Sales start with being rejected

Chapter 21: Make Friends First——Let Clients Unable to Reject Your Networking Technique (3)
After contact and familiarization, whenever you have the opportunity, you should subtly tell people what you are doing, and introduce the significance and prospects of what you are doing.If you feel good about yourself, you can tell people how serious you are, how hard you are, how beautiful and successful you are.To do this, you can connect the stories before and after, talk about your work experience, talk endlessly about your ability, the prospects of your business, how your business can bring benefits to everyone, and what can you provide? What services can meet the needs of your potential customers.These verbal advertisements, face-to-face conversations, bring you closer to customers, and are easier to believe and accept than contacting by phone or letter.

There is nothing immoral in promoting yourself, the key is to be just right, which is also part of commercial advertising.An important part of advertising is getting people to know about your business and getting interested in your business.It is not difficult to do this, as long as you make people feel and can actually do it: your business is cheaper than other businesses of the same type, with better service and unique features, and your friends can get more favorable prices from you. Price and great service.For example, if you open a restaurant, your acquaintances and friends can eat in your restaurant more comfortably, deliciously and cheaper than in other restaurants, then they will come again next time, and they will introduce new friends and customers.

At the beginning of the business, the most difficult thing is to find the first customers. You can use the "consumer membership VIP card" to develop your business among your acquaintances and friends. You can enjoy discounts and other benefits when you spend with the card. This is also the way to attract the first customers. .The initial customers who take the initiative to come to your door should also be treated warmly and treated as VIPs, so that they can become your long-term customers.

In short, it is difficult to develop new customers, and it is even more difficult to maintain old customers.Pay attention to the first customers who come to your door and make them repeat customers; pay attention to your acquaintances and friends so that they can get benefits and become your long-term customers.As long as you do it seriously and treat each other with sincerity, friends of customers, friends of friends, these potential customers will all become your customers.Don't do "cooked and familiar", this is undoubtedly a "suicide behavior" in the sales industry.

Don't let customers jump ship because of dissatisfaction

When the customer is dissatisfied, the salesman must pay special attention, because if you don't handle it well, you are likely to lose the customer, and the customer's dissatisfaction is likely to affect other people.Therefore, when the customer is dissatisfied with the product or service, the salesman must pay attention to it and handle it properly, so that the customer will change from dissatisfied to satisfied and then to surprise.

So what should a salesman do?

(1) Respond to customer dissatisfaction with a good attitude

To deal with customer dissatisfaction, we must first have a good attitude, but it is easier said than done. It requires employees not only to have a strong will, but also to have the spirit of self-sacrifice to cater to each other. Only in this way can we better appease customers dissatisfied.

(2) Handle dissatisfaction according to customer wishes
To deal with customer dissatisfaction, we must understand what is the hope behind customer dissatisfaction, which is the root of solving customer dissatisfaction.On the surface, customers complained to insurance agents that they called the insurance company to ask the insurance company to deal with a simple problem and waited for several days without a response.But looking deeper, the customer is warning the agent that when the policy expires, they will go to another insurance company to renew it.Regrettably, many companies only hear the superficial dissatisfaction, and as a result, they lose customers in vain because of improper handling of customer dissatisfaction.

(3) Active actions to resolve customer dissatisfaction
The purpose of customers expressing dissatisfaction is mainly to let employees solve the problem with practical actions, rather than verbal promises or apologies. If customers know that you will take action, they can rest assured. Get out there.The action must be fast, so that customers can feel respected, express the sincerity of the operator to solve the problem, and prevent negative publicity from customers from causing heavy losses to the company.

(4) Give customers a higher level of compensation
Customer dissatisfaction is because the products or services provided by the operator fail to meet the needs of customers, and customers always think that they have suffered a loss of interest.Therefore, when customers are dissatisfied, they often want to be compensated.Even if the company gives them a little compensation, they tend to think that is what they deserve, and they are therefore not grateful to the company.At this time, if the compensation that customers receive exceeds their expectations, customer loyalty will often be greatly improved, and they will spread the word everywhere, and the company's reputation will also increase.

