Being your customer’s decision coach

5 minutes read

According to LinkedIn’s 2020 State of Sales Report, only 14% of sellers (out of 2 million surveyed) are considered good at active listening. There is no surprise that the same report also showed that only 40% of decision-makers describe the sales profession as trustworthy. Right, why would you trust somebody who does not even listen to you?

The result of the report confirms that we do not do consultative sales as much as we talk about it. It also confirms that most of the sales training in the market are outdated. In today’s world, the salesperson’s role has evolved to the role of a decision coach for the customer to make the best buying decision. And being a good coach requires active listening.

Let me tell you a recent buying experience that I had which is a great example of being the decision coach. I wanted to buy my fragrance and I went to the closest perfumery store which is a part of a chain in France. I immediately found my perfume and between two sizes (75ml and 125ml) I chose the small bottle. At that moment, a salesperson approached and told me that there is a promotion if I choose the 125ml size. For me, any promotion is equal to manipulation. Therefore, I try to stay away. I told firmly that I am not interested because I found what I was looking for. The lady looked at me and said “Sir, for the same price you can have a bigger size plus the shower gel”. When she saw my determination, she was surprised and kindly asked me if there was a particular reason that I choose the smaller bottler. She did it with a genuine curiosity because she really could not understand why I would choose the smaller bottle at the same price as a big one which includes a shower gel on top.

As her curiosity felt genuine to me, I explained to her that I am a frequent traveler, and I cannot take bottles bigger than 100ml of liquid with me to the cabin. She said:

“Ah OK, that makes sense. Then why don’t you use a separate perfume atomizer? So that you do not have to take the big bottle with you.”

I said, “perfume what?” because I did not know what it was. She showed me the small perfume atomizer bottle but without even looking at the price I said “No thank you, I do not want to pay extra, and I do not even know how to fill it without spilling the liquid all around” because I was again getting the feeling to be manipulated.

She kindly smiled and said:

“Sir, I am going to offer you this atomizer bottle for free, and I am going to fill it from the tester bottle with you so that you can see how easy it is to use. Therefore, for the same price, you can buy the 125ml bottle and the shower gel.”

In the end, I left the store with a 125ml bottle and shower gel bundle and a small atomizer bottle filled with my fragrance. And all this at the price of a 75ml bottle, for which I was ready to pay the price because I thought it was the only option responding to my need, a “cabin size” bottle.

I was happy because I learned how to use a perfume atomizer and thank to that I could buy the 125ml bottle for the price of 75ml. Did I feel manipulated? A little. Did I feel listened to? Absolutely. But more importantly, I felt assisted in my decision-making. The lady’s genuine curiosity about my willingness to pay more for less helped her to understand the underlying reason for my decision. Once she understood, she tried to help me to make the best buying decision. Of course, her objective was to sell me the bundle. Yet instead of focusing on selling and explaining to me the advantages of the bundle, she focused on my buying process and helped me to make the best decision for me. My final decision served her objective, yes. However, I am so satisfied with my decision that I do not care.

In conclusion, active listening is not a sales method reserved for a privileged group of top salespeople working in large corporations. It can be used at every kind of sales transaction. The only thing you need is genuine curiosity and asking nonjudgmental questions. That is all.