This episode reveals how problems can be used to create powerful opportunities in sales. If a problem occurs, make it work for you!


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At SalesDrive, LLC, we help companies perfect the salesperson hiring process by offering a variety of tools, like a sales assessment and psychologically-based interview guides, that aid companies in never hiring a bad salesperson again. SalesDrive was founded in 2005 based on the single biggest frustration many companies face, selecting sales candidates who interviewed well, only to flame out when placed on the line. Dr. Croner reviewed more than 90 years of academic research as well as his own work in conducting intensive behavioral interviews and discovered that high-performance salespeople shared three innate personality traits. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, he went on to develop The DriveTest® sales assessment. The only sales assessment to measure the three non-teachable traits necessary for new business acquisition.
 
If you are hiring salespeople, request a free DriveTest assessment today: https://salesdrive.info/free-trial-request
 
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[00:00]  Katherine Abraham: Hello and Welcome to the Sales Psyched podcast, where we discuss strategies for leveraging psychology within the world of sales. Each episode is hosted by Dr. Chris Croner, who has a PhD in clinical psychology and has spent his career helping companies around the world build stellar sales teams.

[00:20]  Let's get started.
 
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[00:30]  Chris Croner: Today, I want to talk about how great salespeople turn problems into opportunities to make positive, lasting impressions.

[00:38]  Here's an example from a buyer we know who could never forget how a disappointing restaurant experience was turned into an unforgettable gesture.

[00:49]  There's a famous steakhouse in Chicago that's always filled to capacity with the city's who's who and therefore it's very difficult to manage reservations and V. I. P. Walk ins. Nevertheless, the owner is a master at working with the manager to balance the flow. But one day, they let someone slip through the cracks and here's what happened. 

[01:12]  A friend of mine and I walked in, far away through the crowd, and asked the hostess if we could get a table.

[01:19]  The exhausted hostess, who was filling in, quickly told us there were no tables available for an hour and a half, then went back to her list and trying to control the crowd.

[01:33]  We shrugged our shoulders, went back outside and walked down the street to another nice place, but it was raining hard, so it wasn't a great experience.

[01:44]  Anyway, we finally settle into our booth and started to dry out when we spotted a man walking quickly up the street toward our restaurant with an umbrella in the pouring rain. It was the owner of the more crowded restaurant.

[02:01]  He came in, looked around, then came right up to our booth, and addressed my friend.

[02:07]  He said, "Steve, I can't tell you how sorry I am. Cindy, the usual hostess, is out this week and when you came in I was in the back. But when George the bartender told me you had been turned away, I came right over. I have a table all ready to go for you and your friend and a couple of umbrellas here. Can I take you back over?"

[02:34]  Of course, you may have guessed by now that Steve was a prominent businessman and regular and the kind of man whose opinion goes a long way. And although he was not upset, the owner wasn't taking any chances. And by the way, the owner himself was a local celebrity and very wealthy in his own right. So by coming over personally he displayed incredible humility and gave us a powerful dose of importance which washed over us like a warm fireplace on a cold night.

[03:12]   We stayed where we were, but we never forgot his gesture and dined in his place often thereafter.

[03:20]   That's a great story and it demonstrates the powerful psychological technique of recognizing a problem and solving it immediately when emotions are running high.

[03:30]  The best hotels are experts at this.

[03:34]  If someone shows up and the front desk can't find the reservation, the hosts go through intense training to calm the guests down and solve the problem immediately. Even if it means the hotel needs to invest in an upgrade for example.

[03:52]  The key is showing the client that we understand, that we care, and that we are going to do something about the problem right now when emotions are running highest.

[04:05]  See you next time.

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[04:06]  Chris Croner: Thank you for listening to the Sales Psyched Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to click the subscribe button and leave us a five-star review. If you found this information helpful, please consider sharing it. We'd love your help in spreading the word.
 
[04:26]  Until next time, take care!