I was recently completing some sales consultancy work with a financial institution when it suddenly struck me that most organisations simply do not know their purpose for doing business!
Now you might think that to be strange, but it is true!
There were the top directors of the company and not one of them could tell me what their company philosophy was.
Sure, things like "Make money", "Sell products" and "Delight our customers" came out but these are just generalisations that EVERY company wants.
Come on, surprise me!
You need to stand out from the pack!
What is going to make doing business with you different and unique?
I wanted to know why a customer would select them over someone else - that's the bottom line!
That got me thinking.....
What is your philosophy, your vision, your purpose, for doing business?
You can think of your team in this way as well.
What is your team vision and plan?
Think it through carefully and, when you've decided, design your operations and activities to support that vision.
Now, state your product or service in one simple, short sentence that everyone will get.
For example, Audi's Vorsprung Durch Technik is remembered by all who hear it. Their 'Progress through Technology' strapline tells everyone exactly what they stand for.
People do business with people they know because they've heard about them from a friend or read about them in an article or seen an advert.
So your job is to make yourself known to prospective customers.
As Manny Lozano, a hair stylist, once said, "I don't care if you can't squeeze another customer or hair stylist in the salon, you still keep promoting.Because you have to keep convincing your customers that yours is still the one salon to come to."
In other words the real sales come after the sale.
What you want for your company is an unfair advantage.
I'm not talking about lying or cheating. Exactly the opposite, in fact. An unfair advantage is doing every tiny little thing better than your competition.
In this instance, your competition can be your best teacher.
Who knows what your customers want?
Think about whom in your business knows what your customers want. Is your sales reps'knowledge going to waste because no one taps them for information about what's happening out there?
How many people in your surrounding area know you and what your business is all about?
Introduce yourself to people in the area.
Let them know who you are and what product or service you offer.
Tell them about your superb service and how you do things differently than your competitors and you're right there five minutes from their doorsteps.
What can you do to make your customers feel special and appreciated?
Well, great or even excellent customer service is no longer good enough.
We have to exceed their expectations.
About this time last year, when I was over in the States completing some training in Chicago I read a great story about Gary Richter who runs a small holding bank in the USA, and I can tell you that his bank focuses on superior customer service.
Here's his thought: "I tell my employees, if we roll out the red carpet for a billionaire, they won't even notice. If we role it out for millionaires, they expect it. If we roll out the red carpet for thousandaires, they appreciate it. And if we roll out the red carpet for hundredaires, they tell everybody they know."
In six years since the bank opened, it has grown from 16 employees to 180; and they've grown from $6 million to $330 million.
Build relationships with your customers.
There are really only two types of customers: those who know and love you, and those who have never heard of you.
All businesses spend fortunes trying to get new customers and that will always remain important.
But don't spend the entire fortune on just attracting new customers. Spend some keeping in touch with existing customers because you want to keep them.
One of the goals in growing your business should be that the same person you sold to today will still be spending money with you ten years from now.
So don't celebrate the close of a sale.
Celebrate the beginning of a long relationship.
People want to do business with people who appreciate them and look out for them.
No matter what new products and services we develop, the bottom line is we need to keep attracting new customers, cultivating and deepening relationships with our existing customers and treat them all with the kind of appreciation, consideration and integrity with which we want.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
Going Beyond Customer Service - To learn more about this author, visit Sean McPheat's Website.
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