I recently visited one of the office superstores to buy a new laptop. Debit card in hand I approached the display shelves showcasing all the latest models. Within about a minute I was approached by a salesperson. Nice chap in an official uniform with a good-looking name tag. “May I help you?” he asked.
It was all downhill from there as twenty seconds into our discussion he yawned. I’m not that boring, I thought to myself. But it shouldn’t matter how boring I am – the important classification is that I am a prospect ready to buy!
Well I gave him the benefit of the doubt as perhaps he’d had a late night, or he was just tired and couldn’t control his desire to yawn. Yikes! Twenty seconds later a second yawn. Come on, sell me get a laptop and I’m out of here – “stick with me” I thought. Nope: the third strike came at the 90-second mark when he yawned a third time. My frustration compelled me to thank him for his time and walk out .
Once back in my car, I couldn’t help but think about all the marketing and promotion this organization does (I get something in the mail at least once a week and I bet you do too), and all their investment in training their sales team to make the buying experience just right. None of it made an ounce of difference when a qualified buyer – itching to make the purchase – came into the store and was YAWNED at. Once is probably okay (that can happen to anyone I guess), but three times in 90 seconds — come on!
By the way, my next stop was to the organization’s largest competitor. Yes, they closed the deal, earned a customer for life…and got me to spend double what I had originally intended.
Are your training programs effective in helping your sales team to close the deal?
