“It’s really an expensive suit,” he said with honest candor, “It just looks cheap on me.”
What possessed him to say that in front of the customer? At first it didn’t make sense. As the sales process moved forward, it finally sunk in. In that simple statement he was creating the expectations in the mind of the customer that he would tell them the truth no matter what. And he was setting the stage for everyone to come away satisfied with the sale.
As a seasoned salesman he knew that as much as anything, people base their buying decisions on their trust in the salesperson first and the product or company second. He also knew that the expert handling of expectations is key to all successful selling.
Expectations imply future – the anticipation of something that hasn’t yet occurred; looking forward to receiving something; the hope that their trust in you will be rewarded.
Simple forthrightness, truthfulness, common sense sincerity and integrity will take you further than all the complicated techniques you can memorize. More than anything, it is what others think will happen that dictates their actions regarding you. They’ll buy from you when they feel you are looking out for their interests, before and after the sale.
PROMISE ONLY WHAT YOU CAN DELIVER
Certainly there are unforeseen circumstances that can interfere with delivery schedules. But unreliable guarantees and questionable promises can cause you far more damage than any marginal benefit derived by their use. And even if your product or service is the best in the market you can still come off looking like you’re untrustworthy when you fail to meet hastily set expectations.
If you deliver only excuses, reasons, justifications instead of meeting their expectations, you have lost a customer for good no matter what they tell you. They will go far out of their way to avoid doing business with you again. When you deliver on what and when you have promised, you have shown that their trust in you was well placed and you have created a repeat customer in them and their friends. And they’ll look for a way to do business with you again.
For example, lets say you promise that your service will guarantee $100,000 in new sales next quarter and they only hit $90,000. Your program will be viewed as a failure even if they would have been thrilled with sales of half that amount. Simply a case of mishandled expectations.
When you say that you can deliver it in three months when they know that usual delivery is six months, you’ve unnecessarily opened the door for disappointment in their minds.
When you put forward unreal expectations you are actually creating problems that didn’t exist. Additionally you are setting the stage for failure even when you may be doing more for them than they’ve ever experienced from other vendors.
You must discover what their expectations are, or what do they secretly “hope” will occur in their future sales? How long will this program really take in their minds? What market share is actually feasible in their minds? Find out! Because if you are too far off in addressing their expectations, you’ll come off as unrealistic and unknowledgeable about the complexities of their business. They’ll lose confidence and you’ll lose the sale.
SUMMARY
● Find out how much they realistically expect to invest.
● Find out when they need and expect to get the service or product.
● Find out where the funding for the investment is coming from.
● Align your services to help meet their expectations.”
● Under-promise and over-deliver
Finally, don’t underestimate the value of setting realistic expectations that can be accomplished on time. It is one of the most important ways that you can turn a sale into a satisfied and loyal customer.
And I think you’ll agree that you’ll both be much happier with the result.
daniel w. jacobs
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