I had a funny experience today as I was researching about what kind of offers various Internet Service Providers are offering since my two year contract is actually up in a few weeks. In speaking to a particular employee he was enthusiastic in seeing what kind of plans would be available for me. So nothing out of the ordinary. But ultimately they didn’t seem to have any offers that would be suitable for my needs.
He then asked what cell phone provider I was using and the rate I was paying since they also offer cellular services. I mentioned I pay about $40 a month to which he then asked how much data that actually included. I said unlimited, although you do get throttled if you use way too much. Right there he pretty much just threw his hands up and said that’s a good deal to suggest there is no way he can offer better.
I don’t usually see sales people give up that fast. Just for perspective, the rate I pay is very good, but the carrier I am using is in no way better quality than this company in terms of range and coverage. It makes you think how he could have potentially still gotten my interest as I actually was contemplating about going to a better quality carrier.
Lost opportunity for him? Or would you say there is no point as he can’t beat the price to justify the increase in billing rate? One thing that always worked for me when I worked in a store was to always approach the customer by genuinely trying to understand their needs as opposed to being focused on how much they want to spend. Because once you learn more about what they are looking for you can end up suggesting things that are way cheaper based on their expressed needs or items that are more expensive which are actually the best long-term value.
Like here I would have probably asked why the person was potentially looking for a new service and if they demand top speed and performance as an example. It opens up more than simply asking how much one pays.