1. Get more from existing buyers. When it’s difficult to grow your business horizontally, look vertically. How can you increase your average volume per sale? What products and services can you cross-sell or up-sell to existing buyers? Can you offer package deals, volume discounts or upgrades that’ll provide an automatic boost?
2. Alleviate buyers’ fears. During a recession one of the biggest obstacles is overcoming buyers’ fear of making a poor buying decision. Uncovering what motivates that fear (e.g., leaving an incumbent supplier, repercussions from upper management, etc.) puts salespeople in a much better position to win the buyer’s business.
3. Qualify, qualify, qualify. When times are tough, managers need to provide reps with the best leads possible. That means identifying which prospects (i.e., SIC, title, region, etc.) are most likely to buy and moving them to the front of your lead pipeline. But it also means having a system in place to ensure salespeople are qualifying prospects early and often. If your average sales cycle has become longer, it’s a sure sign salespeople are wasting time with prospects who are either stalling or have no intention (or power) to buy.

The problem, in many cases, is that salespeople feel awkward asking loyal customers for new referrals. This may be a result of managers not taking the time to train and motivate reps to pursue referrals on a regular basis.

And it may also be the result of these two dynamics, which prevent reps from generating more referrals:

1. Almost 70% of salespeople avoid asking for referrals altogether. The problem in a case like this is that management isn’t making referrals a part of the regular agenda — offering reps as well as customers rewards for constantly pursuing referrals.
2. Only asking once. Statistically speaking, only asking customers for referrals once a year will generate an average of 1.5 new leads per customer, according to a recent article by sales expert Paul McCord. Asking a second time in the same year is proven to generate twice as many hot leads. Asking a third time in one year (the plateau point) is proven to generate three times as many referrals!

Source: “The 10 Biggest Referral Mistakes Salespeople Make,” by Paul McCord, EyesOnSales, 11/1/11.

Changing needs

Salespeople used to organize themselves to meet the needs of the products and services they were selling. That’s changed.

Customers aren’t what they used to be. Now they expect salespeople to concentrate on meeting customer needs.

Here are three reasons why customer relationship management is critical today for every salesperson:

1. Commoditization. When customers are offered a vast number of similar products, all equally capable of doing the necessary job, they begin to see most products as commodities, distinguished only by price.
2. Branding. To differentiate themselves from the competition, salespeople and their companies try to emphasize and cultivate distinct brands. Brand preference and brand loyalty are the new touchstones of customer relationship management.
3. Customer information. To ensure that their products and services meet customer demands, salespeople are now gathering and analyzing customer information like never before.

Customer strategy

Relationship building requires using all available means to discover what the customer values and then supplying it. The key to success is to focus on each individual customer, not on a mass of customers.

IDIC and trust

Customer information is a trust point, not just as asset. Salespeople severely compromise their customer relationships if they violate that trust.

The acronym IDIC stands for the four steps of the customer relationship: identify, differentiate, interact and customize.

• Identify. Standardize the way you collect and analyze customer information. Understand customers’ business issues that can make or break a sale. Gather research that allows customers to be recognized and remembered during every contact. Keep the information current. If you stay focused on customers, you will be able to spot problems or needs and respond quickly before things get out of hand.
• Differentiate. Some customers have a higher value than others. Customers who cost less to serve are higher-margin and higher-value customers than those who cost more. Customers who use more high-margin products or services are also of higher value. Differentiate your customers based on their needs, buying patterns or other relevant characteristics.
• Interact. Interaction with the customer involves both assumptions and understandings. To have a dialogue, you and your customer must accept the possibility that the dialogue will cause a change in their approach, understanding or attitudes.
• Customize. Quantify soft advantages, like quality, reputation, service and reliability and make them tangible. Show how your products and services align with customer needs and priorities. Define how they’ll help the customer.

• They were wooed away by a competitor promising better prices, better service or some other benefit.
• Their organization has changed, and new management is not aware of the strengths of your services or products because this information was not passed on to them by their predecessors.
• You or your company failed to deliver as promised. You or your company let trust or respect erode in the relationship.
• There may also be some hidden reason, such as they have a relative in the business that they deal with now, have lost buying authority or are leaving their organization for another position.

A recent of survey of former customers by a Fortune 1000 company showed  about a third of buyers said they would return to a previous supplier if approached. Obviously, the salespeople who lost the accounts didn’t ask for their business again.

