Revenue Journal®

Imagine that you are going to have a house constructed, and while it is under construction, you want to insure the construction site. Your contractor refers you to an insurance salesperson he knows. You meet with the person, you like him, and you proceed to give him the information he needs to proceed with a quote.

As the weeks go by, however, you decide that you aren't going to do business with that insurance broker. Why? Because he just wasn't working hard for the sale. He was friendly, but not professional. It takes too long for him to respond to requests. The information he provides doesn't match your situation nor answer your specific questions.

You end up finding another broker, who responds quickly, thoroughly, professionally to every question you ask him. You end up telling the contractor that you appreciate the referral to his insurance buddy, but that you will be using a different insurance broker.

What really happened here is the referred salesperson was assuming, from the start, that he had the sale in the bag. He wasn't very concerned about the relationship with the customer, because he assumed that the customer was already on board.

But customers are NEVER trapped on board, chained to the deck. In fact, they own the boat (their buying process), they're driving the boat, you're simply a guest on the boat, and they can toss you overboard at any time. Fail to give them what they need, and they will do just that. As you are bobbing in their wake, you'll watch your competitor step on board. The buyer and the competitor will sail away together, leaving you treading water, wondering what you did wrong.

The dangerous myth

Salespeople operate all day, every day, under the mistaken impression that they are driving the sale. Hundreds of books and training courses feed this myth, and salespeople snap them up eagerly. There's nothing easier than convincing a salesperson that he is the lead dog controlling the selling process. Why are they so glad to buy into this myth? Because selling is one of the toughest professions in the world. Every day is filled with rejection. Any fantasy that says "you're in power" is a welcome relief from the day-to-day reality.

Salespeople not only try to convince themselves they're in control, they also try to convince their bosses. Their favorite expression is, "No problem."

"That sale is in the bag, boss," the salesman will say, in the weekly sales meeting. When the sale is lost later, the salesperson finds some useful excuse (there are a million of them, and salespeople are expert at making even the oldest, most tired excuses sound plausible). The salesperson quickly changes the subject to the next sale, which is even bigger and more exciting. The boss gets excited, too, and the bungled sale is forgotten.

When a salesperson gets a "referral lead," the salesperson usually jumps on it. He knows it is low-hanging fruit. The credibility barrier has already been broken; the customer is likely to trust him because the customer has been referred to the salesperson by someone they trust.

What the salesperson doesn't understand is that the customer's skepticism, which drives every buying decision, is just as active in this situation as it is with a non-referred sale. The only difference is that the research process has been shortened.

In other words, if the buying process were a romantic movie, the salesperson is already basking in the glow of the happy ending. He is imagining himself closing the sale. The customer, on the other hand, is still in the beginning of the movie, where the two main characters have disappointed each other and their future together looks very bleak - even impossible.

Why the big difference? Why is the customer so skeptical? Because the customer has been burned before.

Today's customers buy hundreds of items a month. They make those purchases based on what vendors promise. Many of those promises have been broken. Customers remember those disappointments. That outfit looked fantastic on the size 4 model, but not good at all on the size 12 woman. That earbud mic for a cell phone was promised to be just right for a Razr V3 phone, but when it's plugged in, it simply doesn't work. That vendor who promised to be there "Saturday" doesn't show up on Saturday, or Monday, or Wednesday, and has still not shown up two weeks later. That insurance company that promised to take care of its customers is now balking at providing coverage. The bank that prides itself on top-notch service leaves customers on hold for 15 minutes, forced to listen to recorded messages in which the bank is bragging about its top-notch service.

All of these disappointments add up. By the time any customer gets to any salesperson, even a customer who has been referred by a trusted vendor, the skepticism level is sky-high.

Plus, there is also another nagging doubt in the customer's mind, when one vendor refers another. "Will this salesperson take advantage of the fact that he has a relationship with the person who referred him? Did the person who referred him do so because the vendor is really good, or because they have some kind of kickback arrangement going on?"

What all this means is that the salesperson who gets a referral has to work harder for that customer's business - if for no other reason than to earn additional referrals in the future. No one wants to refer their customers to someone who is only going to disappoint the customer - or worse, make the customer angry.

The salesperson who receives a referral has to treat that customer as if the referral is a much-appreciated gift. The salesperson needs to pay special attention to that customer, to understand what the customer needs and expects. He shouldn't assume for a second that the sale is "in the bag." He should check frequently with the customer, making sure that all questions are answered. The customer shouldn't have to go hunting for the salesperson. The customer should not have to ask any question more than once, and should receive quick, thorough, and professional answers to every question. This is how you stay on board the customer's boat during the buying process, in any situation.