//STEPS 3 & 4

3. Don't try to pull the wool over the customer's eyes. Customers are more sophisticated today than they were in the past, primarily due to the availability of information through the Internet. Few companies and even fewer politicians seem to understand the fundamental change that's taken place in the customer's psyche over the last few years. Without question, the events of September 11 were an exercise in consciousness raising when it comes to truth. We now require it.

The Firestone-Ford tire debacle in 2000 may have contributed to this change. We realized our lives and those of our families were on the line and we wanted facts, not corporate PR puffery, a lesson Ford learned far faster than Bridgestone Firestone. The attack only escalated this demand for truth.

What's the issue? Those who try to mislead customers will be rewarded with a loss of their business. Reality has interposed itself into our lives in ways we never thought possible. Duplicity is out; customers demand the truth.

4. Every salesperson has noted customers have become far more aggressive in the last five years, again coinciding perhaps with the arrival of the Internet. The attack, however, seems to have brought out the more serious side in all of us. We've all noted the signs - less small talk, a more no-nonsense attitude and an even higher value placed on time, if that's possible. We tend to be more direct than we were in the past.

This suggests we need to be more probing in dealing with customers, letting them talk more than we have in the past. Further, the sales process is enhanced by avoiding the usual corporate marketing materials that are likely to be designed to obfuscate the facts, avoid competitor qualities and steer the customer in one direction. What is required today is objective, helpful and comprehensive information that assists the customer in becoming more productive and successful.

The message is clear: It takes collaborative salespeople to serve aggressive customers.

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