Many sales people are terribly afraid of so called difficult clients. I use the term ?so called? because usually, if you frankly look at these people they are not difficult at all. For sure some sales people classified you as difficult clients, although (in most of the cases) you are absolutely normal.

I would like to share an observation which totally turned upside down my perception about difficult clients. Of course in a positive way.

If you analyze all your experiences with tough clients you would recall that almost each of them started with a minor issue. An opinion expressed, a wrong word/move, a reaction that caused all the confusion. And then it emerged and exploded with immense power. That?s when a difficult client appeared.

Indeed, too often we focus on the explosion itself rather than on its cause. Change your perspective. It is enough to realize that the person in front of you is not a difficult client. Simply you are in a difficult situation that needs to be solved somehow. And this makes a damn difference.

Difficult client – difficult situation.  This completely changes your attitude, approach, and context. Everything.

This client is most likely a cool and polite guy – not a psychopathic cannibal hungry for salespeople. However something happened that turned the person into a difficult client. Something that caused a difficult situation.

It is much easier to deal with a difficult situation. It is enough to find its reason and somehow work on it. Maybe sometimes it is worth to take responsibility, talk frankly with the client without beating about the bush, maybe restart the situation, or maybe just end up the relation.

So you role is to become a sales detective and solve the puzzle of the difficult situation.

Remember – from now on you have no more difficult clients!

P.S. I would like to thank Tatiana Captari for translation of this post :)

I?ve been trying to get down to writing this article for a long time. But you know how it goes? Things kept coming up, I was short of time. I didn?t want to cut corners and write a weak text. I had to gather materials, think things over and make a plan. I simply had to prepare myself properly?

On the one side, what I?ve just written here may be a good explanation because it sounds quite logical. It?s coherent enough. On the other side, it may also be a pack of lies – excuses I offer you to cover up my laziness.

How does it look in sales? From my own experience and from the experience of salespeople I work with, the subject of excuses is always actual. Almost every salesperson feeds their manager, colleagues or themselves with arguments for not visiting clients and not busying themselves in selling activities. Of course, the frequency and quality of excuses varies, but almost everybody has a tendency to use them. I?m not sure whether I?ve met anyone who didn?t succumb to some degree to the temptation to make excuses not to sell.

Why is that? What underlies the excuses? Most often, apart from plain laziness, the reason is the fear of failure. The fear of hearing ?No!? from the client, of being rejected. So the excuse just postpones the possibility of failure. Because before you visit (or call) the client, you have to do a million other things, more pleasant of course?

Here are the ten most frequent excuses that I?ve noticed salespeople use in order to do anything other than selling. It applies to salespeople on contract, as well as freelancers who work for themselves and also have to sell their services.

1. I have no time for new clients (projects)

A classic. Can be found almost everywhere. We have so much work with existing clients that there?s absolutely no possibility of finding a bit of time for new business. Add to this all the daily activities we have to do: e-mails, reports, charts, documentation, meetings, procedures, feeding CRM etc. Maybe if a day was at least 48 hours, we could squeeze something in ? it wouldn?t be easy though? But in this situation there?s no chance. Unless? Unless the management would relieve us from all those idiotic administrative tasks. Then we could really just sell, sell, sell?

2. I have to learn more about the products (solutions/services) I sell

Oh my?I can?t meet with a client not knowing everything about the things I sell! What if they ask me questions? What if I don?t know the answers? I?d better study the documentation some more, read the product descriptions, gain more knowledge. This is a Sisyphean task. People with such an attitude never feel they know enough to face the client. They keep hiding behind books, instruction manuals, promotional materials, training, etc. Sure, you have to know what you?re selling. You even have to be an expert. But how is that going to help you if you have no-one to sell to? If you don?t have clients? There?s another trap ? once a salesperson like that learns everything he or she can by heart, he switches to teacher mode and starts to educate the client. During sales meetings he gets verbal diarrhoea (since he already knows everything) and starts talking. He talks fast, he talks a lot? Remember: Selling is not telling!

3. I have to prepare myself properly, gather more information about the client

This excuse is similar to the previous one. Again, it?s basis is gaining knowledge. But this time it isn?t product knowledge, it?s information about the client. The salesperson usually sits behind his desk and surfs the web, searching for all kinds of data he can think of. Because you have to know as much as possible about the potential client, of course. And sure ? it?s good to know. But it?s even better to act. Move your ass and meet with the client. Remember! If searching for information about a client takes up a suspiciously large amount of your time, then maybe this means you?re making excuses to yourself not to visit him or her. Think about what is really behind this situation. Is it really about being perfectly prepared?

