Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

DAVE ANDERSON is an entrepreneur, author, columnist, trainer, and speaker. The author of two previous Wiley books, Up Your Business! and If You Don't Make Waves, You'll Drown, Dave also writes a leadership column for Dealer Magazine and has produced numerous books, cassettes, CDs, videos, and other training resources. He gives 150 speeches, presentations, and workshops each year on sales and leadership development to audiences from around the world. Dave is also President of Dave Anderson's Learn To Lead and LearnToLead.com, a cutting-edge Web site providing hundreds of free training resources to thousands of people in over thirty countries.

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Praise for How to Deal with Difficult Customers

"The application of the ten key strategies in this book will help every sales professional learn how to deal with the truly difficult and how to avoid creating unnecessary difficulties. It's written with the same wit, humor, and inspiration that have made Anderson's prior books so effective."
―Margaret Callihan, President, Chairman, and CEO, SunTrust Bank, Florida

"Anderson knocks another one out of the park with How to Deal with Difficult Customers! The problem is real; Anderson's solutions make sense and, as always, he makes you laugh in the process."
―Mike Roscoe, Editor in Chief, Dealer Magazine

"I could not put this book down. It's a salesperson's bible, offering clear and concise how-to advice. If you're in the selling profession and want to sell more, you should read this book . . . twice."
―Warren Lada, Senior Vice President, Saga Communications

"An individual executing the ideas within this book will change their own life and their organization. No one has the gift like Anderson to articulate the importance character plays in maximizing potential."
―Mike Tomberlin, CEO, The Tomberlin Group

"Throw out all your other sales manuals. Anderson's new book will change the way you look at customers, the way your salespeople look at themselves, and, quite frankly, the way you look at the sales process."
―Dan Janal, President, PRleads.com

"What are you waiting for? We all have difficult customers. If you're tired of leaving money on the table because you can't handle them, read this book. If your good customers are turning into difficult customers, read this book. If you want to deliver results year-in and year-out, read, re-read, and apply the lessons of this book."
―Randy Pennington, author, Results Rule!

Aus dem Klappentext

Why put any effort into trying to sell to stubborn, obnoxious, and belligerent customers (SOBs)? Most sales trainers don't even mention them: they only amount to about ten percent of your client base, and it's much easier to sell to people who are friendly, likeable, and reasonable, right?

Wrong! As salesman extraordinaire Dave Anderson points out in How to Deal with Difficult Customers, ten percent of your business adds up to a very large amount of money over the course of a career, and you're going to have to work with SOBs whether you like it or not. If you don't earn their business, your competition will. And, here's the big surprise: once you've gained the trust of your really difficult customers, they become your most loyal and supportive clients, giving you plenty of repeat business and showering you with referrals.

In this one-of-a-kind guide, you'll discover that SOBs are made, not born, and you'll learn how to win over the customers who make most salespeople want to run away screaming. Anderson explains the seven major factors that turn normal customers into SOBs, most of which involve previous experiences with salespeople who lacked the skill, knowledge, or motivation to serve them well.

Next, you'll find ten simple strategies proven to transform any SOB into a sweet and cuddly pussycat who can't wait to close the deal. You'll learn how to:

• Understand and use the ten truths about SOBs
• Take the fight out of the sales process
• Face and finesse the SOB "quadruple threat"
• Shovel the piles while they're still small
• Create a cult that the SOB is dying to join
• Generate "buy today" urgency
• Read an SOB's mind
• How to save a deal after you think you've lost it
• And much more

So, the next time you're struggling with a grumpy, cranky, whiney SOB, you won't have to just stand there wondering, "How can I sell to this jerk?" With the can't-miss strategies you'll find in How to Deal with Difficult Customers, you'll turn that sourpuss into a sweetheart, close the deal in no time, and find yourself eager to take on the next tough customer.

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How to Deal with Difficult Customers

John Wiley & Sons

Chapter One

Let's Start With Straight Talk

This is an information-packed, high-impact chapter. If you haven't yet gotten the pen or highlighter I recommended earlier, get it now. You're going to need it, and you'll be darned glad you got it. Even the toughest customers need the products and services you offer. Someone will sell them. That someone can be you if you can develop a handful of skills and courageously apply them at the right time. I once had an SOB say right after I had introduced myself, "You remind me of the last guy who sold me a car ... only you're not buried in my backyard." Not all difficult customers are this obnoxious, but the more you understand about them and how to prevent them in the first place the faster and more profitably you'll sell them. Following are 10 truths about SOBs that will help provide the perspective we'll build on throughout the rest of the book.

