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Four things you should never say to a customer
- 1. B Y B I O T E C H N O L O G Y S A L E S S O L U T I O N S Four Things you Should Never Say to a Customer Copyright Biotechnology Sales Solutions, 2017
- 2. “We have the lowest price” This one is obvious, but not as bad as you might think. At least you are unlikely to offend customers by saying it. And you might even capture some attention, especially with purchasing agents or other value- conscious (cheap) customers. After all, price is a very important component of value. The problem, of course, is that even if you are the least expensive option, do you really want to win business based solely on price? You are highly likely to lose the business the following month, week or even day to the next sales rep with a yet-lower price. In case you missed it, the whole world has moved to value-based selling. Better to get your marketing department to develop a more-sophisticated pricing argument, such is product life cycle cost. Copyright Biotechnology Sales Solutions, 2017
- 3. “I Don’t know if this applies to your department, but our product will…” This is one of my all-time least favorite lines. If you truly don’t know if your customer has a need for your product, why would you waste her time (and yours) by offering her your solution? This seems so obvious, yet I hear it all the time from sales reps who either don’t know how to probe for needs or are so excited by their product’s features and benefits that they assume everyone needs one. Do some homework in advance to see if the customer might have a need, or stifle your enthusiasm and ask the customer a few simple needs-based questions before you trot out your product! Copyright Biotechnology Sales Solutions, 2017
- 4. “Our Product is “Easy to Use”” This benefit-without-a-feature is an easy claim to make. And I can’t entirely blame sales reps for using it because marketing teams fell in love with it years ago and have over-used it ever since. Everyone, and I mean everyone, now makes this claim. After all, who knowingly makes a product that is “hard-to-use?” What customers really want to know is: easy to use compared to what? If you feel you have a legitimate ease- of-use advantage, back it up with data, such as head-to-head comparisons with the market leaders. And don’t forget, some people don’t actually want an easier-to-use product. They want one that works exactly like the 6 or 7 that they already own so that they don’t have to retrain everyone on how to use yours. Copyright Biotechnology Sales Solutions, 2017
- 5. “I Want to Earn Your Business!” This one makes my stomach turn. I can remember using this line myself, decades ago when I first started in sales. I thought I was so clever, and that it would position me as morally superior to the rest of the pack. Then a few months later I saw someone else use this same line in front of a seasoned buyer, who visibly cringed upon hearing it. It was clear that the buyer had heard this line so many times that it had lost any positive meaning it ever possessed. It was an empty self-serving statement that had nothing to do with our product or service. Don’t use this line, ever! Copyright Biotechnology Sales Solutions, 2017