#141: How not to sell Ski Boots

The Communicate to Influence Blog

The last few weeks I have been travelling in Europe Alps (hence the lack of a blog, my apologies). For part of the time I was skiing with my wife in the French Alps. She wanted to buy new ski boots so we entered a shop that had a small display. My wife asked the store attendant if he had any other models and he confirmed that they had more in the back of the shop. She asked if she could see them to which he responded “No. I decide what’s right for you based on fit and your skiing level”. She asked again if she could see them because she wanted to see how they looked to which he replied; “No. The design is not important, only the fit is important. I want you to be have the best boots for you.” Meanwhile, I could see his colleague behind the cash register covering her face with her hands. As we left the shop, empty handed, she apologised.

I respect the duty of care that the salesman had to recommend only the best ski boot for my wife based on an analysis of her foot, stance and ability. However, his approach was flawed and prevented him from making an easy sale. He had a willing client ready to buy, but irritated the client, demeaned what the client considered important, and in the process failed to generate trust or empathy which are critical in the sales process. He could have remained true to his values and closed the sale by changing his approach.

Let’s start with the objectives of the two parties: Party A being my wife, and Party B the store attendant.

Party A wanted a ski boot that look good. This is the surface desire which is openly communicated (or to use a more technical term, the ‘primary motivator’). However, below that primary motivator are a series of secondary motivators that are not verbalised including comfort and technical specifications (I know this as a fact because I know my wife).

Party B prides himself on giving the best advice based on needs analysis. Most sales trainings will tell you that is a good thing (which it is) however, Party B’s fundamental mistake is that his interpretation of the Party A’s needs does not consider Party A’s primary motivator. We should first address the primary motivator; demonstrate we have heard it and understand the value it has to the client. This creates empathy and trust, two essential elements which were never present.

Once Party B has generated empathy and trust by addressing Party A’s primary motivator, he can introduce the factors that are important to him, which in this scenario would have triggered the secondary motivators. There is no need however to ‘hope’ that what’s important to you as a salesperson will match a client’s secondary motivators; by asking a question such as “other than design, what else is important to you about the boot?”, the secondary motivators would be uncovered.

In sales you need to earn the right to be right. What that means is don’t jump straight to what you want to say which is what the shop assistant did. Even though his advice may have been good, the client wasn’t ready to hear it. Client generally want to feel that they are smart and informed, not told that what they think is important is actually irrelevant! Only once you have made the client feel good about themselves have you earned the right to bestow your wisdom on them.

This scenario is very common. Many sales people, based on their research of the market and knowledge of the client think they know what the client needs however they miss a primary need which didn’t appear in their analysis. By simply asking an “Is there anything else?” type question, the chances of a sale increase significantly. In one swoop, this approach shows empathy, builds trust and gather information as to secondary motivators.

Finally, depending on the product or service, addressing secondary motivators can often reduce the initial desire to achieve the primary motivator. In this case I know that if my wife had found a boot with the correct technical specifications and fit, she would have been flexible on the colour.

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