Sales With A Heart!
I don’t have to tell you about the current state of the economy and the effect it has, and continues to have on the field of sales. This business is challenging in good times and when people are unemployed or underemployed, it certainly doesn’t make our job as salespeople any easier. However we can still have a positive effect in numerous ways if we so choose.
Obviously our first choice is to continue to make sales. That’s what we do, right? I would like to share with you a story of how both of these goals can be accomplished. In this case, it is not a salesperson, but rather a car mechanic with a heart. I have a friend who is newly married any applying for disability, so as you can probably imagine, money is very tight.
A month or so ago, the fuel pump went out in one of their cars and the price to fix it was over $1,100.00 and they somehow managed to come up with the money. It was going to put a huge dent in their savings and make an all ready stressful situation even more so. However when they went to get the car and pay for it, there were pleasantly surprised at what transpired.
When they dropped off the car, they explained their situation to the manager of the garage and asked if there were payment plans of any program that may be helpful to them. The manager at the time said, "Not really, but let’s see what we’ve got before we worry about that." He quoted them the price for the repair a day later and, having no choice, my friends gave him the ok. Two days later when they picked up the car, the manager handed them the final bill and it was $300.00 less than what had been agreed upon. He waived the diagnostic fee and took of another 20% in order to help my friends during a difficult time. My friends were ecstatic and will always go back there for all of their car repairs.
The point is obvious. If a salesperson can find a way to assist a customer in not only getting what they need, but also help them as we all deal with these difficult times, then they probably have more than a sale. They have a customer for life.
Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training and author of I'm a Salesman, Not a Ph.D.! and Munchies for Salespeople
Copyright 2011 Author retains ownership. All Rights Reserved.
