Salespeople soon discover a transcendent truth about human behavior. People are unsure, sometimes fickle. Have you ever walked away from a prospect with an agreement and then received the message that they changed their mind? Buyer’s remorse is a risk you face each time you close a sale. But, there are strategies to help you minimize that risk.
1. Get Objections Out Before the Sale, Not After it
Objections prior to the sale increase the likelihood of satisfaction after the sale. Before you close a sale, make sure that whatever might upset the buyer later is aired and resolved.
2. Involve the Buyer Emotionally
Create emotional involvement by uncovering the buyer’s pain and revealing how your product will reduce that pain.
3. Get a Commitment, Not Just An Order
A contract without a commitment is buyer’s remorse in the making. After the sale, ask questions focusing on commitment and what you can do to increase it.
4. Help Buyer’s Plan For Remorse
Rather than hiding from buyer’s remorse, bring it out in the open. Discuss what the prospect will say to the incumbent supplier when they break the news that they lost the account. Are they ready for how the supplier will react?
5. Get An Agreement On Actions In Case Buyer’s Remorse Sets In.
Make a contract with your customers about what they’ll do if they begin to question their decision.
6. Describe What Happens Once the Contract is Signed
Make sure there will be no surprises or rude awakenings.
7. Follow-Up
Use e-mail, phone calls, cards, letters, and visits. Remain visible and accessible. Very often salespeople want to get an agreement and get away before the prospect changes his/her mind. If they are going to change their mind would it be better to discuss it in person rather than trying to track them down? How would you feel and how does it look to the prospect when you beg for another meeting to discuss it?
The post-sell compartment in the sales process is a professional approach to completing the sales agreement.
Jeff Pankoff
Jeff Pankoff is the Owner & President of Sandler Training by NorthStar Performance Partners, LLC serving Minneapolis, MN and the Twin Cities area
