A car salesman yelled at me the other day.
He called to ask whether I was still interested in the car I test-drove with him.
I told him I was leaning toward another car, which I named.
“Have you read the Consumer Reports article about that car!?” he barked.
(He may as well have said, “What are you, some kind of idiot? You’d be a fool to buy that car!”)
“No,” I mumbled, “I haven’t read it.”
“Well you should,” he said sternly. “And then we should talk again.”
“Fat chance!” I thought.
I don’t get it when salespeople try to browbeat and belittle prospects.
I guess that works for some salespeople.
But it doesn’t work on me.
The irony in this case: I told him I was leaning toward the other car, not certain to buy it.
The deal for my favored car may fall through. But if that happens, I’m not crawling back to the barking salesman.
Here’s what works with me (and works best for prospects in most situations): Mutual respect.
Barking like this salesman is blatant disrespect. It seems like a no-brainer no-no to me.
The challenge for us non-barkers is to refrain from more subtle forms of disrespect…
…Talking over prospects instead of listening…
…Assuming that we have “just the ticket” for a prospect when we have no understanding of the prospect’s aspirations and fears…
…emphasizing features instead of benefits.
Yeah, I said it… Emphasizing features instead of benefits is a form of disrespect. When we do this (and we’ve all done it), we put ourselves and our products at the center of the story. The prospects and the outcomes they desire become secondary.
Putting yourself first and your prospect second is a subtle form of disrespect.
It may be less blatant than barking at a prospect.
But subtle disrespect is still disrespect. The more you do it, the less you’ll sell.
Tom
MarketVolt
p.s. We help businesses figure out what they sell. Then we help them identify and connect with their target markets so people will listen to what you’re saying. If you want to discuss how to make it happen for your business, email me at tom@marketvolt.com. For no charge and no strings attached, we’ll discuss with you how you’re building email lists, generating new leads and generally finding and connecting with prospects.
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