I think we all can identify with this situation. You see an add in the paper for a "great deal" and when you rush to the store you find out there are a bunch "qualifications" that go along with getting the product for that price or you find out that the product for sale really doesn't match what you thought it would be. This is really a common occurrence and MOST of the time it is because we didn't read the fine print or we didn't ask the right questions. This scenario is all too common in sales and it usually is poor communication from the customer, poor communication from the salesperson, or both. The really bad part is this poor lack of communication can help your competition.
So you go to meet with a client you ask a bunch of questions, they answer, you build a proposal, they seem to like it and then you get that phone call that they went with your competitor and YOU KNOW that their product/solution is inferior to yours or just does not do what the customer told you they need it to do. So what happened? Quite a few things could have gone wrong here.
First, it is very possible that the customer had an agenda that they did not share with you. Meaning they already picked out their vendor of choice but "the boss" or some other "3rd party" (that you will never be allowed to speak with or meet) told them to get 2 other quotes just to be sure. Or this same "boss" has a friend in the industry and they came along after you did all of your work. This scenario is very annoying, but also very real. If you are blindsided like this, a good way to verify is simply say to the customer "Thank you for getting back to me, I understand you chose my competition, which one did you chose and where did you feel their product was a better fit than ours?" Now, here is where being a good listener is very important. If indeed they went with your competition, this is your only chance left to win the business. If they give solid well thought reasons for why, then wish them luck and tell them you will gladly assist them in the future, should they need help again. If they tell you that your competition was less money it is in your best interest to see that quote. Many times if your competition beat you on price they changed the design and it no longer matches what you originally discussed with the customer. If you built a good relationship with them then this should be an easy objection to overcome. If they are close-minded to the idea, either you didn't do a good enough job of connecting with the customer or they feel they are past the point of no return and no longer want to be bothered. Now here is the worst scenario. You get to speak with the customer and they told you they went with the competition and when you ask why, their answer is VERY vague. They won't really say why. They WILL go so far as to say it's really none of your business or that information isn't pertinent, AH HA! We have a hidden agenda! Move on, no more good can be done here.
So, if we put our conspiracy theories aside for a moment we can get back to relevant sales items. If you ever played the "telephone game" as a kid you know how quickly a statement can be interpreted and then misinterpreted and distorted in such a way that the original message is almost completely lost. So when you meet with a potential customer a great question to ask is "who started this initiative?" Are you meeting with the person heading up the the project? Are you meeting with someone who solely is gathering information? What other vendors have they spoken to? What is their relationship to them? Who are the people involved in making the decision & can you present to these people and answer their individual questions? Now, it is very common that you wont get these questions answered. If that is the case you haven't built enough trust with the client or they have no intent of doing business with you. Either way you have more work to do.
When it comes to communication, you must be sure that you understand what the customer is saying. whenever possible, paraphrase what the customer just told you and ask for agreement. Not only are you verifying that you understand the customers needs, but often times you are getting the customer to answer "yes" and any old school sales trainer will tell you that getting the customer into the habit of saying "yes" is a good thing." The flip side is, that when you explain something from your industry to a customer you need to verify engagement. Did the customer understand what you said, not just the actual words but the concept behind those words? If they say yes but the look on their face says otherwise it's important to go at the topics with another question or another direction so you don't make the customer feel uncomfortable or that you think they are stupid. What else does their body language tell you? Are their arms crossed, meaning they are defensive? Are their hands balled into fists meaning they really don't like this? Are they looking around the room because they are disinterested? Diffuse the situation. If it's obvious that they don't want to be there, you really aren't talking to the right person, get them to introduce you to the person that will handle the process, let them off the hook.
So Here is the summary: make sure you have the right person, make sure you and the customer are "on the same page" regarding needs and goals. Understand that sometimes your won't get the final person, so just make do. And lastly, understand that customers will flatly refuse to let you in because they have no intention of doing business with you. Once you figure this out, GET OUT! Find a good customer to talk to.
Thanks for reading today
Mike Shelah
BTW please check out my fundraising blog www.40milesforautism.blogspot.com
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