Sandler Rule #18: Don’t Paint Seagulls in Your Prospects Picture

In class we learned this Sandler rule about not forcing people to see things from only your perspective.  This can be a difficult concept in that we want to persuade or convince customers to buy a product or service.  The seagulls example came from an art teacher who drew a seagull in her student’s picture, without the student wanting it there.  Although this is a more accidental incident, it relates perfectly to selling.  The customer needs to be able to have freedom of expression during the sale because if not they could get buyers remorse, resulting in a bad sales experience.  Quality customer service is more than just keeping in contact with the client; it is letting them have what they want.  This does not mean that we as salespeople cannot also get what we want from a sale; it can be mutually beneficial.  An example of a question could be something like: “Do you think that ____ would allow you to do this more effectively?”  This gives the customer a chance to reflect on their needs and feel like you are really listening to them.  So instead of trying to say exactly what you think to the customer, try asking questions to help them discover what they want by themselves.