Why Do Your Customers Buy?

Truth be known, they and the salesperson do not know!

It's one of those questions that create controversy in the physiological circles. You ask the customer why they made a given purchase and you get a predictable answer.  It was a bargain, I like the salesperson, it was a good value and on and on.

In reality when pressed further with probing questions the answers, become very different!

This is important to any salesperson or organization because it can help you to differentiate yourself for the competition in ways that make a real difference!

I'll use a personal example that happened as I tried to spend $1,000…..

My mother is 92 and has a tough time getting around being she had Polio as a young girl. Her power lift chair the family bought her six years ago had pooped out. Ok, I'll take some time and get it either fixed or replaced.

First step, determine if we can get it fixed or at least how much the parts might cost. This should be a simple phone call and not much time invested. Here are the results:

a.       Contact the furniture store where the chair was originally purchased. (3 different numbers to discover)

a.       No they no longer handle that brand

b.      No their service department does not deal with electrical components

c.       No they cannot help, only suggest calling the manufacture direct

b.      Contact the manufacture on the paper work (2 different numbers to discover)

a.       Oh, we do not make that model, it's done by another manufacture and you'll have to contact them. We would have no parts or service for that unit.

c.       Contacted the next manufacture with the phone number provided

a.       Got a message to call another number to hear a fantastic new offer!

I charge $200-400 an hour for my time, this just got very expensive with no results.

Point one: If you run your customers around in this way, do not ask why you have no loyalty from them. After 45 minutes of frustration the determination was to buy a new chair, but not from any of these companies!

A quick stop at the specialty store, after a wait to find a salesperson,I have a nice friendly salesman in his 50's come over to me.

I immediately inform him of what the need is and ask what solutions he might have.

There are a few specific closed questions and then silence.

I then ask him to educate me on the difference between the high end and low end offers. (Called flagging and highly important to decision making.) There were 30 chairs on display in all shapes, colors and sizes.

He gave some brief insights into each and the difference; then went for the brochure saying, "Here are all the models, options and colors." There were 30 models on the brochure with as many colors and all kinds of measurements and detail.  Uh, what's all this mean?

I then ask him what I really need to know in order to fit the chair properly to my 92-year-old mother.

He indicated the four measurements needed and how to check the chart so the right size chair could be determined.

I asked more questions about delivery, setup, warranty and Medicare assistance.

He answered all the questions and indicted we would need a prescription from the physician in order to get any funds from Medicare, but that could be taken care of later.

I left with the brochure and his name scrawled on it.

Being unimpressed other than they had inventory, I went to another store a few blocks away. We spare the details, but needless to say it was even more pathetic. No questions of any kind, no knowledge of the product on the floor and minimal inventory to select.  

Any of you that regularly read my articles know how I believe in effective questioning as the key element in sales. What do you think of these two examples? Neither salesperson really knew what the situation was, what was important to me as the buy or my mother as the user, what timetable we had, our view of value or how we made decisions.  All of which would have been uncovered with a few simple well-placed open questions! By the way, who was asking all the questions?

Later when the measurements had been verified, I called the first salesman, provided the numbers and asked what they had in stock that would meet the size and color. I was given six options that were in stock and fit the size requirements along with the prices, which went from high to low range.  I asked questions again to verify policies on delivery, payment and Medicare requirement, all of which he confirmed the same as before. There were no more questions from him, end of conversation.

The next morning my sister called and indicated she would be in town and wanted to help pick out the chair and pay for part of it. I called the salesman and left a message we would be in later that morning. As I drove to the store, a phone call from the salesperson came through. He was out of town that day, stop.

 "Well, who should we work with to get this completed this morning?" I asked.

"Oh, any of the girls at the desk can help you out."

I again asked about the requirements from the physician and Medicare; I received the same answer that it could be taken care of after the fact.

At the store again, we approached a young lady at the counter and explained what we wanted, gave her the model information and that we wanted delivery as soon as possible.  Everything was fine until I asked how the Medicare aspect worked.

"Oh we have to have the prescription from the Physician before we finalize the sale, otherwise they will turn it down if we backdate it." Not exactly what I had been lead to understand.

Now we have to have a very difficult to get a hold of physician do a prescription today! Having found the number, the assistant assured us they could have it faxed over before the end of the day.  We completed the transaction and set the delivery time for the next day. We pushed for the same day delivery, but there was no way the delivery could happen with an overbooked delivery schedule.

Now after all that does anyone know how and why the choices were made? I'll assure you the salesman does not!  From the clues in the article, can you?

Point two: Most buyers are looking for someone to help them through the decision process! This requires the salesperson to gain an understanding of the customer's needs, wants, desires and situation.  Be inquisitive and discover the what, why, how and when of the customer!

What were the decision factors in this sale?

·         Price was not an issue, a minor factor yes, not the main issue.

·         How about quality or value? Yes, these had an influence, but the only real difference was the chair, they all used the same mechanism. 

·         How about trust or competency of the supplier? Yes, this did have an impact, perhaps more than others did. The store was a large regional entity with full support and part of a large local hospital concern. We were not dealing with a "Big Box Store" or Internet supplier. 

·         The real decision driver, time! Here is my 92-year-old mother getting more uncomfortable each day and being unable to function as she had before. Sitting was a challenge and getting up was all but impossible. The chair had become a necessity rather than a luxury.  Yet the question was never asked!

I estimate a good salesperson, asking the right questions could have closed this sale in ten minutes or less instead of the multiple stops and phone calls, it did take.  That brought out my "High D" and frustration.

If you want to differentiate you, your products and your company, avoid being the above sales people and companies!

Instead:

1.       Focus on discovery and understanding your customer's true needs, wants and desires.

2.       Think through all aspects of the process and tell the truth! The customer will discover the truth and now you have no credibility, much less the extra frustration it causes.

3.       Make it easy for your customer instead of impossible to do business with you. Follow-up and service makes the next sales and drives loyalty.

I would be interested in hearing your "trying to buy" examples.   HHG@HGoergerAssoc.com

Harlan Goerger

© Harlan Goerger 1-2010