The Ten Truths

1. Don't judge a customer as "difficult" too quickly based on the first few minutes of your sales encounter. Prospects often put up a tough front early on as a defense mechanism. This can change quickly once they surmise that you are a professional who cares about them and their needs.

2. Understand the three top concerns of difficult customers. While SOBs have many concerns, the top three can be summed up as: Will you waste my time? Do you know what you're doing (are you a professional)? Can I trust you?

3. When you encounter an SOB and he or she says or does something provocative, respond to the customer; don't react to him or her. In other words, slow the SOB down before things spiral out of control. When a customer says something provocative, abusive, sarcastic, and so on, don't take it personally. More than likely it is the buying process itself; it's the thought of spending money or past unpleasant sales experiences the customer is attacking and not you. Here are three tips to help you pull this off:

A. To slow down the momentum an offensive customer gains against you, increase the space between stimulus and response. This is a classic technique and Stephen Covey communication tip that works wonders for maintaining composure and regaining control of potentially volatile or awkward situations. Don't be too quick to answer a provocative, offensive, or sarcastic statement. By increasing the space between a customer's comment and your reply you gain stronger control over your emotions, have a moment to think more clearly about your reply, and increase the integrity of your answer by giving it the appearance of being more thoughtful.

B. To slow the customer down, reply with a question rather than with an answer. This will oftentimes reveal the core issue and soften the customer's next reply. Be sure to diagnose carefully before offering reckless solutions or responding haphazardly with a confrontational tone. Sell with questions, not just answers.

C. Go low and slow with your tone and speech. Drop the tone of your voice a notch and speak more deliberately. This technique settles you down, takes control of the conversation, and reassures the customer as well. This is a strategy that also works well when closing "normal" customers.

4. Listen with the intent to understand the customer, not to reply to or one-up the customer. This is another tried and true Covey strategy. Until you give customers "air" and let them express themselves, they will not be open to what you have to say. This is especially true if they are the Type-A personalities with chips on their shoulders. Customers don't buy when they understand; they buy when they feel understood.

Take a look at the following sample script and learn what to do as well as what not to do when responding to an SOB's provocative statement:

Customer: "The price you're asking is absolutely ridiculous!"

Ineffective Reply, normally spoken defensively and quickly: "I don't set the prices. This is what our product is bringing. But we'll make you a good deal on it."

Effective Reply, spoken slowly and sincerely: "When you say the price is too high, Mr. Prospect, could you tell me too high as compared to what?

(This reply slows down the customer and puts you in control by asking a question. It will also help surface the obstacle more precisely.)

Customer: "Too high compared to what XXX Competitor was selling theirs for across town."

Ineffective Reply: "Well, I guess they know what their product is worth. Their lower price is probably an indication that you're not going to get very good service after the sale."

Effective Reply: "I'd be very surprised if someone would beat us on price if their product was exactly the same as ours. Could we take a minute to review the features to be sure we're comparing apples to apples? Did they by chance give you their price in writing with a features list so we can compare?"

This slows the customer down even more and leads to an opportunity to raise doubt about the deal he or she was getting elsewhere and to build value in your product and in your professionalism since you haven't had to disparage your competitor or their product. This professional and thoughtful approach will earn the respect of SOBs and normal folks alike.

5. Never say "no" to an SOB. "No" is a fighting word and can be avoided with some practice and skill. The following script will teach you how to say "no" without saying those exact words by offering a way to meet the customer's demands and putting the ball back in his or her court. We'll use an example I'm quite familiar with: selling a car where the customer wants an unrealistic payment. You can apply this same technique to other products and services as well.

Customer: "I can pay you $350 per month and no more."

Ineffective Reply: "There's no way we can get to that payment on this product. We'll need to look at something cheaper."

Effective Reply: "Mr. Customer, we can reach your payment of $350 per month as long as you can put $2,500 down, would be willing to lease rather than purchase the product, would agree to payment terms of 72 months," and so on.

You can always use the "takeaway" technique used in the first response as a last resort, but try to sell difficult customers what they want. Even if they can't meet the terms they will appreciate the fact that you showed them a way they could own it if they wanted to.

If you're selling radio advertising, the conversation should sound something like this:

Customer: "I don't want to pay $125 per spot. I only want to pay $95 per spot."

Ineffective Reply: "Mr. Customer, there are radio stations out there with less market share where I'm sure you can get the $95 per spot, but...