How well do you know your prospects and clients?
It’s a cardinal rule that to enjoy your clientele you need to know the preferred industry or personality with which you wish to work. ? I alway speak of building the relationship with everyone you meet and treat the sales cycle as a friend in the making cycle. ? This removes tension between all parties and the conversation becomes more honest thus leading to a higher degree of securing sales.
Your prospects in particular want to find fault with you so they have an excuse not to spend the extra money. ? It is for this very reason, you must pay extra attention to what they tell you. ? If your memory is not as good as it once was, then by all means re-read their file or your notes in the database before contacting them. ? If need be, review their website too so that you have all the details fresh in your mind.
Now that you have the background, I will share one of the worst customer service experiences ever that took place today. ? We demanded an apology from an individual who squandered our time and money. ? He at least had the decency to call us after receiving the letter. ? However, when Scott called he began asking us questions the details of which should have been forefront in his mind. ? We had gone over all of it many times before. ? He then asked about the paperwork thinking some was missing. ? Not only wasn’t it missing, but some of the documents were sent twice. ? Needless to say we are thrilled someone else is helping us through the process. ? And the final straw was Scott never apologized.
Long ago, a sales manager told me that sometimes you have to fall on your sword; apologize even if you don’t believe you were in the wrong. ? An apology for phoning 2 minutes late, not knowing if someone is allergic to peanuts or forgetting a detail demonstrates your integrity and desire to please your client. ? By doing this your marketing communication message reflects you truly care. ? It furthers the building of trust and confidence in you, and you will be far more likely to earn repeat business, referrals and testimonials.
Working in integrity and being of the mindset you are there to benefit your clientele will put your business development on auto pilot and you will be headed for a very Smooth Sale!
