Product-focused sales can lead to customer boredom and fatigue, and sales should focus on communication and problem-solving with customers.
Understanding customer needs and presenting products accordingly is crucial for persuasion. Simply highlighting product features is unlikely to win over customers.
Sellers can achieve more effective and intelligent sales results through a sales strategy that prioritizes communication with customers.
These days, when you look at sales books, forums, and insights, the key points are communication with customers and solving their problems. If you just list and explain the products you're selling, customers may feel bored or tired. Basically, who enjoys a situation where only one person is talking?
Sales are changing, or perhaps they've always been this way, but I wonder if people aren't taking sales too lightly. Especially when it comes to outbound calling, communication with customers is crucial, but it seems to be overlooked.
Last weekend, I received a call from an unknown number. It was a marketing call from a credit card company that had obtained my number. They were selling cancer insurance services.
They didn't seem to care whether I already had cancer insurance, or what type of insurance I had. It was as if they were completely unconcerned. They just kept talking about why I should sign up for their service.
I almost hung up, but maybe I was in a good mood that day, or something, because I wanted to end the call politely. I said, “Oh, yes, I don't think I need it.” When a customer tries to hang up, the next step in cold calling is usually to try and keep them on the line. I'm sure no salesperson would let a customer hang up if they sensed it was about to happen.
After I refused once, they started talking a bit faster, saying that I should still consider it, that the product was organized so well and was being offered exclusively to me. They tried to convince me.
I get that the product is good, but what does it matter if it's good? Should I adapt to the product, or should the product adapt to me? If I need it, it has meaning; if I don't, it's meaningless.
That expensive and supposedly wonderful Chanel bag. I don't need it. I wouldn't carry it, and I wouldn't have any occasion to carry it. If I had one, I'd probably sell it, but I wouldn't buy it with my own money. To convince me, they would need to figure out if I need a bag, if there are situations where I might need a bag, and what situations would make a Chanel bag beneficial or meaningful for me. Then, they could introduce the product and its features in a way that aligns with my response. That's how they could persuade me.
After three refusals, I finally managed to hang up. I wasn't in a great mood, but I was also grateful. It made me think, ‘Oh, this is how people feel when I make cold calls.’ I think cold calling is really tough. You have to create something out of nothing, capture the customer's attention in a short amount of time. When a customer expresses their unwillingness to engage, you start to feel the pressure. If you fail, your livelihood could be at stake, so honestly, it's scary and nerve-wracking.
Although the success rate is low, if salespeople adopt a concise and polite approach, focusing on communication rather than product introductions, wouldn't they be able to sell more wisely and quickly?