When you intend to carry out a sale, do not place your product or service above the others that exist in the market. Overconfidence and your little knowledge of the customer can make your sale never happen.
Many times we evolve with technology in our electronic security environment or with our computers, cell phones etc, but we do not evolve in our sales strategy, we focus on the most complex sales areas, without realizing that we fail in the most basic.
by Adhir Uzcátegui
Many times when we are offering our products, applications or services, we fall into phrases that should never be used in sales and that are used by most sellers in our security industry. The results are mediocre in this new economy, these phrases are still used by influence of veteran security salespeople or "professionals".
There are very few companies of our knowledge or almost no one apart from us that are dictating sales trainings in electronic security. But in other industries and in many sales trainings they continue to use old techniques in their lessons and are urging new salespeople to continue using them, creating a real vicious circle.
Let's listen to our security solution vendors!
The big problem with using these phrases is that they undermine the credibility of the seller and in turn create obstacles and defensive attitudes in the mind of the buyer.
In our industry it is super important to convey credibility, these phrases degrade what could be a professional sale to a simple transaction, or scare the buyer, and what is worse less experienced sellers are using these phrases to "in theory" be able to convince buyers, and it is not their fault, but a lack of training or poor managerial management.
Let's do an exercise and think like a buyer and not like sellers that we are. Have you ever thought that in the course of your life, you buy more products and services than you sell? As a buyer imagine a situation in which the seller makes his approach. Test your reactions, do you feel that one of these phrases would make you feel the desire to buy? or rather would they make you walk away?" Trust me, I am your friend, no one can sell you cheaper than me, we are the best, always or never, what you need is... This is perfect for everyone.
Asking people to trust a seller or a person they don't know is almost like saying "you're an idiot, just give me a lot of money now" the words "trust" and "me" are signs that make buyers put a defensive shield in their mind.
Trust is one of the two concepts that most people ask for and that becomes more elusive. Trust as well as love can never be "required or asked" to be "earned" to be genuine feeling. In addition, it is the buyer's decision to choose who they trust or not.
Asking someone to trust us without knowing us does more good that we don't get it. Following another phrase that we use and that is tempting for a salesperson, is to think that a customer is a new friend after sharing only 15 minutes discussing about a common experience or hobby. However, too many vendors confuse "breaking the ice" with "friendship" and they are not the same.
Friendship requires an emotional investment and a real commitment, friendship requires time, energy and some sacrifice.
Being friendly is a great way to avoid tensions in the sales process, but being "too" friendly can create a feeling of suspicion in the buyer's mind.
Moving on to the next one, how about saying that no one will sell you cheaper than me...nobody? Really? The world is a soo big place with a bunch of security vendors selling exactly the same thing as you.
First of all if the seller actually has the lowest price in the market, and wants to sell what he has legally and with good results, then simply put an ad in the press and dedicate himself to taking orders like crazy. {mospagebreak}
Secondly, the problem with proclaiming to be the cheapest on the market (apart from creating skepticism in the buyer), is a rather inadequate way to make a profit. A better way to approach the buyer will obviously be to teach the "value" of the product service or idea we want to sell. Value, takes into account integrity, experience, service, trust, originality, return on investment, and how to make the buyer feel better when buying.
Promoting "value" instead of price is always a better strategy to achieve a long-term business relationship. It goes without saying that we are the best, perhaps there are some situations in which this can be credible, and I am not opposed to the power of positive thinking as a builder of self-confidence. But the truth is that buyers have painfully learned that 99.9% of sellers who tell you to be the best, are lying.
There are also phrases that have a negative effect on the buyer. Being the best is like beauty, it depends on the eye of the buyer—not the seller.
How true phrases like " we always provide the best service" or "our technicians are never late to a facility" sound to you. Many people simply don't take these words "always" or "never" as a testament to value. Too many times "always" or "never" are so often used that they become synonymous with "frequently" and "occasionally."
For example "I never lie" is perceived rather as a lie, and reinterpreted with "I lie ... occasionally." It's okay to use "what you need is..." after developing high levels of relationship and trust with the customer. But it's also a presumptuous phrase on the part of the seller because he's not the one to use what he buys.
A few days ago a salesman at a Circuit City store in Miami, with whom no relationship of trust was created, told me "what you need is this computer" may have been true, but the salesperson never asked questions--so he knew almost nothing about me. my situation or my needs. I didn't care what he thought I needed. I listened to it, learned something, walked out of the store, and shopped somewhere else. And to end the saying "this is perfect for everyone", this is another statement that is difficult to accept. Before adding this sentence to the list, I tried to think of a product that is really perfect for anyone, the closest thing would be bottled water, but then I realized that if it were so, then why is there so much competition in that field? Ok, you don't sell bottled water, just replace it with your safety and service products, and ask yourself if it's really perfect for everyone.
No matter how well-intentioned the seller is when using these phrases or the like, buyers who hear it think they are questionable. This causes buyers to act proactively, and be selective in what they choose. The result is few closed sales. A smart strategy in the salesperson would be to remove these toxic phrases from their sales talk.
*Adhir Uzcátegui is the general manager of Security Warriors Group Inc., an extension of several security equipment factories for Latin America. If you want you can write to the mail [email protected]
