Can You Sell a Comb to a Bald Guy?
Fortunately, YES!
“Hey, take this comb and try to sell it to me,” That was me talking to a group of friends.
I received some challenging responses that I want to share with you:
This comb will make your hair sprout and start to grow.
This comb is a limited edition and it’s all for you.
You will find it useful when scratching your head. ::D
I think that you should buy it for your mother or sister.
In your opinion, which answer can be convincing?
If your answer is none for a reason, you might be right and wrong. You are right because these ideas might be nonsense. At the same time, you could be wrong because of course, there’s a reason behind each answer, trying to sell it or add a flavor to its features.
Before sharing my idea, let me ask a question.
Why do some sellers fail to convince a buyer to select their product although they need it badly?
Imagine selling something to a customer who is now checking your product one step before the checkout process but all of a sudden, he will soon stop, stand up and leave. Why does this mostly happen?
Although any customer feels confident when they are about to buy something, they still have doubts during the purchase process. Their doubts are all about:
- Are you an honest seller or not?
- Does your product really have the features you mentioned?
- Does your product cost the real price in comparison with your competitors?
Stats replied first.
Unfortunately, most buyers feel that the number-one thing sellers need is to get rid of their product at any cost.
Steve Martin, A strategist and a sales trainer at the University of Southern California, said that when buyers murmur these questions, this increases their mental pressure and therefore, what you said about the product isn’t now clear to them. They end up leaving, thinking that you might, as a seller, win the battle after the customer found no answer to his questions. It’s all about the customer’s doubt not you.
In 2016, HubSpot, an American developer and marketer of software products, conducted a survey on which profession could win trust among 100 professions. 3% was the percent the sellers deserved according to the survey result. Not only did the customers have no trust in the sellers in 2016, but it also happened in 2001 when Gallup, an American multinational analytics and advisory company, revealed that among 70 trusted professions, ironically, sellers who especially sold cars came last-place.
Brian Tracy, the author of The Psychology of Selling, mentioned in his book that every experience the customer has matters, meaning that the customer made a wrong decision when they bought something and is now careful not to repeat the same mistake again.
How do some vendors deceive some purchasers?
Sometimes, some vendors use the information gap process when selling their products to customers. As a seller, you have for sure experienced customers coming to buy a product that all they know about is its name whether they came to buy it for them or someone else. What purchasers need now is to believe and trust your words about the product. What if you are good at presenting false advantages to your product? The customer will never visit you again or recommend your product to anyone. If you are able to build trust between the customer and you, you will successfully market your product.
As a seller, can you earn trust?
Yes, and there are millions of sellers around the world who quickly gain the customers’ trust. to bring great credit to your site from customers, you have to instill in your clients that you sell something suitable for their needs not for you. For example, what if you are trying to persuade someone who has diabetes and heart problems to buy a roller-coaster ticket to enjoy themselves? It seems that you are attempting to sell something for the benefit of only you. Getting back to the survey carried out by HubSpot in 2016, Doctors came first as the most trusted people, but why, why doctors?
Without thinking, I agree that doctors should come first. For example, have you ever seen a patient arguing with their doctor about a prescription given or complaining about a diagnosis? No, and this happens for a reason.
It’s all about what had been mentioned earlier which was trust. The patient is usually certain that their doctor cares about them and gives them the proper medicine to get over. That’s why they feel free and relaxed obeying their doctor’s orders.
Be like a doctor when selling your products:
A salesman should treat their customer like the example of the doctor mentioned above. Any seller should know first what the customer really needs and there’s no embarrassment if what they need is not what you sell. Adding a flavor to an irrelevant product discredits you because you’re trying to sell something actually the customer doesn’t need.
Zig Ziglar, An American motivational speaker and a salesman, was once asked how to sell an ashtray to a customer. Most seller answers will be about adding value to the ashtray, but Ziglar had another opinion saying, “Why do you want to buy this ashtray?” One of the audiences who was acting as a customer added features to it. Ziglar asked, “And how much should it cost?” The customer didn’t know how much it cost but suggested it might cost $20. Zig with a self-satisfied smirk, “Deal is done!”
So what you should do first is know what your customer really needs.
I must sell what I have to the customer ….
Sellers are sometimes sly, trying to convince themselves that this is what really brings the customer to them. As a vendor not having what the customer is looking for, you are either honest with this customer, apologizing for not having their need or sell an irrelevant product to them, focusing only on how to get back home happy to have your target achieved.
Option 1 is not only ethically accepted but also commercially. Joe Girard, one of the most American successful salesmen, holding a Guinness World Record in selling 1425 cars in 1973 in America, introduced a market law called “The law of 250”. It was all about the number mentioned. He explained that each one might know 250 people including families, neighbors, relatives, colleagues, friends and acquaintances. If you deceive a customer to sell a false product, enjoying a bad reputation for poor quality might somehow spread to 250 buyers. What if the antithesis happened? 250 buyers will be on your side. That’s very simple why we should go for option 1. Keep in your mind that you win one battle per customer who will never come again when you select option 2.
Let’s answer: Can you sell a comb to a bald guy?
Looking back to the answers mentioned earlier, you will find that all answers focus on only one thing — I want to sell the comb. But when I asked my father, he said, “Why should I insist on selling a product to an irrelevant customer? What would I gain when selling a comb to a hairless guy?” Actually, this is the answer I was looking for. As a seller, I should be honest with the customer here, clarifying that this comb is not suitable for them, but it can be given to someone who is in need of it. Therefore, the customer will think about who should have it and will look for any other products you have thanks to your honesty with them.
If you have other features that could help sellers gain respect from their customers, please we are all ears.