3 steps to a win-back program

A good win-back program encompasses a three-step effort:

1. Find out why the customer stopped buying. Search records for clues, and then call the customer and ask him/her what went wrong. Try to put together a special offer that addresses why you lost the account in the first place.
2. Research the customer’s present situation. The customer’s business may have changed. If you understand what happened, you can create a better offer that will take advantage of those changes.
3. Make contact. Call the former customer and let him/her know you want to get the business back. Chances are you won’t get an immediate appointment. But you will plant the seed. And that will give the former customer an alternative in case he/she runs into problems with a current supplier.

Don’t give up without a fight

Some salespeople who lose a customer go into various emotional reactions: blaming someone, getting angry or running and hiding.

Successful salespeople understand the ebb and flow of business and relationships.

A few suggestions for when you do lose a customer:

• Find out what your competitor did better than you to get the business.
• Don’t assume it was price, even if that’s what you’re told.
• Don’t let it negatively affect your attitude. Keep at it.
• Don’t wipe former customers off your database. Work some of them into your weekly schedule.
• Continue to send your former customer testimonials, articles, etc.
• Have a specific strategy for dealing with lost business.

Adapted from the book 91 Mistakes Smart Salespeople Make by Tim Connor, a full-time speaker and trainer for more than 30 years. He has authored more than 60 books.

An effective follow-up can be a telephone call, fax, e-mail, letter, hand-written note, personal visit or any combination of these.  An effective after-sales service philosophy requires constant vigilance and dedication. Here are eight tips for effective after-sales service to share at your next sales meeting:

1. The customer is not always right. The goal is not to discredit, embarrass, belittle or challenge them in a destructive way. It’s usually better to discover the source or cause of their incorrect perceptions, beliefs or attitudes.

2. The customer is never completely wrong. There’s usually some element of their perception that is a true reflection of reality as they see it. Customers can be informative if we keep an open mind and are receptive to what’s being said. They can help pinpoint distribution or sales methods that need improvement.

3. The customer deserves your best, regardless of the time of day, day of the week, or month of the year. The fact that you worked late last night making an emergency delivery shouldn’t become the customer’s problem. These circumstances and thousands of others like them, if they become the customer’s problem, may cause him or her to switch to a competitor.

4. Don’t pass the buck. Whoever hears about a problem owns the problem. Try to avoid being defensive or upset when a customer brings you a concern or complaint. Accept the fact that the problem exists and help get it solved.

5. Don’t be too busy for your customers and don’t make it difficult for them to do business with you. How many times have you as a customer gotten the feeling that you’re an interruption to another salesperson’s day or workload? Try not o treat customers this way.

6. Say what you will do and do what you say you will. Follow through, keep your promises, honor your commitments, and keep your customer informed of your progress. Customers tend to be more understanding, patient and tolerant if you communicate with them with integrity and in a timely manner.

7. Be interested, care and act like you’re glad the customer is doing business with you. People like doing business with people who appreciate their business. They are usually willing to give more of their business to salespeople who are accommodating and interested.
You show you care by having up-to-date product knowledge and trying to answer all questions the customer may have.

8. Think ahead of the customer with a problem-solving attitude. To prosper and build repeat business, salespeople should try to anticipate customer needs and problems. It will be too late if you wait for the customer to bring their problems to you or communicate their future desires and needs.

Adapted from 91 Mistakes Smart Salespeople Make, by Tim Connor.

Customers ranked response excellence using four criteria:

1. How quickly initial contact with the salesperson is established after problems develop

Customer problems, even minor ones, require instant acknowledgment, even before possible solutions are offered. Many complaints or problems can’t be solved on the initial call. An instantaneous confirmation that the customer’s complaint has been received is the first critical step in an effective response process.

When customers send messages and don’t receive confirmation that they have  been heard, they turn to competitors. Salespeople who ignore or respond too slowly to customer complaints send a negative message. Customers feel that if a salesperson can’t be reached early in the relationship, what will it be like later when some things are taken for granted?

2. Whether salespeople accept personal responsibility for the complaint resolution

Salespeople with the highest customer retention rates don’t blame engineering, manufacturing, shipping or anyone else in their company. They take it upon themselves to follow through with the customer, even when other people are needed to reach a resolution.

They avoid making statements like, “I’ll get right on that and call you back.” A statement like that doesn’t answer critical questions, such as: When will the salesperson return? What is being done? When will the problem be resolved? Customers want to know what the salesperson plans to do, how long it should take and the resolution they can expect.

