There Needs to be a "C" in "Selling"

Slowing down the sales process so that the professional sales person can collect enough of the right information is critical.  The sales person must start by using their ears and mouth in the exact proportion that God designed--listening twice as much as we talk.  Far too often we are so tempted to "explode" on our customers with all of the product knowledge we have--and we launch into a boring monologue that the customer wishes would end.

Why not instead control the selling situation by asking key questions about the customer's needs?  Be sure you've done your advance research first, but ask:

1.  What are the type of business segments in which you operate?
2.  What do you find most challenging in this?
3.  When you are evaluating suppliers and partners, what types of things have you found difficult to find in most of them?
4.  Would ________ be of value to you?
5. We've found that  __________ has been helpful for other customers. Would this be of value to you?

Those are just 5 of the many questions you should be asking--before you get down to selling.  In fact, the answers you get from the customer will tell you exactly how to sell them.

The "C" in selling is "consultative," and if you're not practicing it, your competitor is.

"It's Our Policy, Grandma"

Jeffrey Gitomer, the self-acclaimed "America's #1 Sales Authority" wrote a book called "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless."  The book was put in my hands several years ago by my friend, colleague, and mastermind partner Rick VanDermyden--and I want to encourage YOU to put it in your OWN hands.

Customer service teams make or break successful business retention and new business recruitment. I have distributed this book to my customer service teams in the past--and made it a case study for the "right" ways to approach the customer interaction.

There is one section in Gitomer's book that is so insightful that it helped create the subject line of this blog post.  To quote from the book:

"Every time you speak to a customer, end it with "Grandma." If it sounds like something you would say to your grandmother or your grandmother would want to hear, then say it. If not, don't"

Gitomer's examples:

• Sorry, we're closed Grandma.
• What is this in reference to Grandma?
• It's our policy, Grandma.

He goes on. "If you wouldn't say it to your grandma, why would you say it to your customer?  There are lots of phrases you use every day that irritate customers, and you have no clue until you insert "Grandma" at the end."

There are many that argue the customer service team, or "inside office team," is the most important part of customer satisfaction and retention.  I am one of the believers.  Field sales people get all the attention, blame, and glory--but if the inside team or customer service group isn't UNBELIEVABLY professional, friendly, and customer-focused,  then the game is lost at the first phone call. 

The following is straight from Jeffrey Gitomer's website about the book. I say again, buy one for yourself, one for each of your people who touch your customers, and then lead your inside sales team through a several week group reading of the book.  You'll be very pleased that you did.

From Jeffrey Gitomer's Website

Here are Jeffrey Gitomer's 3.5 compelling reasons why you and every employee in your company must own this book, must read this book, and must act on the principles of this book:

1. It contains a game plan that any customer-serving employee, salesperson, manager, executive or entrepreneur can enact to ensure loyal customers.
2. Any front-line employee can read it and "get it." Any front-line employee can read it and "do it."
3. Customer Loyalty is the measure of your present and future success.
3.5 Your competition may already own this book.

From the Table on Contents:

Part I: Customer, the Source of your Paycheck

1. Introducing the Most Important Person in the World
2. Introducing the Customer (Help!)
3. The Reality of Service -- Lousy, Satisfactory, or Memorable?
4. Who's Wrong? What's Wrong?

Part II: The Right Principles Create the Right Words

5. Principles, NOT Policy
6. Three BIG Factors: 1. Get Real. 2. Get Friendly. 3. Get WOW!
7. What's the Word Out on You
8. The (Secret) Service Success Formula
9. If you Talk Stupid, They'll Get Angry
10. It's Not the Apology That Matters...It's the Recovery That Count
11. Benchmarks Set the Standards... for Best Performance
12. Put Your Job Skills to the Test

Part III: Lessons from the Real World

13. Lessons I Learned Sleeping in Someone Else's Bed
14. Lessons I Learned Shopping in Someone Else's Store
15. Lessons I Learned Flying in Someone Else's Airplane
16. Lessons You Never Learned in School
17. Loyalty Lessons from the Real World

Part IV: Loyalty -- The Final Frontier

18. The Loyalty Answers for the Company and You
18.5 Loyalty Mission: The End of Satisfaction

What Are You Talking About?

What's the conversation at your board or conference room table?

A) Are you first talking about what's working before what's not?  Are you talking about customers, their needs, finding them, satisfying them, and holding onto them?  Are you talking about how to beat your competitors and what products your current and future customers need that you can make?

Or

B) Are you talking about widgets and manufacturing?  Product design initiatives and laborious process issues?

News is, both are equally important.  But make sure you spend equal time on both.  Our tendency is to fall in love with our products, plants, and processes.  But make sure you give your customers attention, as well as paying attention to your markets, the needs, the competitors, and all the stakeholders involved.

Seth Godin said it this way in a recent blog:

What (people) want

What do customers, friends, the socially networked, users, neighbors, classmates, servers, administrators, employees... maybe even brands... want?

notice me
like me
touch me
do what I say
miss me if I'm gone

Pay attention to what matters.

What's Your Company Culture?

Innovative? Risk averse? Customer centric? Entrepreneurial?

There's a culture within your company.  Your people reflect it--and the leader at the top sets it.  Are you WHO you want your customers to experience?  Why or why not? 

If the answer to your question isn't what you think is right--ask your customers.  They'll tell you.  But deep inside--you really know, don't you? 

Most great companies are really clear about this--and at the end of the day--their customers are (1) at the top of the org charts, (2) in the center of everyone's efforts and focus, and (3) why the company exists.

Are you there?  Is your customer?