12: Twelve Commandments Of Affluent Selling
The author presumes that people who read this book will have read other books, and taken on other training and self-improvement activities to make themselves better at what they do. And as such, no author can count on a reader to accept everything he tells them and do exactly as he has suggested. (EN: Very insightful - and it strikes me that other authors fail to make that connection, and instead expect a reader to abandon all he presently knows and adopt the full program.)
Instead, it's likely the reader will "cherry pick" his book - to take some of the ideas and approaches he has suggested and integrate them into their personal plan for success. With that in mind, he has put together this last chapter, presenting what he feels to be the twelve best gems he has to offer. Not that the rest is unimportant, but that the cherry-pickers who read this book should walk away with at least these points in mind.
Commandment 1: Be Totally Committed
Commitment is the first "commandment" the author has to offer, because nothing will lead to success unless the reader makes a firm and total commitment to actually doing something. It's not enough to merely want to be successful, nor to know what must be done to become so - you must commit to doing so.
Especially for selling to the affluent, commitment must be total. The affluent know what it means to work toward a goal, and are affluent because they have done so themselves. They will recognize, and will be thoroughly disgusted, when the see someone else making a half-effort and expecting a full reward.
Commandment 2: Be "As Advertised"
One of the greatest disappointments of the consumer experience is getting a product that doesn't do what was expected, and one of the greatest disappointments in our relationships with others is when they fall short of our expectations of them. Our disappointment is exacerbated in both cases where promises were made, then broken.
And this is, by far, the greatest sin of the sales and marketing profession: to make promises and set expectations with the full knowledge we will be unable to deliver them. Customers might be forgiving when exigencies arise and we cannot deliver as promised, but are utterly unforgiving when they have the sense we knew, even when a promise was made, that we had no intention of keeping it. And rightly so.
It's also true that, in our litigious society, that firms often spell out the truth in the fine print of a contact, and are fond of pointing out these facts to a customer when dissatisfaction is expressed. This avoids litigation, but does not assuage disappointment, and in fact exacerbates it.
As such, it's important to clearly communicate what you intend to deliver, being forthright about any unflattering facts that are likely to cause dissatisfaction, and to deliver accordingly. There should be no unpleasant surprises, for any reason, ever.
The reward for doing so is a reputation that will retain and attract customers who will be loyal to you over long periods of time.
Commandment 3: Be A Problem Solver
Consumers expect there to be problems, and are largely resigned to the fact that no solution is flawless. But they also expect the firms that serve them to solve these problems, as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is key to maintaining not only satisfaction with a past purchase, but loyalty for future purchases.
This is a problem for many salesmen, who feel that their job is to talk the customer into buying something, process the order, then walk away. If there are problems, it's someone else's fault, and someone else's responsibility. To be successful as a salesman means ensuring that the customer gets what they paid for, and being their point of contact within your organization that will ensure any problem they encounter is addressed.
If you do this, customers will sing your praises. If you fail to do this, you will lose their future business, and they will also discourage others from doing business with you.
Commandment 4: Be A Servant
Solving problems is a good, but it is not good enough when dealing with affluent customers. They expect a higher level of service, and they expect you to provide it. This may mean doing a lot of things that aren't your "job" as a salesman, and giving the customer more than the minimum, but it will also ensure their loyalty and earn referrals.
Adequate service is expected, and is not a competitive advantage. A firm that provides excellent service - above and beyond what its competitors are willing to do - is an anomaly that is greatly appreciated, well remembered, and often recommended.
Commandment 5: Be A Trusted Source Of Information
Affluent customers sell themselves. They are aware of their needs and proactively seek solutions, and will not be talked into buying something that the do not need. And because they have had many encounters with salesmen who have tried to do exactly that, they are distrustful of salesmen and see traditional sales tactics as an affront to their own decision-making competence.
With this in mind, the best you can do is to be a trusted source of information: they expect a salesman to be knowledgeable, and will come to accept advice and recommendations only where the information they receive from a salesman serves to fill in gaps in the information they have gathered on their own. However, this only occurs when another person has earned their trust.
Being knowledgeable about your products, and factual in your presentation of them, will keep you on the right track toward earning a sale. Any sense that you are being deceptive or manipulative, pushing them toward a purchase they do not want to make, will put you on track to losing a sale you might otherwise have made.
Commandment 6: Provide Value That Exceeds Price
Affluent customers are, by definition, moneyed people who can well afford to pay a high price for merchandise - but at the same time, are highly mindful of the value they get in exchange for what they pay. If they were careless with money, and paid more than necessary for things, chances are they would not have amassed much wealth at all.
