the science of sales success and how to get rich

_{You also deal with customers who have only specific needs and products in mind. A customer might think she is satisfying her specific needs and that buying those specific products are her goals. They are not. You know the type. "Just give me a price on what I need and I will call you if you get the job." This person is the boss and that is that. You need a lot of willpower not to throw out a price and duck—and wish her (and you) luck.}

_{Resist the temptation. You do not want to react to her specific product requests without either of you knowing her measurable goals. The risks of unfulfilled expectations run high. What do you do?}

_{With diplomacy, you stick to helping the customer to define her goals. Once defined, customers do not become defensive if you ask them to review how their proposed product choices achieve those goals. Leave your product recommendations out of these discussions; it is too self-serving and you lose credibility. You want the customer—on her own—to come to the same conclusion you have: She is making the wrong purchasing decisions and her goals will prove it.}

_{When a customer compares her specific product needs against measurable goals, she comes to one of two conclusions. She either proves herself right and proceeds as planned or she starts looking at different alternatives. If you are in market segments where customers' goals match up to your unique strengths, they look at your alternatives. You now have a powerful force on your side; no one knowingly makes bad decisions, not even customers who prefer competitors.}

_Example

_{Harry, an extremely technical customer, walks into a computer store. True to form, he starts blurting out abbreviations such BIOS,}_{SDRAM, LDAP, and the like. He needs to buy a math coprocessor, a 120-MB RAM video card, and sophisticated multimedia software to upgrade his computer. The initial urge of Joan, the salesperson, is to say, "How many do you want?"}

_{Instead, Joan wants to build long-term business relationships and repeat business. She helps her customers achieve their goals on a consistent basis. Therefore, the question she asks is: "What are you trying to accomplish with these components?" Harry cannot help but feel that Joan has his best interests (goals) at heart. Harry explains that he wants to use these components to more quickly create video productions with stereo sound. Joan advises Harry that those types of applications consume a lot of memory. She recommends purchasing 500 MB of RAM to prevent his computer from crashing.}

_{Joan probably could have sold him those components without knowing his goals. However, in doing so, she risks that a week later a frazzled customer returns complaining how the parts she sold him did not "work." His computer keeps crashing because of out-of-memory errors. He demands his money back and is never seen again.}

_{Significant differences and outcomes exist between trying to satisfy needs and helping customers achieve their goals.}

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