Focus on the Negative to Increase Sales

Co-create the solution to achieve the Impact

At the end a long day of riding together on sales calls, my sales manager recommended we pull in and grab some supper before heading back to the office. There in the smoking section of the Iron Skillet, he started his coaching session off with a bold question, which was his style. “Why do you always focus on the negative?” he asked. “What do you mean? I’m a glass half full kind of guy,” I replied.

He went on to cite specific examples from the day’s sales calls, where I had solicited negative customer experiences. In one example, with a very positive outgoing customer, I had actually brought up a negative aspect, that the customer hadn’t even considered before.

I explained that I liked to get all the bad news out in the open so we could deal with it. We then had a debate over supper about the technique of bringing out negativity on a sales call (a pre-emptive strike strategy). My argument was that if a customer had a negative experience with us, they know it, feel it and probably reduce their purchases from us because of it. So, I would rather be in the room when they talk about it. That’s why I asked about any complaints they might have, administrative-product-delivery issues or anything that we might be doing that is not living up to the customer’s expectations. His argument was that it might bring up issues that weren’t a problem before, but now are since I brought them up. Or maybe there was a problem and the customer got passed it, but I brought it back up.

I countered with, “What if the problem didn’t go away and the customer is too shy, scared or introverted to bring it up?” Maybe they are in a part of the DISC profile that avoids conflict (S and I). So, the problem is there but the customer deals with it by not buying as much from us.

We finished our supper at the Iron Skillet, he had a cup of coffee and we agreed on one thing. Focusing on the negative was a selling tactic to be used sparingly. Using the pre-emptive strike concept of bringing it up before your customer does, is risky. You don’t know how effective or damaging it is to your sale until after you bring it up.

How do you deal with the negativity?

It’s a gift: Whether you solicit it or not, when you receive negative information about you or your company, consider it a good thing, a gift. I know it doesn’t feel like a gift. However, it’s better than having the customer keep it from you.
Avoid these response traps:

- Denial: “No I didn’t”
- Avoidance: I’ve seen salespeople not even acknowledge the customer’s comment. Acknowledging it and letting the customer be heard might be all the customer needs.
- Play the victim: “Well, we would have sent the product but we didn’t get our shipment and the snow storm…”
- Counter: “Yeah, but you yelled at our driver….”
- Blame: “Those guys at our shop are …..”
- Invalidate: “We’re not having that problem with other customers”

Don’t explain nor justify too quickly. Your very first reaction should be to listen. When the customer stops talking, start by asking questions. Too often, a complaint might not be a complaint. Maybe they are having a bad day, got in a fight with a family member, received some bad news. You just came along at the wrong time. Allow the customer to keep talking. Questions have a way of disarming anger. They take the person out of their fight/flight mode of anger and into a reasoning process of how this happened. You know there are typically two sides to every story. Once in a while, a customer has a bad experience through no fault of their own. However, most often, the customer had a hand in creating the negative experience. Maybe they ordered the wrong product, used the wrong product code, called the wrong number or asked for the wrong delivery day. Often, in the initial angry outburst, the customer omits that part of the story.

Understand the impact of fixing the problem. This is one of the most important steps. Uncover what it would mean to the customer if you resolved it. In many cases, the answer is obvious. If 10 units were not delivered but were invoiced, it’s the cost of those 10 bags and any disruption in their business. In other cases, the customer realizes there really isn’t an impact to their business and don’t need you to “fix” anything. They just needed to vent.

The Easy Fix: If you or your company made a mistake or had a problem with some portion of customer service, then it’s easy to understand what needs to be done. However, the problem might have a lot of gray area. It’s unclear what the problem is or how to fix it. If so, then co-create the solution.

Co-Create the solution: A great way to start this type of discussion is to ask for recommendations right after you receive the negative feedback. “How would I do that? How would that work?” These are great conversation starters when a customer has a complaint. Often, they have a very clear idea of a product or service that would solve the problem. I regarded this information as part of product development. Customers came up with many product and service improvements in my years on territory. Just ask and they will tell you what they are willing to pay for.

I know we all want to have customers praise us, our products and our company as a reward for how hard we work and all that we do. I also know that when the negative feedback begins, we sometimes cringe at taking that phone call or stopping at that customer’s place. My hope is that you see these experiences as a way to improve and deepen your relationship with your customer.

Good luck on your journey at being the best salesperson or sales manager you can be. As always, don’t hesitate to call, text, email or LinkedIn message me for a discussion on how I can help you on your journey!