Go through this conversation between a sales person and a customer:
Customer: I am a salaried person
Sales person: That is great Maam! We have some wonderful insurance plans to suit the requirements of salaried people. Let me show you the Life protect Plus policy and
Customer: But, I am going to take a break to look after my child
Sales person: That is good! Our child plans will protect your child. Let me share with you the Life protect Junior. The features are
Customer: Our immediate need is to cover our home loan
Sales person: Even better! We have Life protect Homeowners which is a term policy with decreasing coverage
Customer: It is my husband you need to talk to. He is the one who takes care of all finance related matters
Does this sound familiar? What kind of impression did the sales person leave on you?
I call this method of selling the Mosquito method
What is mosquito method of selling?
Ever heard the buzz of a persistent mosquito when you only have a short blanket to cover yourself? When you cover your legs, the mosquito bites you in the arms. When you cover the arms, you get bitten on your face.
The above conversation reminds me of that frustration.
When you approach selling like a boxing match, you keep throwing punches, and hope that one of the punches lands and knocks down the customer; you not only frustrate the customer, but also frustrate yourself.
A good sales person approaches his profession like a Doctor. He carefully listens to the customers before he suggests the right solution.
Just as you would you never trust a doctor who prescribes medicines before he learns about your problem thoroughly, a customer never trusts a sales person who does not understand his problems.
Take a moment to check if you follow the mosquito method inadvertently.