Pro Tips: How do you know when to walk away from a sale?

If you've spent more than a day in this industry, chances are you've had your fair share of awkward encounters, disgruntled customers, and technicians who make selling more difficult than it should be. But what do you do when you find yourself at an impasse with one of your customers and you can tell the sale isn't going anywhere? We asked distributors to share their insight on how to know when to walk away from a sale. Here's what they had to say.

1. Rely on your people skills

"Certain shops, when you have good relationships with your customers, they'll tell you before that guy even walks out. They'll say, 'Hey, Mike just started here. I'd go light with him for a couple weeks. I don't know if he's going to stay here.' You need to rely on people reading skills. What's he asking about, what's he looking at? If he's looking at something that's a $1,000, and he wants to give you $20 a week, it's kind of a telltale sign right there."

-Alex Indeck, Cornwell Quality Tools  

2. Walk away, but don't give up

"It's a case-by-case, but you can tell by the body language and how the customer reacts to what you're giving them. Sometimes the best thing to do is to walk away and let them think about it. Tell them, 'If you have any other questions, I'm here, you've got my number.' Always be truthful with them; that goes a long way."

-Josh Stottlemire, Mac Tools

3. Listen to what other customers have to say

"If things start to feel too one-sided, where you're just getting run over on a deal, or you can just see that you're going to have problems with it in the future. Customers will always be willing to help you if you help them. That's always been big in a lot of these larger shops that we deal with, that word of mouth from other techs telling you, 'Hey, man, just watch out for this guy. We've noticed that he's been having problems.' So just kind of play it on the low side."

—Dawson Michael, Cornwell Quality Tools

4. Don't haggle with the customer

"I believe it is important to avoid aggressive sales tactics and resist being labeled as a "discounter." My philosophy is "once a discounter, always a discounter"; if you haggle on price or terms once, a customer will likely try to haggle on every subsequent purchase. Unless a tool is damaged, aged, or overstock, we do not deviate from our sale price. We advertise our best price from the start; if a customer insists on haggling beyond those terms, that is usually when we walk away."

- Curtiss Ryan, independent distributor

5. Recongize what's not good for your business

"Everybody should have a set margin on what they're okay on taking, and not go below it. If it's the guy asking for a discount every week because he wants to get to that bottom number, he's not good for your business. It's on each individual owner to decide what they think their bottom number is. I will admit there are times you go below it to get the first sale, to get them to come back and say good things. That's a risk that you have to evaluate yourself. At the end of the day, go with your gut."

-Kevin Wampler, independent distributor

6. Don't let the bad outweigh the good

"When it comes to customers being, whether they're aggressive or whatever you want to call it, every scenario is different. Sometimes it can be easily resolved just with taking care of them. They might be frustrated with something going on either at work or their life or the tool, whatever it is. Sometimes it can be resolved quickly just with a little understanding. And sometimes you've just got to understand that there's going to be no pleasing that person, and it's OK. You can't let the 5 percent bad affect your 95 percent good.

-Paul Gast, Mac Tools