Can't Sell - Won't Sell

This morning I visited electrical retail store Currys to view their range of HD televisions. I had done my research on the quality of different TV's on the internet, reviewing the customer reviews as well as independent professional reviews. I had settles on a 42 inch screen Toshiba. And I was ready to buy!

Consider this. Three males 'sales professionals' are stood in a group within 15 feet of me. I am attempting to find the specific TV I am interested in. If they pay attention, they will be able to see that I am actually looking at the labels on each 42 inch Toshiba - to find the one I want. But no, a full 5 minutes in to my search, instead of a 'sales professional' approaching me to see how (not if) he could help me spend my money, I have to approach them. I decided to speak with the one person who separated himself from the other 2....as last nights match must have been so good that it was far more valuable continuing to discuss it rather than generating a sale.

I advised the sales professional (sorry, it sounds a little sarcastic - BECAUSE they just weren't professional) of the model I wanted and he took me to it. Now, here is where it goes from bad (sales presentation to even worse. I had with me details of prices of the TV set from Amazon and another internet based company. They were retailing at £529 including delivery. Currys were retailing the same TV at £569. Upon being advised of the price difference, the sales bloke (not very professional now, at least in my eyes), said 'Oh, well, they're nearly always cheaper', shrugged his shoulders and then continued 'Sorry I can't help you'. How ridiculous is that? What is a sales professional paid for? To generate sales by helping people want to buy. To help the company create a profit so it can trade. But isn't the time to really hone your skill and competence when there is a recession going on and the opportunities to sell are far fewer?

If the bloke had helped me understand some of the risks of buying off the internet such as returns policy and inconvenience of dealing with a faceless company I may have been open to paying the price difference. But this either wasn't his way of thinking or operating - or the football match really was amazing and he wanted to continue that dialogue with his pals.

The lesson to consider:

When the economy is healthy and strong, virtually anyone can 'take a customer order'. When the economy is struggling and people are taking better care of their budgets - that's when you need to be able to sell. Many sales people get great bonuses for exceeding their targets, but many of them are simply taking an order, not selling.

Beware of complacency, it could destroy your business. And look at Amazon.co.uk - their prices are really good and their returns policy is really easy!

Is Customer Service Only for Existing Customers?

The email below demonstrates how even when times are tough, some companies just don't appear to appreciate that keeping commitments is so vital to them attracting and also potentially retaining customers (income).

Lots has been written about customer care and much of it is really good stuff. Really simple stuff - perhaps too simple for some people within companies to comprehend. The context is this. My friend visited a car showroom to explore a 3 year rental on a new vehicle (rrp £22,500). A commitment was made by the sales executive regarding producing and submitting monthly rental costs, but they never appeared. What impact does this have on the potential customer? I can't or won't trust you. They have told me of course, and now I'm sharing it with you. Good news travels fast - bad news, even faster!

In the UK several car manufacturers have either reduced car production, and one or two have stopped altogether for at least 2 months. There is a stockpile of vehicles waiting to be sold, possibly at knock-down prices because of the economic climate, and on this occasion, perhaps the sales executive didn't want to sell/lease a vehicle for reasons best known to herself.

If you are the chief executive of a company with 100 employees, whether it is in sales, production, quality control, customer care or health and safety and just 10% of these employees demonstrates such a blase approach to their work, what do you think the impacts could be for you and the future of your company?

How can managers put a positive stop on such behaviours/attitudes? How do you hold each employee personally responsible for their actions or inactions? When does poor performance become a formal disciplinary matter? How do you actually know when a company actually truly cares about you, your well-being, your results and value for money?

Email is below.

Dear Mr ......

I wanted to share some feedback with you regarding the experience my fiancée and I had recently at your showroom.

We enquired about a new VW Tiguan and were advised that we would receive quotes by email within 48 hours. This is now 2 ½ weeks ago and despite my partner and I phoning your sales rep on 4 separate occasions and leaving messages for her, we have received no response. While we initially asked for a 3 year lease, we have now agreed to actually purchase the vehicle outright from another dealer. This dealer kept their commitment and offered a deal which is good for us and they say it is good for them too.

