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There's nothing more discouraging than spending all day surveying a million potential gifts but getting no closer to finding the perfect present for someone. That's about the time it starts to seem like a good idea to get your wife a blender or a vacuum cleaner. When the choices are vast and the decisions are too numerous, it causes ambiguity, which drives people to make poor decisions, delay decisions altogether or mentally check out when there is just too much information. The problem is that sales pros often contribute to the problem and make prospects feel even further from a solution than when they started. It's easy to get lost in the details when buying a car. Your customer's got to think about color, make, manufacturer, options and upgrades. It can be crippling. As a sales pro, you must narrow the decision down and remove ambiguity. I worked at Banana Republic in high school and my manager, Diana, gave me one of my first lessons in making it easy for the customer to buy. Like most people, if the items I bring into a dressing room don't work for me, I am highly unlikely to get re-dressed, walk back to the racks, find an associate to let me into the dressing room again, get undressed and start the process all over. So Diana taught me to remove the items that didn't work and bring alternatives quickly and without invitation. At Banana Republic, some customers would never ask for help and even turn me down when I offered ("Would you like me to bring that in another size?"). But if I said, "Stay here, I'm going to bring you another size," they always appreciated the help and attention. Often, they'd come back asking for me. I enjoyed making it easy for people to leave with great-looking outfits; refolding all of those clothes was just part of the deal. Facilitate victories by accomplishing each step one at a time. The customer shouldn't feel like you're forcing them to buy from you, but you can put pressure on moving them toward a decision and clearing up ambiguity. But watch your language. Say, "Which would you prefer?" rather than, "Think it over and let me know." Praise your buyers for each decision accomplished along the way before moving on to the next. Be a part of the solution. Help eliminate ambiguity so that your prospects don't quit before they even have a chance to start. The above article is an excerpt from Jason Forrest's new book, 40 Day Sales Dare for Auto Sales. Forrest Performance Group specializes in cultural awareness training and auto sales training programs. Forrest PG’s competitive distinction is its behavior modification approach as applied to a variety of programs, education, seminars and sales leadership training.
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