "our best price." it ain't gonna happen. If you think this tactic works, you are mistaken. We need to evaluate what you spend now to determine if we can help you and be competitive. By sharing your current invoice you help yourself to get a fair market price. That is what you should be shooting for. Not disclosing the competition to us. How exactly does that help you as the customer? It doesn't but sharing that information with us, goes a long way towards determining if we have a real shot at helping you. Every company has a niche or strength to their product. On the whole all of them are very similar, it's just little tweaks that separate us. A good sales person will know the difference and it helps us understand what our opportunity is. So be open, it helps the sales process greatly.

Second: don't go dark on us. This happens to every sales person on almost a daily basis. We meet with a client, We discuss their needs. We meet with our team to develop our proposal we send you the proposal and  let you know when we will follow up to discuss and then...... nothing. We cant get you on the phone and you wont answer our e-mails? Again, how doe s this help you as the buyer? Here's the thing, if you don't like the solution... tell us we'll fix it. If you think it is too expensive, tell us we'll come up with another solution to fit your budget. If now is not the right time and you need 30 days, tell us, we will wait 30 days. Here's the thing, if we don't hear back from you, we have NO idea why not. Since you took the time to meet with us we must assume there was some level of interest. Our job is to find customers that need our product and get them to sign on, then we find the next one. We cant move on from you until you tell us "Yes" or  "No." So just tell us what is on you mind and remember what I said about " being honest." in the first block.



Third: respect our time, if you agree to meet with us, tell us before we spend $20 in gas driving to your office and $10 to park that you have to reschedule. Believe me we would much rather you tell us you need to reschedule than spend time in the car unproductive. If something comes up last minute and you can get a hold of us, it's okay, tell us the next day. Don't wait a week or two weeks or a month to return our call. I know it's hard to believe but salespeople are "people" too. We have lives and families and responsibilities just like you. My point being, we can be very sympathetic to your needs, please be sympathetic to ours

So the summary here is simple, communicate. don't avoid us, don't hold back information and whatever you do, don't lie to us. It doesn't help

Thanks for reading today

Mike