4. Our competitors are already there, so there?s no point in going

Yeah? but everyone knows they?re clients of our competitors, so there?s no reason to go where we aren?t wanted. ? You can hear things like this when someone uses excuse No. 4. Now ask yourself this question: How often do you change the provider of the services you use? Have you ever bought products from competing companies? We do it every day. Why shouldn?t a client who has already bought something from your competitors buy something from you? Although if you (or friends of yours, colleagues or foes) have never seen a client change his or her mind and start using another company?s services, then really? maybe it?s better not to go where you aren?t invited? Let the competitors do business at leisure.

5. This isn?t the right moment ? it?s holidays

Winter holidays, summer vacation, long weekend, end of the financial year, reorganization, implementation of a new strategy, election, world cup and just anything else you could think of. You won?t find out if it?s the right moment or not unless you ask. Unless you talk to the client. Otherwise your approach will be just an excuse. You suppose you know what the client is thinking? No you don?t. Unless you?re a clairvoyant?

6. The client isn?t (won?t be) interested

They surely don?t need this. They?re going to say ?no? for certain. I?d be surprised if they were interested. ? I?m not going to write a lot about that here. It?s an excuse. A pretext. Mindreading. Get your ass moving and start talking to the client. It?s the only way to find out if they?re interested.

7. First I have to plan everything properly

This excuse is close to the ?I have to prepare myself, gather more information?. Now you have to perfectly plan all the actions. Think about what to do step by step. Create a flawless plan to capture the client. Let?s make one thing clear: I have nothing against planning ? quite the contrary. But there are people who get stuck in the phase of planning and analysing. They won?t take any action before they have everything worked out down to the tiniest detail. And even when they have created their  elaborate plan and they go through it once more, they decide that there?s no point in talking to this particular client. Oh well, since a thorough analysis of the situation indicates so, you have to look for another client. Just don?t forget to prepare yourself properly for this one too?

8. They don?t have the money anyway

This has already become a classic. The crisis. Everybody is cutting costs. Poverty everywhere. How could anyone think about buying anything now? Well, what can you do? that?s the market. If you start thinking this way even before you start talking to the client, it means you?re looking for excuses. If the client tells you that he or she has no budget to spend, then it?s a different story ? but now we?re talking about excuses salespeople make, not the ones clients use? :)

9. I need additional tools

A laptop. A car. A cell phone. A GPS. A better CRM system. A bigger desk. A company credit card. An additional team member. Another boss. More interesting marketing materials. Gadgets I could give away to clients? If we had all this, sales would happen all by themselves. Really! So the management struggles, racks their brains, implements plans and? And that?s great. Great to have all that but if we could also get?

10. ?

That?s right! Whose is longer?? Who has a longer sales cycle?! It isn?t really just about the length (although I hear that very often it is?.) but who has it worse ? whose industry is more specific and selling more difficult?

I was inspired to write this article by a certain discussion. Actually, it was like many other discussions I?d heard. In fact, I hear them every day. Maybe the number of such discussions inspired me.

When I work with salespeople, I can almost be sure that someone is going to raise this subject in a moment, they usually start: Because where I work it?s all different? and then follows a series of arguments which demonstrate what a specific industry it is, how difficult the clients are and why you need to sell differently than anywhere else.

Well? not really! Because in our industry? – follows from the other side and the comparing begins. Whose is longer?I mean the sales cycle, of course.

It seems that ?in our company? the standard selling techniques don?t work, customers are more demanding, the area is specific, products and solutions are one of a kind and the services are totally unique. Because ?in their company? the selling actually happens by itself. It?s a sure-fire hit. Customers make buys without any help etc. ? If ?we? sold what ?they? are selling, then it would all be easy? even with our eyes closed.

Everybody likes to feel exceptional, different. Here?s a question though: How does this uniqueness differ from other ?uniquenesses?? How is selling in one area different than selling in other areas? If we break down the selling cycle into details, putting aside the content (product, solutions, services) and leaving only the form – will we find any differences? Where will the uniqueness be?

