Turn Objections Into Gift Basket Sales
Even though we may be trying our best to land new accounts and keep our old customers satisfied, it seems these days that customers are hesitant about buying. Sometimes, instead of trying to push the features and benefits of what we want to sell, it may be a good time to listen more closely to the reasons why customers say they’re not buying. Then, we can target our efforts in the direction of overcoming their objections.
There are many different responses that we can make to customers once we understand why they’re not buying. Although in the current economic downtown, when customers tell you that “they’re not buying anything right now”, you may nod your head in understanding. But you have to wonder: how are they staying in business? While they may not be buying as much, they’re still buying somewhere. So when customers say “no”, that’s the time to start asking questions.
One common objection you might hear is that your prices are too high. If a customer says they’re not buying your products because of this, it’s time to ask where they’re buying and what prices they pay. If they’d rather not share that information, you might ask what price points are comfortable for them. You can point out alternate items in your line that are more in their price range. Offer your designs at three different price points. You can use the same basic theme and the same container, but use different products in the basket. Or use a less expensive container but still offer the same gourmet items in that container. Enhancements, such as ribbons or flowers, are an inexpensive way to add more value to a design without drastically increasing it’s cost
But customers may not be buying your products due to other reasons, possibly related to service issues. If this is the case, your responses will be much different. Now, you need to find out what services the customer wants and decide if you can make changes in your policies to meet their needs. For example, if a customer gets free shipping from another gift basket company, you may want to consider whether your profit margin would allow for this service. If the order is large enough, the increase in volume may allow you to eat some of the shipping charges.
Maybe your web site isn’t user friendly or your customer service staff is not providing adequate information to callers. Lowering your prices will probably not increase your sales. On the one hand, this may lead you to update your site and you can ask your customer about sites that they prefer. Go to those sites and try to place an order. Pay attention to the details and see how on-line ordering can be made more efficient. If the problems are with your service representatives, then some staff re-training is in order.
Now is the time to ask some hard questions. “I’m not buying now” may not be the final answer. Use this time to find out how you can better serve your customers. While you might not turn a specific “no” into a “yes”, you’ll gain some valuable information that you can use to reach out to other customers.
Add comment March 8th, 2009
