The Danger of Empathy

Hats off and on your feet to honor the person who got us started!
Happy Mother's Day !

While shopping with my son to find a gift for the lady of the house, we observed a lesson about communication during a selling situation. My wife wanted a camera so we went hunting for the best we could get within our budget. We were not the first in the store and had a couple of people in front of us. The first customer finished up, the clerk asked the 2nd customer what he could do for him and the customer said, "yeh, dude, hook me up with a big discount. The camera I want is expensive". At which point the sales clerk cleverly said, "yeh, man, I know what you mean but that's the price".

Of all the things the clerk could have said he should not have chosen a statement reinforcing that the camera was expensive. Generally, if something is expensive there is a reason for it and THAT is what should have been reinforced. Instead, he was empathetic with the customer and the customer walked out without the camera and without knowing why he should pay more for that particular camera.

When I was in a management position and hiring salespeople, I designed a short test about selling in general and included a few questions that addressed customer empathy. These questions were put in such a way to find out the potential salesperson's personal comfort level for spending money, their mindframe about presenting high-priced items and other things. I'd allow 90 seconds for a 15 question test. Those people whose comfort level for personal spending was $500 and below almost always exhibited that they would EXPRESS their empathy with the customer on pricing. Justified or not. Those comfortable with $500 to $1500 were empathetic but were more reluctant to express it. Those comfortable with $5000 and up generally thought "ante-up and let's move on!"

I did it with a co-worker in the late '90s. I had joined a new company and was working with an experienced guy developing a quote for an electronic controls system and parts. At one point, Ron gave me a price of 13 95, which while writing it down, I said 13 dollars and 95 cents. He laughed and said "No, $1395.00" My comment was the truly professional "holy moly, you're kidding me!" Thank goodness that was to a co-worker and I was able to maintain my composure while talking with the customer!

If you have pricing empathy, you may be susceptible to offering discounts, paying for shipping or worse yet, being understanding when the customer says he meeds to buy somewhere else. Be careful to not reinforce price objections to yourself or the customer. Do your homework and practice your responses