How do you run?

Many people ask “what is the best way to convince a client to buy”, “how do you close the deal” or something similar. In my opinion, that's the wrong question to ask. 

You see, the whole “convincing” and “closing” attitude is not really efficient. You may come out at pushy (or desperate), and sure you might get that deal, but probability that the client will return is rather low. So I believe there is another good question to ask:

What would you need to do, in order to make your clients smile after making a purchase?

And I might have the answer.

I heard an interesting story lately, as I was chilling with a friend our conversation shifted towards running, and then shoes. He was searching for a pair of running shoes, he had some idea what might work for him, but he was still in the phase of making-up-his-mind. So, he went to a local mall to browse for shoes in real life in order to make the right decision.

And now the interesting part begins. 

As he walked into a shoe store, a seller reached out to him and asked “what are you searching for?”, to which my friend replied that he was looking for some running shoes. 

The seller invited him to the foot measuring, where he took his dimensions, and then asked my friend to do a small lap in the shop to check the fit. As he was running, the seller was standing and watching. While he finished and came back to the guy, he heard:

“Alright, there are three different running types, your one looks like X – that means that your foot is hitting the ground in Y way. For this instance I would recommend you get Z kind of shoes, here are three models I would recommend.”

Now tell me, if you were looking for a running shoe, after service like this, wouldn’t you buy one a seller recommends? I don’t know how about you, but I would be instantly convinced – no pushing or selling from his side, but I’m convinced.

If we take a closer look at how that process unfolds, we can see how genuine sales should look like. Why? Because it's pleasant for the customer, and it's great for business – no reason NOT to do it this way.

So first of all, notice how the seller didn’t try to sell anything until he really understood what the client needed.

First of all, he asked “what are you searching for?” question, to see if the client has any particular product in mind, or do they need help.

When he heard a broader term like “running shoes”, he instantly took measures and did a test to understand the running type of a client by analyzing the body movements.

Not until he gathered enough information and understanding, he could easily propose the product that was the perfect match.

In this case, how could you not get it, as you are shown right in your face, that it's exactly what you’re searching for!

It’s a very interesting example of how genuine help to someone, is actually the best way to convert clients.

Oh, and about that friend of mine, at very least he didn’t buy these shoes, as they didn’t have a color that he liked.

But you know what? When he was leaving the store, as an act of gratitude, he bought a t-shirt.

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Cheers!