| 4 tips for improving your sales team's success | | | | Have your sales reps send handwritten thank-you |
| The year 2007 is now officially almost half over. Is | | | | cards after each first-time sale. Keep track of and |
| your sales team performing at their maximum | | | | contact your customers on important dates such as |
| potential? | | | | the anniversary of the day they started doing business |
| In recent articles, we've covered a range of tips and | | | | with you, their own company anniversary, family |
| techniques to help professional sales people fuel their | | | | birthdays or anything else you can use to build a |
| success. This week, as the height of summer | | | | personal relationship. Plus, make a point of connecting |
| approaches, we're focusing on all the sales managers, | | | | with customers on holidays throughout the year. |
| business owners and sales leaders out there who are | | | | And always, always be on the lookout for any |
| looking for new ways to increase their team's (or | | | | opportunity to refer someone to your customers. If |
| company's) revenues - and improve their profit | | | | you can help your customers grow their business, |
| margins - as we head into the second half of the year. | | | | believe me, they'll be only too happy to take you with |
| If you're in the process of developing your marketing | | | | them. |
| and sales plan for the second half of 2007, the | | | | Tip #4: Make a direct link. |
| following four tips can help you to help your team | | | | The number one mistake I see many |
| improve their sales results, increase their revenues and | | | | business-to-business companies make is allowing all of |
| exceed their sales targets. | | | | their contact with their customers to go through a |
| Tip #1: Love the one you're with. | | | | single sales representative. This can leave you |
| Many companies invest far too much time chasing | | | | vulnerable whenever one of your employees jumps |
| new customers, and far too little making sure their | | | | ship to join one of your competitors. It also leaves too |
| existing customers are happy. | | | | much room for negligence on the part of your reps. |
| Research tells us that selling to an existing customer is | | | | Establish a direct link with each of your customers, |
| between five to fifteen times less expensive (and | | | | regardless of how many layers of distribution lie |
| takes far less time) than acquiring a new customer. | | | | between you. A restaurant owner can do this by |
| Why risk losing something you worked so hard to | | | | coming around and chatting personally with diners. A |
| secure in the first place? | | | | CEO of a large company can do it with a newsletter |
| One sure-fire way to increase your customer retention | | | | or maybe a hotline phone number. |
| rate is to create a monthly newsletter or other | | | | To reinforce this direct link, get in the habit of |
| program that lets you stay in touch with them on a | | | | contacting your customers at various times throughout |
| regular basis. Newsletters can be easy to create, | | | | the year. For example, send them en email to: |
| inexpensive to produce and can even be distributed | | | | - Introduce new products or services; |
| instantly by email. Most importantly, a newsletter can | | | | - Give advance notice (and an explanation) of an |
| help keep you in your customers' top of mind, so | | | | upcoming price or fee increase; |
| whenever they need to buy again, they think of you | | | | - Offer special discounts or premiums; |
| first. | | | | - Provide useful and valuable industry information; |
| Tip #2: Get some feedback. | | | | - Give special recognition to top customers; or |
| A satisfied customer is predisposed to purchase more, | | | | - Announce seasonal sales. |
| purchase more often and even purchase something | | | | Remember the cardinal rule! |
| different than a customer who is less than satisfied | | | | Just remember this one critical rule: tell your entire |
| with your product or service. So what are you doing to | | | | sales story every time you communicate with |
| ensure your customers are satisfied customers? | | | | established customers. |
| The most successful companies poll their clients | | | | Don't take shortcuts or feel that you may be boring |
| immediately following a purchase in order to gauge | | | | them by telling the same story over and over. Don't |
| their level of satisfaction and make any necessary | | | | assume any specific knowledge on the part of the |
| changes to their sales and service programs. If you | | | | customer. And as my first sales mentor once said to |
| haven't gotten any feedback from your customers in | | | | me, don't ever make the mistake of thinking that your |
| a while, pick a day this month for you and your team | | | | customers have an active imagination. |
| to sit down, call your customers and find out how they | | | | Customers have so many things going on today that |
| really feel about you. | | | | they simply can't be counted on to remember all the |
| Ask them specific questions like how they would like | | | | great things about you from one sale to the next |
| to be served by you, what their experience has been | | | | without at least a little prompting. So if you have a |
| like with the various departments in your company and | | | | unique quality, service, price guarantee or other |
| what they would like to see you do differently. You | | | | advantage that sets you apart from the competition, |
| can then use this information to craft a sales and | | | | take a moment to point it out each and every time |
| service strategy that puts what the customer wants, | | | | you deliver a written or verbal sales presentation, and |
| first. | | | | in every newsletter you send out. |
| Sound scary? If so, then you probably need to do this | | | | As sales professionals, we desperately need to place |
| exercise even more. If you receive any negative | | | | a higher value on the customer. That's the message |
| feedback, take action to fix it right away and call the | | | | behind Tom Peters' incredibly successful "In Search of |
| customer back as soon as you have a solution. You | | | | Excellence" movement. It's the message behind |
| may be surprised to see how many customers will be | | | | Blockbuster's "No Late Fees" policy. And it's one of the |
| inclined to buy from you again once the problem is | | | | reasons why, in Canada, cell phone companies have |
| resolved. | | | | finally allowed their customers to "take their number |
| Tip #3: Get connected. | | | | with them." |
| According to a recent Gallup study, emotionally | | | | Make sure it's the message behind your company, |
| connected customers spend 46% more than | | | | your team and your customer service, too. |
| customers who are simply satisfied. | | | | Communicate with your customers often and with |
| How do you create emotional connectedness? Start | | | | emotion, and you'll find your business will really begin to |
| by being personal. | | | | soar. |