3. The quality of the salesperson’s response

Preparation is the key to an effective, timely response. A poorly framed response may be more frustrating and stress-producing to new customers than no response at all. There are three necessary components of preparation needed to produce a strong customer response. The first is identifying the kinds of complaints new customers typically make. The second is gathering the information, materials and resources needed to respond to standard customer complaints. The third is the ability to frame the response to specific customer complaints as they arrive.

Preparation means offering a game plan. Customers don’t expect all their complaints to be resolved in a single phone call. They do expect the salesperson to confirm the complaint and recognize the need for a resolution. The best salespeople have a series of questions ready to identify probable causes and begin the resolution process.

4. How the salesperson provides confirmation and feedback

When the customer complaint is resolved, the best salespeople confirm that their customers have received the solutions they expected.

These salespeople get customer feedback regarding the origins and causes of customer requests and the execution of the response. They use this information to improve their own complaint resolution strategies and provide feedback to their companies to prevent future problems.

Adapted from the book Achieve Sales Excellence by Howard Stevens and Theodore Kinni. Stevens is Chairman and CEO of the HR Chally Group, a sales development firm, and Kinni is a business author and journalist.

In his book, Slow Down, Sell Faster! author Kevin Davis explains why presenting solutions too soon in the sales process can lead to a lot of problems, including:

• It shifts the focus away from the customer and on to the salesperson.
• At this point in the sale, the salesperson doesn’t really know the full value of the solution.
• It’s too early for the salesperson to know what problems or opportunities the customer has and doesn’t have – so he or she may end up emphasizing features the customer doesn’t want and miss capabilities they do want.
• It makes the customer feel like they’re being “sold to” and makes the salesperson sound like every other person who’s trying to sell them.

Creating a unique solution

If you don’t know your prospect’s buying criteria, consider it a signal that you haven’t placed enough emphasis on uncovering his or her needs. Until you’ve helped the prospect frame an effective solution for their needs, you won’t know what to emphasize about your product or service. If you resist the temptation to talk about your product or service too early, the prospect may talk about what the solution must do.

Getting prospects to open up

During a meeting with a new prospect, it may be difficult to get him or her to open up. If you sense that a prospect is reluctant to talk, it may be a good idea to take your focus off uncovering problems and put it on potential opportunities for improvement.

Five steps of diagnosis

Here are five steps that may help you get off on the right foot with a new prospect:

1. Break the ice quickly. A good way to do that is to tell the prospect what you already know about his or her business.
2. Establish the big picture. Try to ask a few big picture questions that will help pinpoint a prospect’s goals and obstacles that might be in the way.
3. Ask diagnostic questions. Try to get background facts and current information. You want to identify the difference between what is and what should be.
4. Identify the decision makers. Try to find out who will be involved in the decision, pinpointing the most influential ones. What is the attitude of the most influential decision makers?
5. Remain focused on the prospect’s needs throughout the meeting. It’s not a good idea to offer solutions at this stage. You’re collecting information that will allow you to come up with the right solution.

1. Solid information. Providing valid information tells customers that you respect their ability to make sound decisions. Attempting to persuade them without giving reasons  they should buy your product or service undermines credibility. When prospects recognize that they are respected, they’ll be more open, inquisitive and willing to do business.
2. Options. They may not want to hear that there is only one way or a single solution to meet their needs. Options are essential because they create dialogue and discussion. Once the prospect asks questions and the salesperson responds, a relationship develops that may end in making more sales.
3. Superior communication from salespeople — even though they don’t deliver it themselves. Forget how many of your calls go unanswered or how many times you supply the same information. With downsized staff, prospects depend more on salespeople for immediate feedback, updating or status reporting.
4. Flexibility. Because they have less time to manage their work, they expect new levels of flexibility. Salespeople who are able to offer this flexibility have a big edge.
5. Consulting. They must be satisfied before the sale if they are to remain satisfied after the sale. While it’s important for customers to have a clear understanding of your products or services, what they need is an equally complete understanding of your capabilities. Sending the message that you possess the knowledge and expertise to meet their needs can be invaluable in retaining current accounts and opening new ones.

Providing a great customer experience requires managing many diverse elements. Fail on even one performance dimension, and it can make the whole experience negative for customers.

‘Backward serve’

Caretakers have a clear picture of what the outcome should be, and then work backward from that goal to ensure the reality matches the vision. They develop a sixth sense for anticipating what can go wrong in service encounters.

The caretaker knows that it’s not the lions and tigers that usually doom service quality. It’s the gnats and mosquitoes that are easy to overlook but often deliver pain or aggravation out of proportion to their size.

