 |
| Vice President -- Content/Editorial Director, Ruthanne Terrero |
I needed a book fix the other day; the old-fashioned kind, where the scent of paper and ink makes you feel happy and secure, and you walk out of the store with a big discounted volume on flower gardening, a few chick-lit novels and yet another edition of “The Great Gatsby” with a manic grin on your face.
Luckily, I was passing by a Barnes & Noble, so I ducked in and immediately heard an older gentleman asking the literary-looking guy at the information desk for a recommendation.
“I want to buy a book for my daughter. She’s 50, she’s smart, she’s well educated and she likes sports,” the older man said.
Mr. Information scratched his beard and pitched the novel, “The Girl on the Train.” “It’s new, there’s intrigue and it’s a bit quirky. I really think she’ll like it,” he said, with the sincere confidence that only a guy in tan corduroys, a faded plaid shirt and suede bucks can say it.
“Sold!” said the customer. “Can you ship it?”
Now watch this perfect sale go downhill rapidly.
“That depends. Are you a member?” A confusing conversation ensued in which Mr. Information tried to explain the benefits of paying for an annual membership scheme that would provide free shipping. He was awkward at best.
“I have a Kindle!” said the older man, hopefully. Wrong answer. I had to walk away, hating that his bubble of joy had been burst. This guy didn’t care about free shipping; he certainly had the $5 or whatever it would have cost to get “The Girl on the Train” to his sports-loving daughter. I’m sure that he was so eager to be sold that he would have even purchased additional books if they were presented as options.
It’s such a rare and magical moment when someone wants to be sold to. We’re all such know-it-alls, thanks to Google and Yahoo, that opening ourselves to the consultation process with another human being is foreign to us these days.
Have you ever been ripe to buy something but been steered in a different direction by a sales person who isn’t noticing your super-positive vibe? Sometimes we’re so focused on our goals of selling specific products or services, it’s easy to miss a great opportunity to make a clear and simple sale. Watch for this syndrome within your own sales teams; tell them that if a customer has picked up the phone to call them, come into their offices or e-mailed them with a query about a vacation, that customer wants to ultimately buy something. All your team has to do is complete the transaction by engaging the customer in the manner in which they want to be engaged. Tell them to keep it simple and to be good listeners. It’s Sales 101, but we can all use a refresh on the basics from time to time.