When Customers Will Not Become Advocates

When Customers Will Not Become Advocates
by Ron Ledbetter

 It is frustrating when you work to get a customer "on board" as an advocate and at the last minute they refuse to make the commitment.  "What happened", you ask yourself.  "Why don't they like me?"  Why don't they want to be my business partner?"

It may be that you have missed an important piece of their "needs list" and you just need to slow down and peel that onion back a little more.  It could be that they are a Reluctant Fighter that we talk about in the Ladder System - therefore you need to move them to a Casual Contact and work on WHY they should partner with a title company.  It may be that you are pushing too hard and not letting the customer feel comfortable enough to close themselves.  Or finally it could be that they will never be an advocate with anyone.  Like our advocate speaker Jim Culpepper said months ago, "It is not in their DNA."

I have been active in sales for many years and I have found that there are a lot of potential customers out there that are "takers" - people who will "sell" themselves to the highest bidder.  They are interested in doing business for one reason and one reason only; "What's in it for me."  You can take the business while they are there, but they will probably never be an A Customer and that is why understanding who they are and how to accept the ultimate fact is so important.  Some of our sales consultants have already experienced this disappointment.

So how do you know when a customer is not a potential advocate?  First, ask yourself if the customer is putting anything into the business relationship.  This is where the Socratic Method of selling is so powerful.  The "feed back" you receive from the on going appointments should allow you to build continually on their "needs" and your expertise to define and address those needs.  If their participation strictly revolves around "stuff" they need for you to give them or do for them then your ears should perk up and you should determine if you are a business partner or a supplier.   Second, you should be receiving positive feedback as to how they perceive you are valuable compared to the competition.  That is why I often suggest getting testimonial letters from our customers.  If they are willing to put it in writing there is a commitment being made.  Also, when you make those all important bi-annual meetings with your advocates, or potential advocates, to ask, "Why do you do business with me?  What can we be doing better?"- You will get constructive comments to help improve and grow the partnership.

Once you determine that the customer will not become an advocate accept the business you get but know it can be gone any day.  There will always be a higher bidder to these non-advocates.  Your business plan and your future production goals should be based on the business coming from advocates or those ladder customers who will someday be advocates.  And what happens to those customers who do not see value in a business partnership?  You can watch them move from relationship to relationship and know you are not picking up the bill for these customers who will not become advocates