Selling to rude customers”

🔸 Tim Connor writes in the book 91 Common Mistakes Salespeople Make: New salespeople are usually given their first piece of advice: “You must break the ice and build rapport with the customer before entering serious negotiation; otherwise, you won’t gain their trust or be able to sell anything.”

🔹 This is true in most sales negotiations, and we should not jump straight into presenting our product or discussing our topic without first creating a friendly connection with the customer.

🔹 However, some customers simply do not allow any personal connection. They do not want jokes or small talk to change the atmosphere. These customers want a serious negotiation, and their goal is not friendship—they only want their problem solved and their need fulfilled.

🔹 So with these customers, we must avoid the mistake of continuing to joke or push for friendliness. Instead, we should quickly shift our approach and say: “Before I recommend the best product for you, may I ask you a few questions first?”

🔹 This method has two main advantages:

◽️ 1. It helps us steer the meeting toward a formal atmosphere and prevents the customer from becoming irritated.

◽️ 2. It helps us encourage the customer to share information by asking the right questions, showing them that we are professional salespeople—and therefore someone they can trust.

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