5 paths to caretaker service

Here’s what caretakers do to that creates loyal customers:

1. They create made-to-order service experiences. Caretakers believe every customer should be treated like the only customer. They are always on the hunt for ways to make the customer’s experience go smoothly and as hassle-free as possible.
2. They plan well and show enough resourcefulness to impress a military intelligence unit. Ever-vigilant and armed with a protective mentality, the caretaker has an abiding attention to detail and acute loyalty to the customer. They are always on the prowl for a service hiccup in the making.
3. They are masters of detail. Caretakers remember the little things about customers. They make mental notes of preferences so they can improve service on the next encounter. They are always looking for ideas they can give to customers to make them feel special.
4. They view policies and processes through the eyes of customers. They don’t see the customer through the lens of the organization. They refuse to accept concepts like “acceptable error rate,” “adequate,” or “satisfactory.” They prefer “precision,” “error-free,” and “excellence” instead. They can quickly size up a prospective service breakdown, spot the weak links waiting to happen and adjust accordingly. Hand caretakers a flawed service process, and they may offer practical ways to repair it or make it more customer-friendly.
5. They are voracious learners and effective teachers. Caretakers are eager learners who are always looking for ways to make things work better. They are usually the first to know what competitors are up to and have their own special methods for delivering good service. They turn many customer relationships into opportunities to offer advice and money-saving tips. They know that if they instruct customers, they will be instructed by their customers in how to provide the most effective service.

Adapted from the book Customer Loyalty Guaranteed by Chip Bell and John Patterson. Bell is the Founder of the Dallas-based Chip Bell Group. Patterson is President of the Atlanta-based Progressive Insights.

If customers aren’t saying these things about your company, it could be a sign you’re about to lose them.

• I trust you with my problems. I feel safe bringing them to you. You provide excellent advice. You encourage me to bring solutions with my problems.
• You’re practical, pragmatic and decisive. You get things done, but you leave space for some “what if” thinking. You help me to tap into my own creativity.
• You’re there when I need you. You help keep the wheels turning. You take the time to evaluate my progress and ensure I’m still aiming in the right direction.
• You’re an expert. You help me see and understand the critical differences between your offering and that of others. You excel at drawing these distinctions.
• You show up with more than one approach to the challenges I’m facing. You’re at your most persuasive when you’re showing me how you weigh one choice against the other. I won’t always agree with you, but watching you think things through will help me think things through.
• I trust your recommendations. I know you’ve done your research or are speaking from experience. This gives me great confidence. You invite me to share my own ideas or insights.

Adapted from the book Standout by Marcus Buckingham, a sales trainer.

Here are three statements that can be said of most prospects, according to sales consultant John Graham:

• They’re more demanding. Whether it’s the Internet or the competitive economy, prospects are more determined to get the most value for their purchases. Some of them go into a sales presentation with a sense of entitlement that doesn’t end with price, quality and service. They expect salespeople to increase their perceived value of the product or service.
• They’re more analytical and more educated about everything involved with the product or service being sold. The key to selling these prospects is to keep them satisfied – find out what they want and give it to them. You’ll be perceived as a consultant, adviser and problem-solver, not simply a person pushing a product or service.
• They expect the salesperson to be an ally, not an adversary. Prospects used to think of themselves on opposite sides of the desk from a salesperson. This is no longer true. Prospects try to establish a sense of rapport, trust and respect with the salesperson. Their current attitude reflects a sense of partnering with the salesperson.

Meeting the needs

Here are what effective salespeople are doing to meet the changing needs of today’s prospects:

• They recognize that customers have increased knowledge about the products or services they’re buying. Salespeople anticipate these higher expectations and use value-added strategies to meet them.
• They create an atmosphere of trust and openness in sharing information with prospects. They try to provide solutions that will help prospects in the long-term. They are much more open and candid in dealing with prospects and trying to develop long-term solutions.
• They recognize their pivotal role of matching the prospect’s increased demands while maintaining the overall profitability of the companies they represent.
• They understand the importance of earning the prospect’s respect. They gain it by showing prospects their conviction and enthusiasm.
• They recognize that this is the age of the expert. Prospects want to buy from a salesperson who has in-depth knowledge and experience to sell them the right products or services.
• They learn from failure and disappointment. They see problems as opportunities to use their creative energies and they look upon obstacles as challenges to be met and overcome. They are not defeated by rejection. They accept failure as a part of life and know that there’s a lesson to be learned in every setback.
• They set goals. They focus on what they want to achieve, establish priorities, and know what they have to do in order to keep moving forward. Their plans are flexible enough to allow for the unexpected, but they always have a specific destination in mind.

