|
Weíve just watched the most exciting football game of the year, The Superbowl. You know that each team has a playbook that they use to prepare for the game. Consider this: as a sales professional, what if you could HAND your customers a playbook. This book, would tell your customers what they can and cannot do. For example, by their having the ìrulesî of the game, it may start with: ìYou must return my calls within 4 hours of hearing from me.î Then customer would then have to call you back within that timeframe.
So, here are the top 7 playbook ìrulesî that most often want to hear from our customers (gleaned from our sales training sessions) that we want our customers to do:
1. ìAgreeing when asked for the order.î
2. ìPaying full price every time.î
3. ìAlways buy from us.î
4. ìBe courteous when we call.î
5. ìProvide us with a regular stream of referrals.î
6. ìAvoid changing jobs so we donít have to build different relationships.î
7. ìPay on time. Every time.î
Sound good? Well, as I always say, ìfantasy is freeî. Think what you want, hope and pray all you like, however, customers donít have a playbook that theyíre required to follow. They play by their own rulesólike it or not.
So why do salespeople whine about what customerís are and arenít doing? They are the customers, so THEY make the rules. We have to be more efficient, more professional, and mainly, more creative if we want our customers to go by the rules.
Want #1? Ask for the order and ask for it often and differently every time.
Want #2? Create more value so the customer can see why paying full price is the best deal for them.
Want #3? Establish a long-term partnership with your customers so that they know you are the only supplier they will ever need.
Want #4? Avoid idle chitchat and establish professionalism when you call your customers. Theyíll reciprocate.
Want #5? Provide your customers with referral business and theyíll give some to you.
Want #6: Help your customer with look good when selling to them and perhaps theyíll stay longer in their current position. And if they donít you can sell to them at their new company.
Want #7? Make sure that your company is billing your client correctly, has done a credit check, and the terms are well established before conducting business with your customer so you can get paid on time. (c) Renee Walkup, SalesPEAK, 678 587-9911 www.salespeak.com |
