Posted on: 07 December, 2001
Author: Ron Sathoff
Before entering the world of ... I spent many years as acollege ... One of the most ... lessons that I ... about teaching was the fact that saying "I don't know" asa respo Before entering the world of marketing, I spent many years as acollege instructor. One of the most important lessons that I everlearned about teaching was the fact that saying "I don't know" asa response to a student question wasn't necessarily a BAD thing-- in fact, the truthfulness of the answer did more to build mycredibility with my students than any lame, improvised, off-the-cuff answer could.Of course, I also realized that you have to follow up that "Idon't know" with a firm "but I'll find out for you." In otherwords, when I didn't know the exact answer, I would make sure todo my research to see what I COULD offer the student in the formof an answer.I believe this principle also holds true for sales. As asalesperson, you have to remember that you are selling YOURSELFas much as you are selling a PRODUCT, especially if you arelooking for any kind of return sales or long-term relationshipswith your customers.That means that you should be truthful with your clients andcustomers, even if means that you might not make the immediatesale. For instance, there have been times where clients haveasked me, "Do you think a press release would be effective?" Inmany of these cases, the answer is "Yes" and I will tell them so.However, there are also cases where a press release WASN'Tappropriate, and even though it meant losing the sale, I madesure to let them know that they wouldn't get the results theywere looking for and that I wouldn't recommend it.Of course, you have to remember to add the equivalent of a "butI'll find out" statement. In the case of sales, this is usuallyin the form of "but here is something else that I think WOULDwork for you." Just make sure that you are being truthful hereas well -- otherwise you're doing nothing more than bait-and-switch! My point here is simple: Show the customers that you areinterested in making sure they are satisfied, rather than justbeing interested in the sale.The result? Your customers will be grateful for being told thetruth, and even though they might not buy NOW, they know who togo to when they have another project that needs to be done.You'll probably get some good word-of-mouth advertising too!It may seem counter-productive, but knowing when NOT to sell toyour customer can be a great way to create an image that willeventually lead to MORE sales. If you are in your business forthe long run, creating a reputation for honesty, caring, andpersonal attention will do more than any "hard sell" could everachieve. Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com