The Customer Journey Mismatch: A Cautionary Tale - The Advanced Selling Podcast

Summary4 min read

The Advanced Selling Podcast
Episode Summary: "The Customer Journey Mismatch: A Cautionary Tale"
Release Date: December 5, 2024

In this insightful episode of The Advanced Selling Podcast, host Bill Caskey delves into the critical importance of understanding the customer’s position in their journey before attempting to pitch a product or service. Through a compelling personal story and professional experiences, Bill elucidates common pitfalls in sales strategies and provides actionable advice to enhance closing rates and build stronger client relationships.

Introduction to the Customer Journey Mismatch

Bill opens the episode with a candid recounting of a seemingly routine interaction at an AT&T store, highlighting how a lack of empathy and understanding can derail a sales process.

[00:06] Bill Caskey: "Today I'm going to take you on a little journey through a story with my AT&T experience."

A Cautionary Tale: The AT&T Experience

Bill narrates his observation of a customer struggling to purchase a watch for her 12-year-old daughter. The customer, though well-dressed and articulate, was visibly overwhelmed by the technical options presented by the sales representative.

Customer’s Dilemma: The woman wanted a watch for safety reasons but was uncertain about the technological differences between products.
Salesperson’s Approach: Instead of simplifying the options, the salesperson pressured her into choosing between Series Nine and Series Ten, leading to her frustration and eventual departure.

[00:25] Bill Caskey: "She literally forced her out of the store. There was nobody waiting. It wasn't like they had a big crowd of people with bags of money."

This encounter underscores a fundamental issue in sales: failing to meet the customer where they are, both in terms of knowledge and emotional state.

Contrasting Experiences: Effective vs. Ineffective Customer Engagement

Bill juxtaposes the AT&T scenario with a positive interaction he had with a potential coaching client. This comparison serves to illustrate the benefits of a customer-centric approach.

The AT&T Failure: The salesperson did not seek to understand the customer’s needs or her level of comfort with technology, resulting in a lost sale and a dissatisfied customer.
The Coaching Success: In a recent call with a business owner of a $7 million company, Bill took the time to explore the client's challenges and objectives before proposing any solutions.

[00:50] Bill Caskey: "He didn't have a group for accountability. I really got a lay of the land, so I was able to meet him where he was."

By investing time to understand the client's position, Bill was able to tailor his approach effectively, demonstrating how empathy and active listening can significantly improve sales outcomes.

Key Insights and Strategies for Sales Professionals

Bill distills his experiences into actionable strategies aimed at enhancing sales effectiveness:

Meet the Customer Where They Are:
- Avoid premature pitching.
- Focus on understanding the customer’s current situation and needs.
[01:20] Bill Caskey: "Meet people where they are with questions like what prompted you to invite me in or what prompted you to take a look at this."
Ask Diagnostic Questions:
- Engage customers with open-ended questions to uncover their motivations and challenges.
[01:30] Bill Caskey: "What are some of your visions and goals? And where are you hung up?"
Avoid Assumptions:
- Don’t assume the customer’s level of knowledge or readiness to buy.
- Tailor discussions based on the customer’s responses rather than a predefined sales script.
Improve Closing Percentages:
- By understanding the customer’s journey, sales professionals can address specific pain points, leading to higher conversion rates.
[02:00] Bill Caskey: "If you're looking to improve your closing percentage... ask those questions, you can't be at 30 to 40% without, without too much work."

Conclusions and Final Recommendations

Bill concludes by emphasizing the necessity of empathy and understanding in the sales process. He warns against the common tendency to project one’s own expectations onto the customer journey, advocating instead for a tailored approach based on genuine customer insights.

[02:30] Bill Caskey: "Don't start selling. Just understand. Seek to understand what their dilemma is, what they're trying to accomplish."

This philosophy not only enhances sales effectiveness but also fosters long-term relationships built on trust and mutual understanding.

Additional Resources

Bill mentions his new book, 12 Bold Moves, which offers detailed strategies for sales professionals and leaders to elevate their careers and optimize their sales teams.

[02:50] Bill Caskey: "If you'd like to get a copy of my new book, 12 Bold Moves... go to 12 Boldmoves Combat."

