Washed Up Sales...

Beth and I recently bought a new washing machine.

Let me confess: I have to be one of the worst customers to sell. I can’t resist studying a salesperson’s technique. I love testing her product knowledge. And I like to challenge her selling skills.

I generally find appliance salespeople undertrained. This one didn’t disappoint me. But in defense of the store, I assume most appliance shoppers have an urgent need. When your refrigerator is broke and your frozens are melting, you don’t need to be sold. You just need prompt delivery. In my case, Beth was already tired of the Laundromat and our repair estimate was almost as much as a new washer.

“Can I help you,” the saleswoman asked.

“Yeah, my wife and I have some questions on these washers.” I said.

“How do I know how much it holds?” Beth asked.

“Doesn’t it say under the lid?” the saleswoman asked. First she lifted the lid and read, then she skimmed the manual reading a few sentences aloud to us. “Uh, it doesn’t say.”

We asked a few more questions which she answered fairly well.

Then there was a long silence.

I was surprised that the saleswoman wasn’t taking the lead. She was just waiting to take the order. By letting us ask all the questions she was putting us in control of the sale.

A better approach might have been for her to start asking questions so she could help us decide on a washer. How many loads do you do a week? Do you like the suds saver feature? Is this a replacement or our first? Would we want a matching dryer?

Instead she just stood there looking at us.

“How soon can we get it delivered?” I asked.

“Twenty-four to Forty-eight hours.”

“Sold,” I said.

Beth gave me a blank stare.

“Seriously,” I said to Beth. “It has all the features you want. It’s only a little more than I wanted to spend. You won’t have to spend another day at the Laundromat. And the store is closing in ten minutes. Let’s be done.”

The saleswoman wrote up our order and we were on our way. Did she earn the sale? No. But she didn’t lose it either. She could have pressured us out of buying something.

Does your sales technique rely on the customer to ask all the questions? How can you speed up the closing process without over pressuring the prospect by using questions?

The kicker of the washing machine sale? When it was delivered we found the drain hose was on the wrong side. The delivery guy, who offered to sell me a new water valve, didn’t have an extension for the hose. That might have been a good question for the saleswoman to ask!