SELL is a Four Letter Word............When You're Not In Sales

All companies need more sales; it has been, will be, and will remain a critical part of any company's prosperity. Within the last few years, there has been a trend to have more than just the sales team sell the company's products and services. Having non-sales employees promote your company can be extremely beneficial if approached correctly.

Ask anyone what comes to mind when they think of a stereotypical salesperson. The responses are usually not too flattering: sleazy, never telling the truth, telling you what you want to hear, wears gold chains, etc. If these are typical responses (you should ask your employees!) then why, oh why, would you ask your non-sales employees to sell? With their views of sales folks.........it doesn't make much sense.

So, when you are losing the game......change the rules. You can achieve the same results, but you must change your approach. Whether they are a customer service rep, a receptionist, a financial support person........any non-sales position, they can help sell your products and services without feeling like they are being forced to sell (remember its a four letter word to the non-sales employee).

Let's look at why customers buy:
#1 They trust the person they deal with,
#2 They like the person they deal with, and
#3 They count on the person they deal with to be knowledgeable

Now, to get your non-sales employees to help promote your company, you must:
         1. Never tell them they are being asked (required) to sell as part of their job. They will resent it, and you will receive minimal results
         2. Acknowledge the connection they have with the customer....and that you are aware of that priceless relationship. (Remember: they may even have more conversations with the customer than the sales person.) And the end result is the customer TRUSTS them.
         3. Let them know that the customer already LIKES THEM and they have pre-built a strong relationship. Many customer service folks have incredibly strong relationships with your customers, they just need to be told that you recognize it.
          4. And finally (this is where you can gain additional sales) let them know that the customer counts on them to provide information on a new a product or service. That they are actually letting the customer down when they do not share that information; that it could harm the relationship they have established over time. And, that the customer will be appreciative of the new information they share. It will further and strengthen the relationship they have with a customer.

If you are looking to increase sales by all means possible, and are not utilizing your non-sales employees.........you are missing a great opportunity. The non-sales employee can create sales with a current customer; help get a prospect in for a tour of your company (80% of prospects that tour a company end up purchasing from them), or cross-sell additional products and services.

Just my thoughts............blah, blah, blah.

Has Customer Loyalty Died?

I attended a national conference a number of years ago, and there seemed to be quite a discussion whether customer loyalty was alive and well, or had gone by the wayside resulting in a commodity market for the consumer. It was really quite interesting and did make one think about their own business and the relationships they have. Fast forward to today’s economic climate.......I think it might be a combined result of both.

True, the economy can effect the price paid for a product or service, hence the development of a commodity market. The result is the cheapest on the block wins. Price will always be a factor when choosing whom to do business with, but the heart of loyalty is to have the cost be replaced with investment. It is the investment of dollars spent that recognize value, and value is what is at the heart of customer loyalty. A truly loyal customer that recognizes the value they receive will always pay more for a product. That value is based on trust, being likable and providing knowledgeable guidance of the product or service they desire.

Consumers purchase name brand products for one reason: trust. Consumers choose the dealership for automotive service work for one reason: expertise. And consumers choose to do business with one financial planner over another for one reason; they like them. To earn that desired customer loyalty is not that difficult. It is understanding the value of that long-term relationship to your business and cultivating the environment to make it happen. Expect your employees to become an expert in their field and provide the training to accomplish this. Let your employees know you expect them to go the extra mile even before being asked by a customer; and become that likable person. And expect them to do as they promise customers, being easy to do business with a smile.

A company can have a dramatic impact over customer loyalty. If your company struggles in the commodity market, and striving to maintain solvency while offering the least expensive price to gain business, you must change your ways. For if you remain stagnate in those business practices, I can easily predict your future and it won’t be bright. Foster, cultivate and facilitate a healthy, infectious (and profitable) environment of the tools needed to promote customer loyalty...............and make a statement that customer loyalty is alive and well.

Just my thoughts...........blah, blah, blah.

Gratefully Unemployed......................

I recall the search for employment when I was between my junior and senior years in high school. There were soooo many options available for a sixteen-year-old willing and wanting to do just about anything. There were multiple fast food restaurants, the local grocery store, my family’s hardware store; many options. I felt pretty darn lucky with the whole world open up to me. I chose a job working on a dairy farm; baling hay, moving irrigation pipes and any other odd project the ranch hands chose not to do. It was, however, a great feeling as I selected that job.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I am, once again, looking for a career. I have that same giddy feeling that there are many possibilities available. I know, I know, the unemployment rate is 10% or so, but still doesn’t change the fact that we get to choose what we want to do “when we grow up”. The only limitation is choice. Those of us that are in search of a career due to a layoff, a company closure (my reason for being unemployed) or a downsizing, are the lucky ones in today’s job market. A recent poll showed that 60% of all of those that are currently working hate their job (up from 50% a year ago). They do not have the world in front of them, just the same routine, in the same office with the same responsibilities; that is a shame.

I am not saying the search is terribly fun. I really have never interviewed for a job in 25+ years. I have never authored a resume.......never. I don’t think I have ever really been on a job interview, per se. I guess it is another reason why I feel so lucky at life. I have been quite flattered at those relationships I have had over the years looking out for me, with suggestions and little tidbits of information on companies that could use my talents. I am quite grateful for the help and the relationships I have, and do ask that they continue to be on the lookout for me.

Those of us that find ourselves unemployed, for what ever reason, are the lucky ones and should be grateful; we have the entire world in front of us.......and do, indeed, get to choose. We get to choose where we desire to work and make a difference, and become one of the 40% that truly likes their job.

Just my thoughts............blah, blah, blah.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/johnboytz