When To Say- No- To A Customer

With over a decade of experience in automobile retails, I have had my share of situations which are exciting and pleasant, stressful, embarrassing and sometimes irritating. As I gathered years of experience, I got the most valuable skill which any one in Sales should have which is "Saying No To A Customer".

A lead or a prospect is as valuable as a precious stone for a sales man and the Customer- A God. The salesman is on the lookout for that "Win-Win" situation which will break the lead into a customer. But not always. There are situations, where in, saying No will be good for both parties involved. I have summarized the situations broadly into 2 as under:

Customer with an impossibly high expectation and demands- We as salesmen are bought up with the thought customers are always right. But when a customer becomes demanding in terms of product, specifications, deadlines or delivery which by  all means a company cannot honor, take the call to say a polite No. Be polite and also ensure to explain the reason. From my experience, 50% of customers would agree to your terms once regret is expressed. However, as a salesman you need to introspect.

·      Why did the customer expect so high? 

·      Have you at any stage over committed yourself during your frenzied sales pitch?

·      Take corrective steps immediately to avoid a recurrence.

      Customer on a high price negotiation which affects profits- A sales materializes when customer sees value in the product or business proposition. However, most of the time price negotiations take much time in a sales process which according to me is due to customer not finding value but has a need. At times negotiations will turn to worse when customer demands more price reductions, or freebies, which will affect the profits. Businesses employ salesmen for generating profits. If the very profit seems badly affected, take the call once again to say No. Saying No in this context saves yours and customers time, reduces the stress on the salesman (which,for a rookie, will be on all time high) and will actually give you an opportunity to get back to the customer at a later stage. However, walking out from a price negotiation is tricky. Situations for heavy negotiations could be

·        Either the customer is genuinely cash strapped and needs your help or

·        Is bargaining just to squeeze the best deal.

It’s depends on the judgment of the salesman to find which category the customer falls. A genuine customer if supported will give more business at a later stage. However, the latter can be just ignored with the No. The points for introspection are

·         Has the salesman at any point try to sell on price and not on value?

·         Has he/she shown the option that prices can drop if escalated?

·         Has he/she shown desperation for the deal?

Selling is probably the oldest profession known to mankind. It can be made stress free by understanding, creating and delivering value. But it’s easier said than done and negotiation pitfalls can create undue pressure on the salesman’s life. Make sales simple. Say the No at the appropriate time but politely. Even though the walk back to the office will be painful, rest assured the head is held high and all likely the customer will still get back to you at a later stage.