The Assumption That's Killing Your Sales

Good morning!

The client was adamant: They already had a print vendor. They are all set. No need to set up an appointment. Case closed. Check, please.

And ordinary sales rep would've let it go. They would've said something like, "Can I be your back up?"

But this was not an ordinary salesperson. This was someone who knew enough not to assume. He pressed on.

Salespeople hear the objection, "We already have a vendor" and believe it to be a dead end. These are the same reps who are reading this sales tip and wondering, "Where is the assumption when a customer tells you they're already working with another printer?"

Back to our extraordinary salesperson…

"We are a full-service printer," he said.

"Got one already," the client replied.

"We can help with design," he continued.

"So can my current vendor," the client countered.

Sales rep: "We just installed a new piece of equipment that handles packaging. We can do labels. We do signage. I can offer you promotional products.”

Customer: “We have no need for packaging or labels. Someone else handles signage and promo but we just changed vendors there so we won’t want to revisit either for a while.”

Sales rep: “I can do vehicle wraps.”

Customer: “Nope.”

Sales rep: “I can print on textiles.”

Customer: “Nope again.”

Sales rep: “I can do billboards.”

Customer: “Wait, what? You can do billboards? I’ve been trying to get my current vendor to handle our billboard printing. When you said, 'printing,' I just assumed ... that is something we can talk about. When can you come in?”

What is print? Your customers have one definition in mind and you have another. The mistake reps make is hearing the objection, “We already have a printer” and assuming their definition matches ours.

My extraordinary sales rep kept defining print when others would be long gone. As a result, he now prints billboards for a new client.

Wanna guess how long it will take him to expand into those other areas?

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