A Simple Way to Distance Yourself from Your Competition
Every seller, no matter what product or service they sell, is looking for ways to demonstrate how they differ from their competition. Most of us will go to great lengths to try to make our prospects and clients recognize how unique we are and how fortunate they are to be working with us.
In order to create that sought-after difference some of us will talk up how great our customer service is. Some will give out cute or useful freebies, others will bring in other vendors to help create the perfect comprehensive solution to their prospect’s or client’s issues.
Certainly we should be giving exceptional customer service. The problem is every one of our competitors is claiming to have the best customer service, also.
And by all means we should be doing everything in our power—including partnering with other vendors if necessary—to offer the best and most comprehensive solution. The problem is most of the time our prospects and clients don’t really grasp the true extent of our solution until after the product or service is delivered and has been in place for a while.
But there is a much simpler way to not only demonstrate a real difference between yourself and your competition, but to give your client a very different experience than what your competition would give. Furthermore, this strategy is so seldom used that it really stands out to the client.
What, pray tell, is the fabulous strategy that is simple yet can make such an impact on your client?
It is simply giving the client the purchasing experience they want rather than the one you think they want.
It's so simple, yet so few sellers do it because frankly they have no idea what their clients want to happen during the purchase. And they never even think to ask.
Yep, that’s it. Couldn’t be simpler, could it?
Most sellers mistakenly think they know what their clients want to happen during the course of the sale. Ask a seller what their client wants, and they’ll rattle off a number of things -- on-time delivery, prompt service, a quality product at a fair price, a seller they can trust, and a number of other “expectations.”
These are so general that they are almost useless in defining a client’s real purchasing expectations.
What does “on-time delivery” really mean? Does it mean the same thing to each and every customer?
What does prompt service mean? To one customer it may mean that a phone call is returned within 24 hours, to another it may mean the call should be returned within an hour. To another client a phone call might be totally out of the question as they prefer to communicate only through email.
The fact is that no two of our clients have the same expectations but we treat them all the same because we assume we know what they want.
We never ask the most basic and simple customer service question: “What can we do to make this the exact purchasing experience you want?”
That question is asked so infrequently (some customers have never been asked that question) that many customers won’t know how to respond; they really won’t understand the question.
In that case you’ll have to ask some follow-up questions such as: “How do you prefer to be contacted, phone or email?” “If something comes up and I really need to speak with you, is there an emergency number that I can reach you at?” “Do you want me to keep you posted daily or weekly, or would you rather I only contact you if there is an issue or question that needs to be dealt with?”
Obviously the number and type of purchasing experience questions you need to ask will depend on the particular product or service being purchased.
And a great side benefit is you can find out up front if your client has an unrealistic expectation, and if they do, you can deal with it before it becomes an issue later in the sale.
If you want to really make a quick impact on a client and put yourself in a different category from your competition, quit forcing them to live through the purchasing experience you want to give them and begin giving them the purchasing experience they want.
It’s simple—just ask them, they’ll tell you—and then all you have to do is give them the exact experience they wan—and that no one else can give them. You’ll be a hero—and all you had to do was ask a few questions that you should have been asking every client anyway.
