We are ambassadors

By James Olsen

ence in our sales. It may happen, but not enough to bank on.) Attempting to change our customers' minds in most cases is a loser for us.

Ego and Hypersensitivity

Our customers have egos. Some of them have huge egos. We must be hypersensitive to this. We must be judicious about how and when we correct their misconceptions about us, our product, or any subject. Our egos have no place in the sales process. So many salespeople correct customers about things that have nothing to do with the business at hand, creating tension where none needs to exist. I am shocked when I am in the field with salespeople, how often they will disagree with customers about things that won't lead to business no matter who wins the argument! This is a colossal waste of time and money for us as salespeople.

A RE customers asking us to correct their mistakes? lA.Have thev come to us and said. "I am confused. You know more about the universe than I do. Help me."? No, they haven't.

What are the odds of us changing someone's mind? How often does someone ask for our opinion only to reject it if it doesn't jibe with their version of the truth?

When was the last time someone changed your mind? | have an extremely intelligent friend of 20 years. This guy knows me well, cares about me, and I recognize that he is smarter than I am. This guy was the last person to change my mind (and actions) on any given subject. People give me advice all the time. Why did I listen to him?

I listened to him because I know he cares. I listened to him because I know he is smart. I listened to him because I have known him for years. / listened to him because he listens to ne. I listened to him because, after years of working on a particular problem, my strategy wasn't working. These are powerful reasons. How often do all of these meet in the same place? Not too often. Do all of these circumstances have to be present for us to listen and act on what others say? No, but it helps. For gosh sakes, many people won't even listen even when these requirements have been met.

So what are the chances of us changing a customer's mind? What is the benefit for us to even attempt to change a customer's mind? If we fail to listen even to our most trusted advisors, why would we listen to a salesperson we have known for six months? We don't, we won't, and neither (statistically speaking) will our customers. (I use the term "statistically speaking" to refer to any activity that does not work often enoush to make a "statistical" differ-

Our customers are living in a different world than we are. We are ambassadors to this world. If we were sent as ambassadors to a country whose customs we don't understand or agree with, would we tell the president of this country what we really think? Of course not. The same is true of our customers. We don't need to create friction where none needs to exist.

Jimmy Stewart and Columbo

How can we disagree with customers? When we have to tell a customer something we know they don't want to hear, we can use what I call the "Jimmy Stewart Stutter" or the "Columbo Shuffle." We don't just come out and say, "That's not going to work, John." Instead, we slow down, act reluctant, and say something like, "John... I'm not exactly sure... if that will work... let's talk about it a bit more..." We move the customer to common ground in a tentative way. We sneak up on the disagreement; we don't carpet bomb it.

Time and Place

There will be time for friction in our conversations, but we must keep these conversations to a minimum and we want to make sure they lead to orders.

Closing can be a tense situation. There will problems enough to work out without creating them by correcting customers. Our personal opinions are better left for our personal lives. We get paid to deal with tense, difficult and sometimes unjust situations. Most people can't handle it. We can and must. We are ambassadors.