Several marketing executives went to a four-star hotel in Alaska, USA to participate in a seminar on service marketing theory.They want to relax for a few hours in the hotel pool the night they are about to leave for the airport.However, when they came to the pool in the afternoon, they were politely told that the pool was closed for a reception in the evening.These marketing executives complained that they would go home at night, the only time they had.After listening to their complaints, the waiter asked them to wait a while.After a while the hotel manager came to them and explained that the swimming pool had to be closed in preparation for the evening reception.But he went on to say that a limousine was waiting outside the gates to receive them and they would be taken to a nearby hotel where a pool was opening for them to swim.As for the cost of the car, all will be borne by our store.These gentlemen were very happy.They were very impressed with this hotel, and they are happy to tell the story of this service everywhere.

In addition, when dealing with customer dissatisfaction, the salesman must first pay attention to stabilizing the customer's emotions, distracting the customer's attention, and avoiding conflicts. The salesman can try the following methods.

(1) Ask the customer to sit down
When dissatisfied customers come to their door, most people will behave impulsively, reprimand loudly, and even beat their chests and feet.At this time, you have no way to communicate with customers.In order to calm impulsive customers as quickly as possible, the salesman should warmly invite them to sit down and express their dissatisfaction.I listened, recorded, and seriously wrote down the other party's opinions.

Keeping records will not only help the two parties to establish a friendly atmosphere for communication and negotiation, but also make customers think that their opinions have been taken seriously, and there is no need to continue to make noise.A complete and detailed record will enable the sales side to get closer to the customer, understand the real information of the customer, communicate the opinions of both parties, and provide a reference for the next step to handle dissatisfaction more properly.

(2) to show respect
A friendly and enthusiastic handshake gives the impression of meeting each other with sincerity. This is the etiquette that a salesman should have when meeting a customer.The correct handshake posture and strength can control the customer's dissatisfaction and play a calming role, so that both parties do not move their hands.If the customer refuses to shake hands for a while, the salesperson can try the handshake repeatedly for an excuse. The customer is hard to refuse because of the hospitality, and the atmosphere on the scene will quickly become harmonious.

Where conditions permit, the salesman can warmly receive dissatisfied guests to show comfort, such as toasting a cigarette, making a cup of hot tea, passing a few pieces of candy, and so on.In our daily life, we can see such a situation, a group of passengers booked a hotel room and could not live in it immediately, because the previous guests just checked out and left the hotel, the waiter was cleaning the room, and came from other places with big bags and small bags Passengers grumbled and complained in the corridors.Upon seeing this, the experienced manager immediately invited the guests to his office for a short rest, and made a cup of steaming tea for each of them. You won't be angry if you wait a little longer.

(3) Express understanding to customers
Customers who plan to come to express their dissatisfaction mostly like to win the support of bystanders. The same is true for customers who complain and complain in public. The more people there are, the more serious their accusations will be.Therefore, once a young and vigorous customer comes to complain, the salesman should quickly take the customer away from the scene, or go to the office, or go to a quiet place with few people to discuss the problem. Do not argue with him in front of the public, because in front of the public , Even if the salesman has ten kinds of reasons to explain, the customer also thinks he is justified.

One emergency way is to express understanding to customers in person, which is an effective way to connect with customers.If you can't express complete sympathy, the salesman should at least be sympathetic to a certain point. Imagine explaining to customers like this: "Thanks to your guidance..." "Of course you have reasons to express dissatisfaction..." "For this I feel the same way about the problem..." Such conversations tend to calm disgruntled customers.

(4) Delay for a while before solving

For the complaints raised by some customers, it is difficult to find the real root cause for a while, and some dissatisfaction is purely fictitious and cannot be satisfactorily resolved at all.When encountering such a situation, most shrewd salesmen adopt the method of procrastination, put aside the dispute in front of them, and suspend the processing, such as replying to the other party: "I will investigate the situation right away, and I will reply to you tomorrow."

Especially when encountering impulsive and impatient customers, don't rush to deal with complaints immediately, so as not to act hastily, the salesperson can pause first, and talk to customers about other topics, such as weather, social news, the other party's situation, etc., in order to make customers feel better. Putting forward opinions calmly and talking about problems rationally can also effectively treat and deal with customer dissatisfaction.

Language plays an important role at every stage of a sales pitch, and dealing with grievances is no exception.The negligence of the salesperson's wording and response will cause resistance and confrontation among dissatisfied customers.

For example, we often hear such sayings in ordinary speech:
"This is a misunderstanding……"

"Maybe my brother made a mistake..."

"Actually that's not the case..."

