The Salesperson’s Bill of Rights
This past week in the United States we celebrated our 240th Independence Day! We also celebrated our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and the free enterprise economy, all of which selling is an integral part. Therefore, we thought it would be a great idea to review the sales person’s Bill of Rights as well.
You have the right to a fair trial.
Customers and prospects often base their decisions on inaccurate or incomplete information. It is your job to make sure you fully understand how your solution is being judged, and to provide relevant information about all that you have to offer.
You have the right to be wrong.
Sales people are human and as such they make mistakes. It is unrealistic to think that salespeople can go through their careers not making any mistakes. The obligation for salespeople is to address their mistakes right away. Once you realize you have made one, fix it. If you canxt fix it, address it. Seek alternatives and let your customer know what you are doing to make it right as well as what you are doing to prevent the same thing from recurring.
You have the right not to know all the answers.
Let’s face it. Sometimes customers ask questions that we are simply unable to answer off the top of our heads. It’s fine not to know something as long as you gain a thorough understanding of what your customer is asking so that you can respond in a timely manner.
You have the right to be persistent.
If you make cold calls it takes an average of eight touches before a prospect will engage in a meaningful conversation with you. Most people quit after five. Stay persistent. If you donxt make cold calls and have a limited number of customers that buy from you on a continuing basis the number one reason they leave is due to perceived indifference. Don’t let this be a reason you customers leave. Stay consistent with your communication.
You have the right to ask tough questions.
One huge roadblock salespeople have with respect to asking questions is they don’t want to pry into a customer’s business. We submit that you not only have the right to ask questions but an obligation to ask questions. As a doctor should not prescribe medicine until a complete diagnosis has been performed. You have no right to present a solution until you completely understand the customer’s needs. The only way to accomplish that is by asking substantial questions.
Please be sure to keep you rights in mind as you sell. Remember that win-win may seem a bit cliché but it is still the fundamental reason that selling, and our economy works. Can you think of a right sales people have that we didn’t mention? Please share your thoughts with us. We’ll have five more rights for you in next month’s post.