Of course, some people could say that a good salesperson can sell anything. Others could claim that a software salesman, for example, will never make a good insurance agent? Because if supposedly you have to be born a salesperson, then it follows that you also have to be born a salesperson in a specific area?

Very often we ourselves are buyers (customers). We feel unique, different than the whole mass of consumers in those moments, don?t we? Aren?t our needs specific? Don?t we need to receive exceptional customer service and special treatment? And in the end, when we satisfy our specific needs by buying ?something? unique, how much does that ?something? differ from millions of ?somethings? bought by other people/companies?

So how is it then ? are we different or are we the same? And what about sales ? is it different in each area or is similar after all?

But of course I know it may be different in your company?

So, whose is longer?? The sales cycle, of course? :)

I have a proposal for you: give needs analysis a miss. Forget features, advantages and benefits. Don?t try to convince anyone that they should buy your solutions or products. You?re asking why? Firstly: because all of this is very boring. Secondly: everybody acts exactly this way. Thirdly: think of another argument yourself?.but, generally, stop selling and worrying about the customer?

This method is probably going to fail anyways, for the simple reason that nobody will venture such a change. It?s nice to read about it, to let it inspire you, but to rearrange everything so drastically?

OK, so what?s it all about? One of the most frequent reasons one loses a sale is?pay attention?trying to sell something. I mean, if you have pressure to sell, the customer will sense that and feel like you?re trying to manipulate him into buying. The effect?well, there?ll be no effect? :)

The simplest advice is to totally forget about selling, about the customer and his needs. In sales, act like doctor House acts in medicine ? he doesn?t care about the patient?s (customer?s) health or his well-being. What he does care about is solving a riddle ? diagnosing the illness and finding its cause. The rest (i.e. curing the patient) is a by-product of the nasty doctor-detective?s work.

What does that have to do with sales? It?s exactly the same thing. Try treating sales as a game, a riddle, a secret you want to uncover. The customer isn?t important here ? the most important thing is uncovering the rules of the game. Getting to the real ?illness? through the patient?s lies ? finding the real pain and its cause. Focus on that. Be a sales-detective ? skeptical and inquisitive. Don?t let go too quickly. Break down the game ? name each trick, move and technique. Take conscious control over the whole situation. And, most important ? play the game, too ? that is if you want to, because you don?t have to. Put emotions aside. It isn?t the right moment to get excited or feel offended. Now you?re in the play. Respect the opponent because he might be a savvy player. Appreciate it. And, most important of all, find pleasure in playing the game!

What do you think could be the side-effect of such an approach? Selling, of course!

Oh my?but what will happen if I lose a customer because of this? ? someone could ask.

Some of House?s patients also died ? but if he wasn?t able to get to the cause of their illness, who else would be able to do it? Those patients probably wouldn?t have survived anyways?Besides, do try to memorize this rule: you can?t lose a customer who hasn?t yet become your customer ? right now he?s only your prospect, so he isn?t ?yours? yet. It?s a bit like saying: I lost a car because I didn?t send an SMS in a TV contest.

Now, observe how your attitude will change if you assume such a ?House-like? approach. You stop being a pushy, pesky salesperson, who tries to convince the customer and talk him into buying something at any price. Instead, you become a consultant-explorer. You try to understand what?s going on on the other side. You put on the buyer?s shoes and try to get to know his business?These are the characteristics of the best salespeople.

And at this point the by-products emerge. Just don?t get excited. You don?t care about them, remember?

I rarely participate in internet forums. I lose my patience too easily when I see the idiotic comments. I get pissed off* by the moron participants, the fanaticism of opinions and stupidity of proposed rules. Maybe it?s because of this that I?m averse to associations. I?ve never stayed long with any formal group. And I have to admit, with shame, that I have even tried?

Well.. it?s about time. I have decided to start an English version of my sales blog. It?s been over two years since I started salesguru.pl. Many Polish readers appreciated the content and gave me a really good feedback. I don?t say it is going to be the same way here, but I won?t know until I try. Let?s see what will happen?

So, what can you expect? At the beginning you will find here mostly my archive posts translated* from Polish. Of course, at some point in time, some new stuff, written exclusively for this place will appear. Be patient and visit me often? :)

OK. I think it?s enough for an introduction. Let the sales stuff speak?

* I would like to thank Joanna Wasilewska from MindQuest (mindquest.pl) for translation of my articles. I know it wasn?t easy, but who else could do it better…? Thanks Joasia! :)