Why Assuming is Wasting Your Customer’s Time

I am thinking of buying an electric car. Biting the bullet of living by our principles and going sustainable, our family decided that prolonging needed to change into commitment. So, last weekend, my wife and I blocked Saturday morning to visit some car dealers in the area. We walked into the first showroom, stopped, and sat in a trendy-looking model. It caught our eyes, so to speak.

Without asking any questions, a Salesperson appeared from behind, rambling about horsepower, gadgets I had never heard of before, that it comes with a panorama roof, and that this model is available at a discount today. “

I asked, “Is it electric”? He looked at me and said, “No, it’s a petrol car, so we offer it at a discounted price”. I replied, “We are looking for a fully electric car”. He realized we got off on the wrong foot and that he had made a significant mistake. He assumed we were interested in buying this model and that some nudging would spark our interest. He was in the Change to Who of the buying phase, while we were in Change to What.

We didn’t spend too much time with this salesperson. He was wasting our time.

Assuming vs Verifying

Why am I sharing this story with you? Because assuming where your customer is in their buying process is your worst mistake; You will waste their time. To make the conversation relevant for them, everything you say and ask depends 100% on which phase of the buying clock your customer is in. Your sales process needs to be aligned with the customer’s buying process. Verifying this unknown is a better tactic before deciding what to say or ask as part of your sales process—doing this well in Change to What? buying phase will move an opportunity forward.

What could he have done differently?

He could have introduced himself and offered his help. Then, he could have asked, “What are you looking for?” He would have understood that we were looking for an electric car.  He could have offered, “Maybe I can help narrow down your options.”

When potential buyers have decided to change (moving from Why Change to Change to What?), they are often overwhelmed by the available options. So, what is the salesperson’s job here? Exactly, offering help.

Discovery in Change to What?

This went a lot better in the second showroom. The salesperson helped us figure out what she wanted us to discover.

1. Our solution criteria, based on budget and driving requirements
2. What other customers experienced
3. The business case to reinforce the Return on Investment

She said, “Sometimes these showrooms look like a big candy store. What if you allow me to define, with you, what most likely fits your budget and driving requirements? I can help you with narrowing down your options”. That sounded a lot better.

I liked that she didn’t push or move too fast toward closing a deal while moving from car to car. At one stage, she said, “Three weeks ago, I helped a family decide on this car, and they are raving about it. But I suggest you need to drive it yourself first. I can help organize that. Would you like to do that, or would you like to see more options, or go back to previous ones we explored?”

When we returned from our test drive, the salesperson waited for us and asked about our experience. She could tell from our replies that we liked the car. However, reading my body language, she said: “Buying a car should also be a business decision. Ultimately, it is a lot of money, and you want to be sure that you make the best decision from a financial point of view, am I right”? I confirmed.

She invited us to her office and asked us to sit down while pointing at the screen of her computer. We were looking at a comparison of several brands similar to the one we drove. She said: Although the model you have been driving meets your budget and driving requirements, from a monetary standpoint, it’s good to know what this car would be worth after two to three years. This website compares that to similar EV vehicles of different brands..and as you can see, your choice comes out as one of the best trade-in values.

We were impressed and happy with her help.

Selling is Helping in Every Phase

As a Trusted Advisor, you must help your customers move forward in their buying process. Most salespeople who sell with the buyer’s perspective get better at this when the customer is in Why Change. They let the research do all the talking. The Change to What phase is a different story. Here, you should slow down and avoid talking about your company and your solutions – which is a challenge because we, as Salespeople, often jump on every buying signal (in Why Change) while your customer wonders what needs to change.

I hope this blog post helped you use the Change to What buying phase more thoroughly, using the tips from the second car salesperson. We are currently negotiating with her.

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