Should you sell if there’s no fit?
Even if the customer asks for a certain product or service, qualify the customer and then decide if you should sell or not.
If there is no fit – no good qualification – it is probably the best not to sell and explain clearly to the customer eager to buy the reasons why. Be honest and stay positive.
Someone sold her the dress - bad!
The reasons not to sell are in order to avoid:
- Bad word of mouth
- Bad press – bad blog posts – bad tweets on Twitter
- Unsatisfied clients that will never buy anything else from you
- Missing selling to their peers or relations
- Wasting time of both companies
- High after sales service costs
Not selling will build your credibility and it is your chance to become a trusted advisor and not just a commissioner.
Will you sell if no fit?
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Your title caught my attention. Customers don’t like to be “sold” anything and instead enjoy buying things that are relevant to them and their needs/wants. Therefore, focusing on having accurate marketing messages and sales copy which cause people to buy is much more important. Consumers decide if they want to buy or not and it is up to the company to deliver exactly what the customer was expecting. Thanks for sharing this post.
There are definitely times when you need to remove your sales hat and put on the hat of a consultant. That is when you really work with the customer so you can clearly identify needs and determine if your product/service is a good match with what the customer wants. When you say, “no” if the customer wants to buy, you build credibility through your honesty.
RBF: ‘Consumers decide if they want to buy or not and it is up to the company to deliver exactly what the customer was expecting.’
–> And what if the company can’t deliver what the customer is expecting? Sell anyway? That’s exatly what this post is about.
Hey, remember Miracle on 34th Street? Macy’s sent customers to Gimbles and while they lost that particular sell, they gained others. It’s a sound practice that puts the customer first. Unfortunately, too many businesses are too cut throat and scared to do that today.
Discovering what the customer wants can o a long way in selling the correct product, I do not believe there is ever such a thing as a lost sale, you can still cultivate future sales by asking the right questions. Network, even when the client is not quite right, maybe at some point they will be right
@Orrymain. Yes, I do remember that scene from the movie. As a matter of fact, when I was younger and working as a sales clerk at a department store, I did the very same thing. Next thing you know the store manager is telling me about a very happy customer who was directed to another store that had what they were looking for. By providing the service, I had unintentionally created a loyal customer for our store.