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Jul 13, 2006 New survey demonstrates consumers and businesses dissatisifed with salespeople when making major purchases. Survey results indicate salespeople not meeting customer's purchasing goals and objectives. Source: http:/ Houston, TX (PRWEB) July 13, 2006 -- A new survey by McCord and Associates, a Houston, Texas based sales training and management consulting company, found that less than 35% of consumers and businesses were satisfied with the performance of their salespeople and/or the companies when making large purchases. “Most of the complaints stemmed from the salesperson not understanding the customer’s primary goals and objectives for the purchase,” said Paul McCord, president of McCord and Associates. “Many of the people we contacted felt that their salesperson was more interested in pursing their own issues during the sale than the customer’s,” McCord added. The survey was conducted with individuals and companies who had made major purchases within the past six months. Purchased items included mortgages and loans, automobiles, computer systems, residential and commercial buildings, investment/insurance advice/products/services, construction/remodeling services, and furniture. The minimum consumer purchase was $10,000 and the minimum business purchase was $25,000. The salesperson’s understanding of the customer’s primary goals of the purchase was cited by over 50% of respondents as “significant” or “very significant” issues. The majority of respondents -- both consumers and businesses -- believed that their goals and wishes were ignored, or, at best, were secondary to the salesperson’s objectives. Other issues ranked by respondents as “significant” or “very significant” issues were poor delivery, unexpected charges, not maintaining regular contact with the customer, and not being upfront about problems during the sale. “One of the major buzz phrases in the sales world right now is ‘exceeding the client’s expectations,’” says McCord. “Unfortunately, most salespeople make the mistake of assuming they know what that means to their customer. No two customers are exactly alike. If you don’t ask the customer what they expect, you’ll probably miss the mark.” McCord recommends salespeople have a separate meeting with each client to discuss what the customer’s goals, objectives, and expectations are. “You must understand what your customer wants and focus your efforts on satisfying those wants. If you haven’t taken the time to understand your customer, then the most you can reasonably hope to achieve is to meet your expectations of what you believe your customer’s expectations should be. If you’re lucky, you guessed right; if you’re not, the only person you have to blame for an unhappy customer is yourself,” McCord warns. McCord, author of Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (John Wiley and Sons, release date of November 17), believes the survey demonstrates the need for companies to take more seriously the training of their sales teams. “Based on what we found, it seems clear that the message of exceeding a customer’s expectations may be being heard, but it isn’t being taken to heart. Companies must make sure their sales force understands not just what the phrase means, but also how to put into action. If they don’t, they’re flirting with the loss of over 65% of their potential repeat business and no telling how much in lost potential referral business. # # # |
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