Category: Customer Service

Article Contributed by Art Gould

Having worked for several years as a division manager for a busy self-storage facility, it didn’t take me long to realize that the key to success in my business is having a complete understanding of my customers. There are several factors in play that might cause a present or future customer to choose me over one of my competitors. But every person is different and it is up to me to find out what each client considers important.

• Location. They want a place that is close by and they don’t even consider price. Others don’t mind traveling far as long as my price is the lowest.
• Cleanliness
• Security.
• Unit Size
• High-Tech Access. They want keypad control and don’t want to mess with keys and locks.

The point is that everybody is different. And the only way I am going to make my customers happy is to get to know each one of them well enough so that I know what makes him or her tick.

The kind of business that I manage is not defined by set transactions, where the customer comes in, buys something, pays for it, and leaves. Yes I am selling a product (storage unit rentals). But the storage unit is only part of the story. In reality what I am really selling is myself. The type of customer I need to please is someone who is going to stay with my company over a prolonged period of time. Therefore it is vitally important that I build and maintain a strong and lasting relationship with that person. Over many years of striving to make this happen, I have refined what some might call a “sales strategy” even though it seems nothing at all like what most people think of as a typical sales approach. The strategy consists of two basic elements: lots of questions and lots of listening! Let me explain.

My typical workday is not spent behind a desk. Instead I spend most of my time walking the floors, wandering around the storage units where my customers are. And when I see a customer, I never hesitate to seize the opportunity to build and nurture that relationship I talked about. This is also my chance to put my sales strategy to work. It starts with a small-to-medium dose of familiar small talk which soon evolves, almost imperceptibly, into a line of questioning that I try to conduct in a very gentle and unobtrusive way. While trying to make the questions flow as naturally as possible from the drift of the conversation, I am also careful to make sure the type of questions I ask fall into one of three categories:

1. The open-ended question: This is the type of question that induces my customer to answer it by doing a lot of talking. In other words, I make sure to ask questions that can’t be answered by a yes, no, or maybe. Instead, my questions elicit a detailed response; for example, “What kinds of things do you use your storage unit for?”
2. The clarifying question: In response to a statement my customer makes, I will often ask her to clarify by asking a question like, ‘Are you really saying such-and-such?” Sometimes I do this even when I understand perfectly what my customer just said. My goal is to demonstrate that I not only am listening intently to what my client is saying but that I am doing my best to completely understand it.
3. The sympathetic question: This one is easy because all I do is listen to something my customer says and then clarify their point in the form of a question. By re-stating his own thoughts, my customer gets the clear message that I am not only listening but am also sympathetic to his feelings.

Asking questions is one key facet of my sales strategy but the other is doing a LOT of listening. And believe it or not, this is even more important than asking the questions. Keep in mind that getting the customer to do most of the talking accomplishes two goals: (1) it helps me get to know my customer better: what he likes, what he wants, how I can best help him, etc.; and (2) it makes my customer feel important, which only serves to strengthen the bond between us.

My sales strategy has proven to be as successful as it is simple! Why? Because it provides me with a complete understanding of my customers and it cements a bond of trust and loyalty between us. In my business, nothing is more important because customers are the key to my company’s success.

About the Author:

Art Gould is a division manager with Self Storage Company, which operates a group of websites, including a Colorado Springs self-storage locator. Though busy, Art enjoys meeting new people and clients when traveling to sites, like Lakewood or the Denver self storage center.

Article Contributed by Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica

Every business owner and organization knows if they want to attract and retain more loyal customers, they need to provide high-quality customer service. That’s why organizations today focus heavily on communicating how valuable their customers are to the organization. Now, the question is… How much do they truly value their customers?

Most of you probably had the experience of being a “valued” customer, yet you didn’t feel valued at all! For example, you call a company for either customer service or to order one of their products and you enter into the electronic triage system only to be put on hold. You’re told: please stay on the line, your call is important to us.  Sometimes we dutifully follow the electronic request, and we wait, and even wait longer.  Other times we hang up in pure frustration.

