Sales & Service Tip of the Week

The first “A”, Approach sets the stage during customer interaction.  You want to attract the attention of the customer and start the thought processes of the buyer and seller.  How you approach or greet the customer could very well set the tone and influence the outcome of the sales opportunity.  In this first step you want to demonstrate your professionalism, your desire to serve, and that you want to do business.  All of this is appealing to the customer!  In fact this could be your first sale.  The customer buys you first; do you agree?  You represent your company to that customer for the moment (moment of truth) and they either form a positive or negative impression about you.  Your businesslike manner, positive attitude, confidence and expertise are contagious and can influence your customers.  People identify with people so allow your Approach to reflect this human experience and get off on the right foot with all of your customers.

Sales & Service Tip of the Week

Last week we unfolded the 6 A’s as your selling strategy to sales success.  Each one begins with an “A” – a handle to grab on to during a sales interaction or opportunity.  Have you ever missed an opportunity to sell more or was hesitant to suggest or offer ideas to a customer?  We all have, so relax!  The A’s become “memory joggers” so we don’t forget to ask as we can get busy and in a hurry.  Wouldn’t it be great if selling was always 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, in a sequential order?  Unfortunately our thought processes are not always step-by-step.  Selling is spontaneous and thinking on your feet.  Have you ever had a complaining customer before ever saying, “hello”?  Or, a customer that says, “I’ll take it” without even hearing about it first?  Please don’t inform the customer that you have several more steps or A’s to cover first.  Take the order and serve the customer!  Remember, the 6 A’s are based on customer interaction and designed to provide a service request or sales transaction.  Allow the customer to lead the interaction and utilize the 6 A’s when you need a reminder and need to get back on track.  Master the 6 A’s and you will provide total customer satisfaction and develop lifetime customers.  It begins with the first “A” – the Approach.

Sales & Service Tip of the Week

Let’s examine a selling process in detail.  Did you know selling revolves around a thought process?  Doesn’t the customer go through certain thought processes or steps to arrive at a purchasing decision?  You do, don’t you?  We all do!  The key is to be able to identify where the customer is in their thoughts and match your thoughts as it relates to suggestions and ideas to help persuade the customer to reach a decision to buy.  Sounds complicated doesn’t it?  Actually we all go through these thoughts or steps daily in our interactions with customers almost instinctively and naturally in completing the customer transactions.  Now, let’s formalize these steps in order to better serve our customers and better yet, sell more products and services to grow our business and make everybody happy.  Sound too good to be true?  Get ready, here are the steps or thought processes to make us better as sales and service professionals.  We refer to these as the 6 A’s that will become your selling strategy to serve and sell your customers.  Approach, Analysis, Active Presentation, Answer Objections, Always Be Closing, and Apply Service.  Allow the 6 A’s to become your selling strategy for sales success!

Sales & Service Tip Of The Week

How many customers don’t complain, you just lose them?  A Better Business Bureau statistic says 96% of dissatisfied customers do not complain of poor service.  Yet 95% of dissatisfied customers will become loyal customers again if their complaints are handled well and quickly.  Interesting huh?  Can we avoid possible problems, concerns or issues before they are raised?  Every service action with a customer is called a point of interaction.  There are many “points of interaction” with the customer in the delivery of the products and services you provide.  A “moment of truth” occurs whenever and wherever there is customer contact, because that is the moment when the customer forms a perception of your company, its people, its products and services.  The key to all this is to list each “point of interaction” you have with customers, identify the problems that can happen at each interaction point, and finally, list the corrective action needed to solve it.  Keep in mind that the goal is to exceed customer expectations.  Review with your team members in your department, standardize the “points of interaction” and document the possible problems and action needed to correct it.  It’s the first step to providing quality service!

Sales & Service Tip Of The Week

Have you called on customers and within five minutes they told you their life’s story?  Or, how about the customer who is quiet, analytical or critical; and the other who is demanding, unreasonable and unappreciative?  It’s the old adage, “you can’t please the public” that keeps cropping up when dealing with customers on a daily basis.  Today all sales and service professionals must understand and learn to “adjust” to the customer’s personality and behavior.  When you “adjust” your behavior you relate to people on a level that is acceptable and comfortable to them.  After all, they are the customers right?  But first you must understand yourself in order to make the adjustments to match the comfort level of each customer you serve.  Flexibility is the key, allowing you to “adjust” to improve interactions and establish a more harmonious working relationship.  We refer to this today as the PLATINUM RULE:  “Treat your customers as they expect to be treated.”

Sales & Service Tip Of The Week

One of the hardest fundamentals of communication to master is the art of listening.  Granted, it is an “anatomical reality” when you consider the proportion of these two senses.  That’s why we have two ears and one mouth.  Get the picture?  We need to listen twice as much as we talk when dealing with our customers.  Listening is more than hearing a person talk.  It is an active involvement and a sincere interest in what the person is saying.  Get in the habit of being an active listener.  You want to understand the customer’s thinking and uncover needs so that benefits can be used to satisfy those needs.  Can effective listening help to control customer interaction?  Absolutely!  By asking questions you keep the customer talking and surface hidden needs, wants or desires.  Only then can you truly serve the customers by providing the products and services they really want or need.  So remember for this week, “listen first to understand, then talk to be understood.”

Sales & Service Tip Of The Week

“Is communication a ‘people’ skill or a ‘technical’ skill?”  We can all agree it takes people to communicate in one form or another.  The key is reaching a point of understanding by providing a common frame of reference.  Without this, no communication can really take place, so picture everyone you communicate with having “filters” or “screens” in front of them.  We must “break through” these filters in order to reach that common point of understanding so communication can happen.  Sounds simple?  Not really!  Here’s some “startling statistics” to consider:  Did you know we communicate only 7% with words, 38% by tone and up to 55% through body language or nonverbal.  Amazing isn’t it!  How important are words today?  Tone is important and you can influence people by not “what you say” but “how you say it!”  Recognize the importance of body language today.  Good or bad vibes are sensed by the customer.  Make sure your nonverbal signals “match” your verbal.  The customer picks up on this, while you, in turn, can observe the customer’s body language too for acceptance or rejection.  The “art of communication” is a never ending skill that must be mastered by all sales and service professionals.