Your salesmen are doing it wrong. Sorry.
Do you wonder why some of your salesmen perform so much better than others? The problem frequently lies in the underperforming salesman not understanding the customer’s point of view. You, as a marketer or owner, need to make sure he has all the relevant information to be able to empathize with the customer.
So how do you get him to understand and empathize when he has never experienced the challenges of the customer?
The answer lies in Jeffery and Bryan Eisenberg’s new book “Buyer Legends”. They postulate that a well written story on a particular customer experience can be the answer.
Storytelling provides context in which people can identify with how customers feel. Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com, has replaced PowerPoint presentations with 4-to-6 page narrative memos in his staff meetings.
“Each memo must clearly state the challenge and objective…This is one important reason Amazon.com is innovating at breakneck speed and delivering a customer experience that is years ahead of its competitors. They are actively writing their history and rewriting their futures in story format prior to making business decisions…” – Buyer Legends
Stories not only entertain, they allow us to understand each other and experience what others experience without having lived through it. Stories bridge the experience gap by bringing facts into vivid perspective.
Salesmen, using stories, will naturally be able to change the way they interact with customers. It will help them become empathetic, because they can appreciate what their customers are going through.
An online freight management company created an online system that provided instant quotes for freight shipments. One of their main selling points was the amount of time their program would save the warehouse manager from making phone calls to freight brokers for a freight quote. What the company didn’t realize is that the warehouse manager didn’t actually make multiple phone calls but simply mass emailed all of his brokers. So their potential customers didn’t think the program was solving their specific needs.
The company may have foreseen this oversight if they had done a narrative of the customer’s challenge and redirected their focus on helping the warehouse manager manage his emails.
The salesmen could have lead with “Instead of sending mass emails then having to read 10 to 20 replies and potentially answering all of them, you can simply get all the freight quotes you need with just one click. Isn’t that so much easier? No back and forth emails. No time wasted getting a quote.”
Do your salesmen understand what your customer is really looking for?
Morty Silber, CEO
Mad Strategies Inc.
a Wizard of Ads Partner