18/08/2021
The Day I Discovered Clients Do Not Buy on Price
I had been in sales a very short amount of time, maybe 3 months. I had read the books, attended the sales seminars, you see when I decide to do something I’m all in. I’m not interested in doing anything half-hearted so I wanted to be the best salesperson I could be. I’d always enjoyed people, different types of people, love the conversations, love making people smile you get the idea.
Most books and articles I had read regarding selling talked about the close. It’s all in the closing, you will never make money in sales if you can’t close the deal. From the start I never like the word close let alone the idea that selling was just about closing, which meant to me taking someone’s money and moving onto the next person you were going to expertly close. Seemed so clinical and didn’t relate to my love of people and getting to know them. The idea of closing someone made me cringe to be completely honest.
I just watched, listened, and learned and then like with most things I was intrigued if there could be another way. Let me be straight I did not set out to reinvent the wheel. I just led from my enjoyment of people and spent time getting to know my leads. I didn’t think about the end of our business relationship/friendship. I stayed in the here and now, listening and understanding the potential clients that came into the business. I think I just wanted to help them.
So, I had made my first sale, I couldn’t believe it, I didn’t use any closing techniques, I just got to know the clients, understand what they wanted and delivered it, the sale was the natural next step in our communications. It was pleasurable. No pressure, no stress, it was easy. It was easy because I stayed true to who I was, and nothing was forced.
I was working on my second sale, getting to know and understand my clients. I was aware they were also working with some of my competitors, 5 of us were working on winning this contract. I was a newbie, I thought is this where I will have to try some of those cringe-worthy closing techniques I had read about. I hoped not. The other salespeople knew so much more than me, they had decades of experience between them, and who knows how many of those closing techniques?
This client was a bit of a worrier, he was worried about cost, worried about time frames, worried about his wife being happy with their new home. All I really cared about at the time I was working through the details of his new home was that he felt listened to, understood and that I cared because I did. I am empathic I admit it and I’m so fine with it. At the end of each call, I would ask if he had any other concerns, I could help him with, most times he said no but thank you for asking.
D Day came, I felt I had looked after him well and we could certainly deliver what they wanted for within the price we had discussed but was still mindful of the experience of the other consultants he was working with.
The call came, I was nervous. He told me that one of the other companies had offered him a $6,000 discount at the 11th hour. I was speechless. It went against everything I stand by, honesty, transparency, and respect of every client. But we have no control over what other companies do and say and what other salespeople do and say, we can only control what we do.
I didn’t know what to say, very rarely that happens! What he said next almost floored me, he said ‘I don’t care about the $6,000, if they could offer that, why didn’t they do it to start with?’ Then he said ‘Nicola, you were the only one who repeatedly asked me if I had any further concerns, you could help me with, that meant a lot to me and that’s why we have decided to work with you’
It’s Not About the Price!
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