New Client? Avoid This Major Misstep
Does your business have a way for new clients to sign up or request service without speaking to you or your staff personally? You should.
We've entered a wonderful new world in client recruitment. Clients today can research, review, and ultimately choose a new vendor for products and services (including yours) without ever talking with you or your staff. It's a beautiful thing to turn on your computer or pick up your mobile device and find new clients requesting service.
But, because they have signed up without our help, we'll likely make a big mistake the first time we interact with them. It's the same mistake salespeople make all the time that creates confusion in the mind of a prospect and ultimately kills the sale. We want to tell them everything we think they should know about our product or service.
In the past, salespeople would keep telling about features and benefits long after a client had decided to buy, only to find their zest for their product or service has killed the enthusiasm of the client in making a buying decision. Having missed the obvious "I'm ready to buy" moment, the salesperson kept talking and lost the sale.
How do we do this today when clients tell us, "I'm ready to buy" online? We keep talking and do everything we can to keep them talking too.
Here's what it looks like. A client places an order or service request. We reply through email or text thanking them for the order (appropriate to be certain) and then we add something more. Sometimes it's a little more about the product or service than the client needs to know to buy but we feel they need to know in order to get full enjoyment or value.
What we've forgotten is the client decides what full value or enjoyment is, not us. And, because the client has decided without our help, our help is a distraction to their satisfaction.
But, the most obvious killer of the joy of purchasing your product or service without our help comes in the form of a question. It's the worst possible question.
"Do you have any questions?"
Ugh! Now we've placed uncertainty in the mind of the client and in their decision to buy. If they had a question they likely found the answer through their own research. And if they didn't find the answer they most assuredly would ask if it would determine a purchase or not.
Let's say I've just signed up for your service and you've asked me if I have any questions. Since I've never experienced your service, I'll assume you know more about your service than I do. I'll assume I should have a question for you since you are asking me if I have one. I'll wonder, "What am I missing?"
Maybe you know something I don't know. In the absence of any real question I may have, I'll likely ask if there are any specials or discounts I don't know about. And now, you're on defense. Defending your product and price and in the process devaluing it to the one person who had decided it was worth the money to buy it.
Whatever you do, don't ask someone who has already made an intelligent purchase in their mind, "Do you have any questions." Trust me, they don't.
