Miscommunication in Sales

Miscommunication can be a difficult thing to avoid in any conversation, and it can have terrible consequences as well. In sales, avoiding miscommunication can be the difference between getting the sale or not. As you can see from the picture, the salesman makes a very large assumption based on a miscommunication between him and the customers. I think it’s pretty safe to bet that he didn’t get that sale. In real life though, if you didn’t quite understand something perfectly, don’t just assume you know what the customer meant. Chances are, you don’t. Instead, you should respectfully ask them to clarify what they meant. Otherwise, you could end up like the salesman in the meme, trying to sell something to them, truly believing that it will help them, and it turns out that it isn’t right for them at all. Also, when people assume they know exactly what the other person wants, it can really turn someone off from them, because it feels like they are trying to empathize with the person, without really understanding their situation, which makes it fell insincere. If you follow this principle, and try to find out what someone really meant, you are going to find out much more about the person you are selling to, which can help you find out what they really need. When you know what the person wants or needs, the customer will feel much better about buying from you, because they know that you actually took the time to help them, rather than treating them like they are “just any other customer”. So, the key takeaway from this should be that we should never assume we know everything about the customer, and make sure to avoid miscommunication by asking for clarification, because if you don’t, then, chances are, you will lose the sale.