Bad
Business Assumptions
That Cost You Sales and
Profits
Business owners, sales professionals
and sales support staff of all levels of success wanting to further grow
their business accomplishments
will find this book to be of
tremendous value in discovering and understanding the bad business
assumptions that cost sellers and marketers
to lose sales and profits.
In this book Bob shares over 40 years
of his sales and marketing experiences and expertise through real business
stories and examples you
will relate with and learn from.
Stories and examples that will:
• Enable you to stop
making bad business assumptions
• Show you how to react to
adverse business situations
• Help you increase your
sales and profits
Bad
Business Assumption # 1
Assuming you have to be the best marketer and salesperson
Two men
are being chased by a bear in the woods. As the bear is gaining on them,
one of the men stops, takes off his hiking shoes and begins to put on a pair
of running shoes.
The
second man stops beside him and says, “The bear is too fast for us. You
don’t think those running shoes will help you outrun the bear do you?”
The
first man replies, “I don’t have to outrun the bear. All I have to do is
outrun you.”
Fortunately, because of the lack of service provided by most sellers today,
like the man trying to escape from the bear, you do not have to be perfect.
All you have to do is be better than your competition.
Bad
Business Assumption # 2
Assuming you are the boss
80% of
the business owners and their staff I ask, “Who is the boss?” reply with the
wrong answer.
Regardless of how you feel about Wal-Mart you’ve got to believe that Sam
Walton was on to something when he
said,
“There is only one boss: the customer. And he can fire everybody in the
company, from the chairman on
down,
simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
Think
about it. Every employee in your business, from the person who signs the
paychecks to the person who sweeps the floor and cleans the restrooms,
ultimately reports to the same boss: THE CUSTOMER. All the customer has to
do to figuratively fire everybody is to simply take his or her business
somewhere else. If enough customers actually do take their business
elsewhere, then everyone, including the owner, could soon be out of a job.
My sales
increased immediately the day my staff and I realized that the customer
is the boss. Once we accepted that fact, our service increased and became
centered on the customer’s problems, needs and wants, not our desires.
Bad
Business Assumption 38
Assuming you do not have to put the customer first
While
dining one evening, I overheard this conversation coming from the adjacent
table.
Customer: I would like a large pizza.
Waiter:
You cannot have a pizza after 10:00.
Customer: Excuse me, what did you say?
Waiter:
We stop making pizzas at 10:00, because it slows down our
kitchen.. You cannot order a pizza.
Customer: Do you know who I am?
Waiter:
NO.
Customer: Please, I would like to see the owner or manager.
A few
minutes later the waiter returned with the manager.
Manager: May I help you sir?
Customer: Yes, I would like to order a pizza.
Manager: You cannot have a pizza. We stop making pizzas at 10:00,
because it slows down our kitchen.
Customer: Do you know who I am?
Manager: (After looking the customer over) No.
Customer: I am the most important person in your business life right
now.
I AM THE CUSTOMER!!!!!
After a
few seconds of thought the manager said, “What kind of pizza would you like
sir?” Does everyone in your business know who the most important person in
their / your business life is? Companies with a tradition of success have
always put the customer first. You can foul up on almost anything and you’ll
get another chance. But, if you screw up even a little bit with a customer,
they are gone. Gone to your competition.
Bad
Business Assumption # 39
Assuming the customer will buy without you asking for the sale
“85% of
the interactions between salespeople and prospects end without the
salesperson ever asking for the sale.” Retail News by Richard Fenton
I asked
a number of unsuccessful and marginally successful salespeople, “Why don’t
you aggressively ask for the sale?” I received these top 3 replies:
“I
don’t sell by pushing the customer.”
“In
this market you cannot be overly aggressive.”
“The
people here are different.”
And
then, after talking with them for a while, I got the truth, “I do not like
being rejected.” No one likes rejection. I don’t know of any person who
likes to hear the word “NO.”
It’s
okay. No, it is a must to ask for the sale. As hockey player great Wayne
Gretzky says,
“You
miss 100 percent of the shots you never take.”
It is
easy to never have the customer say “NO” when asking for the sale. But
first let’s get two well used practices out of the way, never to be heard of
or used again.
#1. The
Ostrich, head in the sand salesperson says: When the customer says “NO” I
do not hear them. I do not pay attention to them saying “NO.” I ignore it,
therefore, they do not say it.
Well,
you may not hear them saying “NO,” but they are saying it. And they are
hearing themselves saying “NO.” And once they start saying “NO” they will
continue saying “NO.”
#2. The
Overcomer says: I know how to overcome hearing the word “NO.” Although this
self confidence is good. Once the customer says “NO” the first time, it is
easier for them to continue to say “NO” when you ask for the sale. And why
waste valuable selling time trying to overcome a situation you do not have
to create in the first place?
