If you've been in the sales game for any time, you've surely heard of that peculiar affliction known as "buyer's remorse."
It is a sudden fever that comes over a recent buyer who feels he just has to back out of a deal.
Possibly, the used car he bought doesn't have a small amenity in it, maybe a jack for juicing up his computer on the go, and he just can't live without one—or so he claims.
In reality, he may believe that the payments are too high, having heard what his buddy at the gym is paying for a NEW car.
What's really going on with buyer's remorse?
Fear is a large part of it. People who catch this ailment are afraid they made the wrong decision.
Is there any cure for it?
Reassurance might do it, but it's not perfect. You can say, "You've made a great decision—you won't regret it!" but still, keep your fingers crossed.
Is there a way of preventing it?
I'm not sure, but a very recent experience may shed some light on the question.
Cleopa, you know her, she's the feral cat I trained and domesticated. She had a litter consisting of two beautiful kittens. Snowy was all white with a beige tail, and Gorby was white with markings reminiscent of Mikhail Gorbachov, that former Soviet, who is now living well, I bet, anywhere outside of Russia.
Anyway, we advertised on the web for folks to adopt the kitties, and sure enough, Snowy was chosen first. The lady who claimed her was unbelievably nervous, called a bunch of times, insisted on seeing pic after pic, and finally, when she came she seemed really edgy and prissy.
We required a payment of fifty bucks to discourage abusers and weirdoes from vying for these pets, but this lady didn't get screened out; unfortunately. A day after she took Snowy, she communicated that her other cat (who knew?) had stopped eating (Snowy hadn't!).
She wanted to return her and get her $50 back.
Of course, instead of leaving the pet in her hands we said sure, bring her by, but a day after that she said she "solved the problem."
How, we'll never know.
Should we have read the signs of Cat Buyer's Remorse, and avoided this person?
I think so, now that I recall the sequence. Here are the signals that we should have seen:
(1) Some folks will telegraph trouble in advance. She did this by requiring lots of confirmation before even seeing Snowy. Her nervousness should have told us she's ambivalent.
(2) When we met her, she was unusually skittish, and she didn't really seem cat-savvy. I suspect she expected instant bonding and affection from the little being.
(3) She had unrealistic expectations, treating us like we were a pet store or a vet's office.
(4) Our instincts told us she'd freak the first time she saw a flea on the kittie, that she was a perfectionist and a prickly problem.
(5) She left our place looking shaken, a little jittery.
We could, and perhaps should have said, "Wait a second. Are you sure you're comfortable?"
Anyway, this is the signature of someone who suffers from buyer's remorse, and whether you sell big Cats, like Caterpillar tractors, or tiny kittie cats, I hope this will help you to recognize them, and take the right action!
Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of http://www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com
For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to http://www.customersatisfaction.com
No comments:
Post a Comment