101 Best Sales and marketing Ideas
IDEA 74:
PUT VALUE ON INFORMATION ABOUT THE CUSTOMER
The importance of asking questions and listening to the answers has already been stressed. So too has the need to tailor, and be seen to be tailoring, the case you make to an individual customer. One simple mechanism you do this, and makes a positive impression on the customer too.
Idea
Catching the details…
To be fair many sales people do this, but if they do not, it can send all the wrong signals. Remember first that people’s sense of individuality is strong. We all think of ourselves as being unlike other people. And we want others to understand and take these differences into account. Certainly this is true of buyers and sellers.
For example, I wear spectacles, and have just had an eye test. Very thorough it was, too. I would not have been much impressed if I had walked in, perhaps been asked to read a couple of lines of text, and then been told, “Right, I know exactly the prescription you need”. I want a thorough check. And believing it is complex and individual matter, I was pleased to see the optician completing a detailed form as the test progressed. So too with selling. Whenever any degree of complexity is involved, always take notes during your conversation; and remember to base your judgment about complexity on your customer’s apparent perception of the situation, not on your own.
It may be polite to ask permission to do this, especially if confidential information is involved, as is often the case in my business. You should always make it clear what is happening. Customers like it, you may need a moment to let your note-taking catch up with the conversation, and where appropriate, it should be a noticeable part of the whole process. Take time too to check what you have written promptly, perhaps highlighting key details in a second colour. It is easy to find that after a few days, and after holding several (many?) more customer meeting you are ensure exactly what some of your notes mean.
In practice
- Now make a note of this: get yourself a notebook or pad and make recording key details part of your routine with customers. One fact remembered rather than overlooked can sometimes lead to the sealing of an agreement that might otherwise be stillborn.