As such, price remains important to affluent customers: they are able to pay more, but willing to do so only if the value they get justifies a higher price. The key to getting them to do so is in helping them to convince themselves (to the previous point, you won't convince them) that what they are getting merits the price they are paying.
(EN: This is an interesting point, and goes back to the earlier definitions of affluence: income and wealth. I strongly suspect that there are many people with high income but low wealth precisely because they are careless with money, do not consider the value they get in exchange, and even take pride in the price of the things they own, believing that the amount of money they paid is an indication of quality. So I can't entirely agree with the author: there are some affluent people who are careless with money, and likely many in the near-affluent class who take pride in overpaying, and there's good profit to be made in separating a fool from his money. It's not the course I'd care to take, but especially for brands that count on conspicuous consumption, it's definitely not a rule.)
Commandment 7: Disclose All Costs
This reflects on the earlier commandment to "be as advertised," in that setting the proper expectations ensures that the customer will not feel disappointed. But while the previous principle focused on being realistic about the benefits the consumer will derive from the product, this one focuses on being up-front about the things they might find disappointing.
Again, customers realize that nothing is perfect or guaranteed, and can be forgiving when things are not absolutely splendid, provided their expectations were set appropriately in advance of making a purchase.
The author dwells a bit on "hidden fees" that cause the cost to differ from the price that was promised. Customers expect and accept that there may be service charges for additional features and functions that aren't part of the standard package, and many are quite happy to pay additional cost to get additional value. But the bill should never come as a surprise, with extra costs added in that were not discussed in advance.
You should be as forthcoming as possible, even about things that may not be flattering or delightful. Especially for the affluent customer, the possibility of losing an immediate sale is less damaging than making a sale, then losing any chance of future business and having your brand's reputation talked down to other customers.
Commandment 8: Stand By Everything
Successfully selling to the affluent requires you to stand by your product or service, and ensure it delivers all that was promised, even if you are not contractually obligated to do so.
The affluent customer is sophisticated enough to know that any warranty or guarantee is intended not to ensure satisfaction, but to set limits as to what customers can expect a company to do when they are dissatisfied, and that purchasing the product under warranty actually limits their right to demand a resolution to any problem.
Even so, the warranty may protect you from litigation, but it will not protect you from dissatisfaction, and it won't guarantee that they will buy from you again or refrain from discouraging others to buy.
The best approach for selling to the affluent is to stand by everything, regardless of what is explicitly promised by warranties or guarantees. If you cannot go to that extreme, at the very least ensure that expectations are set appropriately before the purchase.
Commandment 9: You Are The Brand
The concept of "brand" is an intangible, that is often considered in the context of a given firm or a given product - and not often enough considered in the context of people.
In most instances, the people are the only aspect of a business that is truly unique. The customers can usually get the exact same merchandise at any of a number of retailers, and one business is not very different than others of the same category.
As such, the element of greatest distinction and differentiation to customers are the employees who serve them. When you interact with customers ,you are not a representative of your firm - you are your firm. An d the way you interact with them is more significant in creating an impression and winning customer loyalty than the name of the product or the business.
Commandment 10: Be Covetous Of Your Reputation
Reputation is of critical importance to affluent customers: they return to a vendor, and recommend a vendor to others, based on its reputation. And especially for this market segment, they are resistant to advertising and become aware of products only because they are mentioned to them by other people.
Also, when it comes to reputation, everything counts. Your behavior off-the-job can also impact your reputation on the job. It's not that you are disallowed a private life, but anything that a clients sees you doing will impact their overall impression of you.
Commandment 11: Become Internet Savvy
The affluent use the Internet extensively to research products and gather information for decision-making. If you have no presence at all, you simply do not exist. If you have a basic presence but do not provide the information that customers seek, you are out of the running if any of your competitors do provide it.
While the primary purpose of your site should be to support existing customers and feed the interest of others who are referred to you, it also has the function of providing information to an affluent person who has not received any referrals from their acquaintances. However, don't allow the latter to overshadow the former.
Commandment 12: No Hassles
The last commandment is not the least important, but likely the second most important: customers buy things to make their lives easier, not more difficult. A sales process that makes it less convenient to solve their problems is a problem unto itself, and in some instances they may believe the cure to be worse than the condition.
Or on the positive side, customers value firms that provide hassle-free solutions, and being easy to work with is second only to providing an effective solution in impressing a customer, winning their loyalty, and gaining referrals from them.
As such, consider your business from the perspective of the customer. Make a list of all the things that they will be asked to do in order to get the product or service you offer - then, for each of the items on that list, consider whether you can eliminate it or make it easier for them.