Thinking like a customer isn’t just an interesting option — it’s required by today’s customers. So here are five mistakes that may keep you from understanding and responding to customer needs:

1. Pushing the customer instead of pulling. Traditionally, selling has been something of a push process — where salespeople try to develop strategies that get the customer to buy. But it is far less effective than the pull approach, which involves constantly presenting the customer with more info in an attempt to build demand.
2. Deciding when the customer should buy. One of the most costly mistakes made by salespeople is not just failing to think like a customer but trying to think for the customer. Decision making is more complicated today, and no prospect wants to make a purchasing mistake. The salesperson no longer controls the buying cycle. Getting the order depends on shadowing the customer until the customer gets ready to buy. If you don’t, someone else walks away with the order.
3. Not letting prospects talk. The chances of making the sale increase the longer the prospect talks. The best salespeople create a climate for the customer to become highly involved in the buying process.
4. Limiting options too much. Having too many choices can confuse and overwhelm prospects, and make them unable to make a buying decision. But offering a single solution may drive a prospect to look for other alternatives. Today’s customers want choices, but they want them to be relevant to what they need to accomplish.
5. Writing off customers too soon. There are occasions when customers have an immediate need, but it doesn’t happen often. These days, delays in decision making are the norm. The key to making the sale is managing prospects over time. Failing to do this usually results in dismissing the prospect too quickly. You need to be there when the customer is ready to make the sale, otherwise it goes to someone else.

Tags: mistakes, pull, push, selling