12
Customer Dos & Don'ts
Use these quick and easy rules to make sure your customers
keep coming back for more.
It's easier to sell to existing customers than to acquire
new ones, so it's good sense to keep the customers you've already got.
Here are some simple rules to ensure that customers continue
to come back for more.
DO put connection before content. Clients
don’t want you to sell to them; they want you to genuinely care about them.
Take the time to build a personal connection before you start talking business.
DON'T badmouth the competition. Only
people who are insecure try to build themselves up at the expense of others.
Show your competitors the same respect you'd want if the positions were
reversed.
DO focus on individuals, not
companies. You may be selling to an organization, but you’re doing it
through an individual. Remember: ABC Inc. is not going to buy your offering;
but Joe might.
DON'T give a sales pitch. Pitches are
a great way to shut people down and pigeonhole you as a hustler. Even when
speaking to a group, make the interchange a conversation, not a lecture.
- Read
more: Fix your
elevator pitch
DO engage with customers as equals. The
client conversation should contain a feeling of mutuality rather than talking
down to or being subservient to your clients.
DON'T attempt an "end run." Bypassing
a client or customer contact who is ambivalent or hostile will create an enemy
for life. That person will constantly work against you ... from the inside. You
don't want that.
DO keep the conversation mutual. Your
goal is to earn your client’s trust by connecting with them, thereby creating a
sense of safety. You can’t do that if you’re yakking away.
DON'T pull your punches. Never be afraid to
tell clients what they need to know if you feel they might be making a
mistake–especially if that mistake involves buying your product.
DO be willing to play “little league.”
Even if you know there’s a huge (i.e. big league) opportunity, shove your
own agenda aside and focus on whatever game this client wants to play right
now.
DON'T play negotiation games. That
stuff you read in the "How to Negotiate" books? Forget it. You're
trying to forge a relationship, not win a zero-sum competition.
DO self-disclose when appropriate. Human
beings buy from human beings. Rather than talking purely business, it's OK to
occasionally bring up family, hobbies, or whatever will be of real interest to
you and your clients.
DON'T mistake apathy for loyalty. The
surest sign that a client is about to switch to another vendor is a lack of
enthusiasm for you and your offering.
This above is loosely
based on a conversation with Susan Scott, author of the
best-sellers Fierce
Conversations and Fierce
Leadership. If you found this column helpful, click one of
the "like" buttons or sign up for the free Sales Source "insider" newsletter.
Geoffrey James is an award-winning
journalist who has written hundreds of articles on sales and marketing, and has
helped thousands of sales professionals. James' latest book is How to Say It:
Business to Business Selling. @Sales_Source
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