Be Ready to Help Customers Explore Alternatives

Sometimes, sales staff can see a shopper narrowing down purchase alternatives too quickly. One problem with this is when the shopper ends up taking home or to their own business a product which doesn't fit their needs well or won't function well for them. The result is that they'll think less of your business, and you're not with them then to straighten things out.
     The other problem comes up when the customer finds out there's a lack of fit to needs before they make the purchase. The alternatives get narrowed down, the customer realizes that none of the remaining alternatives will do the job for them, and they walk out without spending their money at your store.
     You can go only so far in protecting customers from themselves, and they might just know better than you what will fit their needs. In addition, it wouldn't come across at all well to the customer for you or one of your sales staff to say, "Even if you tell me you want to purchase that specific item from us right now, I'll simply refuse to sell it to you."
     Still, there are tactics you can try out in this situation. Here are a few:

• Say it straight: "May I show you some alternatives that I think might help you make the best decision for your needs?"
• Use the word "small." Researchers at University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon find that with tightwads, you boost your chances about 20% by saying, "Here are a few alternatives that would cost a SMALL amount more."
• Researchers at USC and University of North Carolina find that presenting just ONE alternative which the customer considers to be a possibly better choice will make them significantly more willing to consider a range of alternatives again.