Many of the tactics covered so far in class and in the readings have one thing in common. They aid in gaining the customer’s trust. This is not easy especially with the general public’s preconceived notions that salespeople are to be mistrusted. So many sales tactics revolve around this phenomenon simply because without trust, many sales situations will simply have no chance.
The first tactic that has been covered and repeated due to its importance is the search for pain. This requires asking questions and listening. Listening is so important and often forgotten because as sales people we often think we have to take control of the process in order to convince the client to buy. In fact, sales people need to do the opposite. Instead of taking control and overwhelming the customer with all the reasons to buy, we need to give the power back to the client. Listening achieves many things in the sales process, but chief among them is finding the pain and letting the client feel their needs are above everything else, including the sale. Once the pain is discovered, Prof. Sweet taught that proposing possible solutions even outside the scope of what you can do for them can really allow you to gain credibility and trust in the client’s eyes. Overall, when a client feels his or her needs/pain are paramount to everything else, he or she will naturally trust the sales person.
Gaining a customer’s trust can also differ depending on the customer and the situation. Recall Prof. Sweet’s story of the woman who instantly had her guard up and asked him what he had to offer her. Her weariness and mistrust of the typical salesman ripping her off caused her to feel the need to take control of the sale and exhibit this abrasive attitude. In this situation, Prof. Sweet effectively set up an upfront contract. In doing this he introduced the fact that he might not want to even sell to her, and her attitude of mistrust was diminished. He also reestablished order to the selling process. Instead of him going through all the benefits of his software like she had originally requested, he was now able listen and ask questions to get to the bottom of the pain in order to best serve her needs.
The inherent mistrust of the stereotypical salesman is a hurdle in every sale that must be overcome. There is no “one size fits all” formula to gain a customer’s trust, but there are definitely some do’s and don’ts. As we learned in Prof. Sweet’s story as well as my own, approaches to gaining trust must be adapted right from the start depending on the customer. If you fail to adapt, you may end up with a 450 pound man stinking up your favorite truck and a whole gang interrogating you in your front yard!
BoweryJE22
I think Prof Sweet introducing the idea that maybe the client doesn’t deserve to do to business with him is revolutionary in the sales process. It literally goes counter to “traditional wisdom.” But I think it’s incredibly important, and clearly works well. It immediately removes the natural skepticism the buyer had in the Caveat Emptor world of the past. It should be a technique that is utilized more often in the sales world.