Here it
is. The 100% Guaranteed technique to never having the customer say or think
“NO” when you are asking for the sale: It’s all in the way you ask for the
sale. Never give the customer the opportunity to say “NO.”
Ask
Choice Questions!!!!!!
I saw
one of my clients double the order she received from her customer while
taking the order simply by using the choice method I taught her. The
customer normally reordered 5000 units of a particular item every 3 months.
Instead of asking, “Do you want to reorder another 5000 units next month?”
my client said, “Since your busier season is coming, which would be better
for you to reorder, 10,000 or 20,000 units?
Table of Contents
Bad Business Assumptions
1…
Assuming you have to be the best marketer and salesperson
2…
Assuming you are the boss
3…
Assuming your customers will ‘refer’ you to others
4…
Assuming your customers will remember what you tell them
5…
Assuming you have to lower your price when the customer will not buy
6…
Assuming your customer wants to hear you talk about your products and
services
7…
Assuming that if your customers like you they will buy from you
8…
Assuming you know the perception the customer has of you and your
business
9…
Assuming what worked yesterday will work
today
10..
Assuming you are treating your customers the right way
11..
Assuming a mistake will cause you to lose the customer
12..
Assuming your customers will remember you when they make a buying decision
13..
Assuming you cannot get paid for all of your
services
14..
Assuming you have to be a big business to use what you got
15..
Assuming you will lose a customer when you make a mistake
16..
Assuming you have to go outside your business for new profit making
ideas.
17..
Assuming when a customer criticizes you the sale is lost
18..
Assuming only those who purchase from you are your customers
19..
Assuming you can provide everything your customer wants
20..
Assuming you cannot take another approach
21..
Assuming you can take your time when servicing a customer
22..
Assuming opportunities do not come your
way
23..
Assuming you have to have many, many selling skills to profit in the selling
business
24..
Assuming your customers cannot see you when you talk to them on the
telephone
25..
Assuming you cannot cut your advertising and marketing cost and still
increase sales
26..
Assuming the sale is over after the product / service is delivered
27..
Assuming you do not have to constantly increase your standards
28..
Assuming you don’t need to take the time to listen to others in your
industry
29..
Assuming you need to tell the customer everything about your products and
services
30..
Assuming you cannot create excitement for your products and services like
your major competition does
31..
Assuming you do not have time to build relationships with
customers
32..
Assuming only your sale staff need to provide outstanding service
33..
Assuming giving things away will help you gain sales
34..
Assuming you have lost the sale when the customer says, “Your Price is too
high”!!
35..
Assuming a customer objection will slow down your sales close
36..
Assuming your sales have to go down when the market slows
37..
Assuming you do not need to shop your competition
38..
Assuming you do not have to put the customer first
39..
Assuming the customer will buy without you asking for the sale
40..
Assuming you cannot do anything about losing customers
41..
Assuming your sales staff is properly trained
42..
Assuming the voice mail you leave will get your call returned
43..
Assuming your customers are not in a hurry
44..
Assuming you make a lasting impression on your customers
45..
Assuming your customers think you are honest
46..
Assuming you cannot take customers from your competition
47..
Assuming incoming calls are not a major source of sales
48..
Assuming the only way to increase sales is by increasing advertising and
lowering your price
49..
Assuming marketing has become complicated and complex 93
50..
Assuming convenience does not play a major role in attracting customers
51..
Assuming your customers will not tell you how to attract them to your
business
52..
Assuming failing to make a sale is of no value
53..
Assuming your point of view is important
54..
Assuming you are in an industry that does not allow you to become more
aggressive
55..
Assuming you are asking questions that will get you the answers you want
56..
Assuming your on hold message is gaining you customers
57..
Assuming you can not cut your operating expenses
58..
Assuming you are asking to talk to the right person when you make a cold
call
59..
Assuming listening to the customer with your ears is fully listening
60..
Assuming your selling message is being understood by your customers
61..
Assuming you can sell to customers before you do your homework
62..
Assuming you can only tell a customer about an offer once
63..Assuming customers see your business the same way you do
64..
Assuming all the customer is interested in is your products and services
65..
Assuming the only way to out perform your competition is by lowering price
66..
Assuming customers always tell you the truth
67..
Assuming all your marketing tools are making you money
68..
Assuming you have to hire someone to write your advertising copy
69..
Assuming your hours of operation are convenient for your customers
70..
Assuming customers will tell you if they are not satisfied
71..
Assuming your customers are comparing apples to apples
72..
Assuming you cannot solve your customers’ needs in a simple way
73..
Assuming the customer understands the details of the sale
74..
Assuming you can sell without showing the customer the value of your
products and services
75..
Assuming if a customer does not buy from you in a set time period you should
move on
76..
Assuming there is no magic in
selling