Or, have you been asked to complete a customer satisfaction questionnaire?  Again, you are told that your comments are “very important to us”.  Really?

How maddening it is when you have taken the time to complete such surveys after receiving poor service, spelling out in detail what the issue was and why you were dissatisfied, only to receive no acknowledgement of your issue or concern?

Perception, as we have heard endless times, is reality.  The reality here is that you won’t go back or use them in the future. And likely, you will tell your friends!

We believe that providing excellent customer service should be an obsession.

Here Are Our Growth without Sabotage™ Tips That Will Help Your Organization Differentiate Your Customer Service

¨      Have a real, live person answer all of your calls. If you cannot have someone answer all your calls, subscribe to a voice message service and include a message that you will return all calls within one business day – and do it If  it is late in the day, it can acceptable to wait till the next business morning.  Remember, the message and perception in timing/promptness is, “you count”– you are important and a priority to me.

¨      Return emails within one business day (two days maximum)

¨      Learn to be comfortable introducing yourself by your full name. When meeting in person, look at people directly in the eye, especially when you first meet them and insure you know how to give and reciprocate a firm handshake.

¨      Insure you clearly understand the customer or prospects need and priorities.  Do this by listening sincerely and asking clarifying questions. Listen FIRST and actively listen more than you talk. Ask questions to clarify your understanding of your prospect’s motivation to buy – but do so respectfully and carefully.

¨      Keep agreements you make to the prospect or the customer. When you say you will do something, do it when you said you would do it. Emergencies should be the only exception.

¨      Eliminate negative surprises for the customer. If there is a problem, acknowledge it quickly, apologize if appropriate and do your best to fix the problem to the customer’s satisfaction.

¨      Always have your clients’ and prospects’ best interest in mind. Think of ways you can help them improve their needs to be in the forefront.

¨      Think of the long term sale. That means go slow, don’t push now to sell or attempt to up-sell. Think of the longer-term relationship and resulting opportunities forthcoming.

¨      Warming- Flirting and fawning are forms of overselling (as well as demeaning) yourself. Realize how unprofessional and damaging these behaviors are with your customers and prospects.

¨      Warning – Don’t expect the customer to understand that you are busy or short staffed. They won’t and they shouldn’t have to.

You may be thinking that this is obvious.  Yes, indeed, it is not rocket science. While it may be obvious, the truth is that it is also frequently not practiced.   And because it is not done well or consistently, it represents a key differentiator.

You need to capture the attention of your future customers and keep your current customers. Without consistent excellent customer care, customer loyalty is improbable, especially in this economy where buyers are more cautious.  Now more than ever in business, we need to find ways to differentiate ourselves. We find that customer service is a simple yet powerful differentiating strategy.

About the Authors:

Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica are management consultants with more than 50+ years of combined experience in helping organizations improve their business performance. They say, failing to improve customer service by showing your clients that you value them is just one way to sabotage your business growth. Get their complete “Self-Sabotage in Business White Paper” now at: http://www.kubicalaforestconsulting.com/resources.php

Article Contributed by Mark Hunter

Sell to the customer’s value expectations, not to your value propositions.

We’ve all heard the rule of listening to what the customer has to say, and there’s not a salesperson who thinks they don’t listen to the customer.  Reality, however, is quite the opposite.  I find time after time when I’m working with salespeople across any number of industries that the failure to listen is a huge issue.

Too many salespeople believe because they know the products they represent much better than the client, they know exactly what the customer will see as real value.  Yes, you as the agent are going to have a general indication of what a typical customer wants. However, when it comes to interacting with a specific customer, you can’t rely on a “general indication” of value.

The only way you are going to know what a customer will place value in is by asking them and getting them to tell you what they’re looking for. Sounds simple enough, and yet so many salespeople don’t do it.