"I'll confirm it myself before I say..."

These statements are actually adding fuel to the flames. Sometimes, in order to appease the customer’s grievances, some salesmen adopt the approach of calming down the matter. On the surface, it is to appease the other party, but due to improper words, the effect is counterproductive, such as:
"Just for such a trivial matter?"

"It's not as serious as you said, is it?"

If you don't say this kind of words, it will cause the customer's misunderstanding. It will give people the impression that the customer is wrong and the responsibility is on the customer.

Sometimes, the request for return, exchange, and compensation exceeds the actual limit, and the seller is often unwilling to accept such an excessive request. If he categorically refuses it in person, or even reveals that the other party intends to blackmail, it will lead to emotional confrontation between the buyer and seller, and eventually suffer losses. is still the seller.Salesmen should not rush to show their innocence, let alone immediately point out that the responsibility is on the customer, but should guide them carefully and try to let the customer find the problem by themselves.

Experienced salesmen always avoid directly discussing issues such as refunds and compensation, but gradually understand the respective responsibilities of both buyers and sellers from the perspective of manpower analysis, eliminate dissatisfaction and exaggerated factors, and finally come up with conditions acceptable to both parties. The vast majority of requests are because the other party does not understand the specific situation, rather than deliberate rip-offs.

Generally speaking, customers' requirements are not as harsh as people imagine. Compared with the agreements or transactions that have been reached, the number and items of returns and compensations are very limited. After all, unreasonable cheating customers are very few.Starting from the overall situation, the salesman might as well suffer a small loss for himself. One step back is to take two steps forward, and accept the reasonable demands made by customers.

Only by making good friends can we succeed
Sales work is actually a kind of communication work. As a salesman, only by expanding the scope of communication, getting in touch with different people, and building a "relationship network" can the sales work be done well.In addition, you have to understand that salesmen do not have a certain working time limit, so you can build relationships and make good relationships anytime, anywhere.

Linda Miles started a consulting firm.She believes that maintaining a good relationship with customers is very important, so she often uses the time on the plane to write some short notes with blessings to them.She said: "I have developed such a habit." A passenger on the same plane said to her while waiting to claim her luggage: "I noticed you on the plane. During the more than two hours of travel, you have been Writing a short sign, I dare say your boss must be proud of you."

Miles replied, "I'm the boss."

Colette O'Brien's travel agency had so many foreign clients that she even carried a roll of fax messages with her on the plane, and when the plane landed, O'Brien would go to the business center to deliver the information to her clients.She said that fax messages can cross time zones, so it is very effective, as soon as the customer turns on the fax machine, her message is already waiting for you.

No matter how productive you are, there will always be people who will keep you waiting: you may miss the bus, subway, plane, and catch an unexpected break; you may have planned everything as carefully as you could, but you may unexpectedly get stuck At the airport, there are three more hours available for no reason.What high achievers say they do in this situation is: "I bring a book; I write; I revise reports; I check my voicemail, make calls; I get to know as many people as I can."

Even if it only takes 30 minutes each way to work each day, the total over the years is quite staggering.If you've never calculated the total, you might be surprised by this result: If you go to work five days a week, 30 minutes each way each day, the total time spent commuting to work for 50 weeks is 250 hours, which is equivalent to spending more than six weeks per year , 8 hours of working time per day.What a terrible thing!What a waste of six whole weeks!
In fact, when riding a car, there are not many neighbors who read or sleep all the way, so you can always find an opportunity to start a chatterbox.Once the topic is picked up, it will not only relieve boredom, but also relieve fatigue.If you are lucky, you may be able to get a client, or at least get to know one more person and gain some life experience.

American life insurance founder Frank.Betteger wrote in his book "Sales Experience from Failure to Success": "Even if you see schools of fish swimming, if you are not prepared, you will be disappointed. If you want to gain something, you must always Prepare your net for catching fish. And catching fish has exactly the same chance of success in life as catching fish.”

If you can't talk with your neighbors, you can listen to what others are talking about.Although it is not bright to eavesdrop on the conversation, as long as there is no evil intention, it is not a great crime, because they are talking in public places, and as long as the salesman is "the listener intends", he can obtain useful information.

Whether you can become an excellent salesman or not depends on yourself. If you can form good relationships and actively develop relationships, then you will build your own "relationship network", and success will be just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)