Most companies try to stay in the market without a clear understanding of “what” they are offering. They either have no idea what they are selling or are caught up in the hustle and routine. In any case, they show little interest in the reasons why customers choose their products over others. Unfortunately, in my experience, I have rarely encountered companies that ask their clients why they chose them.
Moreover, most organizations are even hesitant to ask clients such questions. They believe that doing so would reveal their ignorance and lack of confidence in their own abilities. In sales culture, it is customary for the seller to share or, as it’s often said today, “push” information about the advantages of their company or product to the client. Unfortunately, the sales culture we encounter has been shaped not by professionals, but by individuals at the very bottom of the social hierarchy of professions. If you look at job listings on employment websites, you’ll find that while “sales managers” are one of the most sought-after categories of employees, their salaries are quite low, and their earnings are often illusory due to the predominance of variable pay. These are the people who “load,” “push,” and “grind,” who handle objections, win clients, and fight for contracts. They are fighters, not players. They are interested in victory, not affection. “Foolhardiness and bravery!” is their motto.
For some reason, no girl feels shy about asking her boyfriend, “Do you love me? And why?” A man who answers these questions is actually convincing himself of what makes his loved one special to him. Even if he hasn’t previously realized the reason for his infatuation and is driven by hormones, when caught off guard, he will start frantically searching for the most plausible answer. In the process, he also begins to form a set of values and explanations for why he should still be with this girl when the effects of the drug called “love” wear off.
Men don’t like answering such questions. They don’t even understand why they’re being asked. Women don’t always realize that by asking, “Why?”, they are using one of the most powerful and effective sales tools, aimed at getting the client to convince themselves of the necessity of the purchase. Neil Rackham referred to this type of question as “guiding” in his book “SPIN Selling.” In the original, this type of question was called “need-payoff,” which more accurately reflects their purpose.
The fact that sellers are hesitant to ask consumers for such information reveals their attitude towards their clients. After all, if we continue to compare sales to love, the question “Why?” is only appropriate coming from a beloved, not from a prostitute. If a seller views their clients merely as a source of money for work done without pleasure, then the buyer does not experience satisfaction from the purchase, but rather a kind of surrogate. In this view, the client could provide for themselves, which they often do: they refuse the seller’s services, find the product in price lists on their own, or scroll through dozens of web pages, analyzing the reviews posted there, and then make the purchase.
The seller’s ability to ask “Why?” should be established even before the sale takes place. The best sales are those after which the seller can pose such a question. To determine if a company is selling in the style of White Sales, one simply needs to answer the question: “Are our relationships with clients genuine enough for us to ask them why they chose us?” This typical “need-payoff” question allows the client to “buy” from the seller once again, preparing the ground for further discussions about referrals. After all, if selling in the style of White Sales, most clients will come to the company through recommendations, especially since intrusive “cold calls” are inappropriate and even harmful to the seller’s reputation.
Customer responses to the question “Why?” can reveal to sellers what is actually being purchased. The worst answer for a professional would be: “Price and only price.” This indicates that the seller has “given up,” accepted a loss for themselves, and has not found any other ways to attract the customer. A sale made solely on the basis of the lowest price means that the seller is not willing to charge for the added value they create as an intermediary between the manufacturer and the buyer. They are either not ready to charge for “this” or do not know how “this” differs from similar offerings.
When a seller doesn’t understand what they are actually selling, they can only rely on chance or deception. A buyer, who isn’t given a clear reason why this seller is better than another, makes their purchase based on subjective criteria and values, which are usually formed in childhood. This is how some people buy greens at the market: they make two or three rounds along the stalls, ask for prices, receive standard answers, and finally settle on a particular bunch of greens. They believe they have made a conscious choice, but in reality, this illusion of awareness is mixed with fatigue, the inability to choose one item from many similar options, and even the direction in which the buyer is moving through the market. In this case, the seller is merely a passive participant in the events.
At the eastern bazaar, sellers strive to participate in the selection of goods and begin to praise them. They may be telling the truth, but it comes across as a declaration of advantages supposedly absent in competitors’ products. Suppliers of sunflower oil do the same today when they write in large letters on the bottles “cholesterol-free.” While this is true, it is also quite misleading. Sellers may try to manipulate customers by giving them commands or directives: “Come over, buy” or “Don’t walk past.” However, such actions are usually perceived by customers either as excessive and off-putting nagging that distracts from focusing on their shopping list, or as an inevitable evil that, after rationalization, turns into the “unique charm of the eastern bazaar.” Yet, this charm does not eliminate the factor of chance or luck, as everyone is calling out to customers, while the buyer makes a choice based on criteria known only to themselves. But, as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, only weak people believe in luck, while strong and brave individuals believe in causes and effects.
The true reason why a customer not only buys a product for the first time but also returns for it again and then recommends the seller to their friends is trust. However, this can only be achieved by building relationships. In turn, relationships can only be established by getting to know the customer and genuinely caring about them, even loving them. When a customer’s choice is based on randomness, it becomes impossible to build a relationship. The customer does not value their purchase and believes that there are plenty of sellers like you. They are not interested in maintaining a relationship with you; there is no reciprocity, just as there is no love—no feeling of mutual dependence on each other. People who regularly buy meat or milk at the market from the same sellers understand that they depend on their supplier just as the supplier depends on them. If there is no sincerity and love between them, the outcome will be exactly the same as that of the salespeople who attended the first grade of sales school but lacked the strength to continue into the second.
There’s a joke about Lieutenant Rzhevsky, who asked the hussars for advice on how to attract a woman he liked. They suggested that he first pay attention to the lady or her accessory, then talk about the weather, followed by music, and only after that gently transition to the topic of a date. After that, Rzhevsky encountered Natasha Rostova walking her dog, approached her, kicked the dog, commented, “It’s gone low, must be rain coming,” and immediately declared, “I have a drum, come to bed with me!”
They work in a similar way. promoters on the embankments of Luxor and Aswan.