Sales Office Insight: Don't Jump to Conclusions

This came from one of our partners, and well, it really got us thinking.

Joyce de Guzman
Client Relations Consultant

“I was talking to a merchant, giving my pitch, and I asked her how she would like a 24/7 customer support department and a less than 30-second hold time. The merchant goes, ‘I’d say I already like it. I already have that with my payment processor,’ Then she just smiled smugly at me. At that point, I knew I’d just jumped to conclusions about her needs.”

This guy’s story is common. Like many salespeople out there, he made the mistake of touting his company’s benefits, assuming that the prospect wasn’t experiencing those benefits from her existing processor.

And like many, this salesperson thought a surface level conversation would get him somewhere. What he could’ve done better was to dig deeper before concluding a thing. Let me illustrate. There are two ways to handle a conversation.

Conversation 1

(Merchant): “I’m thinking about making a change.”
(Agent) “Great. I can help you make the changes you need.”
(Merchant) “How do you know what changes I’m talking about?”

Conversation 2

(Merchant): “I’m thinking about making a change.”
(Agent) “What changes are you looking to make?”
(Merchant) “I need my processor to offer more customer support.”
(Agent) “What is wrong with the customer support you are experiencing?
(Merchant) “I have to wait forever to talk to a live person.”
(Agent) “That’s a common problem, and frustrating. Our company does have an average hold time of less than 30 seconds.”

Sure, the second conversation takes longer, but in the end, you are able to work through to the reality of the situation and pitch more efficiently.

Have you had similar experiences to the partner who was kind enough to let us use his mistake as a learning tool?

-Joyce