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Brick No69: Why the best salespeople don't sell
By Matt Weston, Friday 28 May 2004 Any colour . . . as long as it's black The only choice Henry Ford offered his customers was Hobson's choice. Order your Model T Ford in "any colour . . . as long as it's black". It worked beautifully 90 years ago (when the world was led by production not the market) but the "one size fits all" option doesn't work so well today . . . unless you've got the luxury of no competition. Think of it this way: everybody likes to buy . . . but nobody likes to be sold to. Offering no real choice, Hobson's choice, or "one size fits all", means that you have to "sell" your product. If you offer your customer a choice, you allow them to "buy". Why the best salespeople don't sell I bought Jo a tennis racket last week for her birthday. I try to patronise small businesses, so despite being within spitting distance of at least three department stores, I paid a visit to the local racket sports specialist - a small family-owned, single-outlet business. I was introduced to the "tennis specialist". I told him how much I had to spend . . . nope, I can't say how much, Jo copy edits these bricks. He asked how long she'd been playing (12 months); her height (5' 7"); the size of her hands (bit smaller than mine); whether she was a serve-volley or baseline player (dunno). After considerable thought he produced three rackets (from an overall selection of several hundred): one Slazenger, one Wilson, one Head - all within my price range. I chose to "buy" the Wilson. I walked out the shop completely happy I'd made the right purchase. That's a great example of how the very best salespeople don't"sell". They use their superior knowledge (not the gift of the gab) to offer a choice, and help their prospects "buy" the most appropriate solution. If the tennis specialist in the shop had come back with one racket and said, "buy this" I'd have felt like I was being sold to (did it have the highest commission on it, or was it old stock they wanted to shift?). On the other hand, if he'd reappeared with twenty rackets, I'd have been too overwhelmed and confused to make a decision. With three rackets, he got it just right. More often than not, three is the magic number. Any less and you're being "sold" to, any more and you're overwhelmed. Look at Tesco. It swears by "Good. Better. Best". Whatever you're buying, from shampoo to baked beans to lemonade, Tesco always offers you a choice between "Good", "Better" and "Best" options. Offer relevant choice, and help your customers to "buy". But don't offer too much choice, you'll only confuse. Remember to sign up: back to top |
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