I meet people (customers) in their homes and sell them big ticket projects on a daily basis. Sometimes it feels good, sometimes it doesn’t. What makes the difference?

I visit with them, talk to them about vinyl versus wood fence, or wood versus vinyl windows. I take their measure as they take mine, and I make an offer. I ask for the sale. More than half the time I leave with a check.

But walking out with that precious slip of valuable paper has very little bearing on how I feel walking out (though it does have some). After all, it’s not a contest I’m trying to win. I’m not trying to convince anyone to buy something they don’t want to buy. I don’t do high pressure sales.

Sometimes I tell that customer it was a pleasure to visit with them, and I warmly and genuinely invite them to call me for any home improvement needs even if it’s not my area. Sometimes, I just want to get out of there as fast as I can.

So what makes the difference between a good feeling sale and a bad feeling sale?

An Instinctual Connection to the Customer

It’s the connection to the customer. You feel it within moments of shaking hands hello. There’s some kind of primal, instinctual connection that happens and you either jive with the customer or you don’t. Sometimes it’s neutral, and sometimes the whole thing is anxiety ridden and you have to put on your professional self because your personal self isn’t comfortable.

Here’s what I’ve discovered for certain. When I can sell as my personal self, I am happier and my customers are more thoroughly satisfied with their entire experience. The whole thing hinges almost exclusively on “the vibe” between me and them.

I’ve had projects where everything that could possibly go wrong did go wrong, but I connected with that customer from the get go and so dealing with the problems never got stressful, the customer never got upset about the situation. We just fixed it and did our best, and the customer was satisfied with it.

Then I’ve had projects where nothing could satisfy the customer, though everything went smoothly and they got the best price available. Guess what. I felt anxious around those customers from the start.

Our instincts tell us who we should be dealing with. That customer that’s inspiring an anxious vibe, isn’t our customer. The one that’s totally neutral, no feelings either way, probably isn’t our customer either. They’re someone else’s.  They will jive with the competition, and that’s ok.

I’ve got a job to do, though. I can’t turn customers away or treat certain ones differently just because I like them more or less. I have a boss and a job description that say otherwise.

But what about the photography business I’m starting with my wife? Is it any different? Does being our own bosses change this?

How do Julie and I deal with these different types of potential clients? Your thoughts?

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