Knowing how to sell to friends, family, neighbors, and anyone else you have a close relationship with isn’t exactly “second nature.”
I often hear people complaining about how to sell to friends, family, neighbors, and those who we are all closest to.
Here are some of the most common frustrations I hear about dealing with those who we are closest to:
They want the friend’s “special discount price” or the “GBD”
(Good Buddy Deal)
They want you to drop everything to be their service professional NOW
(Priority Service)
And of course there’s all this anxiety over what to do “if something goes WRONG!?”
I get it…of COURSE you feel OBLIGATED to meet or exceed their demands. And there is typically added pressure BECAUSE of the relationship and the history you have with them!
Many times, this pressure to exceed their expectations and meet their every demand causes us to decline to do any business with them at all!
The question I get asked most often is,
“Is it REALLY NECESSARY to deal with those who you are closest to??”
Not necessarily, but consider this:
How much business do you think you’ll be able to do with those who don’t know you, don’t like you, or those who aren’t close enough to you to trust you?
How much money do you suppose you’ll make off those individuals?
Answer: Not Much, right?
AND, if you’re doing your job as a service or sales professional correctly, you will work through a relationship building process before offering your service or product to the potential customer anyways, right?
How To Sell To Friends and Family
When I first got started in sales, I had the benefit of having a phenomenal sales manager who was a great coach, a great leader, and someone who really taught me a lot about sales, customer service, and even relationships.
One of the things he taught me early on was how to get comfortable with and deal with this difficult situation of selling to friends, family, and those who I was closest to.
I remember coming to him to let him know I didn’t really want to deal with this individual who I had a close relationship with because I was being pressured to “make sure it’s cheap…get me the best deal!…etc” and I was nervous about how to respond if something went wrong during the negotiations or with the product after the purchase.
His response was simple:
“You are going to have to get comfortable selling to those who you are closest to, because those who are not close to you, don’t know you, and don’t like you, will not do business with you. You should be making a relationship with everyone you meet before selling them the product anyway. So, every day focus on first making a friend and then selling them something.”
So, a couple of questions you might have:
- Where does this “pressure” come from when dealing with friends?
- What should you do if things go “sour when dealing with friends.”
The pressure comes from a couple of sources:
- Most often, the pressure is a result of an illogical fear/rationale that we have. We think that since it’s someone we are close to we HAVE to treat them differently or that something is BOUND to go wrong. (Murphy’s Law) Which isn’t necessarily true! So, relax!
- Other times this pressure comes from our friend using the relationship as leverage in a odd and uncomfortable negotiation. (Some “friend” huh?)
So here is how you can avoid the most common pitfalls when dealing with Friends and Family:
Push vs. pull:
Do NOT push your friends, family, and those who you are closest with to buy your product!! (Thats a sure fire way to burn them out and destroy your relationship!)
Instead, openly promote your product/service and allow them to reach out to you.
(Kinda like what I’m currently doing with this blog.)
I have friends who own service companies who I’d love to work with on their business. I’m not emailing, calling, texting, or otherwise pressuring them to use my service and hire me as their business consultant. If they see this blog (which I know they will because they’re on my Facebook) and find themselves interested, I’m sure I’ll get a call from them!
Worst thing that could ever happen is your friend has a problem with your product/service which they feel you pressured and forced them into buying!!!
Be consistent!
Don’t overprice, underprice, over-serve, or under-serve!
Let them know ways in which they could EARN the discounts and other benefits they’re seeking:
Google review in exchange for a discount?
Facebook like or review for discount?
Referral paid by discount/special promotion coupon?
Join your membership/advantage plan program for ongoing discounts and priority service benefits.
Follow your blog/newsletter to stay current on coupon specials, seasonal promotions, etc.
P/s: All of the above work on the principal of “reciprocity” or “give and receive.”
Let them know you will give them the highest level of customer service, just as you do with every one of your customers! (Right?)