Situation No. 1: Customers get the feeling they’re being taken for granted and are no longer receiving the special treatment they had when the account was first opened.

They were pleased with the way they were treated as prospects. But they noticed a difference once they became customers. This approach makes it difficult to maintain a positive relationship that leads to continuing business.

Solution: Building and maintaining trust is essential for making a customer feel special in establishing a long-term relationship.

Situation No. 2: Customers feel salespeople are more interested in finding new, larger accounts than continuing to spend time with them.

Changing the frequency of calls and visits may convince them that a salesperson is looking for bigger and better customers.

Solution: To build loyal customers salespeople need to live inside their customers’ heads, to think customers’ thoughts and to walk their customers’ paths.

Situation No. 3: They get the idea that the only time a salesperson wants to see them is when he/she has something to sell.

Customers are looking for salespeople who constantly show concern — and not simply at the point of sale.

Solution: Consistent cultivation of present customers is one of the best ways to head off customer defections. The objective is to be viewed by customer as a consultant and an expert in their business.

Customers always prefer to work with those who understand their business
and are focused on solving their critical business problems. They’re not likely to switch the business from a salesperson who is providing this kind of expertise.

According to a recent Citigroup study, Facebook now accounts for 16% of all time spent online by U.S. web surfers. Google came in second at 11%, and Yahoo was third at 9%.

What’s more? Most analysts predict Facebook’s popularity will only grow over the next 1-3 years, meaning Facebook is now the official hub of choice for any company looking to connect with customers via the internet.

In fact, a lot of companies have already shifted their online strategy, using the corporate website as a central hub where users can find info and purchase products, while social media, email and blogs are used to attract a captive audience and generate web leads, which are then driven to the company’s website via special offers, social media discounts and email marketing.

Facebook’s recent Marketplace application also offers a place for consumers and companies to buy, trade, sell or rent products right on the site. It’s like a combination of craigslist and eBay, with the advantage of giving users instant access to Facebook’s considerable bank of prospects.

It’s just one of several ways Facebook is slowly — or perhaps very quickly — transforming itself from a social network to the most dominant multi-media resource on the web.

Source: “Facebook Sucks Up a Ridiculously Huge and Growing Share of Our Time Wasted Online,” by Mark Gongloff, Wall Street Journal Online, 9/26/11.

In a recent survey by Sirius Decisions, prospects were asked to evaluate their initial meetings with salespeople. Here are the results:

• 92% said the initial sales call was of little or no value.
• 82% said salespeople had not done their homework in regardss to the buyer’s needs, and
• 71% reported salespeople talked too much about their company and products and not enough about the buyer’s interests and needs.

The typical advice for making a better impression is to step into the shoes of the buyer. Easier said than done, as these four scenarios indicate:

1. The salesperson follows a prepared script,  talking about products or services, not about buyer needs. As a result, the buyer may have to consider solutions that don’t meet his or her needs. Buyers look for fast, clear and simple solutions that are aligned with their needs. When they don’t get them, they usually move on.
2. Buyers are skeptical that the salesperson can deliver as promised. When competition is tough, some salespeople overpromise. It’s much better to make realistic promises, and then keep them. Nothing destroys alignment faster than broken promises.
3. Key buyers in the decision process had little or no contact with the salesperson. As part of due diligence, a seller should try to learn where who the decision makers are.
4. All the vendors look the same, so the buyer bases the decision on price alone. When buyers perceive that all solutions are the same, they tend to base their decision on price alone.

Bridging buying with selling

Bridging buying with selling — and making a meaningful first impression — involves four distinct phases:

1. Recognition of needs, so sales aren’t lost because a prospect isn’t aware of them. The prospect’s most important concern in this phase is to identify a need that justifies the cost of solving it. Some salespeople lose perspective in this phase, forgetting that their task is to build awareness of the problem, increasing the prospect’s consciousness of the need. A better approach is to listen for needs. A good question salespeople ask themselves in this phase is, “What is the prospect thinking?”
2. Resolution of concerns, so sales aren’t lost due to customer anxiety. There are two dangers in this phase. One is to ignore or downplay concerns the prospects expresses in the hop they will simply go away. The other is to try to apply pressure. The most dangerous error at this phase is for a salesperson to sit back and hope or trust that those fears will resolve themselves.
3. Evaluation of options, so sales aren’t lost to a competitor. In this phase prospects have recognized a need. Now they’re weighing the pros and cons, the strengths and weaknesses, of each option. A trap here is for salespeople to fail to recognize that the customer has perceived a need and is ready to look at options. A better strategy is for a salesperson to stay focused on the need to and ask questions that make the problems more serious.
4. Implementation, so sales aren’t lost due to after-sales neglect. A buying decision doesn’t necessarily mean that the sale is done. The overriding danger now is for a salesperson to assume the selling job is done. Research shows that many sales are lost in this phase. Good after-sale follow-u[p and support solidifies sales immediately and for the future. The effective salesperson in this phase shifts emphasis onto installation, after-sale support and all other continuing contacts with the customer.

