Do You Manage People's Expectations?
We all like to promise as much as we can
Unfortunately, it’s often just not practical. As a buyer, I used to come across salespeople who made unrealistic promises all the time.
Naturally, this backfired on them. It got to the point where I would no longer trust some people, and even stopped working with them. Their companies lost business as a result.
Most buyers prefer their suppliers to be realistic
Many are very understanding when things go wrong. They prefer to be told what is and isn’t possible. Honesty is a very good policy.
This extends to warning people when you don’t think you can deliver what they are asking for. For instance, I am always upfront about when I can work with people. Sometimes I can’t do what they want in their preferred timescale. That can mean I lose work. But it prevents being in an embarrassing situation later. And, the majority of people I talk to are able to work around any deadline problems that I have.
It’s the same when it comes to negotiations
People prefer to be told early on what is possible in discussions and what isn’t. I use a system called NICE to help me work out my negotiating position. Learn about this system and how to use it in The Print Industry Negotiation Handbook.
Find out more ideas on how to engage with today’s buyers
Download my free e-book “Ten Common Print Selling Errors and What To Do About Them” right now at https://profitableprintrelationships.com/e-book/ You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively
Many printing companies are frustrated how hard it is to engage buyers in today’s world. That’s where Matthew Parker can help. He is a gamekeeper turned poacher. Parker has bought print for more than 20 years and received over 1,400 print sales pitches. He now uses his buyer’s point of view to give practical advice to printers. He helps them engage with prospects and customers to create profitable relationships.
Download his free e-book, "Ten Common Print Selling Errors And What To Do About Them" and check out his recently launched book, "How To Succeed At Print Sales: Setting targets, planning the right activities and making sure goals are met."
