<H1 BIG>TEN COMMON ENEMIES (6)</H1>

By Hank Trisler

Because we have been busily chatting along about things in which the customer has no interest, we:

INCORRECTLY EVALUATE THE CUSTOMER'S ATTITUDE

There are only three attitudes a customer can have and he can only have one of these attitudes at any time. They are:

Objection

Indifference

Acceptance

Objection is when there is a clear and specific obstacle to buying. Examples: "You’re price is too high." "Your delivery is too slow." "I don’t like that color."

The first time you hear an objection, ignore it. That's right, just shut up and look at her. She may think she said something stupid and never say it again. In the absence of support (discussion) from you, 80% of the objections you currently face will simply go away and never be heard from again.

If the objection comes up again, we'd better find a way to deal with it, not try to get a commitment. We need to harmonize with the objection by rephrasing it to be sure we clearly understand it and then dispatching it. How? Hell, I don’t know. I don’t even know what the objection is, but you probably know because you’ve heard it before. Just deal with it. Sheesh.

Indifference is often indicated by statements like: "I want to think it over." "I need to shop a little more." "I have to ask my Uncle John." We deal with indifference by probing for additional needs, or discomfort with the status quo. We need to keep asking questions until we find some "hot buttons" to push.
Indifference is certainly no time to ask for a commitment.

Acceptance is the only attitude that lends itself to a commitment on the part of its holder. If you’ve been listening and watching, you’ll know when your customer’s attitude is one of acceptance. If you haven’t been listening and watching, you’re in trouble. Not BIG trouble, however. If you ask for a commitment when the customer holds an attitude other than acceptance, he’ll tell you. If it wasn’t acceptance, it must be objection or indifference, in which case we know what to do.

If you know how to accurately determine the customer's attitude and then know how to appropriately respond to that attitude, you're well on the way to a sale. And without pressure, argument or manipulation.

How do you determine a customer's attitude?