How to build trust by rejecting the order

Believe It Or Not, You Can Gain Credibility By Actually Turning Down Business

Before sense can be made out of the title for this editorial, a review of some of the basic principles of conducting business effectively is in order. When this publication was launched in 1982 and subsequently called the "Bible of the Industry" by The Wall Street Journal, we focused on the principles of conducting business over the phone, with a strong emphasis on hiring, training, compensation issues and selling techniques, which were the hottest topics in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s. I personally lectured at the original call center convention called TBT (Telemarketing and Business Telecommunications), which was launched by Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) in 1985. At that time, I reviewed not only the principles of hiring effective salespeople, but also the importance of positioning your product or service as a solution to customers needs. I often emphasized to the TBT conferees that by far the most effective way to sell a product or service is to first find out about the needs of the customers (by being a good listener, not a good talker) and then, if appropriate, position your product or service as a solution to each customers needs. If you think about it and if you are honest about the validity of your product or service as a true solution to the customer's problems and needs, there is absolutely, positively no better way to sell.

I have conducted extensive research on the subject of selling and reinforced it with my personal experience. I have concluded that the most important requirements for effective salesmanship are as follows:

1) Building the element of trust,

2) Having empathy,

3) Possessing a strong ego drive,

4) Being a good listener,

5) Having industry knowledge,

6) Possessing competitive knowledge,

7) Thoroughly understanding your product and the benefits of the product for the customer, 8) Being persistent and having strong follow-through,

9) Being a great relationship builder, and

10) Last but not least, being a great closer.

The Element Of Trust Is The Vital Piece Of Any Business Transaction

By far, the most crucial element of effective selling is the element of trust. It stands to reason that no one, repeat, no one buys anything from someone they don't trust. Everything else is immaterial. You could be selling the finest piece of jewelry, the top-of-- the-line Rolls-Royce or whatever else is perceived to be the best in its class, but if the customer does not trust you or your organization, you are wasting your time. If anyone does not understand and agree with this vitally important principle of conducting a business transaction, that person simply will not get anywhere in business. There are salespeople who have the natural ability to actually instill the element of trust in their customers almost instantly, but the rest of us will have to work very hard to earn the trust and respect of the customer. One extremely effective method of earning the customer's trust is by actually turning down business. You might think that Nadji is going crazy again, but before you go too far with that, let me walk you through a couple of true stories.

Case 1 - The Story Of An Honest Salesperson At Nordstrom's

Nordstrom's reputation for outstanding customer service is legendary. Recently, I decided to verify for myself that customer service at this fine (if not the finest) department store is, in fact, second to none. At Nordstrom's, I went directly to the men's department and gave my specifications for a suit to the salesperson. He quickly presented me with four suits that met the specifications I had given him. He first explained the strengths and weaknesses of every suit. He explained, for example, that manufacturer X produces standard quality suits at a reasonable price, and manufacturer Y produces a nice-looking product, but the product may not stand up to repeated dry cleaning without losing its shape, and so on. I then tried on all four suits. Without getting too specific, the salesperson talked me out of buying any of the four suits by legitimately explaining why none of them would be suitable for me. Even though I was very close to buying one of the suits, he literally talked me out of it by saying,"I don't want to sell you a suit that you will not be happy with. I want you become a repeat customer." (How about that for great CRM?) He then told me he was expecting a new shipment of spring merchandise and suggested I return in the near future to try the new products. Having

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gained full trust and respect for the salesperson and Nordstrom's, I gave the salesperson my business card and asked him to call me as soon as the new merchandise arrived. I believe I have become a Nordstrom's customer for life.

Case 2 - Zig Ziglar Buys A Bike

Zig Ziglar, who is reputed to be one of the best, if not the best, salesperson of the last century, offers yet another compelling story about the power of rejecting the order.

Zig and his wife went to a bicycle shop to buy a bicycle for their grandson. While in the bicycle shop, he noticed that a grandmother was trying to do the same for her 5-- year-old grandson. She asked the grandson which bike he liked. The boy pointed at a yellow bike and the grandmother asked the shopkeeper, "How much does that bike cost?" The shopkeeper stated, "That bike is too big for your grandson so I cannot sell you that one" The grandmother insisted that regardless, she would only buy that yellow bike. The shopkeeper stated, "If I sell you the yellow bike for your grandson, he will not be able to apply the brakes and stop the bike in case of an emergency. I don't want to be a part of that tragedy." The shop"Buid Trust" continued from page 6

keeper then continued, "If you are not prepared to buy the right sized bike for your grandson, then you need to go somewhere else because I will not sell you the wrong sized bike."

Having witnessed this, Ziglar gave a signed blank check to the shopkeeper and told him that he would bring his grandson in and he could fit him with the right bike and fill in the blank check as appropriate.

In conclusion, it is apparent that in both of the above cases, the element of trust was established and reinforced by the vendor turning down business for a sound reason. It may surprise you, but if you adopt this method of establishing the element of trust between you, your firm and the customer, you will have many customers for life! Admittedly this is thinking out of the box, but I don't know a better way to establish excellent CRM.

As always, I welcome your comments.

Sincerely,

Nadji Tehrani

Executive Group Publisher

Editor-in-Chief

ntehrani@tmcnet.com

Copyright Technology Marketing Corporation May 2001
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