Make Me a Client – Forever!
by Ken Hall

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Why does this mean so much to us (and to most buyers?) Studies have shown that, when people make significant decisions, they will actively seek confirmation of those decisions. If they find it, they feel better – and, if not, they face the dissonance of being judged wrong.

Have you ever shopped at Nordstroms when the salesperson came around the counter, handed you the bag with your purchase in it, and said, “You will look great in this blouse.” How have you felt when you ordered wine with your dinner at an upscale restaurant and had the waiter compliment you (sincerely) on your selection?

Watch the actions of a really good salesperson, and you will consistently see they are truly interested in helping their customers make good buying decisions and they reinforce the validity of their purchases.

Is it that simple? Why spend the time to do this? After all, the sale is made, so what can you really lose? Again, research shows that, without positive reinforcement, customers will often go shopping to confirm they bought a bargain. The term for this is “the Positive Test Strategy.” If the shopping supports their decisions, they feel great. But, if it doesn’t support that their decisions were good ones, they become very dissatisfied, and they usually focus their dissatisfaction on the salesperson.

We see this a lot in the travel industry when our clients go home and jump on the Internet to compare prices. They usually find something that is almost the same but significantly cheaper, and they come back to you complaining they were overcharged. Then, you have a real problem!

This is a situation where prevention is a hundred times better than correction. First, reinforcing the wisdom of our buying decisions saves time and prevents all the parties from having hard feelings. Second, without getting all the details and laying out a side-by-side comparison, you will not be able to convince us -- your clients -- that you did a great job for us. This will be very time consuming and, regardless of the outcome, our confidence in you will be damaged.

Take a lesson from the actions of my travel consultant: Show how excited you are about our upcoming vacation. Tell us how happy you are with the great values you found for us. And, tell us we were very smart in coming to you rather than wasting countless hours on the Internet looking for specials that aren’t so special.

Do that, and we will be your loyal clients. And, we will probably refer our friends to you!

Ken Hall is president of www.HomeBasedPros.com, a subscription e-letter with marketing and sales tips for the home-based travel agent. For more information, go to www.HomeBasedPros.com.