Salespeople: Is Your Customer Always Right? What To Do When They Are Wrong

Customers are always right, as long as what they say is true. But they don’t have the experience and level of expertise that you do. So many times, what they tell you is simply not true. This is worse if they truly believe what they say. Here is how we handle this situation based on ten thousand high end sales to finicky customers.

If the customer is complaining because they believe something that isn’t true, the first thing you have to do is make sure of exactly what they are saying. L-I-S-T-E-N. Listening to a customer is a form of compliment. It implies that you value what they are saying. For many people, complaining to you is how they get their feeling of self worth. You cannot ruin that feeling for them. The main way a customer will get even with you, for ruining their belief, is to not buy from you, cancel a sales, or call the Better Business Bureau.

So the first thing a salesperson should do is listen to them tell the complete story of their complaint, objection, or untrue statement. Listen until they run out of steam, or slow down. You will be able to tell when everything is out of their system. Thy will hesitate between sentences. This means they are thinking up something additional to tell you.

Then you feed them their statement back to them. I soften the statement to make it something I can handle. For example, they say "I saw your product at another dealer. He told me he could sell it to me for less". I will feed it back with a slight alteration. For example, I may say "He’s a reputable dealer. And frankly he may quote you a price that is slightly lower. But customer consistently buy from us, even after they talk to this other dealer.. May I tell you why?".

Did you notice I didn’t directly say anything bad about the other dealer? Never say anything bad about another dealer. Never say anything about a person who told the customer something untrue either. You never know the relationship they have. You will derail your sales presentation with an argument about a competitor, or backtrack to apologize for insulting a close relative.

If possible in any way, accept responsibility for any mistake on the customer’s end.

For example; "I’m sorry, I forgot to explain that to you. Thanks for reminding me".

Or "Wow, you brought up a good point. I need forgot to cover that. I was engrossed in our conversation. Here is how that works..."

See? I’m accepting responsibility for their mistake, giving them credit for reminding me, and now I can move on.

What is someone told them something that isn’t true? How do you keep from insulting the friend or relative?

You compliment the person that gave false information, compliment the customer on bringing it to your attention, and then tell your story.

For example, they say "My uncle said that this product is over priced, and is made cheaply".

Now you could say; "Your uncle is an ignorant fool. Now let me tell you the real story".

Of course, you would be wrong to do so, although I’ve heard salespeople almost that bad.

I would say : You took the time to ask around. That’s a smart way to shop. Your uncle obviously cares about you and wants to make sure you get the best value. Does he own this model?" Of course, he doesn’t. Then you can say "Let’s take a look at some of the features your uncle hasn’t seen, so you can make an informed decision. OK?"

See? Don’t get angry, don’t argue, accept responsibility, and compliment the buyer when you can. They will reward you for letting them save face, usually by buying.