Help Customers Avoid Disappointments By Managing Expectations & Results.

People might try what seemed to work well for others. It’s important to define what ‘work well’ means for people & their conditions.

Consultation Example: ‘I understand why you want similar results. Since neighbors have different factors each year, you might get different results even with the same products & methods. Let’s avoid disappointments by reviewing possible differences in your conditions & goals. Let's determine how long- & short-term results are affected by current & foreseeable positive & negative factors. After studying results & factors, we can pick products & plan methods to optimize positives & reduce negatives. When you’re confident about what to expect, you can schedule your project.’

Explain how your responsibility includes asking questions to ensure good results. When short-term results can be different than long-term results, it’s important to know which deteriorations require repairs or just mitigation. Which changes warrant corrective action & should be prioritized? Would problem preventions or solutions synergize or interfere with other efforts?

Example: Should tires be replaced individually, in pairs or all four? Brake pad replacements wouldn’t make up for worn tires not gripping pavement.

Compare goals & problems to help customers prioritize.

Since preparation is vital, there can be risks in not anticipating probable problems & opportunities.

Offer Example: ‘Though we don’t know how intense (problem) will be this year, we know it always happens, so now it’s time for planning. (Store) has what you need to prepare, so get checklists from (Store) & you’ll know which preparations are necessary & enough. Avoid wasting resources in the wrong or inadequate preparations. Based on the past, we know what doesn’t work. Be sure you use the necessary high quality products & methods, so your efforts will be enough to protect your investment in your home.’

Guidance or Advice

Even if you hesitate about giving advice, you can supply insights. You can ask questions to help individuals, plus you’ll learn for helping future customers.

Example: ‘Since you know you need a solution, what do you need to know about your options? What are your criteria for choosing your best option? These product specifications seem to indicate this is your best choice because __. Does this fit your understanding?’

When you monitor information resources, you can recommend & explain them based on customers’ criteria plus how they explain their needs. People’s explanations reveal what they need to know about problems & how to shape their perceptions.

Example: ‘Dark spots could be dirt or mold. If it’s mold you’ll find __.’

People perceive conditions based on knowledge & priorities. Knowledge influences beliefs about possibilities & priorities influence beliefs about what’s necessary.

Example: ‘Dirt is inconvenient but mold could be hazardous. If it’s mold you need to__.’

To influence what people buy, you need to influence their knowledge & priorities. Influence their knowledge by comparing conditions before & after projects. Explain why results are important, so people adjust priorities.

There’s a difference between offering products & possibilities. Important basic questions are about who, what, why, when, where & how. Products partially answer ‘What’. Possibilities involve WHY people (WHO) want/need WHAT kind of results at locations (WHERE) at particular times (WHEN) & are created with methods (HOW).

Projects can be planned after studying possibilities.

When you consult with customers, your store is integrated into their results. You need reliable product & information suppliers with compatible resources, so you can merge facts about products & conditions.

You can combine customers’ insights from consultations with information from trade groups & manufacturers.

Consultation Example: ‘Based on your answers for the question checklist, your case is like these clients’ cases. They used this information package to decide on this project. This information has insights expressing pros & cons, so you can determine what current & emerging conditions indicate about your options.’

Experiences from Effective Results

Robert Frost wrote, “Happiness makes up in height for what it lacks in length.”

Though duration is important, what counts more is compatibility of experiences with goals & personalities.

Try to help customers identify peak experience elements plus ways to make element combinations fit time & financial constraints. When experience goals are established, determine how much length & money would be required, so elements can be prioritized.

Consultation Example: ‘Since you have $__ & __ hours available, you need to reduce something because combining options A, B & C would cost __ & take about __ hours. Which option is like a foundation that gives your experience the most value? Should we try to keep the other options by adjusting this foundation to cost less & require less time? Would you prefer to keep this full foundation & split the other options or elements into other experiences for other times?’

Since happy experiences don’t last (except in memories), ask questions to determine what made past experiences great & what can be added.

Consultation Example: ‘Do you want to learn about creating new experiences or quickly start something that builds on what’s familiar? Are there good things you want to upgrade or replace with great things? What was barely satisfying before? What was so special you want it again? When you remember things you’ve heard or read, what would fit your goal? That can be done with (product & method). What would add sensory stimuli? What would add value to your experience & be something you’d save as a reminder or souvenir for future enjoyment? We can add __ because it’s similar to what you enjoyed & enhances __. As we check each option, we can customize benefits. You can increase your skills &/or add products. Since learning requires time, you’d need to plan a month ahead. Based on your budget & desires, do you want to boost your enjoyment a little each time or maximize it now? Based on your budget & available time, let’s plan your experience.’

Isn’t That Special?

After people define what’s special, help them define what increases satisfaction. Is it a product amount or size? Do they want certain duration of continuous experience or ability to easily restart? How do people evaluate or measure satisfaction? Can they apply that standard before implementation, so plans can be adjusted?

Offer Example: ‘Whether you're planning your vacation or a weekend, make it special. (Store) is here to help you use memories & imagination. Let’s combine great experiences in your past with new ideas. What would make your camping experiences more fulfilling? Do you want to be like frontier pioneers or space pioneers? (Store) has planning templates to guide you to include special things & eliminate disappointments. Fill in the template blanks, so (Store) can fill experiential blanks. Here are some samples: When I planned camping trips, I expected __. As experiences ended, I thought if __ happened this would’ve been the best ever. Those were the good old days because __. At (Store), let’s create your outstanding personal events by exploring what your reality is & what you want reality to be.’

Good Plans Are Better Than Great Intentions.

Consumers might only intend to do projects until they’re convinced they can do what’s necessary & beneficial.

Retailers might have great intentions when their ads are only product names with pictures & prices. Retailers & consumers don’t profit from intentions or names.

Since people want beneficial results, they need plans for using products. Since people want happy lives, offers should include planned ways to integrate products into lives to increase happiness &/or decrease unhappiness.

Compelling offers promise specific benefits with reasons to justify purchasing. People rate desirability & value of benefit descriptions in compelling offers.

Provide enough help to shape products & methods into customizable benefits.

Consultation Example: ‘We can plan a project to convert desires into benefits. To create (benefit A), we’ll use (product 1) to __. Your benefit will last longer when you maintain it with (product 2). When that’s established you’ll be ready for setting up (benefit B) with (product 3). Let’s put these product instructions together into a plan.’

It can be done with services also. Some travelers plan itineraries & others choose to be guided through fully inclusive packages. Whether people travel or create benefits at home, they venture into unfamiliar territory. Anything unfamiliar can feel threatening & unfamiliar solutions can seem more threatening than problems.

Build familiarity & value of benefits by explaining how problems cause stress & solutions bring relief.

Offer Example: ‘As (problem) increases, you’ll notice (symptoms). (Problem) affects life quality by __. Cheap products can reduce (symptoms) without solving the whole problem. (Store) has kits for you to stop & prevent (problem) instead of struggling to reduce (symptoms) month after month. These kits are for eliminating problems & reducing your stress. When problems are gone, you can protect your health plus invest time, energy & money in things you enjoy.’

Thank you for using my blog. Please let me know if I should clarify anything.

Copyright 2021 Dennis S. Vogel All rights reserved.

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