While I feel it is reasonable to receive a high quality of service at any time, at a time when the economy is on a slippery slope, I’d expect a car dealership to do its best to make the most of turning prospects into customers. As we have now agreed to purchase the vehicle, I'm sure you can figure out how much income your outlet could have attracted, and how much it has now lost. Here’s to hoping that our experience was an isolated incident.

Regards

Don't Get Too Excited Too Soon - You Could Lose Out

Negotiation is a wonderful thing. When two or more human beings agree to speak openly, honestly and with everyone's best interests in mind, it can lead to an abundance of authentic, collaborative problem-solving and genuinely win-win relationships can be developed.

Using a car purchase as an analogy, have a think about the following scenario:

Car dealers are having a really tough time and you decide that it's time to make the purchase for your new vehicle. But, as you already know that the car sales industry is on it's last legs, at least for the forseeable future, you decide that you are in a very powerful negotiating position. You think, 'He will want to sell me the car more than I want to buy it'. A rather innocent, yet possibly misguided view perhaps?

The brand new, shiny, sexy looking car will bring you adulation, a few 'wows' from colleagues and friends the first time they see you in it. But remember, you only ever get one 'wow' from anyone - and the cars value has already lost a few thousand pounds within seconds - not minutes of your purchase. Watch out, there are more shocks to come!

The car is priced at £20,000. It's the very car you had set your heart on. But you already know, the dealer doesn't really expect you to pay £20,000. They've gone up in order to come down in price. This is the negotiation about to commence.

But, with your insider knowledge of the car market, you decide to be really cheeky, even a little mischievous and offer over the telephone a paltry £14,000 or it's no deal. Your expectation is that the dealer will return with a counter offer which will reach somewhere in the region of splitting the deal 50/50. You expect it, the phone rings and it's the dealer.

As you are the lucky customer this week and they appreciate your business, they have decided to accept your offer of £14,000 for the car (which retails at £20,000 remember). Tell me, what are your first thoughts about their acceptance - without a fight?

1. I could have done better.
2. I should have started with a lower offer.
3. What's wrong with the car because they gave in too quickly/easily?
4. Ouch - how do I get a lower price without appearing too greedy?
5. Something else???

What you didn't know, and the dealer wasn't about to tell you was this. Their profit doesn't only come from the profit made on each car, it is also generated from the volume of cars sold each month. They don't even have to sell all of their stock at a profit, they can sell one or two at a loss or break-even. And because you didn't know this, your initial negotiating power has all but disappeared.

When there is a high level of trust in a relationship, both parties are often willing to negotiating a genuinely win-win deal. A deal where the seller can still make a profit and where the buyer can know or at least expect that their needs and wants will be taken care of as agreed. When there is low trust, it's everyone for themselves - self-serving, self-defeating attitudes, behaviour and communication. See my previous article about buying a car and relating the tactics back to the workplace.

The moral of this story for the workplace? Don't get excited too soon, remain calm and seek to understand as much of the detail as possible. Always keep a win-win mentality very much in mind, help set a context so that all parties can negotiate openly and honestly to achieve what needs to be achieved and to deliver what needs to be delivered - to the standards required. Get the best deal you can, but not at the expense of losing trust and causing toxic relationships.

The long-term challenges faced by nationals of Northern Ireland were eventually progressed because the concept of win-win, letting go of the past upset/anger and resentment and focusing on how to negotiate for the future benefit of its people won over blaming each other and living in the past. Remember, the good thing about the past is, it's over. The bad thing about the future is, many people just expect it to be something other than brilliant. It's that very thought that stops it from being as wonderful as it can be.

How are the levels of collaboration and trust in your team? What steps can you take to improve relationships so that when you do need to negotiate, the relationship is solid and based on mutual respect and integrity? Do share.