What To Do With A Suspicious Customer
Have you ever had a suspicious customer? One who just doesn’t quite seem to trust you? They listen to you with raised eyebrows, and don’t take what you say at face value. They look for hidden agendas, and always look for the “catch.”
If you are a basically honest person, it can be a very unpleasant sensation. (Even if you’re not an honest person, it’s still unpleasant – but at least you know who to blame.)
Trust is hard to create and easy to break
Of all the connections we can build with our customers (as well as co-workers, bosses, employees, etc) trust is both the hardest to create, and easiest to break. Truth be told, in today’s world, a little healthy suspicion is probably a good thing. But there are some people who so greatly fear the vulnerability that comes with trust, they overcompensate by being suspicious of virtually everything.
There is, unfortunately, no quick fix for a suspicious customer. Loss of trust is founded to a large extent by personal experiences, and it is only consistently conveying that we care, are competent and have integrity that we earn it back. It takes time.
So, until you have achieved this, what can you do when you have a customer (or internal customer) who seems skeptical? These three steps are a good start:
Three steps for dealing with a suspicious customer:
1. Acknowledge and validate their discomfort
Validating a customers state of mind has a powerful effect when it comes to building trust. Try something like: “I understand why you may be uncertain. I suspect I’d feel the same way if I were you.”
2. Reaffirm that you care
Conveying that you care is critical for building trust. You can send that message with simple statements like: “Making sure you get the right thing is important to me, and I don’t want you <buy/sell/do> anything you’re not sure of.”
3. Restate your position, then set them free
Give customers permission to walk away (those of you who are in sales – this means you too!). eg. “I really do think this is best for you because <benefits go here>. But you really should be 100% comfortable before you make a decision.”
These three steps express empathy, caring, and confidence in your position – three things that a suspicious customer is looking for. When you do this, you will begin to notice changes right away in a customer’s body language, and their attitude in future interactions
