Don't Carry the iPhone? Tips to Help You Compete
By Allan Pulga
By no exaggeration, the Apple iPhone is proving to be the most talked about (and as stated by all who know - overhyped) electronic device of 2007. Since the iPhone's June 29 launch, all players in the cellphone industry - from handset manufacturers, to carriers, to retailers - have been forced to re-evalualute their competitive approaches. The iPhone is doing to cellphones what the iPod did to MP3 players: create a distinct market space.
If you're a dealer who doesn't carry the iPhone, I'm sure you've become heard the following questions over the past three months:
1. “Hi, do you carry the iPhone?” No. “Oh. Why not?”
2. “So you won't be getting it anytime soon?”
This is the classic example of a customer coming to your store with one product in mind. How do you handle this situation without saying sheepishly, “Well, we don't have the iPhone, but the (insert competing product name here) is just as good”? The customer wants the iPhone and intends to go somewhere else to buy it, right?
Wrong. Assuming the customer will walk out if you don't sell him/her an iPhone is oldest sales mistake in the book: Never assume you know what the customer is thinking. Ask questions to lead the customer towards your product lineup. You may be surprised how open minded many shoppers are, particularly if they're actually just stopping by your store to “take a look” at the iPhone - they may find out it's not actually the phone for them.
And of course, presenting an alternative product need not be an embarrassing task. Knowledge is the key to getting a customer to trust your expertise. You and your salespeople need to know what you're talking about.
Do not assume the customer will only buy an iPhone.
Keep an open mind. When a customer asks for the iPhone, explain to them that you don't carry it but that you're curious what the customer has heard about the iPhone. Engaging in a friendly conversation is important in building the rapport necessary to avoid seeming smarmy or condescending (which all customers hate about the aggressive, “used car salesmen' types”). Think of it as talking about the weather or about sports, for example.
A good strategy is to speak frankly about the iPhone, to point out some of its merits. Speaking in a complimentary way about the iPhone can help you appear non-threatening to the customer - that you're willing to give the competition credit.
This is obviously a slippery slope. Don't get carried away, you cannot start heaping praise on Apple. After all, you're not trying to sell the iPhone, but rather, to build trust. Once the customer has actively begun discussing the iPhone with you, you need to start showing him/her what you know. You lead them to what you know (and what you sell) by asking the right questions.
Ask questions to lead the customer toward your product lineup.
Questions like, “What do you like about the iPhone?” or “What have you heard about the iPhone?” are good ice-breakers. These are the questions that open the customer up to your approach. But again, you need to appear like you're not selling anything, just talking. Agreeing with parts of the customer's opinion is vital.
Depending on how the customer answers your lead-in questions, you can tailor your step-by-step sales pitch. This takes a bit of research. For instance, start your question with an agreement, “You're absolutely right. That's one concern I had about the touchscreen as well. I've read a number of reviews that said it was really difficult to type using the iPhone's predictive text software. Many people are too accustomed to pushing buttons when they type. Do you use your smartphone to do a lot of e-mailing?”
An agreement-turned-question like this can help you turn the question into a sales pitch: “If you do a lot of e-mailing, you should check out the latest BlackBerry. After all, it's always been the premier wireless e-mail device. You can try typing on it and see how it compares to the iPhone...”
As mentioned earlier, in order to execute the step-by-step sales pitch, you need to do your homework.
Know which iPhone alternatives you offer AND why they’re great products
Doing your iPhone homework means understanding what people like and dislike about the iPhone. Then, you can turn the dislikes into preferences for the products you actually sell.
Here are a few links to help you get started:
1) iPhone Reviews:
- Engadget
2) iPhone Alternatives:
- Better Than iPhone: 8 Mobile Handsets That Outclass Apple
- Is the iPhone better than Moto Q, Blackjack & Treo? a quick look
- 10 Ways The Nokia N800 Is Better Than Apple's iPhone
- Sony Ericsson W52S is better than the iPhone
- The Better iPhone: Nokia N95?
- HTC Touch - Better Than iPhone?
- LG KU990 just might be better than the iPhone
By starting a conversation with the customer, asking the right questions, and transitioning into a careful sales pitch, you can do your best to show him/her the iPhone alternatives you offer. In the end, whether or not the customer decides to buy an iPhone, you will have learned a wealth of new questions, concerns and conversation-starters to use on the next person who comes in and asks, “Hi, do you carry the iPhone?”