Are Your Customers Lying to You?

Usually salespeople are the ones with the bad reputation, but sometimes customers get it, too. Ever heard the saying, “buyers are liars”? Ever said it yourself?

Maybe you’ve used this phrase to describe customers who have “cheated” you out of a sale. The customer says they want one thing, and it turns out that they really wanted another. Before you could figure it out, the sale was gone. You complain and whine about the lost sale. It was the customer’s fault! Right?!

Sob Story

It goes something like this:

A young couple walks into your furniture store, looking for a new couch. They want a cream colored loveseat with a hideaway bed. You show them all of the couches that come close to their requirements, but they don’t like any of them.

You are expecting a new shipment of furniture to arrive at your store in the next few weeks, so you ask the couple for their contact information.

When the shipment arrives, you see a couch that you think the couple will love. When you call them, you’re surprised to hear that they have already found a new couch. You’re even more surprised to hear the couch’s description: a full-sized blue couch with built in recliners.

You hang up the phone angry. You had plenty of the couches like the one that the couple eventually bought, but you never thought to show those types of couches to them.

“They lied to me! If I had known what they really wanted, I could have gotten the sale!”

Well, you’re almost right â€" if you had known what they really wanted, you could have gotten the sale; but you’re wrong to blame this on the customer.

“But, Tom, my customers weren’t telling me the truth!”

But YOU weren’t doing your job!

YOU are the Reason Your Customer “Lies”

You are NEVER entitled to a sale â€" no matter how much time and energy you have invested into it. As a professional salesperson, you are only compensated when you successfully deliver value to your customer. It is YOUR job to convince the customer that your company and product are worth their business. The customer owes you NOTHING.

Sales aren’t lost when buyers don’t fully explain what they really need; sales are lost when the salesperson fails to ask intelligent, engaging questions to discover what the customer needs.

Instead of blaming customers and whining over lost sales, take responsibility and make some changes! You could get the sales you want if you learned how to ask smart questions that identify your customer’s needs and help you connect with your customers on a personal level. If you don’t understand why your customers are really buying, how can you present them with the answers and solutions they are looking for?

What makes a great question?

Get over your belief that customers need to be educated. Buyers don’t want to be educated; they want answers and solutions. Your questions should allow your customers to educate YOU on why they buy.

Asking limiting questions like, “What color couch are you looking for?” will lead to responses that are just as limited. A great, intelligent question is one that is followed by a pause. It makes the buyer stop and think before answering. These types of questions let the customer answer on their own terms, instead of yours, and will reveal their motivation for buying.

Smart questions also separate you from your competition. It makes your buyers say, “Wow, nobody has ever asked me that before!” Unique, thought-provoking questions give your customers a great reason to respect you. When customers respect you and your sales practices, they’ll be more truthful, giving you insight into the determining factors that will lead to the sale.

Ultimately, a great question helps you understand and connect with your customers. It helps you discover your customers’ true motives so that you can find the perfect solution for them. Finally, it saves you from the frustration and misunderstanding that comes from a lost sale.

How do your questions rate?

Write down the questions that you typically ask your prospective buyers. Do they accomplish the objectives of a great question?

Ask yourself if they:

1. Get a response beyond a simple “yes” or “no” answer?

2. Make the buyer seriously think before responding?

3. Help you better understand your buyer’s current situation?

4. Uncover your buyer’s past problems and past successes?

5. Reveal the wants, needs, dreams and passions of your customer?

6. Uncover the buyer’s real feelings; the emotional reasons for their prospective purchase?

7. Elicit truths and motives?

8. Separate you from your competition?

It is your responsibility as a salesperson to discover the true needs of your customers and help them find the solutions to their problems. This task is impossible without the use of great questions. With the right question, you can understand your customers’ motives, create an atmosphere that is unmatched by your competition, and, thankfully, never have to whine about your customers’ lying again!

Tom Richard conducts seminars on sales and customer service topics nationwide. Tom is also the author of Smart Salespeople Don't Advertise: 10 Ways to Outsmart Your Competition With Guerilla Marketing, and publishes a free weekly ezine on selling skills titled Sales Muscle. To subscribe to this free weekly ezine go to http://www.tomrichard.com/subscribe