Friday, May 25, 2007

How to Communicate with Buyers/Sellers

Communication is the key to good relationships. We've all heard it especially when it comes to successful marriages.

When buying or selling on eBay it's important too! It's a short term relationship that can go well or leave you with a feedback black eye rating that takes tons of transactions to erase.

As a professional sales person, I know what I need to do to communicate properly with clients and I know how things can go south with miscommunication.

What works for me is this:

  1. Do your best to be prompt with your response when a question about your listing comes in.
  2. Be polite! Remember, that's your future customer!
  3. Answer in a positive way. Make sure your response has a "yes" tone. Even if you can't do something - you can still answer with I wish I could, here's another option, etc.
  4. Thank the person who emailed for their email and interest in your item. Do this at the front of your response. Remember, they can buy from someone else.
  5. If you're going to be away and can't be timely, don't list items to sell. Wait - you'll be seen as more responsive and get better feedback.
  6. Read the question and ask for clarification if you don't understand it or don't know how to respond.
  7. BE HONEST. Make sure you don't misrepresent your item.
  8. Encourage buyers to send you another question if they need to.
  9. Make sure your contact information is correct under your eBay Account.
  10. Do not use spam filters that require people to sign up before they can email you.
  11. If buying an item, make sure to read the listing completely - your answer might be there.
  12. If selling an item, make sure to put enough information in the listing and people won't have to ask a great deal of questions!
  13. Have a sense of humor! Most eBayers appreciate it and like fun transactions.
  14. Always put yourself in the other's shoes. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you - it still works!

This is just a sample of ideas that will help you to communicate with buyers and sellers on eBay. Remember, it's a great place to have fun, meet nice people and make some money!

No comments: