The Decision Ladder
Improving your Sales EQ by Identifying Customer Attitudes to Buy
The biggest mistakes in selling come from not listening to what the customer thinks and feels is important. The “Decision Ladder” is a great tool to help you to listen where your customer’s head and heart are at in reaching a decision to buy your solution. I learned this great sales tool in my early years as a Learning International sales person. It is still very relevant today. The ladder has boosted my sales EQ to connect better to my customers and close many a sale. Learn it and be even more successful in building beneficial long term customer relationships.
The Decision Ladder illustrates where the customer is at in making a buying decision.
Buying — positive and accepting
Neutral — neither positive nor negative
Not Buying — negative, non-accepting
Customer willingness to make a buying decision improves with each step they take up the ladder. When identifying where your customer is on the ‘Decision Ladder,” remember these key points:
- Both facts and feelings affect customer’s decision to buy.
- Careful listening allows you to recognize what is important to the buyer and how he or she feels about it.
- Customer attitudes can change from one idea, one problem, one benefit to another.
- Any given customer personality can express a range of buying attitudes.
- Customer words, body language and actions help you sense where the customer is on the Decision Ladder.
- Identifying where the customer is on the Decision Ladder helps you to communicate effectively to lead the customer to make mutually beneficial decisions on moving forward.
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Customer decisions are the result of both logic (i.e., facts) and emotions (i.e., feelings). Therefore, if we want the customer to share our beliefs in our solution for their problems, we must appeal to both their heads and hearts. Common sense tells us:
- If a customer is able but unwilling = no sale.
- If a customer is willing but unable = no sale.
- If a customer is both able (informed) and willing (desire) = a decision to buy.
How you listen and respond to the customer facts and feelings is equally important when seeking cooperation and buy in to move forward.
Where the customer is on the Decision Ladder reveals whether the person likes, dislikes, or is neutral to our ideas, suggestions and solutions to their problems. Customers typically move up and down the Decision Ladder during a sales conversation, as new facts, ideas, features and benefits are discussed. They respond with both facts and feelings.
A customer can express any of the ten buying attitudes toward any idea that comes up in your business discussion. To recognize the customer’s attitude level at any given moment, look and listen for the response and body language he or she is giving to your idea or statement. For example, you offer an idea to solve a customer problem:
How does the customer respond to you?
NEGLECT, COMPLAIN, AVOID, STOP,
CHALLENGE, LOOK, STUDY, CONTINUE, PLAY, or COMMIT?
You may find the customer response is vague, unclear or you simply don’t understand. Probe and ask questions till you do. Better understanding of the customer’s head and heart and where they are on the Decision Ladder helps you to respond in a way to be perceived as a more professional consultative sales person that the customer can trust as you have listened and responded to both the facts and emotions of the buyer.
In my next ELAvate Sales blog post, I will discuss the strategies for engaging customers at each rung of the Decision Ladder and how to move them up to a positive win win commitment to collaborate with you in a long term business relationship.
In the meantime, download the Decision Ladder Clue Sheet on how you recognize the positive, neutral and negative decision attitudes a customer displays during a sales conversation. Recognize and then respond. How does an effective sales person respond? Find out in my next ELAvate Sales blog post. Sign up to receive new posts straight in your inbox.
Enjoy being a Successful Salesperson this week!
