It’s Your Business
- Author: Terry Greenhut, Management Editor
In any sales situation either the customer or the salesperson takes the psychological advantage, meaning that one is better able to read and control the other. We should be able to read our customers far better than they read us, because we practice these techniques every day but the customer uses them only occasionally.
To create a successful outcome, when we ask questions we have to analyze the answers carefully to keep a few moves ahead in this chess game we play with each customer. We have to understand that the answers to our qualifying questions indicate what the customer is really thinking, what he wants and needs, and what objections we may have to handle as the sale progresses.
Here are some psychological questions that we might ask:
“Whom should I call when I have some information?” will tell us who the real decision maker is without embarrassing the customer by being too direct and asking that person whether he or she is the decision maker.
“How long have you owned the car?” can tell us how attached they are to it, whether they bought it new or used, how much they already have invested in it, whether it has been a good car up to this point and how much they like it. We know, for example, that people who have just bought a used car are likely to spend a considerable amount to make repairs because they have to justify the purchase in their mind or because they have to answer for it to someone else. We also can find out whether they believe our repair costs more than they think the car is worth or more than they paid for the entire car. Those objections can be handled, and much better if we hear them up front than when we are trying to close.
“How long are you planning to keep the car?” might be the greatest of the psychological questions from both the customer’s and the service writer’s points of view. If the service writer neglects to ask the question up front in the selling process before trying to close the sale, the customer is in a great position. All he or she has to do at closing time is threaten to get rid of the car and the service writer, assuming that to be true, can fall apart like a cheap suit and might go ahead and drop the price to try to salvage the job. The customer would be dealing from a strong psychological position while the service writer is coming from a weak position in which he would have to either try to defend his price or lower it to make the sale.
If, however, the service writer had asked the question early on when the customer was not under any pressure to buy, he might have gotten an honest answer, such as “I’d love to get another few years out of this car.” Armed with that information, he wouldn’t have to back down from his price because he would know that the customer wasn’t really getting rid of the car. He now would be dealing from a strong position.
We have to be in control at all times. To do that we must ask questions continually. When you ask someone a question you force that person to think about an answer. It’s an automatic reaction, so if you’re the one doing the asking, you are in control. If the customer takes control from us by asking a question or bringing up an objection, we have to take it back immediately by asking a question in return. For example, if the customer were to say, “Do you think that sounds serious?” we might turn around and ask, “Well, is there any noise coming from the transmission?” That forces an answer from the customer, which puts us back in control.
Other than being scared to death when they think they have transmission problems, the items that concern customers most are an accurate diagnosis, an honest estimate, the quality of the repair, the warranty issued and how difficult it will be to get service under it, how they are treated by the person they have to deal with at the shop, and the amount of money it will cost.
Although many of us think that money is the customer’s primary concern, it usually is not the one on which they base their buying decision. That decision more often is based on how they feel about the way they are being treated and how they perceive they will be treated if they go ahead with the repair. So their decision is more emotional than logical. That’s the way most people make buying decisions. They make them emotionally and then try to back them up with the logical reasons for making them.
Lulling customers into a state of euphoria by placing ourselves on the same side of the table as they are is a strong psychological ploy. Our goal is a non-adversarial encounter in which customers truly believe that the service writer is working on their behalf to get them what they need in the most-economical way possible.
Even if you have the highest-priced shop in town, if customers believe you are working toward saving them some money, they will go along and even try to help you find ways to do it. The question is really one of value vs. dollars spent. For example, a customer could wind up in a shop that has relatively low prices but doesn’t diagnose very well, therefore turning almost any transmission problem into an overhaul. Your shop, on the other hand, might have considerably higher labor rates and parts markups but many times might be able to find a fix for a problem without a complete rebuild. So your prices may be higher, but customers are receiving far more value for their money and, many times, are not spending as much as in the cheaper shop. We especially like to stress that on the initial customer phone call when they are asking for a price. We can do that by offering to check the car for free, and by offering to tow it in for free and even tow it back at no charge if there is no agreement between the customer and the service writer on how to proceed with the repair.
When talking with a caller on the phone, we can use phrases like “I wouldn’t want to mislead you by trying to guess at your problem or the cost of repairs,” which would indicate that you’re the good guy for wanting to get it right after you check the problem and that anyone who is giving them a price on the phone could be misleading them. We also could say, “I wouldn’t want to see you spend any more than you have to” or ask, “Would you want to buy a transmission if it turned out you didn’t need one?” and when the caller answers, “Of course not,” say, “I wouldn’t want to see you do that, either, so why don’t you stop by and let me check it out to see if I can save you some money.”
When a caller asks how much it will cost, it is either to compare that price with one or more they have from phone calls to other shops; to compare it with a price they possibly paid several years ago for a similar repair; to compare it with an amount that a friend, relative or neighbor said they paid for a similar service; to compare it with the amount of money they think they have or can afford; or it’s because they haven’t a clue what they should be asking in the first place.
After all, there is one question that is relevant to every product or service in the world: “How much does it cost?” So although it’s the most natural of questions, it is the one that strikes fear into the hearts of service writers all over the world. It’s kind of funny when you think about it – the customer is in fear of finding out the price and the service writer is in fear that the customer will ask for the price. How can you handle this fear? Simply by learning, and then practicing and using, more handles than the customer has objections.
By asking for an appointment to check out the problem in the beginning of the telephone conversation, right after the initial greeting, you prevent about half of the customers from asking for a price, because they accept the appointment and get off the phone, leaving you to have to deal with it for only the other half. So, in essence, you can get rid of half of your “How much?” problem just by saying something like, “Oh, you think you’re having a transmission problem; can you bring your car in now, or would 2 o’clock be better so I can check it for you?”
So simple, yet such excellent results. A high percentage follow along because you take the leadership role, which is another great psychological principle: “Most follow; few lead.” And it’s so true. Given the opportunity, most people will follow rather than take the lead themselves, and the stronger the leader, the less resistance there is to follow. When you take the lead, which is exactly what you must do when you sell a product or service that customers don’t understand, they will tend to follow you all the way to the closing of the sale.
Selling is all about taking and keeping the psychological advantage. Do it and your sales will be easier to make and far more profitable.
Visit www.TerryGreenhut.com.