Adapted from Selling for The Long Run, by Wendy Reed.

1. Work against a competitor with established ties to the prospect. Try to find out how long they’ve dealt with their present supplier and who they used before the switch. What made them change? Do some research. There may be new developments, products or services that your prospects aren’t aware of.
2. Win back lost accounts. Even the best salespeople lose an account now and then. They also know that if they approach their former customers properly, many will come back. They look for specific reasons why customers left. They check account records carefully to see if there were any problems with delivery or quality that went unanswered. They come up with plans to fix problems and share those plans with former customers.
3. Get off to an early start. Many decision makers get to the office early before strategic gatekeepers are in place. They might just pick up their phone or answer the door if a salesperson calls early. They also have more time to listen to a sales presentation before the constant interruptions that may occur later in the day.
4. Be a problem solver. Try to satisfy the customer instead of finding out whom or what caused the problem in the first place. Make sure you have all the information you need before you try to come up with a solution. Understand that how you respond to a problem makes you special in the eyes of the customer.
5. Hold yourself accountable. Salespeople who take responsibility for their actions usually have the best results in sales and customer service. When their new business is down, they look within themselves instead of blaming prospects or business conditions. Some salespeople try to place blame elsewhere when their prospecting efforts fail. Top salespeople set specific goals tied to a clear system for measuring performance and take immediate actions to support their goals.
6. Follow up consistently. The number one complaint customers have about salespeople is a lack of consistent follow-up after they have closed a sale. Follow-up is a great way to show customers they have made good decisions with their purchasing dollars.
7. Add value, not cost. Instead of focusing on price during a sales call, break down all the ways your products can help reduce costs or increase profits. If you provide evidence that your products provide greater ROI than your competitors, a small difference in price is rarely a factor.

Adapted from the book Selling When No One is Buying by Stephan Schiffman, an author and consultant, who has trained more than 500,000 salespeople at firms such as AT&T, Chemical Bank, Manufacturer’s Hanover Trust, Motorola and U.S. Health Care.

1. Knowledgeable. Are your salespeople considered experts in the field? Do they seek out opportunities to speak at conferences? Do they join industry organizations? Most importantly, do they take the time to research every prospect prior to the initial sales call?
2. Professional. Customers describe “professional” salespeople as passionate and persistent, but not pushy. Professional reps also have high levels of integrity, and they offer solutions that help buyers succeed.
3. Thorough. Do salespeople follow up (and follow through) on their promises? Do they cover every detail with prospects and tailor every solution to the prospect’s specifications? Are they efficient?
4. Results-oriented. Results-oriented salespeople quantify the type of ROI a prospect can expect from doing business with them. But they also pride themselves on resolving customers’ issues ASAP, and taking personal accountability for the outcome.
5. Problem-solving. Every salesperson offers a product or service. But what gives top salespeople the edge (in customers’ eyes) is the ability to translate how their offer can help prospects overcome some of their biggest obstacles.
6. Relationship-oriented. Closing a sale isn’t nearly as important as building a relationship. Sales come and go, but solid relationships result in loyalty, referrals, repeat business and trust.
7. Customer-focused. Do salespeople put the customer’s needs before their own? Do they consider the sale from the customer’s perspective? Do they tailor value propositions to each individual customer’s needs?
8. Timely. More than 55% of customers say they’d never do business with a company again if it took more than 24 hours to resolve a service issue.
9. Communicator. Value-added salespeople maintain a constant cycle of contact with customers so they’re the first to know when an issue arises. They also keep customers on top of what’s changing at all times, so the customer isn’t taken by surprise by cost increases or changes to existing products or services.
10. Reliable. Customers love reps who underpromise and overdeliver. Exceeding expectations early on could be the key to earning buyers’ trust (and business) for years to come.

