We’ve all experienced it. You seek to buy something, get an aggressive salesperson, and grudgingly make a purchase. Within 24 hours you are seriously regretting the purchase.
You have buyer’s remorse. If you can get out of the purchase, you do. If not, you’re stuck. Either way, your relationship with that company is forever damaged. You don’t even explore buying from them again. They’ve lost, not only the opportunity to do business with you but also potentially with the people you know.
It’s important as salespeople that we avoid creating buyer’s remorse with our prospects and customers. That can be difficult, especially if we’re focused on making the sale. Buyer’s remorse happens when the sales person is more concerned with closing the deal than he is with making sure the prospect’s needs are met.
How do we make sure we aren’t THAT salesperson? Strange as it may sound, the first thing to do is forget about selling. Yep, that’s right! Don’t think about making a sale. When we are focused on selling we convince ourselves that every person we speak with is a potential client. Our energy is directed toward convincing them that we have something they need. We miss any and all signals they may be sending.
Those signals could telegraph the person is not a qualified prospect. Either they don’t need what you have to sell, they can’t afford it, or they are a difficult customer.
So, rather than focus on selling, think about learning as much as you can. What does the prospect need? What do they want? What are their priorities? What’s their budget? How do they operate? What do they value?
You get the point! When you focus on discovery you really learn where the prospect is, and whether you have something they need or want. Matching your solution to their situation eliminates the risk of remorse or regret. They will see and understand the value of your product or service. They’ll be eager to buy from you.
At the same time, when you engage in discovery there will be times when you will determine you can’t help them. Wonderful! Don’t try to make it work. Just tell them honestly what the situation is. Not only will they respect you, but they’ll refer you to others. And there may come a time when your product or service is a good fit. You’ll be the person they call.
Wouldn’t you rather have buyers who are glad to buy from you? of course! It makes everyone’s world better, and easier. So, don’t be a salesperson. Instead be curious and open to discovering whether you can help. If you can, good. If you can’t, equally good. You will avoid causing buyer’s remorse.