A R T I C L E S

THE IMPORTANCE OF EGO IN THE BUYING DECISION OR WHY THE CUSTOMER ISN’T ALWAYS RIGHT
by MARTIN GRUNSTEIN

There’s an adage in customer service circles that says “the customer is always right”.

Well, I don’t believe it!

In fact, I believe the customer is WRONG most of the time!

But that’s not the issue.

What’s REALLY important is what the customer THINKS when he or she walks away.

If we want customers to do business with us again, they have to walk away THINKING they are right. Such is the importance of ego in the buying decision. And that requires a very specific approach when it comes to customer service.

I believe that the customer’s perception of our business when he/she walks away is more important than whether or not we solved the problem because the ego drive is stronger than the money drive.

Let me give you an example.

I was staying at a top Melbourne hotel with my wife. Midway through my stay I asked for a VCR to be put in my room so I could watch a video prior to attending a conference at which I was speaking.

The VCR was placed in my room but I couldn’t get it to work and after a good deal of fiddling with the machine, I called reception to tell them there was a problem and could they fix it or bring me a different VCR.

The hotel person, dressed in a dinner suit, came to my room walked straight to the VCR and in ten seconds noticed it wasn’t plugged in. He rectified my oversight, cued up my video and walked over to my wife and myself and said “Sir, it wasn’t plugged in.”

I felt like such an idiot!

For the next three days I avoided that hotel person because he reminded me that I was an idiot. In fact, whenever my wife and I saw two or more hotel people giggling together, we knew what they were laughing at - the idiot in 612.

And I don’t like going back to that hotel. I definitely don’t stay there as a matter of choice and if I am booked to speak at a conference there, I am reminded of how embarrassed I was every time I walk in the front door.

Please understand, that hotel person was doing what he thought was his job, but he lost the customer because he didn’t understand the importance of ego in the customer service situation.

He could have handled things differently and kept me as a customer of the hotel very easily. One way was to plug the VCR in and then make light of the situation by telling me that almost everyone makes the same mistake of not plugging an appliance in and wondering why it won’t work and that he’s done it himself a hundred times before. That way I don’t feel such a fool. Another way is to spend a bit of time fiddling with the VCR, plugging it in while I wasn’t looking, then telling me it was a technical problem that only he could fix with his expertise and apologising for the inconvenience. I would then turn to my wife and say “See darling, I told you it was a serious problem” and feel vindicated in my decision to ask for assistance.

Either way the problem gets solved but the difference is in my future intention to do business with the hotel as a result of my interaction with the staff member.

This “ego” issue is equally applicable to a selling situation because most objections are ego rather than price or other type of objections. The trouble is that a lot of inexperienced and aggressive salespeople crush the objection and the prospect’s ego with it. Let me assure you, once my ego is crushed in a selling situation, I’ll never do business with you no matter how good your product is.

Let me give you another example.

An insurance salesperson is trying to get me to buy superannuation. I tell him I can’t afford it. That’s really not a price objection, I just want to get rid of him.

Now, if the salesperson gives me a number of great reasons why I not only need superannuation but I actually can afford it, I still won’t do business with him.

Why?

Because I would have to admit to him that I was wrong and he was right and swallow my pride and admit that my objection was silly. And I don’t want to admit I’m wrong to anyone, especially not to a salesperson. So, what happens? I tell the salesperson I still can’t afford it and then ring his competitor and tell him I need superannuation, will you come out and sell me some?

And the sad thing is, most salespeople don’t know they are doing it. They believe the client when he says he can’t afford it, they go back and tell their sales manager that their products are not price competitive and then go out and crush another ego.

It happens all the time. How many times have you taken your business to a
different provider because they treated you badly or didn’t return your phone calls? You had your ego crushed. Basically, that’s what poor customer service is. And we respond by taking our business elsewhere, sometimes paying more to the competitor just to be treated with a little respect, care and courtesy.

I spend my professional life helping business professionals understand how their consumers make purchase decisions and giving them the communication skills to preserve an ego while crushing an objection. It’s unbelievable how the focus goes away from price when the consumer is treated like a human being rather than a prospect.

In summary, I ask you to shift your focus from solving the problem, fixing the machine or making the sale to “how can I let this customer walk away from dealing with me with his/her ego in tact”

If all the people in your organisation have that focus, you WILL solve more problems, fix more machines and make more sales.

Martin Grunstein’s work with over 500 Australian companies across over 100 industries has made him this country’s most in-demand speaker on Outstanding Customer Service. He is contactable on (02) 96623322 or by email at martin@martingrunstein.com.au.

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