Source: Value-Added Selling by Tom Reilly, TomReillyTraining.com.

More often than not, it’s your salespeople. To deliver great service, exceptional salespeople think of it as a separate and distinct product. They start thinking about service from the customer’s perspective. How were they treated? What did they expect and were their expectations met?

To remain focused on the goal of delivering truly outrageous service, they ask themselves: “How would I treat my most profitable customer?”  Then they apply the answer to all of their customers and prospects.

POS Service

Giving a customer “positively outrageous service” (POS) creates a halo effect for your product or service. The customer feels encouraged and wants to reciprocate.

This reciprocity may include the most powerful marketing medium, word-of-mouth, an enthusiastic, immediate, frequently repeated personal testimonial.

From satisfied to loyal

We all know that a satisfied customer is someone who has had a pleasant experience. A loyal customer is someone who has a relationship with you, values it and resists change.

Loyal customers buy more than satisfied customers. The flip side of these benefits is that loyal customers demand more service. They notice small things, such as waiting too long for service or not being acknowledged and get upset.  Here are some tips to help you satisfy a loyal customer’s complaints:

1. Agree with the customer. When customers are angry, agree with them and share your concern about their problems. This is very different from being angry with the customer. If you agree with the customer, it’s almost impossible for the customer to be angry with you. Agreeing doesn’t mean that you’re accepting blame for the situation for you or your company. It simply sets a better tone for resolving the complaint.

2. Ask for the customer’s input on a solution. Simply asking, “What will make you happy?” is a good way to solve a problem. This straightforward question can establish a common ground for finding a reasonable solution.

3. Take responsibility. You can solve the problem, learn something and help your customer all in one process if you take charge. Customers usually ask for less once you offer to help. Once they have a complaint resolved, customers usually move toward the loyalty end of the scale.

Adapted from Why Service Stinks and Exactly What to Do About It, by Scott Gross.

One of the keys to handling a price increase successfully is determining how and why each buyer uses your product or service.

Some important questions for salespeople to consider:

• Does the buyer compensate for the price of your product or service by charging their customers more? If so, the major issue will be helping buyers justify an increase to their customers.
• Are all of your competitors raising their prices as well? If so, the increase could provide an opportunity. If you’re raising prices by a lower percentage than competitors, that could be a valuable selling point. You can even provide a chart that shows your percentage increase compared to top competitors, so buyers can see how much they’re saving long-term by staying with you.
• How much does the buyer rely on your product or service? If a buyer relies heavily on you, explain that the increase is necessary to maintain the top-notch quality they’ve come to expect.
• Why did the customer agree to do business with you in the first place? This is the key to most buyer relationships and it often holds the key to keeping them as customers. Determine why each buyer prefers you to the competition. Whatever the reason, use that as the focus when explaining why the hike is necessary.

Navigating a price increase has a lot to do with how salespeople manage buyer expectations in the time leading up to the change.

Here are some steps top managers insist salespeople follow when prepping for an increase:

• Give the buyer lead-in time. The more notice you give, the better. Proactive salespeople make it a point to personally discuss the price increase with buyers via phone or in person. That way salespeople are viewed as advocates, looking out for the buyer’s best interest. More importantly, it ensures buyers don’t find out about the increase via direct mail (or a bill) — circumstances which can really drive buyers away.
• Get Service up to speed early. Buyers contact Customer Service whenever they have a question about price. Avoid any snafus by informing Customer Service of the price increases ASAP. Provide specific instructions for handling any question buyers might have.
• Get salespeople on board. Price hikes are just as awkward for salespeople as they are for buyers. Top managers meet with salespeople in advance to explain why the increases are necessary, answer any questions salespeople have, and build belief in the fact that this is the best way for your company to continue offering the quality buyers have come to expect.
• Get senior execs involved. When prices go up, buyers often demand to speak to “someone in charge.” Appease them by having high-level execs agree to take some phone calls regarding the increase. It makes buyers feel like their business is important, and it also gives them a renewed sense of confidence about their relationship with your company.

While traditional sales organizations compete on issues of price, service and quality, “engagement” (i.e., the level of loyalty buyers have to a company or brand) is the real key to boosting business during an unsure economy.

Customers become “engaged” with businesses based on consistent, positive interactions over the course of time.

