There is a segment of your market you are missing. Loyal customers who would be happy to do business with you if only you could let them know who you are and you are trust worthy. The problem, they are unsellable. If you can tap this market, they will be your best non-sales people because they share who they trust.
This is a first-hand account from a self-admitted unsellable customer:
I really dislike sales people. If what you have requires selling, I don’t need it. If I do need it, I really, really wish I didn’t (I am thinking about my last car buying experience).
Please don’t hawk at me. If your brochure is covered in large print, bright colors and exclamation points I am going to wonder what you are trying to hide. Yelling at me from a trade booth or doorway is a sure way to make me run away.
Complementing me is going to make me suspect. Why are you trying to butter me up?
If I am in your store or booth and you follow me around trying to sell me stuff I will be polite for awhile. If I have said no a couple of times and am not asking questions, let me know you are available to help me if I need it and go away. If you miss the cues that I am not interested I will start to feel trapped and have been known to be very rude in order to escape.
Fear tactics, pressure sales, telling me I am wasting money with your competitor, or freebies that aren’t free will get you black listed.
Spam makes me crazier than it does other people. If you send so many tweets that your picture fills my feed I will scroll past all of them. Do it often and I will stop following you. I am even less tolerant of spam-y email.
If you say you are going to do something and you don’t, I likely won’t ask about it or complain. I will just take my business elsewhere.”
Doc Robyn: Not surprisingly, all the regular sales methods don’t work for you. How would you like to learn about new products or services?
Have a way for me to find and learn about you in an online search. If I reach out to you or meet you at an event and express an interest in your product or service, give me useful information that will help me make a decision. Ask me questions about what I need or want and then tell me how you can help me. I have to see for myself that what you have is something I need.
Please treat me with respect. I don’t know the things you know, hence I am asking. There is no doubt there are subjects on which I could talk circles around you too. If you talk over my head or are condescending I will see if your competitor is any nicer.
If things get awkward, let me walk away. Even if you manage to pressure me into buying something I will bad-mouth you to anyone who will listen. That goes double if you make it difficult or impossible for me to return something.
If I call, answer the phone (or at least call me back). If I email you, respond. If I say I am looking for someone to do what you do and give you my email or phone number, follow up with me. I like websites with an e-chat option. I can ask what I want, say thank you and be done. No phone trees, annoying hold music or up-selling.
If I walk in wanting to buy something, sell it to me! Don’t try to up-sell me. I will walk out with nothing.
I like being able to browse in private. If I look like I am looking for someone to help me, I am. If I don’t, please only offer once. Catalogs, books of options and websites with descriptions that I can look through at my leisure are wonderful for me.
If I believe I am getting a good product or service at a fair price and you are respectful to me, I will forgive a lot of mistakes. It is easier than trying to find someone new.
The best way to sell to me is by having someone I know and trust recommend you. Treat all of your customers well; you never know who my friends are.”
There you have it, straight from the customer’s mouth. Unsellable customers need products and services too. How do you find and sell to them?
Dr. Robyn Odegaard (aka Doc Robyn) is a nationally known speaker, writer, and consultant. She has a doctorate in psychology and is CEO of Champion Performance Development, an organization that enables her to combine her skills in executive coaching, organizational development, sports psychology, and public speaking to show her clients how they can achieve success in every aspect of their lives. Doc Robyn founded the Stop The Drama! Campaign, authored the book Stop The Drama!, and speaks at high schools and colleges, instilling in students the same skills that bring success to her business clients. An avid supporter of people who strive to attain a high level of performance in their personal and business lives, Doc Robyn lives by the motto, “Worst case, I want to be neutral to everyone I meet. My goal is to make a positive difference.”
