Being honest with your customers pays off

So, here I am as the sales manager of this manufacturer, answering a phone call from a customer. It was a very polite woman, head of the purchasing department of a known law firm, who was looking for a very inexpensive and ordinary item to fit into one of their cabinets. Unfortunately for me, that item was not in our portfolio and I didn’t have anything similar to offer her. So, instead of trying to push her a totally different full solution that would cost her at least a hundred times more, I decided to be honest and transparent as I always am. I let her know that our company didn’t manufacture that item, but if she were interested, I could check with one of my contacts whether they had what she was looking for. She was grateful with the solution I offered.

I consulted my agenda and found one of my trustful colleagues, a non-competitor, that would certainly have that item. I called him to make sure of that, told him that I would provide his contact information to one of my customers and that I expected a top-notch service and product from his part. Long story short, my customer had the answer for her need and was very satisfied with the solution I brought her. One may think … great job, you lost a sale! Well, it is true, I lost that sale, but I won that customer. I had won her trust.

A couple of weeks later that customer called me again and her requirement now was that full solution I mentioned before. Good for her, and good for me, of course! The customer was happy and my company made a fair profit too.

When dealing with a prospect or a customer, one of my ‘commandments’ to the team I lead (and myself, of course!) is … treat them as you would want to be treated if you were the customer. Put yourselves in their shoes. Be honest with them. If you can provide the product or service they need, great … tell them. If you can’t, tell them as well! Remember, in sales we are here to provide solutions, not to create problems. Actually, I believe the prospects have enough problems and we don’t want to be seen as a troublemaker, but rather as a solution-provider!

Something that I see quite often – an attitude specially coming from newbies – is to provide too much information to the customer. Maybe because they want to prove themselves and demonstrate their knowledge about the solution they are offering, sometimes they provide information, and more information and more information. They almost ‘drown’ the customer with all that! Of course, you don’t want to hide or to omit what is relevant to the customer, but providing too much details will most likely create confusion in their minds, generating doubts and incertitude. Needless to say, lying is never an option!

Probably in a neck-and-neck competition with over-information for the most common mistake when dealing with customers, would be over-promising. In their anxiety to close a deal, some folks make some wild promises, promises they will never be able to deliver. Don’t give unrealistic expectations to your prospects as this is a very big mistake! As mentioned in a previous article, bad publicity spreads more and faster than the good one. Over-promising establishes a climate of mistrust and it will definitely hurt your revenues. You don’t want your business to be included in this disappointing category and be seen as a second-rate provider. As we all know, creating a good image for a business takes a lot of effort, but destroying it is quite easy and quick.

Being honest with the customers is the right thing to do, but there is something else, which is the impact it has on yourself and on the staff. It builds the confidence and the self-esteem of the company as a body. The team will feel they are really offering an awesome solution, they will be proud about that; this will inspire them and they will believe more in what they are selling, consequently they will sell more, bringing more results, increasing their belief even more, creating this virtuous-circle that is so often seen in successful businesses.

This article is for general, indicative purpose only and should not be considered investment advice. Florida Connexion is not liable for any financial loss, damage, expense or costs arising from your investment decisions based on this article.

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