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Relationships Last A Lifetime!
posted: Friday, July 31, 2009
The fundamentals of any good salesperson begin and end with the level of customer service that they provide. In this day and age, all salespeople are basically selling the same products. There is not a tremendous difference in the product from one retailer to another. There is a tremendous difference in the people from one retailer to another. So what separates them is customer service. Just like the product, most, if not all, salespeople provide excellent customer service during the actual sale. Today I want to take a different approach to looking at customer service. I want to show you that the best customer service begins before the sale and extends well beyond the sale's completion.
We've discussed how important it is to prepare and how the right preparation leads to more sales. That preparation includes preparing to provide the best customer service possible. Now it is impossible to know who is going to come and see you on a given day, but that doesn't mean you cannot prepare. It boils down to doing and keeping up with your homework. Know your product and the changes that have occurred or are about to; be aware of sales and specials that your company may be running and so on. The most important thing you can do, though, is get yourself into the right mental spot. In short, be ready to serve each and every customer as they walk through the door.
While customer service before the sale is important, customer service after the sale is vital. Just because a sale is completed does not mean your relationship with that customer ends. In reality, it has just begun, especially if we are talking about larger goods or services. The customer made a purchase. This means that they are probably pretty happy with both what they bought and the service you provided.
This is where we earn repeat customers and referrals. Again, as a reminder: follow up calls, thank-you notes and generally, just making sure that they remain happy should be your goal after the sale.
Customer service during the sale is always the most important, but it begins before the sale and should continue long after the sale is complete. The actual transaction takes minutes, the relationship lasts a lifetime.
FINAO - Brad Huisken - President, IAS Training
We've discussed how important it is to prepare and how the right preparation leads to more sales. That preparation includes preparing to provide the best customer service possible. Now it is impossible to know who is going to come and see you on a given day, but that doesn't mean you cannot prepare. It boils down to doing and keeping up with your homework. Know your product and the changes that have occurred or are about to; be aware of sales and specials that your company may be running and so on. The most important thing you can do, though, is get yourself into the right mental spot. In short, be ready to serve each and every customer as they walk through the door.
While customer service before the sale is important, customer service after the sale is vital. Just because a sale is completed does not mean your relationship with that customer ends. In reality, it has just begun, especially if we are talking about larger goods or services. The customer made a purchase. This means that they are probably pretty happy with both what they bought and the service you provided.
This is where we earn repeat customers and referrals. Again, as a reminder: follow up calls, thank-you notes and generally, just making sure that they remain happy should be your goal after the sale.
Customer service during the sale is always the most important, but it begins before the sale and should continue long after the sale is complete. The actual transaction takes minutes, the relationship lasts a lifetime.
FINAO - Brad Huisken - President, IAS Training