There are four specific motivators (or drivers) that lead to higher levels of engagement, according to a well-known Allegiance Marketing study:

1. Protection — How strongly do you guarantee each buyer’s investment? How do they know they’re safe doing business with you?
2. Confidence – Are buyers always kept in the loop about new products or changes to existing ones? How do you reinforce the notion they’re receiving the best value on the market?
3. Appreciation – How do buyers know you value their loyalty? Do you offer buyer rewards or preferred customer status based on loyalty and purchase levels?
4. Service – Do salespeople maintain consistent contact? Is there a system to ensure problems are resolved quickly and efficiently?

Because engagement is such a qualitative measure, it’s often difficult for organizations to measure the impact they’re having with buyers.

Here are some indications that buyer engagement initiatives are actually paying off:

• Increase in revenue – Higher levels of engagement lead customers to buy more (and more often).
• More referrals — Engaged buyers are motivated to send more business your way (top companies offer incentives to encourage referrals).
• Less customer turnover – Engaged buyers are loyal buyers.
• More feedback – Engaged customers feel more comfortable sharing feedback about what they like (and don’t like), mostly because they view their relationship with your company as more of a partnership.

Ritz-Carlton, Netflix and Google are always among the top 10 companies in the country when it comes to engaging buyers, according to PeopleMetrics Annual Customer Engagement Study.

While each of these companies serves a different niche, there are two things all three have in common:

1. Constant interaction with buyers. One in four customers never contact a company when they have a problem or concern. Top companies take proactive steps to avoid that and resolve issues ASAP (e.g., Netflix asks renters for email feedback on every DVD they view and encourages subscribers to contact them 24/7 if any issues arise).
2. Strong emphasis on employees. Best-in-class companies consider employees their most valuable resource. They provide frequent bonuses and incentives for dedication and first-class service. They also treat employees with tremendous respect to ensure high levels of commitment (e.g., Ritz-Carlton refers to all employees as “ladies” and “gentlemen”).

The annual PeopleMetrics study reveals companies that achieve high levels of buyer engagement enjoy three benefits:

1. Fully engaged buyers recommend a brand or company to friends and business associates four times more often than ambivalent customers.
2. 13% of fully engaged buyers post to a blog, website or message board about their experience.
3. A fully engaged buyer visits the company’s website twice as often (and makes three times as many online purchases).

Nearly 70% of buyers  who leave do so because they feel a company (or individual salespeople) are indifferent to their needs.

It’s an alarming stat, and it drives home the potential impact that service after the sale (or lack thereof) can have.

Questions to ask

Do salespeople have a regular cycle for following up with buyers? Do they handle buyers’ questions or concerns personally? Does management have any way of knowing or tracking whether they do or not?

With competition at an all-time high in most industries, building (and maintaining) buyer relationships is more important than ever.

Almost a third of companies use email as their primary means of communicating with buyers. In fact, some managers insist salespeople maintain a regular cycle of email contact with buyers.

Some salespeople send a monthly update to all their buyers that includes cutting-edge industry news or tips for improving their businesses.

Others prefer to send a personal email so they can build rapport and cement the relationship. Establishing a constant cycle of online contact allows salespeople to stay on buyers’ radar without the disruption of a regular phone call.

It also makes the buyer more comfortable about contacting the salesperson with any concerns. If a problem does arise, it significantly increases the chance salespeople will have an opportunity to handle the problem before the buyer becomes dissatisfied (note: 14% of buyers leave because they’re dissatisfied with a product or service).

Rewards programs

Top-notch buyer rewards programs should achieve two objectives:

• Increase loyalty by giving buyers a reason to continue doing business with your company, and
• Boost sales by giving buyers incentives to increase the size or frequency of their purchases.

In addition to customer reward programs that entitle buyers to discounts and rebates after reaching certain volume levels, there are other incentives that won’t cost your company a thing.

Consider publicly acknowledging buyers who have stayed with your company for five or ten years. Present them with a plaque (or some similar award), and perhaps hold a small luncheon in their honor.

Some companies even create buyer “levels” (e.g., preferred customer, gold member, executive level, etc.).

As buyers achieve preferred status by staying with the company or reaching certain long-term purchase levels, they become entitled to V.I.P. treatment and other amenities.

Most salespeople have buyers who take up a great deal of their time.

Unfortunately, while salespeople are catering to buyers who provide little or diminishing returns, profitable buyers may be slipping through their fingers.
Perform an audit to determine how much each buyer contributes to overall revenue.

Take discounts and concessions into account so the audit is based on net profit. Then break down the list so salespeople can see which buyers they should be devoting their time to (and which ones are wasting their time and energy).

Based in part on “Why Your Customers Leave You,” by Colleen Francis at EyesOnSales.com