Cell Phone Sales Blunder

Annette wrote about her positive customer service experience in her last blog . I have a different twist. This one is from the sales side.

If the original salesperson had found out exactly what we needed in the way of a phone, there would have been no need for the phone to be returned. We would have purchased the correct phone for our company’s needs the first time around!

In the sales process, a good salesperson must uncover the prospect’s needs.

Now, Annette went to the phone store with a list of requirements for the cell phone in question. But I know that “long talk time” was not on that list. Why? Because she just assumed that the phone would meet the talk time requirements. After all, the last phone our production coordinator used was fine. Why wouldn’t this updated phone be the same?

The salesperson listened to her list and immediately picked out a phone based on those requirements. No probing to see if there may be other needs. No questions about how the phone would be used.

And we got the wrong phone!

In the sales process, always probe further. You are the expert. Not your prospect. Find out your prospect’s needs and design a solution to fit.