If you don’t believe what I am saying, then let me share about the situation my wife found herself in while buying a car.  The car she was looking at was an SUV with all the amenities of what people expect when looking for an SUV (4-wheel drive, ability to handle rugged winter driving, etc).  The salesperson continued to press my wife on the value of these features of the SUV. The problem was that my wife wasn’t particularly interested in those features.  Yes, we wanted an SUV, but my wife — the primary driver of the vehicle — was looking for an amazing sound system and heated, comfortable seats.

I can’t tell you the number of salespeople who lost the sale because they failed to understand what my wife’s value expectations were with regard to the car.  We could easily have been sold on an SUV other than the one we bought, had the salesperson listened and put aside their pre-conceived notions of what a “typical buyer” of an SUV might be most interested in.

I share this example so that you can see that it’s not just about “understanding” this dynamic; it’s about learning from it and changing how you interact with customers.  The learning is simple: Listen to what the customer is saying. They will tell you what their needs are when you ask them the right questions.  This means not only do you need to ask the right questions, but you also need to hear what the customer is telling you and then ask them a follow-up question on what they just told you.  Asking the follow-up question is key, because the vast majority of time, the customer will share with you much better insights when you show interest and involvement in what they’re telling you.

Once a person feels the other person is truly listening, it’s only natural for the quality of the conversation to become more real and engaging.   By asking the follow-up questions, the salesperson will learn what the customer’s value expectations are. The salesperson can then finally work to close the sale to the customer’s expectations. When that happens, they will do more than just close the sale. There is a significant likelihood the sale will be closed at a higher profit, because the customer sees more value in what they’re buying.

About the Author:

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter,” is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability.  For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip, or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com. You can also follow him on www.Twitter.com (TheSalesHunter), on www.LinkedIn.com (Mark Hunter), and on his Facebook Fan Page, www.facebook.com/TheSalesHunter.

Article Contributed by Sharpenz

The search for lost customer sales treasure does take work – but the upside of the effort is huge. Lost customers make great future customers. You never know what hidden gems of business you might find in your lost customers.

Once you’ve identified lost customers with the potential of becoming great new customers, ask
yourself a few questions:

1. Are the reasons they stopped being a customer relevant any longer?
2. What value might you provide them today?
3. What experiences have you had since you last spoke that would help them?
4. What information would help them right now?
5. What questions should you ask them?

Once you’ve answered these questions and you’re confident that it’s time to revisit your relationship, make CONTACT!

Here’s a sample re-connection to help get you started: “Hi Gary, it has been a long time. We continue to help companies such as yours increase xyz or decrease abc. When we worked together, we provided you with the product you needed at exceptional cost and deliver time. With all the market changes we’ve still been able to help companies with increasing
xyz. And I didn’t forget about you!”

Then turn the focus to THEM! And be prepared to listen. Maybe there is information you don’t know about why they are no longer a customer. This should be addressed first. Then you can move into a series of open-ended questions that will allow you to see if there is an opportunity to work together again. Some examples:

• “How is this economy affecting your business?”
• “What is most important to you these days?”
• “What are you currently working on?”
• “What new trends do you see emerging?”
• “How has the change in supplier been working for you”

Looking for lost customers really works. In the past month, we’ve reconnected with former customers and found that some of them have done NOTHING since we worked with them. They haven’t left us for someone else at all, but we haven’t done business with them in a while. Now that we made the effort to re-open the discussion, we are moving through the sales process to see how we can help them this year. And the process is easier because they know us and we know a lot about them.

What’s your best approach to re-engage a lost customer?

About the Author
Sharpenz is dedicated to providing sales managers the resources and tools they need to energize, engage and equip their sales team to sell each week. Our 30-minute power sales booster meetings help companies increase sales by providing the right tools and training – fast. Designed with the busy manager in mind, Sharpenz ready-to-go sales training kits will give
your sales team the opportunity to grow and earn more – all in a half hour of power. To learn more, visit www.sharpenz.com and sign up for your free ready-to-go sales training kit today!