What Do Customers Really Want?

Did you ever see the movie “What Women Want”? Mel Gibson stars as a chauvinistic ad man who, after a freak accident, gains the ability to hear what all the women around him are thinking. He’s at first shocked, but quickly realizes this new skill gives him unique insights, and starts to craft ads targeting women that really work.

Any small business owner trying to market to fickle consumers can relate to Gibson’s character—being able to hear what your prospects are really thinking would be a dream come true for most small business owners.

Customers have always been conflicted about what they want from businesses, often saying one thing and doing another. In recent years, there’s been lots of hubbub about restaurants adding more healthy options to their menus. But even with calorie counts now listed on many menus, surveys consistently show most diners—even those who clamor for healthy options—don’t actually order those items.

Here’s what it boils down to: Customers are rarely honest about what they want and why. Have you ever been in sales situations where you just know the prospective customers are ready to buy? Based on what they’ve told you, you’re confident you’re offering the exact solution they want. Then “out of nowhere” they say no—and you’re shocked. The problem? What the prospects told you they wanted wasn’t exactly the truth.

It’s not that customers are liars. There are good reasons for the dishonesty. Often, they’re too embarrassed to admit what they really want. Other times, they don’t even realize they want it. Successful salespeople know that while humans pride themselves on being rational and making decisions based on facts, in reality most sales are based on emotion. Emotions are shadowy and often unclear even to the person who’s feeling them. If you want to make the sale, your first step is figuring out the emotions involved.

How do you do that? Keep this age-old sales adage in mind: You’ve got two eyes, two ears, but only one mouth. The next time you’re on a sales call, spend less time talking and more time watching and listening.

• Watch how the prospect interacts with others in the room. Is the person you think is the decision maker really the one in charge?

• Look for the influencers. Is there someone who influences the decision-maker, and how can you influence that person or people?

• Listen carefully. What’s being said? Are there any unspoken messages?

• Understand the status quo. Change is scary, so could the idea of buying your product or service actually frighten the customer?

• Observe the relationships. If a purchase will affect other people besides the buyer, you’ll have more fears and obstacles to overcome.

• Get a second opinion. You may want to bring a colleague with you to help observe the process and share insights later.

Speaking of fear, it’s a huge factor in almost every sale. A husband may fear looking cheap or indecisive in front of his wife—which may make him more amenable to buying from you. A CIO may fear costing the company time and money by buying the wrong software—which may make him reluctant to say yes. Understand your prospect’s fears and adapt your sales strategy to address them. While consumers may not understand what they want—by truly listening and observing, you’ll not only learn what your customers really want, you’ll more than likely make the sale.