Sales product pushers torture customers when they try to force the customer to buy what they’re flogging.
Here’s the anatomy of the pushing technique that does nothing to
add credibility to the sales profession.
Little interest is shown in what is going on with the customer. The sales person only cares about driving the product down the customer’s throat. There is way too much fast talk. It’s a monologue about the features and benefits of the product; it’s not a conversation. If the sales person takes a breath during their speech it’s a miracle. No knowledge of the customer is evident during this sales process. The product rules the conversation. Listening on the salesperson’s part is missing in action. The time is consumed by an abundance of sales transmitting. There is no solutions dialogue to be seen. It’s a product monologue only. The features of the product are highlighted. What the product does takes precedence over the VALUE it creates. “Techno-speak” characterizes the sales monologue. The salesperson is very impressed with their knowledge of the technology used to provide product features. There are no defences evident for the customer. The flogger is relentless. The customer looks to escape the unpleasant experience, but cannot. The sales engagement has a short term focus — what can you do for me today? There is little interest in presenting any long term benefits. The sales emphasis is more on what the product costs and how it is allegedly cheaper than the competition . VALUE considerations are lost in the sales pitch (perhaps there are none?). The pressure to buy is immense. The customer wants to get it over with and escape the pain. All through the process there is implied criticism on the customer if they don’t buy. “Don’t you realize the amazing deal you would get? is the question from the salesperson that is lurking in the weeds.Actually this picture of the sales encounter is really not the salesperson’s fault. They behave this way because it’s what their
leadership wants.Salespeople are compensated by how much product they sell, with little emphasis on building intimate relationships with people. It’s this “fuzzy stuff” that these leaders find difficult to quantify in terms of benefits to the organization and therefore they tend to exclude them from the evaluation of sales effectiveness.Of course this is absolute rubbish. If you want to know how to make sales relationship-building behaviors matter and build them into your leadership strategy
it’s not rocket science.The real issue is do you have the intestinal fortitude to focus on customer relationships as key to growing revenue or do you intend to go forward actually believing that that slamming products at people will get you the gold medal?Your call. I hope, your employees hope, your owners hope and your customers hope you make the right one.Related:
This Is What a Winning Small Business Strategy Is
