By Suzanne Stevens - Ignite Excellence

Assumption: The Most Common Error in Sales

I recently bought my first home. It is the kind of place I had dreamt about living in – a loft close to the water in downtown Toronto.

I had seen very few homes on the day I went to look at the loft and it was, in fact, the first I had even viewed. I had not yet established my price range as I tend to make buying decisions based on what I like rather than what I can afford. And while not the most rational approach, it is the most common – 70 per cent of all purchase decisions are emotionally based.

As I climbed the stairs to the second floor, that Sunday afternoon, I knew I was home. At this point price was not even a factor in the decision, though it became a primary focus in the two weeks following, as we negotiated the purchase agreement. That was three months ago. The loft is now mine, in spite of the fact that it exceeded my budget.

A week ago, I went shopping for a gas fireplace. I wanted something with a modern encasement and decided to give a new local store the opportunity to win my business. Besides being disorganized and overwhelmed by my preference in style, the salesperson made one of the biggest mistakes a salesperson can when he said to me, “this is an expensive alternative.”

Do you think that someone who bought their first home in a single day without looking at the listing price is obsessed with price? “Expensive” is a relative term. Suppose I had bought a cheap, unreliable fireplace before and now believed that I needed to buy something much more expensive? How could he know what I was looking for unless he asked? Key questions would have been: Have you owned a fireplace before? What is your experience with gas fireplaces? And did I have a price range in mind?

Assumption is a fatal and all too common error in sales. To assume that any two people place the same value on something is detrimental to the sales process. What is important to you is not necessarily important to your customers.

Research companies exist so that companies can better understand their customers. While group research helps to show how various demographic, psychographic and geographic segments in the market buy, people make decisions as individuals. As a business leader, it is up to you to find out what motivates the decision making process in each of your customers.

To sell successfully you must ask questions and actively listen. Your customers will tell you how they buy, if you listen to the clues they provide. Then, and only then, can you provide them with the information to help them make a buying decision.

TIP: Sales success depends upon products or services that are positions in a way that is important to the individual who makes the buying decision. Refrain from imposing what is important to you onto your client.