The 3 Deadly Sins

I've been fascinated to watch sales people scamper to save deals which have stalled during these challenging times of restrictions. Myself included, I have paniced when customers have called to say they would would like to put everything on hold for 6, possibly 9 months. But but but...... Our natural human reaction here is of flight, flight or freeze! Many of us will fight for reasons why they should consider contiunting the project if physically possible.  This reminded me of Neil Rackham's research in his book Major Account Sales Strategy where he talks about the 3 deadly sins of dealing with an emotional buyer. These are (1) Minimising, (2) Prescribing and (3) Pressuring

Minimising
One way of responding to this crisis is try and miminise the impact by insisting normaility will return soon so we should get on with planning our existing opportunities and  hit the ground running when we come out the other side. Unfortauntely although this may be positive thinking it doensn't demonstrate much genunine empathy or listening skills to what really is going on

Prescribing
Another common response is to try desperately to presecribe an alternative solution for our customer to fit better in these current times. I have found this the most common response today. Unfortuantely it can be the most damaging because it looks desperate and we are often second guessing what the customer's real problem and need is right now. Untimately their need has changed and we can  stop looking like a expert in their business when prescribing something they have little interest in.

Pressuring
To be honest, I am not seeing a  great deal of this sin as most of us are being empathic to the customer's situation. However pressuring to get deals right now and using discounting strategies or deadlines can come across poorly. I did hear one organisation offering to hold stock if they still order so they could keep their current contracted rates. Obviously these strategies are not going to help your long term realtionship. Be mindful that constantly going back to the customer and reminding them of the benefits of your solution could also be deemed as pressuring.

As a seller today I encourage you to avoid these three deadly sins and instead demonstrate true empathy, listen to the customer and be authentic. Only the customer can solve their own emotional state. Your role is to act like a coach with an empathic led conversation. Invite the customer to come up with ideas to help each other through this time and bridge the gap between emotional and rational thinking. Good Luck and if you want to learn more about empathic led conversations click here