Letting them know you give EVERYONE your best service actually encourages referrals whereas telling them that you’re going to give them “a higher level of service” might leave them wondering if that means you cut corners with everyone else…and if that’s the case, why should they refer anyone to you?
What to do IF things go sour:
Let’s say things go sour and they have a legitimate complaint against you, your service, or your product.
(Complaints DO happen every now and then, right?)
How would you NORMALLY handle this situation?
What do you think REALLY makes this situation any different?
Okay, so sometimes they bring up your friendship/relationship in the midst of expressing their frustration with good intentions.
So, here is how you can respond:
- Apologize
- Assure them you will make it right
- Remind them of the relationship (this softens and eases the frustration)
- “I’m so sorry this situation happened. As you mentioned, we have been friends for a long time and I’m sure you know this isn’t/wasn’t intention and this is not the quality of service myself or the company expects to deliver for anyone. I really value our relationship and I’ll make sure this situation gets corrected and resolved!”
And, sometimes they bring up the relationship as leverage to resolve the situation they way they want or see fit or with other manipulative/bad intentions (Again, some friend, huh?)
In that case, here is how you can respond:
- Follow previous steps 1-3
- “I’m so sorry this situation happened. As you mentioned, we have been friends for a long time and I’m sure you know this isn’t/wasn’t intention and this is not the quality of service myself or the company expects to deliver for anyone. I really value our relationship and I’ll make sure this situation gets corrected and resolved!”
- If they get pushy/aggressive/threatening/manipulative about the relationship add “the take away.” (This REALLY puts out the fire! Be sure to use specific details about your relationship with them.)
- “You know we’ve been Friends for a very long time and our kids have even grown up together. It would kill me if this situation harmed that relationship in any way. I of course will do everything I can to make this right and correct this situation for you. And, ultimately if you feel as though you would be better served by going with a different product/service/company/individual I would completely understand and I want to let you know I wouldn’t harbor any hard feelings against you at all for that. I promise we’ll still hang out on Tuesday nights, we’ll still get together every now and then to play poker, and we’ll still hang out during the kids’ soccer games. I just want to make sure you’re taken care, that you’re satisfied, and that nothing comes between us.”
Most often, this withdrawal calms them down, makes them more agreeable, and more forgiving. Most of the people we have a close relationship with value the friendship as much as we do. They don’t want anything to come between themselves and you anymore than you do!
(This is a WIN for you, right?)
Now, a very small percentage may ACTUALLY accept your withdrawal and decide they’re best served by using a different company, product, service, or individual in an effort to prevent the business relationship from tanking the personal relationship.
(Also a WIN for you, right?)
I regard all of my clients like friends and if things didn’t work out with our business relationship, I would still at least want to remain friends.
I don’t know about you, but I would rather have friends, clients, and some friends who are also clients, versus making people feel forced to stay with me as a client.
Roll out the “red carpet” for everyone and use the “take away” to help save your friendships and other close relationships!
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About The Author:
Patrick is a Husband, a Father, a Modern Entrepreneur, the Founder of BizPAL.org, and the Creator of BizPAL’s Automated Recruiting Program.
He holds certifications in Social Media Marketing, Facebook Advertising, Inbound Marketing, Business Automation, and more!
Fun Fact:
Patrick was born and raised in a predominantly Amish community in Northern Indiana.
Got questions about the Amish? Ask Patrick!
Patrick is the son of a Career Tradesman and is extremely passionate about helping the Contracting industry grow and advance.
He has over 10+ years of experience in Customer Service, B2C Sales, Social Media Marketing, Sales Training and Coaching, Business Consulting, etc.
He has spent the past 7+ years working with Service Contractors from coast to coast to increase their Sales, boost their Profits, increase Customer Satisfaction and Brand Loyalty, and improve their Operational efficiency by Building Creative Solutions and Implementing Innovative Ideas!
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