The topic for this month’s blog and newsletter is “What it means to serve.” Beginning with the pandemic and continuing into the present, customer service has become quite “iffy.” Let’s take a fresh look at returning our commercial world to consistent, quality customer service.
Although many don’t seem to know it, there is a customer service aspect to sales that can mean the difference between a won and lost deal, and between a happy customer and a miserable one.
The Salesperson Everyone Despises
I have a friend that, without at all having learned the skills involved, went out and tried door-to-door sales. The very first door he came to, the man answering the door snidely said, before my friend could get a word out, “What ya selling?”
Yes, selling has undoubtedly gotten a bad name over the years. The reputation came from salespeople who forcefully pushed their products on people, door-to-door or in stores or at dealerships. We’ve all experienced the pushy salesperson, and nobody likes them.
Servicing While Selling
Here’s the bottom line: when a prospect reaches out to a salesperson, they have interest! If their interest is genuinely addressed and they’re well cared for, they will likely buy even more than they came for. Customer service is vital to making an actual sale.
An example of service importance in sales that I love to point to is in the movie Pretty Woman. You might recall the sequence in which Julie Roberts’ character is shopping on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and an incredibly snobby salesperson refuses to service her, assuming she could never afford the prices. She is totally crestfallen until Edward, the movie’s hero, takes her to another store and sets her up with excellent service. She buys practically the entire store. Afterward, she stops by the original store wearing some of the extremely high-end items and informs the arrogant salesperson that she had made a “big mistake. Huge.”
The Guide
Does a salesperson do better attempting to “sell, sell, sell,” or by acting as a guide for the prospect, showing them how to purchase the product or service the customer actually wants?
My wife Lisa and I have consulted multiple corporations helping them increase or recover their sales. The focus in sales is all too often only on closing (see our best-selling book CLOSING Is NOT Your Problem!). When working with these companies we found that shifting the sales teams’ focus from a strictly closing mentality to one of customer service went a long way to vastly improving sales.
A key piece of advice we always give salespeople is to approach any prospect as if they will be a customer for life. Key to this approach is establishing a high level of trust. Doing so removes the sales focus from closing and instead places it on customer care. We found that making this one change can double a sales team’s closing rate.
The best way to sell is to serve the prospect and make them happy. And that is the direction in which we once again need to move!
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