Sales Training For Service Businesses - Why Should I Use You? - Part 2 of 3
Sales Training For Service Businesses - Why Should I Use You? - Part 2 of 3
Believe me, I know how hard this process is and for some companies they believe they can never find uniqueness. To those I ask
"If you can't articulate why you are special, unique and different, then why would I choose you yet alone pay you a premium?"
The strange thing is most companies have something they believe that makes them truly unique and may be able to tell you in conversation yet fail to put it on any marketing or sales material. What a wasted opportunity!!
The things that just won't 'cut the mustard' in today's business climate:
Quality: Just to say 'we strive for the best quality', or "we guarantee the highest quality" is not enough for a number of reasons:
• In today's competitive environment quality is expected just to be considered as an entrant.
• What does quality mean? Is it the way you handle meetings, the quality of the documents you produce or the quality of the service you provide? In a service business that is by and large intangible how can someone tell if your tax return is quality? They can't try it on or feel it.
If you feel that quality really is your uniqueness then say so. Be specific. If you have offered a 100% money back, no quibble guarantee for five years and you have had 800 clients in that time and not one has requested a refund, surely it makes sense to shout it from the roof tops!
Service: Again service is often said to be the difference compelling enough to use a company yet hardly any one can justify it. If this is your advantage then quantify it:
• We guarantee to produce XZY within three days or you do not pay us for the service.
• If you order by XYZ by 4.PM we guarantee to produce ABC by mid day the very next day
These guarantees communicate clearly that you understand the service required and that you are extremely confident of providing it.
Expertise: Many companies I come across in 'expert service' i.e lawyers, accountants, think their clients are buying expertise. Most prospects for these complex services cannot evaluate expertise, they can not tell a really good tax return , but they can tell if a relationship is good and if the phone calls are returned. Clients are experts at knowing if they feel valued. Your expertise is assumed. You are selling a relationship - that needs the most work.
Some possible starting points for service business to define their uniqueness:
• It can be your actual solution and benefits
• Your approach to what you do or how you do what you do
• The type of client you serve - any specialisms
• The way you provide your service
• Your style of doing things
• The speed of service
• A solid guarantee
• A payment policy
So far so good? Remember to look out for Part 3 or have a look at my links below.
Sales Training For Service Businesses Why Should I Use You Part 2 of 3 - To learn more about this author, visit Peter O'Donoghue's Website.
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In part 1, I demonstrated it's not all about sales training. Sometimes sales can be increased by developing your companies uniqueness.
Believe me, I know how hard this process is and for some companies they believe they can never find uniqueness. To those I ask
"If you can't articulate why you are special, unique and different, then why would I choose you yet alone pay you a premium?"
The strange thing is most companies have something they believe that makes them truly unique and may be able to tell you in conversation yet fail to put it on any marketing or sales material. What a wasted opportunity!!
The things that just won't 'cut the mustard' in today's business climate:
Quality: Just to say 'we strive for the best quality', or "we guarantee the highest quality" is not enough for a number of reasons:
• In today's competitive environment quality is expected just to be considered as an entrant.
• What does quality mean? Is it the way you handle meetings, the quality of the documents you produce or the quality of the service you provide? In a service business that is by and large intangible how can someone tell if your tax return is quality? They can't try it on or feel it.
If you feel that quality really is your uniqueness then say so. Be specific. If you have offered a 100% money back, no quibble guarantee for five years and you have had 800 clients in that time and not one has requested a refund, surely it makes sense to shout it from the roof tops!
Service: Again service is often said to be the difference compelling enough to use a company yet hardly any one can justify it. If this is your advantage then quantify it:
• We guarantee to produce XZY within three days or you do not pay us for the service.
• If you order by XYZ by 4.PM we guarantee to produce ABC by mid day the very next day
These guarantees communicate clearly that you understand the service required and that you are extremely confident of providing it.
Expertise: Many companies I come across in 'expert service' i.e lawyers, accountants, think their clients are buying expertise. Most prospects for these complex services cannot evaluate expertise, they can not tell a really good tax return , but they can tell if a relationship is good and if the phone calls are returned. Clients are experts at knowing if they feel valued. Your expertise is assumed. You are selling a relationship - that needs the most work.
Some possible starting points for service business to define their uniqueness:
• It can be your actual solution and benefits
• Your approach to what you do or how you do what you do
• The type of client you serve - any specialisms
• The way you provide your service
• Your style of doing things
• The speed of service
• A solid guarantee
• A payment policy
So far so good? Remember to look out for Part 3 or have a look at my links below.
Sales Training For Service Businesses Why Should I Use You Part 2 of 3 - To learn more about this author, visit Peter O'Donoghue's Website.
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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