Pressure or No Pressure? That is the Sales Question

I was reading the Comics section of my Sunday paper the other day, after clipping all my coupons, and laughed at a few of the strips. Some were confusing and not-so-funny, but one really stood out as a “well, duh!” moment for business owners.

In the relatively new strip, Dustin, the editorial comic creators Steve Kelley and Jeff Parker share humorous glimpses into the life of a typical American family.  Sunday’s strip found the father, Ed, browsing at an electronics store. As I read the strip, I was forcibly reminded of my own stint in retail and the pressure we were under to “make the sale”.

If your paper doesn’t carry the strip, or you didn’t have a chance to read it, here’s a link to it.

I loved Ed’s final remark to the sales clerk. It is so annoying to the customer to have their wishes ignored. By all means, approach us when we enter your store, greet us, and see if you can help us with anythings. Many times, you can help. But other times we want to take our time and explore the options on our own. We know you have an agenda to sell us something before we leave the store. We also know that we aren’t necessarily ready to make a purchase right now. And sometimes, we truly are “just browsing”.

As I run my own business now, I make a point of letting people know I’m there and able to help them. If they contact me, I’ll follow up with them – even several times, via email, over a period of weeks – nothing intrusive, just a quick check-in to see if their needs are met or not. I sincerely try not to hover and know I err on the side of NOT contacting someone so that I don’t appear to be desperate to make the sale.

Instead of following the pattern of the sales clerk in the above strip, keep your communication with prospective clients light and soft. We’re all surrounded by hard-nosed sales people and pitch-fests — it’s refreshing to talk to someone who isn’t pushy and demanding, but is genuinely interested in YOU.

So be that red apple. Stand out from among your fellow business owners – you’ll be amazed at the results!