Takeaway:

Understanding and aligning with the customer's current position is paramount in sales. By prioritizing empathy, active listening, and tailored questioning, sales professionals can significantly improve their closing rates, build stronger client relationships, and achieve sustained success.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:06]
Bill Caskey
Hi everybody. Bill Caskey, solo episode Today I'm going to take you on a little journey through a story with my AT&T experience. And I typically don't call out companies, but this was interesting. I've really never had a problem at AT&T and I use my, I use them for cell phone service, but I found a. I was with one of the guys there and he was helping me with my phone and I saw a lady come in. And I'm telling you this story because I wonder how often this happens to us. Unbeknownst to us, she came in and she was interested in a watch for her 12 year old little girl and she wanted it for safety reasons. She wanted the little girl to be able to call her when there was an emergency or whatever. And so it was obvious this lady was, you could tell she was sharp, sharp dressed, nice, attractive, 40 years old probably. And you could tell though that she wasn't all that up to speed on technology. And she basically said to the lady, the server attendant is, look, I'm thinking about getting a watch for my daughter. I don't know what to buy, I don't know where to start. I don't know much about the technology. And the person said, well, are you thinking about Series nine or Series ten? And I could see her face freeze up on the customer. She goes, I don't know, I don't know. I don't know the difference. She goes, well, series nine you can get on Facebook Marketplace. Series 10 is our latest. You can only get it at an approved dealer. And the lady says, oh. Customer says, okay. She goes, I still don't know what the capacity and capabilities of it are. And she goes, well, they're both about the same. Series 9 just doesn't have quite the features that 10 does, but I would recommend you just go on Facebook Marketplace. She literally forced her out of the store. There was nobody waiting. It wasn't like they had a big crowd of people with bags of money. And the lady left and I was done with my guy. And so I walked out just behind her and I said, excuse me. She goes, yeah. And she. And she was smiling because I was smiling while she was not getting the information. And so she knew I knew what was up. I said, how was that experience? She said it was terrible. She said, I went in there thinking I was going to buy a watch and next thing I know they're telling me to go to Facebook Market, but I don't know what I'm looking for. And I think that's a Lesson for all of us. When I look at the closing rate, conversion rate of deals proposed to Deals one or even to first calls to Deals one, I see a big drop off. I see a very low percentage. And I'm wondering how frequently it happens to us where the customer is unsatisfied with our questions, with our narrative, with kind of the backstory, with our explanation of why and why they shouldn't buy. I had a call a couple weeks ago from a guy who owned a company and he was about a $7 million company, had a couple salespeople. He wasn't a sales training prospect, but he might have been a coaching prospect. But he called, set up an appointment, and the first I said, well, tell me where you are on this journey. And he says, well, it's glad you asked. I don't know if coaching would help me or not. I know what some of my issues are, but I don't know if I need a coach or I need somebody to come in and train my sales team or I don't know what I need. And I said, well, okay, why don't we spend the first 15, 20 minutes deciding whether coaching, at least from me, as I understand what coaching is, would help you. He said, that would be great. And so we spent the first 15, 20 minutes talking about his situation, where he wanted to be, how he was struggling to get there. He didn't have a group for accountability. I really got a lay of the land, so I was able to meet him where he was. And that's one thing the phone company customer service did not do with this lady. They did not meet her where she was. She was at a place where she didn't even know what the capacity of a watch and phone and how they work together was. And the customer service person was trying to sell her on series nine versus Series ten. So if you're looking to improve your closing percentage or you're looking to improve your first meeting to second meeting percentage, I think you have to meet people where they are with questions like what prompted you to invite me in or what prompted you to take a look at this or to start this journey or what are some of your visions and goals? And where are you hung up? Let's decide first whether you're even a prospect for me, meaning do you even have a need for this? I think what we do as salespeople is we don't start there. We start where we think and hope the customer is on their journey, not where they really are. So my admonition and suggestion today is before you start pitching and presenting and all that stuff, find out where the customer is. You're not. Don't sell. Just understand. Seek to understand what their dilemma is, what they're trying to accomplish. I think it'll you'll really help your closing percentage. And if I, you know, if you're at 20% now, there's no reason. If you ask those questions, you can't be at 30 to 40% without, without too much work. So I hope that serves you today. I'll be back again. So will Brian. See you. If you'd like to get a copy of my new book, 12 Bold Moves, where I take you through the exact moves you need to make as a sales professional, VP of Sales, go to 12 Boldmoves Combat.