Do you take an active role as required?
Today I am referring to excellent vs. mediocre customer service. Whether you are the CEO or the assistant, if something appears to be amiss, you need to take swift action. Otherwise, no matter what your marketing message may be, your prospects will disappear and further development of relationships and business will cease.
Yesterday, Beth, the administrator, followed up with me by asking if I like the changes that were made to one of my systems. Before replying, I took a look at what was supposed to be fixed in order to offer praise. Unfortunately, I could not see even a hint of improvement. Instead, my reply was in the form of a question asking if any work had been done at all.
Beth then replied, “Oh, that’s what I thought. I’ll have to track Jerry down.” Her interaction between us was faulty on several levels.
1. Beth’s first action should have been to contact Jerry to get a status update
2. It was dishonest to ask how I liked the improvement if she had an idea the work had not been completed
3. The chain of events diminished the perception of Beth’s capability
When you change your mindset to “Honesty is always the best policy” and one of resolve for swift resolution, you will continue with building relationships, turning prospects into clients, and closing more sales. The added benefits will be business development that earns repeat business, referrals and testimonials to exponentially grow your business. Rather than lose clients, you will experience the Smooth Sale!
