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Diagnosing Customers And Their Problems

Customers must discover, understand the impact of, and take ownership of

problems before deciding to seek a solution. Customers rarely reach

conclusions about their problems at the same time that the salespeople do.

When a salesperson moves too quickly and too far ahead of their customers,

they create a gap that the customers often see as applying pressure. The

result is mistrust and a confrontational atmosphere.

People reveal their true feelings and problems only when they believe their

input will be respected and no negative consequences will result from the

information they share. Be careful to communicate by word and deed; this

will let them know that you mean no harm. This nurturing attitude enables

open communication and mutual understanding and maximizes the

probability of a positive quality decision.

Your goal is to play short expertise in the customer's context. It must get

deep into the symptoms, causes, and consequences of the prospect situation.

If you help the customer create the criteria that they need to make a quality

decision and then offer a solution that meets those criteria, there is no closing

required.

There Are Fundamentally Only Two Reasons

Why Customers Do Not Buy

They don't believe they have a problem, or it is not serious enough

to do anything about. They really don't have the incentive to

change.

They don't believe the solution proposed will work. They know

they have a problem and they want to take action, but they do not

have confidence in the proposed solution.

Successful salespeople ask the right questions to understand and

communicate the customer's problems. These questions are purposefully

designed to avoid turning conversations into interrogations, or interviews and

surveys. They help the salesperson develop integrated diagnostic

conversations in which the customer's self-esteem is protected and mutual

value is generated thereby stimulating communication.

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By asking the right questions salespeople help customers to realize

that they have a problem that is affecting their personal or their

business objectives.

Help customers thoroughly explore the dimensions of the problem

and the sum of the total cost within.

Help customers determine whether that cost justifies immediate

action relative to other issues and opportunities they face.

Now that the customer has made the decision to change, who do you think

the customer believes is best qualified to help design a high-quality solution

to the problem? The conventional salesperson believes the decision to buy is

made much later, after a presentation and after a proposal. Since you have

established exceptional credibility, it is highly likely that they have decided to

buy from you and your company before any proposal.

Don't Forget To Introduce Primary Alternatives with Customers

By doing this you are teaching customers that the questions they need to ask

the vendors of alternative solutions and will able them to sort through the

competitive smoke and mirrors.