The Subtleties of Selling Services (1997)

Is selling a service more difficult than selling a tangible product? Many salespeople think so. Whether it's a sophisticated computer system, a vacation home, a digital stereo, a new Jaguar sedan, or a replacement window, it can be seen, touched, demonstrated, and appreciated. When it comes to a life insurance policy, the idea of volunteering, or accounting the sales job seems more difficult. But on closer analysis, the two may not be so different, and selling intangibles may even have advantages. For example, all sales are made in the customer's mind. The older man with a young family buys a large insurance policy. It's expensive because of his age but it can give him immense satisfaction because he has the assurance of knowing that he has taken care of his family financially. In the same way, a businessperson engages the services of a high-priced law firm. Why? have what the business owner covets: the law firm's cachet. The sale is in the mind. It's what the customer is thinking that makes the difference between a sale and no sale. The difference between tangible and intangible is irrelevant. The effective salesperson makes the intangible tangible, while an inept salesperson loses the deal because he falls to create the proper picture in the customer's mind. Selling services successfully depends on a few basic principles that are relatively easy to master and put into practice. are: 1. Look for the picture in the customer's mind. Without an accurate understanding of what the customer expects, there's no way to make a sale, because even if the customer buys, a sense of dissatisfaction will linger and will eventually result in the customer making a change. When the customer thinks about banking services, for example, it's essential to fill out the picture. What are their likes and dislikes, their expectations and needs? 2. Match services with the customer's expectations. One banker spoke proudly about the benefits of lock boxes and sweep accounts to the business manager of a small company. But she failed to ask what the business manager expected from a relationship. As a result, she was unable to match expectation with the bank's services. Deciding on another bank, the business manager commented., They didn't understand us. A bank will have a long menu of services -- the length of the list is irrelevant. The key to success is recognizing what satisfies the customer's perceived need. It may be that a customer will need additional but it's best to discuss them at another time. Discussing them prematurely runs the risk of alienating the prospect. 3. Create a concrete identity for the services you offer. A key point in selling services is making the intangible tangible in order to create value and to establish competitive differentiation. Even companies selling tangible products are faced with marketing certain services. One example is an oil-heat dealer, Federal Heating & Engineering Co., Inc. of Winchester, Mass., which sells both home heating oil and heating systems, both tangible products. also sell heating system service contracts and provide financing for the furnaces they install. To create a concrete identity for its service policy, they adopted the Comfort label. Financing plans are called Boiler-on-a-Budget and service contracts are named Comfort Zone Services. …