The Secret to Profitable Customer
Relations
Finding Commonalities and Building
Relationships Are the Keys to Driving
Sales
Successful business owners train their salespeople
to develop a foundation of strong customer relationships.
Why? As with every other purchase decision, individuals
prefer to do business with people they like, with people
who seem genuinely interested in them, and with people
who really care about their concerns. So unless
salespeople are willing to appropriately start and then
nurture the customer relationship, customers won’t
return and they certainly will not refer their
friends.
Some company leaders attempt to educate their sales force
about customer relations by using buzzwords such as total
quality management, customer satisfaction index, zero
defects, client service, etc. But what does all this
really mean to salespeople? After all, many of the
veteran salespeople made it through the ‘80s and
‘90s without all the commotion about quality and
service. So why all the fuss now? Is this just another
fad, some passing fancy that will come and go like
hula-hoops, disco dancing, or designer jeans? Hardly. A
fundamental change is taking place in customer service.
The salespeople who realize this and change with it will
be the people who will be successful in 2002 and
beyond.
Relationships = Sales
Profitable customer/salesperson relationships are built
on a solid foundation of mutual respect and
understanding. And the greater the intended outcome, the
deeper, and stronger that foundation must be. In fact,
the limits of accomplishment, productivity, and
satisfaction within an organization are all a function of
the nature and quality of the relationships the
salespeople have developed with the organization’s
customers.
Successful salespeople know the importance of strong
foundations for customer relationships. However, during
the ‘90s, when the economy was rocking and rolling,
many companies and salespeople were able to build
successful businesses without this fundamental. The tide
has turned though and purchasers of both goods and
services can now afford to be much more selective in
their choice of suppliers. That’s why today’s
salespeople must recognize and appreciate the fact that
they must build rich, quality relationships with their
customers and must orient their companies and their
approaches around assuring outstanding
customer service.
The Relationship Building Process
Developing and nurturing a customer/salesperson
relationship starts with the initial meeting. The worst
mistake any salesperson can make is to get right down to
business when first meeting a prospective customer. At
this point, the salesperson’s objective should be
to build a strong relationship of trust, not to sell any
particular product or service.
During the initial meeting, thank the customer for being
willing to meet with you. Go out of your way to be warm
and friendly. Never sit behind a desk; instead, meet in a
comfortable neutral area and spend 10 to 15 minutes just
getting to know your customer. Do not start the actual
business discussion until you are satisfied that you feel
comfortable with the prospective customer and, even more
important, that the customer is comfortable with
you.
As the conversation proceeds, be sensitive to the
developing relationship. If during the initial
conversation you believe you will not enjoy working with
the customer or if a sense of mutual admiration, respect,
and trust is absent, refer the prospect to a colleague.
This may sound crazy, but should the prospect choose to
do business with you, the customer, your supervisor, and
you will regret it later.
Think back over your own experiences. Every really
disgruntled customer, every customer you later regretted
having worked with, you most likely suspected that
dissatisfaction from the very beginning. Don’t make
the same mistake again. Only work with the customer when
you are certain you will both enjoy doing business
together.
Throughout your dealings with your customer, remember to
always work on what built the relationship in the first
place. Maintain frequent communication with the customer
and continue to check on how he or she is doing. This is
the essence of service. Rather than assuming you’re
doing a good job taking care of the customer, ask the
customer if you are. Find out if he or she is getting
what was expected.
Most salespeople specifically don’t ask the
customer if everything is satisfactory because they
don’t want to find out that it isn’t. This is
a mistake. If the customer is indeed dissatisfied,
it’s far better that you know so you can at least
have a chance to do something about it. If you
don’t ask, on the other hand, the customer will
eventually let you know anyway—either by leaving,
not paying the bill, or complaining about you to others.
None of these alternatives is very desirable.
Periodically, ask the customer if you can do anything
additional for him or her. Your long-term success depends
upon your ability to stay in communication with all your
customers and to keep them informed about products and/or
services that may benefit them. No customer satisfaction
survey can take the place of this kind of personal
contact, old-fashioned courtesy, and genuine
concern.
You Are Your Company
No matter what you’ve heard in the past, your
customers are doing business with you, not your company.
You are, in essence, the human persona of what your
customer envisions your company to be. So while quality
products are important, they are always second to the
relationship you and your customer develop. It’s
those relationships that guarantee continued customer
loyalty, repeat business, and the referral of friends and
family. What makes customers come back and refer others
to you is the simple fact that they like you, and only
you can see to that.
SCOTT HUNTER is a professional speaker, workshop
leader, consultant, and coach. He speaks on creating
meaningful, quality relationships in the workplace to
increase productivity, creativity, teamwork, and
profitability. He can be reached via e-mail at scott@relationshipisthekey.com
.
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June 2002 News for
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