Wednesday, September 21
Stop Selling Yourself Short
Selling and Client Relationships: Stop Selling Yourself Short
"The sale is closed. Time to move on." This line of thinking costs sales
professionals big money every day. When you've made a sale, the real work
begins. And the sooner it begins, the more depth and structure you will add
to your relationship with your new client.
Create a follow-up communication timeline before, during, and after client
delivery. Keeping your client informed of progress and what they can expect
next is a hallmark of true sales professionals.
Also, once you've systematized your contact points, your series of notes,
phone calls, visits, and check-ins, it will be much easier to deliver that
level of consistent service on the next order and for the next client. Don’t
let success be a once-in-a-while accident!
Post-sales follow-up is not magic. It’s not hard. And it’s not something you
should be doing “when you have the time” anymore than selling should be
something to do “when you have the time”!
And we’re not talking about follow-up for the sake of follow-up. Follow-up
has some very specific objectives and fills some very specific functions,
such as:
* Shows gratitude
* Affirms buyer’s decision
* Minimizes/eliminates buyer’s remorse
* Addresses potential challenges as they arise (before they grow into something worse)
* Identifies upcoming needs to develop more sales
* Retains customers and lock out competitors
* Obtains referrals & word-of-mouth prospects
From an implementation standpoint, the ingredients of your follow-up system might include some or all of the following:
* Thank you phone call
* Thank you email
* Thank you note
* Thank you gift
* An initial check-in phone call immediately following implementation
* A feedback phone call or letter after 30 or 60 days of usage of product/service
* An annual/ quarterly/ monthly feedback call or letter
* An annual/ quarterly/ monthly breakfast/ lunch/ dinner to address needs or for maintaining ongoing communication and deepening 2-way relationships.
* Send a helpful third party book addressing another area where you have a solution
* Send a customer newsletter with helpful ideas for their particular world (business or home)
* Send relevant industry news stories or trade magazine articles
* Give a headquarters tour of your company to your clients
* Call or arrange a meeting or lunch where you can ask for referrals
* Send several pre-written postcards with stamps for your customer to send to THEIR friends/ colleagues who might benefit by talking with you about your product/ service
* Send referrals TO your customer for THEIR business.
Stop selling yourself short. A sale is your starting gun, not the finish line!
"The sale is closed. Time to move on." This line of thinking costs sales
professionals big money every day. When you've made a sale, the real work
begins. And the sooner it begins, the more depth and structure you will add
to your relationship with your new client.
Create a follow-up communication timeline before, during, and after client
delivery. Keeping your client informed of progress and what they can expect
next is a hallmark of true sales professionals.
Also, once you've systematized your contact points, your series of notes,
phone calls, visits, and check-ins, it will be much easier to deliver that
level of consistent service on the next order and for the next client. Don’t
let success be a once-in-a-while accident!
Post-sales follow-up is not magic. It’s not hard. And it’s not something you
should be doing “when you have the time” anymore than selling should be
something to do “when you have the time”!
And we’re not talking about follow-up for the sake of follow-up. Follow-up
has some very specific objectives and fills some very specific functions,
such as:
* Shows gratitude
* Affirms buyer’s decision
* Minimizes/eliminates buyer’s remorse
* Addresses potential challenges as they arise (before they grow into something worse)
* Identifies upcoming needs to develop more sales
* Retains customers and lock out competitors
* Obtains referrals & word-of-mouth prospects
From an implementation standpoint, the ingredients of your follow-up system might include some or all of the following:
* Thank you phone call
* Thank you email
* Thank you note
* Thank you gift
* An initial check-in phone call immediately following implementation
* A feedback phone call or letter after 30 or 60 days of usage of product/service
* An annual/ quarterly/ monthly feedback call or letter
* An annual/ quarterly/ monthly breakfast/ lunch/ dinner to address needs or for maintaining ongoing communication and deepening 2-way relationships.
* Send a helpful third party book addressing another area where you have a solution
* Send a customer newsletter with helpful ideas for their particular world (business or home)
* Send relevant industry news stories or trade magazine articles
* Give a headquarters tour of your company to your clients
* Call or arrange a meeting or lunch where you can ask for referrals
* Send several pre-written postcards with stamps for your customer to send to THEIR friends/ colleagues who might benefit by talking with you about your product/ service
* Send referrals TO your customer for THEIR business.
Stop selling yourself short. A sale is your starting gun, not the finish line!
