Knowing what customers expect may be the most important key to successful selling. While every customer is interested in getting an appropriate price, many salespeople seem to think that price is the primary issue. As a result, they lead with price and seem to base most of their sales presentation on cost issues.
What's more, customers often let a salesperson down gently by saying that a competitor had the lowest price-even though other factors affected the sale. To move away from a price focus in sales toward solid relationships, consider these 10 customer expectations:
1. Customers expect solid information.
The copier salespeople told their story. Each pitch was about the same. 'How many copies do you make a month?' was their key question because it let them know which machine to focus on for the sale. Then the Xerox people came in with a different approach and a series of probing questions. Without even thinking about it, customers began asking other questions. Information was exchanged. The customers left the meeting with a better understanding of the available technology and how it related to their company's needs. The copier company had set itself apart from the competition by becoming a credible resource for the prospective customer.
Visit the Dell Computer Web site to see the role information plays in making a sale. From the first click, the visitor is introduced to levels of increasingly comprehensive information. From basic facts to complex data, it's all there for the customer.
Providing valid information tells customers that you respect their ability to make sound decisions. Attempts to persuade and cajole may undermine your credibility. When prospects recognize that they are respected, they become more open, inquisitive, and willing to do business.
2. Customers expect options.
Customers do not want to hear that there's only one way or a single solution. They respond positively when given a selection. HomeQuote, a company offering Homeowners insurance, compares five or six insurance programs. The customer is given a series of options and can make an informed choice. With its customized presentation, providing information in an easy-to-compare format, the company has a 40% closing rate-and makes sales over the telephone.
Options are essential because they create dialogue and discussion. Once the customer asks questions and the salesperson responds, a relationship develops that ends in making more sales.
3. Customers expect single-source service.
Time is disappearing. As it becomes more scarce, a discernible trend to avoid unnecessary coordination of services is growing. Take, for example, the way autos are manufactured today. Rather than buying parts and assembling the components, modern companies purchase the components after assembly. Seats are bought this way, for example. This type of dramatic change is taking place in businesses of all sizes where the goal is to simplify operations.
Carefully configured and managed, bundled services have a strong appeal because they can focus responsibility, strengthen relationships, improve quality, and make communication more convenient.
4. Customers expect cutting-edge technology.
Finding yourself behind the curve is dangerous because of the message it sends to customers and prospects. This issue became apparent as I recently watched someone make a presentation using overhead transparencies. Overhead projectors have a role, but audiences expect to see a computer-generated and -projected presentation.
Although voice-mail is not obsolete, the trend is moving toward E-mail because of its greater flexibility: its ability to communicate more information easily and accurately. Internet-based videoconferencing will soon explode because of its low cost.
5. Customers expect superior communication.
Even though customers aren't always the best communicators, they expect communication excellence. Call it responsiveness, feedback, updating, or status reporting, it all comes down to creating a communication comfort level.
Some of the information you supply to your staff may appear to be unnecessary and even superfluous, but managers don't want to be asked for information that isn't instantly available. If your staff has been downsized, customers may be tempted to go elsewhere for this information once handled by assistants-for instance, to suppliers and vendors. As a result, this is one instance where communications overkill may be appropriate.
6. Customers expect flexibility.
Because they have less time to manage their personal and work lives, customers expect new levels of flexibility. Gateway, Dell, Compaq, Micron, and several other computer companies were quick to grasp this idea. They'll take a computer off the shelf and send it to you tomorrow, or build one to your specifications and deliver it in 72 hours.
Companies offering flexibility have the edge. One insurance organization presents home buyers with a proposal for Homeowners insurance that compares eight different insurance programs. Instead of being 'sold' insurance, the customer becomes a knowledgeable 'buyer.'
7. Customers expect consulting.
Today's customers must be satisfied before the sale if they are to remain satisfied after it-so the selling process must change.
The young salesperson at Staples spends time with a father and his 15-year-old daughter as they shop for her laptop computer. The salesman takes time to ask pertinent questions to learn how the computer will be used. Only after the fact-finding is complete and he has their confidence does he begin to discuss the actual computers. He evaluates each one in terms of their needs. Unlike many computer salespeople, who immediately turn on the machines and go into a demonstration that leaves the average customer feeling confused and inadequate, the Staples salesman helps the father and daughter select the laptop that seems most appropriate. When they walk out the door having spent $3,000 for a computer, printer, and fax modem, they're pleased with their decision. He had shaped their perception of the computer. Because they were satisfied before the sale, they remained satisfied after the sale. It's the consulting that makes the difference and leads to customer satisfaction.
8. Customers expect a seamless relationship.
'Our customers always come back to us when they need something,' stated the sales manager. 'They know our number.' He didn't see value in doing anything proactive to cultivate the company's customer base. What the sales manager said may have been correct, but often such cavalier attitudes lose business. Even if a customer places infrequent orders, there's enormous value in maintaining a seamless relationship-that is, one that reinforces why it's in the customer's best interest to continue doing business with a vendor. It's even more important to work to base the relationship on mutual respect and trust.
You know the orders you receive from a customer but probably don't know what they're purchasing from others. Being there when a customer needs you is expected, but being in front of the customer continually sends the message that he or she can count on you. Staying in touch with newsletters and sharing problem-solving case histories, product updates, and general industry information set a standard in the customer's mind and differentiate you from the competition. While it's important for customers to understand your products clearly, they also need an equally complete understanding of your capabilities.
The insurance agency that keeps its customers updated on risk-management issues sends the message that it possesses the expertise to create and implement the right insurance program. This can be invaluable for retaining current accounts and attracting new ones.
9. Customers expect new ideas.
The consumer electronics industry has been in somewhat of a slump as it waits for the arrival of a new generation of TV sets. There haven't been new products since the VCR and the compact disc Walkman. Customers look for new products-and gravitate to new ideas. New ideas send the message that a company is alert, progressive, and ahead of the pack. However, something new could be a double-edged sword. The Internet is an example. While being able to talk about 'our Web site' is trendy, it isn't enough. Customers want substance. They're looking for ways to improve their operations, reduce costs, become more efficient, and minimize risk. Suppliers with value bring new ideas to their customers.
A caveat: The customer must not perceive that you are offering the new idea to derive a benefit. A new, advanced piece of equipment will be more readily accepted if you have a track record of bringing new ideas to the customer from which you have not gained some advantage.
10. Customers expect candor.
Poor salespeople attempt to finesse a situation by offering an inadequate solution to a problem, either because they don't have what's needed or are willing to sell a lower-priced product to make the sale. It doesn't take customers long to figure out what happened. Once they discover they've been tricked, they'll go elsewhere.
The insurance agent won the account. A short time later, the insured was in an auto accident that required several weeks for the repairs to be completed. When the customer rented a car, the insurance agent rejected the rental bill, saying, 'I didn't know you wanted that coverage.' It was clear that the insurance agent gave the customer 'basic' coverage to get the account. At renewal time, the customer changed agents.
Should the customer have read the policy coverages more thoroughly? Of course. But most of us look to the salesperson for help in making the right decisions. Candor does as much as anything to establish a salesperson's credibility, and it results in customer confidence. The superior salesperson recognizes the need to win the customer, not just sell the customer.