Salesman or Stalker?

This scene from SpongeBob SquarePants captures the image that salespeople have developed as sneaky stalkers who see you as nothing more than their next target. While this kind of sales strategy is mostly outdated and many salespeople act much more respecting of the needs of potential customers, there are definitely salespeople who still fail to respect the boundaries of their customers. It’s true that you probably won’t find a salesman watching you from behind a rock but I have encountered the occasional stalker salesperson. They are the salespeople who follow you from the moment you enter a store to the moment you leave. More than likely, they are just trying to be attentive but this sort of relentlessness comes off in a negative light. Instead of showing attentiveness and concern for customer needs, salespeople who act like this come across as parasites with more concern for obtaining your money than meeting your needs.

This kind of behavior is the reason why attunement is so important in a sales context. As entrepreneurs, we are responsible for identifying the needs of clients and responding accordingly. In some cases, a client might want or even need a salesperson to follow them throughout a store to help them find exactly what they need. The key is to recognize what a customer expects from you as early in the sales process as possible so you can have the best chance at meeting their needs. It is through understanding how to attune oneself in sales that the stereotype of the stalker-salesman will finally end.