Customers want answers to their questions and they want them immediately. Many manufacturers, distributors and dealers try to think of ways to make a sale without realizing that every sale starts with a question.
If I plan to buy something and I am considering your product, before I take any action, I’ll have a question. Getting an answer to that question is a task I want to complete as quickly as possible so I can cross it off the list and move on to other tasks.
If I have to wait for an answer, I can’t complete the task which is frustrating.
The company that makes it easiest for me to get that answer will have an advantage over their competitors when I’m ready to make a purchase.
Depending on your product and the customer, the question you need to answer may be about price, lead times, installation, technical issues or just about anything else.
What an Audio Equipment Company Taught Me About Selling Building Materials
I’m always looking for ways building materials can improve, and I often find the best ideas by looking at other industries. In this case, the audio industry showed me how building materials companies can grow their sales.
Like many well-known podcasters, I record with a Shure SM7B microphone. It’s an excellent microphone but like many specialized tools, it requires some extra equipment to get the best out of it. The SM7B puts out a weak signal that sounds much better when it’s boosted. A simple solution is to use a Cloudlifter to boost the gain.
I recently upgraded some of my other equipment and started having problems with the Cloudlifter. So naturally, I Googled “cloudlifter not working”
The top search result was from Sweetwater, an online seller of audio equipment. That led me to the Knowledge Base on their website.
After reading their advice, I realized that my new setup might require an additional piece of equipment: an audio interface.
In the lower right corner, you’ll notice their focus is on getting me the answers to my questions right now. Not only that, they’re offering to give me that answer in the way I would prefer – I can start a chat or call them on the phone.
As I scroll down the page, they offer me even more options. I can talk to an expertly trained sales engineer by phone or email.
What Questions Do Your Customers Have?
If your customer types their question into a search engine, are you there to help them?
If they come to your website, are you prepared to get them the information they need right away?
Do you give them several contact options like phone, email and chat?
If the answer is on your website, is it easy to find?
Hopefully, the answer to all of those questions is a resounding “yes!” If you are not focused on answering your customers’ questions without delay, you are losing sales.
