In my experience, sales and customer service roles within most small to mid-sized organizations tend to be defined as follows...
* Pre-Sale: The salesperson or sales team interacts with potential clients during the business development process. Communication occurs through prospecting, proposal writing, sales presentations and negotiation. Sales team objective: revenue generation.
* Post-Sale: A Customer Service Representative (CSR) or Client Services team assumes the role of customer relationship management. Communication occurs through training, help desk support, etc. Client service team objective: customer service.
This business model is standard in many industries and has proven to be a successful way to manage the sales and customer service functions - but is it the best way to maximize revenue for your small business?
In a recent strategy session, I had the opportunity to brainstorm ways to generate incremental revenue with the CEO of a small software company. We discussed how the customer service/client relationship may be well suited to creating new revenue streams. One idea that stood out was the perception your clients have towards sales vs. customer service.
Perception is Reality.
Regardless of how honest, professional and customer centric your sales team is, your clients may still be applying mental models or stereotypes when they communicate with salespeople i.e. Is the salesperson really interested in my needs or are they try to take advantage of me? Do I really need that feature/product/service or is the salesperson just trying to sell me something? Is that really a fair price? Clients tend to have their "guard up" when dealing with sales.
On the other hand, the perception with client services is probably different because of the nature of the relationship. From the onset, the customer service/client relationship is based on providing assistance, as opposed to "selling". For example, if your customer service representative discusses the benefits of a new product/service with a client, that client is likely more engaged because the intention of the CSR is to help them provide a solution rather than selling them a product/service.
Leveraging the relationships that have been created by your customer service department will create new sales opportunities for your organization. Getting your client service team to begin presenting beneficial solutions to customers will help develop incremental revenue and help fuel the growth of your small business.
Using Customer Service To Generate Incremental Revenue - To learn more about this author, visit Mark Smiciklas's Website.
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