Sell What the Customer Wants – Not What You Want to Sell

My son has his first sales job; selling Cutco knives.   It is quite an experience.  He went through 16 hours of unpaid training and had to purchase the sales kit prior to making any money so he is invested in the process.  At least financially.

He’s too new in the sales game to have learned the trick many sales people adopt – focusing their sales efforts on the items that bring the biggest commission.  He’s just following the sales pitch; thrilled when anyone makes a purchase. 

Watching him go through this process I’m reminded of other sales training and commission structures from my past lives in which the measurement was on selling the products with the highest margin.  What the customer wanted was irrelevant. 

As a new store manager at Pearle Vision, I was familiar with that selling tactic and didn’t approve, however, I did believe in rewarding my associates.  So each month I created a contest – the person selling the most of the “product of the month” received dinner for two on me. 

The difference?  The “product of the month” was a mystery – sealed in an envelope in a mayonnaise jar on Funk and Wagnalls porch since the first of the month until the month ended and the sales results were calculated.  The envelope would be opened to reveal the product and who ever had sold the most BASED ON CUSTOMER’S NEEDS, won the prize.

Today I received the monthly newsletter from the local Sandler Sales franchise: The Ruby Group.  The main article is entitled How to Avoid Price Objections, but really covers several sales techniques.  Number Four caught my eye:

4. You are attempting to sell what you want to sell or what you think prospects need; not what prospects want to buy.

People buy what they want, not necessarily what they need or what you believe they need. If you enter selling situations with preconceived notions about what you are going to sell, you will miss the opportunity to sell what prospects are ready to buy. Price may be the objection voiced by prospects, but the real obstacle may well be your own rigidity. When you make sales calls, leave your preconceptions in the car.

When we put customers first – we take the time to listen and ask questions to determine what they want and need and then we make recommendations based on that information.  Tying our products and services back to needs the customer has shared shows that you are listening, you care and you are interested in building a customer relationship – not just making a sale. 

If we sell to the customer’s needs rather than to the commission structure or margin percentages, we build relationships that lead to repeat business and referrals.  Isn’t that what really counts at the end of the day?