The Power of Preparing for Negative Customer Feedback

Think negative and good things will happen. Sounds rather counterproductive, but preparing answers to tackle tough customer questions is an excellent way to ensure you are that much closer to winning new business. Sales professionals are guaranteed to encounter customers who have been disappointed in the past. Sometimes customers spend more time thinking of why they should not purchase from you, as opposed to why they should. They may be looking for a crack in your armor to convince them not to purchase, and make the decision that much easier. Perhaps it is their way of testing your commitment, or your company’s ability to service them. Whatever the case may be, taking the time to properly prepare for negative questions or comments will go a long way to building a stronger relationship. It is a proactive, preemptive way of defusing a potentially bad situation. It essentially demonstrates your ability to anticipate problems before they occur.

Customer apprehension is common. Every sales professional encounters an indecisive customer. It’s how you handle indecision that separates excellent from average sales people. It takes patience and preparation to anticipate customer concerns. However, over time, it becomes much easier to develop an understanding of why your customers may or may not order from you. Eventually you will develop a picture of your company’s strengths and weaknesses. With the customer, push your strengths, but have answers prepared about your weaknesses. Never pretend the weaknesses aren’t real. Your customers are well away of them, so don’t pretend they don’t exist. Instead, acknowledge them and state that there is a genuine effort to have them corrected.

When do you take the time to prepare for these potential pitfalls? Any time you can. Use your spare time at work or before your customer visits. Find the time to practice your answers to tough questions.  Be prepared when your customer tries to throw you off. Develop answers and keep a record of the customer obstacles and objections you come across. Share these with coworkers and those you report to. In front of the client, you represent your company. However, in the office you represent the client. Make sure you understand that distinction. Your purpose is to secure business. If your customers have issues with service, pricing or quality, it is up to you to convey those issues to everyone involved.

Your focus is not to strong arm the customer from saying “no” to saying “yes”. Rather, it is to anticipate and handle obstacles before getting to “no”. If you approach sales with a short term view and concentrate only on the immediate sale, rather than a series of continuous sales, you will force customers into a conflict by pushing them to order when they are simply not ready to. By no means are you to simply give up after losing business. When a sale is lost, ask why, and if there is anything that could be done to change their mind. Continue to pursue, but understand that your odds greatly increase when you prepare for objections before hand. Sometimes the final answer is final, and there is little you can do to change that.

Preparing answers to tackle tough questions and objections will help put the decision to purchase in your favor. Even if the answer is still no, you have established some criteria for future discussions with your customer. You never want to lose an order, but sometimes losing the order is the best way to use the information provided to set the table for future discussions. Welcome customer obstacles. They are a simple tool to allow you to uncover real issues and concerns, and demonstrate a sincere attempt on your part to provide solutions.