Car wash sales lessons

I was reminded the hard way this week of a few key sales lessons, when I went to get my car washed.

The attendant looked at the outside and said nothing. He opened the door, looked inside, made a face and said “Very dirty” – Strike one

I asked for the standard clean, he said they don’t do that anymore. I asked him to show me the prices he was holding on a clipboard, he said no that was just for internal purposes – Strike two

He then told me what they would do, named a price higher than I wanted to pay and told me I would have to pay cash – Strike three, four and five!

In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s a buyer’s world nowadays. Customer experience, ease of doing business, added value, surprising and delighting customers are the new currency for those who want to create loyal, enduring customer relationships.

If you focus on nothing else in 2021, focus on becoming easier to buy from this year. Mystery shop your company, remove the invisible roadblocks, smooth out the customer journey.

On the way home I popped into my local garage and was greeted with this sign … I know where I’ll be going in the future!

PS My car wasn’t very dirty inside I’ll have you know!

Cian McLoughlin is the Amazon #1 bestselling author of Rebirth of the Salesman, a regular keynote speaker at sales kick-off’s around the world and one of the Top 50 Sales bloggers in the world for the past 2 years. He is a passionate proponent of an ethical, honest and authentic approach to sales. His company, Trinity Perspectives, is committed to helping sales organizations unlock the latent potential of their customers’ insights with their Win Loss Analysis and Sales Transformation services. To read more of Cian’s sales articles visit www.trinityperspectives.com.au/blog