In sales, an overconfident sales representative can cost your company money. Take the time to pull them aside and show them how to properly identify customer issues and concerns.

If they were as successful as they thought, they would likely be the greatest sales professional you’ve ever met, authored numerous books, and paid thousands of dollars on the speaking circuit. People would come from everywhere to hear this person’s insightful take on sales, and their super secret ways to generate sales from any customer visit. However, it simply isn’t true. They are nowhere near as good as they think, and their confidence has turned into arrogance. It’s time to give this person another perspective.

 They have to be more aware of the customer’s purchase criteria.

 Often these sales people can meet with customers, and come away completely unaware of the customer’s concerns. They either don’t listen, don’t know how to, or simply choose not to. Whatever the reason, they simply don’t come away from the customer meeting with the essential information needed to win the business. They must learn to look, and listen, for those signs from the customer about why they may, or may not, decide to order. Sometimes a customer will come out and state exactly why they are not interested in buying. Even then, this is something this sales person completely ignores, or perhaps is unable to identify. Maybe this is the problem? They may not know how to properly identify the issues standing in their way of success. So, what exactly can be done to help this sales professional come away with a better understanding of what needs to be done to close the deal? First, they need someone to help show them how to recognize the subtle clues about why the business is at risk. They then have to learn to identify those customer concerns that can stop them from winning new business.

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 Be the customer and role play with this sales professional.

 It is always best to role play with this sales person. Take them through the process of asking the tough questions they are sure to encounter with the customer. If properly prepared, they will be able to answer these questions. In addition, throw in some statements about prior experiences, as well as likes and dislikes. Play the role of the customer, and try and emulate the subtle hints that customers typically provide. After you’ve finished role playing, ask the sales person what the main issues are, and what they believe is standing in their way of winning the order. This should help them ascertain what the customer’s concerns are. It is also a good idea to provide them with some simple questions to consider when they meet with customers. The following are some examples.

  1.  Do I know why the customer might not order?
  2. What are some of the issues that the customer has experienced in the past?
  3. How can we as a company, and myself as a sales professional, address these concerns?
  4. How do they feel about the current relationship?
  5. Are they happy with us as a supplier?

             Most sales professionals have good intentions. Some are simply overconfident, or don’t know how to listen properly to customer issues and concerns. When you take the time to sit them down, and take them through the role playing process, they will learn to spot the potential pitfalls standing in the way of securing new business. Once they have properly identified the potential problems, they then must decide how to confront them. These are valuable little exercises that help train the sales professional to listen properly. It’s also a good idea to travel with them to give them to give them another perspective. Once the sales professional understands the importance of these customer issues, they will learn to identify them on their own, and start to confront them head on.