Fifth in a series:
Our interview with sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer wraps-up with a question about dealing with angry customers. Jeffrey does a great job of address this topic, and other topics about customer relationships, in his best-selling business book, "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless".
We asked him this question:
What are the stupidest mistakes sales professionals make when they are dealing with angry customers?
"There are 3.5 forms of mistakes salespeople make with angry customers:
1. Making excuses and defending what happened. Customers don’t want to hear what happened. Customers want to know how you’re going to resolve their problem…now.
2. Blaming other people and other circumstances -- instead of taking responsibility yourself. Customers don’t care whos fault it is. They want to know how you’re going to resolve their problem…now.
3. Arguing and trying to tell the customer what they can’t have, rather than trying to resolve the situation. Customers don’t care about your policy, your procedures, your situation, or your problems. All they want to know is how you’re going to resolve their problem…now.
3.5 Failure to resolve the situation in a manner that leaves the customer feeling as though they were listened to, responded to, and grateful for doing business with you because you helped them. Customers want to feel that you care about them personally. Investing in the angry customer’s resolution. Your understanding and your empathy, combined with your actions, will not only lead to a favorable resolution; if done correctly, it will lead to a positive story, a loyal customer, and maybe even a referral."
My personal pet peeve on this topic is Jeffrey's second point. When there's a problem, and the salesperson tries to pin the blame on me, the customer, it crosses the line of no return.
Jeffrey's recommendations are right on (as usual).
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