It is one thing to make a sales presentation, but it is another
thing to make a sales presentation without first evaluating your
customer. For all you know, you could be selling your customer
something that they already have, or something they don’t want,
don’t need, or can’t afford.
This is why it is so very important to take your customer in,
sit them down, make them feel comfortable, and get to know them
and what their needs are. Once you have done this, you can then
sell them a product based on what their needs are and not what
you think they are.
On a personal note . . .
I learned the importance of evaluating your customer the hard
way. A few years ago, I was a branch manager working in a bank
branch. One particular customer of the bank approached me in my
office about opening a savings account for her daughter.
Once I explained to her the process of opening a savings
account, I proceeded to tell her all about a current promotion
we were having on our home equity loans. She sat there and
listened very politely and patiently as I very proudly went down
the list of all the benefits, features, and tax breaks that come
with a home equity loan.
Once I had finished my rehearsed presentation, she said to me;
That all sounds very nice, and it is something that I will
consider in the near to distant future. She than went on to tell
me that she and her husband rented the house they lived in.
So there you have it, I tried to sell a home equity loan to
someone without a house.
Needless to say, my face turned a deeper shade of scarlet, and I
felt like an idiot.
But hey, I learned from my mistake. Had I asked some simple
probing questions before I went straight for the sale, I would
have saved myself a lot of embarrassment.
You will be amazed at what you can find out from people just by
asking them a few simple questions about themselves. Remember,
people love to talk about themselves. Their jobs, their pets,
their kids, just about everything.
I once had a friend who owned a shoe store, and his inventory
was made up mostly of sneakers. One day a man walked into his
store to buy a pair of sneakers. As my friend assisted him with
his decision, he struck up a friendly conversation with him. As
it turned out, this customer ran a basketball camp during the
summer and he loved to talk about it. A few minutes into the
conversation, my friend and his customer had come to an
agreement. All of the boys and girls that attended the customers
basketball camp would receive a 10% discount on their sneakers
if they purchased them at my friend’s store.
So, as you can see, my friend increased his sales that summer
simply by striking up a conversation with his random customer
and asking a few questions. Imagine going to your doctors office
with an ailment and having him prescribe you a medication
without asking what your symptoms were. Would you take the
medication?
The same principal applies.
It really isn’t rocket science, it’s just friendly conversation,
get to know your customer and watch one sale turn into many.
Why service only one of your customers needs when you can
service them all.
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