Recognizing Customer Attitudes
A customer attitude toward our products/services generally falls into one of these four categories:
| Attitude | Example: |
| 😁 Acceptance is a customer statement of agreement with or approval of a benefit. | “It sounds like you cans save us time/money/resources.” “You’re very convincing. I believe you could help with our budgets.
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| 🤔 Skepticism is a customer statement that questions or doubts that your product will provide the benefit you say it will. | “It’s hard to believe we would get the kind of savings you’re talking about.” “Come on. No energy analysis can be that foolproof.”
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| 😐 Indifference is a customer statement of lack of interest in your product because of no perceived need for its benefits. | “I see no reason to change contractors now. I’m quite happy with who we use.” “We don’t have any need for your inspection reports. We’ve developed our own and we’re quite satisfied with them.”
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| 😤 Objection is a customer statement of opposition to your product. The customer dislikes or is dissatisfied with something about your product. | “There’s no way we’re going to buy your product / service. Your price is too high. You’re 30 percent higher than your competition.” “Look those skylights are too small. I don’t like them.”
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Stalling
There are times when a customer will attempt to hide a negative attitude by stalling. For example, a customer may say:
- “Why don’t you come back in about four months; we’re very busy now.”
- “Why don’t you leave me some literature, and I’ll get back to you.”
- “Email me some information about your company.”
Probing for Understanding
There are other times when you won’t be sure what the customer’s attitude is. It’s not that the customer is stalling, but rather that the customer’s remark is not a clear indication of an attitude. For example, a customer may say:
- “Timing…it’s a matter of timing.”
- “I can understand your viewpoint, but there are other considerations.”
- “Well, I don’t exactly see if that way.”
When you aren’t sure what the customer’s attitude is, you should continue to probe to understand the attitude. Without probing, you would have to guess at the attitude, and you may be wrong.