| Hey, Over There! |
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Attention, What??? According to Basex, a business research company in New York City, employees lose 28% of their day due to interruptions. That represents approximately $650 billion dollars in lost productivity in the US, alone. I've written about customers who multi-task, get distracted, and violate the customer/salesperson's professional courtesy codes, but what about you? Are you as respectful as you can be while on the phone with customers, in a sales call, or at an event?Just a few hours ago, for example, I called my insurance agent. She's great. I've been a loyal customer for about 10 years. However, when I called, she started the conversation using her speaker phone until I asked her to pick up the receiver. In addition to the speaker phone being very annoying to customers, because of the echo and the perception that the customer doesn't have the salesperson's undivided attention, how do you know who else might be listening in on the call from across the room, the wall, or from another phone? So if you have been using your speaker phone, that's your number one rule. Stop. Pick up the receiver. Here are a few other tips for you to a) stay on task with your customers and b) avoid encouraging them to disrespect you, as well. 1. Leave your phone either in the car or in your briefcase on "OFF". Seems so simple, but how many times have you seen a sales call during an important lunch and someone's phone starts buzzing? Unless someone is in the hospital, I promise you, it will wait. 2. Make eye contact. Because most of us have such short attention spans, it pays to look the customer in the eyeballs! Avoid looking around, staring off into space, and getting distracted in your surroundings. If you do, you are providing permission to your customer to do so, as well. 3. Set up some ground-rules before your meeting. Whether you are on the phone or in person, you are perfectly within your limits to say something like, "Henry, I know your time is really valuable, so I've buried my phone 8" deep into my briefcase so we won't be interrupted." Maybe Henry will then bury his Blackberry for the meeting, as well. If on the phone, you can just twist it around such as: "Henry, I know you are short on time, so if we can just focus for the next 3 minutes, I'm sure we can come up with a decision. Is that OK with you?" Once you have a commitment from Henry and you have only asked for 3 minutes, he will most probably comply. If you ask for 30 minutes, good luck! So be reasonable, and be quick. 4. Put everything away in front of you before making your calls. If your email is off, your mobile phone is turned off, and your "door" is closed to your space, you will be able to tune it more effortlessly to your customer on the call. Most of us are not skilled at blocking out distractions, so set up your "space" for successful calls before picking up the phone. 5. Take notes. Some people tell me that they are distracted by taking notes. However, if you have a method, such as a type of shorthand, that will help you retain and focus, taking notes is an excellent solution to staying on task with your customer whether you are in person or on the phone. So there you have it. "BusinessWeek" magazine accuses us of having the attention of sparrows. I suggest that we, as sales professionals, adopt the attention span of a major league baseball pitcher winding up when the bases are loaded. (c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911
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