Stop Pushing the Sale: Help Customers Understand Their Options Before You Ask for a Decision

The useful part

It is a necessary part of helping customers make a useful comparison and decide on a product. The harder, and often more important, conversation is explaining what they cannot do. Customer education can't belong only to the marketing department or sales team.

How it works

• Two proposals may appear similar even when the products, installation requirements or expected outcomes are very different.
• For example, customers exploring safety and security window film need a clear explanation of how the system is intended to perform and why no responsible company should make guarantees that the product...
• Recommending the right solution instead of the most expensive one shows that the company is focused on the outcome, not simply the size of the sale.
• The people delivering the work complete the lesson Customer education cannot belong only to the marketing department or sales team.
• In a service business, the employees performing the work often have the greatest credibility because customers can see their expertise in action.

What to take from it

Before customers can evaluate a proposal, they first need to understand what the product can do and can't do and which option fits the problem they are trying to solve. The conversation should begin with the customer's problem, not the company's product catalog. Avoiding these realities may make an early sales conversation easier, but it often creates disappointment later.

Example or evidence

• They may also associate window tinting only with cars, rather than home window tinting or commercial window film for buildings.
• Their communication can either reinforce what the customer was promised or create doubt at the moment the business should be building confidence.
• It's everyone's responsibility to make sure customers can see the company's expertise in action.
• Others have to explain the category before they can explain why their company is the right choice.

Details worth keeping

Businesses naturally want to emphasize what their products can do. Some businesses sell products that customers already understand. This challenge is not unique to the window film business.

Related coverage

• Wealthmanagement: Clients don't need more convincing. They need clarity, confidence and trust.
• Contentmarketinginstitute: Almost 70% of B2B buyers see inconsistencies between a brand's website and what its sales reps say, according to Gartner.
• Forrester: cycle.
• Inc: Founders celebrate every new logo and route churn to a dashboard. The customer heading out the door knows something no one else in your company does.