Sales & Marketing Authority, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Before you can make a sale you must put yourself in the shoes of your customer. From your own perspective as a salesperson you anticipate a need, illustrate the need, and inspire action. The product leaves your shelf permanently.

Things are much different from the viewpoint of a customer. When he or she decides to purchase a product he’s going to go through a very specific cycle:

• First he’ll decide he needs a product.
• Then he’ll go out and shop for it, comparing several different brands.
• He’ll then purchase the product.
• Afterwards, he’ll own and use the product until its lifetime ends.
• Finally, he’ll aim to replace the product.

It’s usually those last two points that most salespersons forget about. We are so excited about our products that we tend to be blind to the fact that they’ll eventually get old, stop working, and need to be replaced. I’m not talking about defects, either. I’m talking about good, old-fashioned wear and tear over the course of several years.

What will your customer do when his product finally reaches the end of its life? Will he come back to you for a replacement or upgrade or will he look to another company or brand.

The way you view the stages of the customer experience will significantly impact your future sales. You can either keep in touch and hope they still appreciate you enough to purchase from you again in the future, or you can relax and let your competitor sell his product as a replacement instead. The choice is really up to you, but I hope you choose the former!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker