Are you tired of “call me back” and when you do, the interest has died?
This morning, I had such an incident. In fact, I’ve called a few times but the end-goal of training a team is well-worth the wait and the calls. The time spent on the phone is to further move the sales cycle along as well as to build relationships.
I re-stated my credentials and brought him up-to-date on the latest.
As soon as I mentioned my joint venture partnership to bring sales training seminars to northern California and then abroad to Israel, and the fact that my book “Nice Girls DO Get The Sale” will be translated into Hebrew, the 5th translation to-date, the gentleman responded, “Wow – that’s fantastic!” I suddenly heard interest revived and immediately, he asked me to call him back at a specific time.
Do not err in underestimating your value.
Keep reminding yourself of your value, the credentials you bring to the table and how your are helping your prospect. Once you have a firm grip on this, remind your prospect – and you will enjoy a Smooth Sale!
Re-affirm Your Credentials
Varied Fees for the Same Service
Many times busienss people will charge clients different fees for the same service similar to an airline.
My question is would it be better to offer a discounted price for early signups rather than preferential pricing for friends etc.? It seems to me that when people find out they paid more than an associate for either a vendor table, entry to a convention, or for a product they are bound to become peeved.
The goal for business people is to try to encourage repeat business, referrals and testimonials versus making others unintentionally unhappy. Every time a policy is put in place, ask yourself “How would I feel if I were the customer?”
I suggest instead of using random pricing practices, try implementing deadlines for signups for the better fees. This way complaints are greatly minimized. And you will continue to enjoy a Smooth Sale!
Justifying Change
Customer service and perception are greatly affected by changes in policy.
Your changes and the reasoning behind them affect your clientele. For example, let’s say you raise your fees for sponsorships of an expo due to an increased expectancy of attendees. However, unexpectedly, the numbers of attendees drop prior to the expo – what do you do?
Do you keep the fee the same in order to make more money?
Do you offer a credit for a future show?
Do you admit numbers aren’t as expected and refund some of the fee collected?
When you make a change in policy, it’s wise to remember your reasoning.
Treat your decision as you would goal-setting. What is your desired outcome for the event?
- Do you want to maximize revenue with this group of sponsors and not worry about having them again?
- Do you play the odds on some of this group attending again?
- Would you rather create loyalty and a following although you won’t make as much money this time around?
Before you make a policy change, have a back-up plan in place. This way it will always be a Smooth Sale!
Share on FacebookBuild Like Team Members
Successful business people credit their team for helping them to achieve their goals.
Who are these team members? They may be, an accountant, tax attorney, bookkeeper, assistant, I.T. guru, and/or a salesperson. The critical piece for putting your team together to achieve greater success is that each member knows in detail their respective roles, what your goals are and that they mirror your way of doing business.
Today, I was speaking with someone who wanted to fine tune a group of workshop providers for a more expansive boot camp weekend away. This sounded enticing until she mentioned securing a big name speaker.
After I heard her out, I cautioned that she know the “big name” speaker well, understand how they operate and standard of business ethics. The reason for the caution is that sometimes accomplished people become prima donnas and compound the situation with greed making for less than a desirable team on which to participate. My friend agreed with my assessment.
Whenever you consider asking someone to join your team, interview several for the same capacity in order to find the one that matches your personality the best. This will make for the best synergy and a Smooth Sale!
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Was Abe Lincoln right?
“You can’t please all the people all the time.”
Do you promise 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed? If so, how do you deliver for 100% of the complaints? In my experience, most people are reasonable and so it’s easy to come to an understanding of how to rectify the situation. The first step is to apologize and ask your client how they prefer the fix – and then offer a couple of suggestions. If the fix is obvious, then offer your solution immediately.
But what do you do when a client isn’t reasonable, but instead makes demands for something over which is beyond your control, has no merit or would put you in the “red”? Negotiation comes to mind.
I have found in most of these instances it’s necessary to stick to your princples of what you can and cannot do and firmly relay the message. Then, in a pleasant voice, offer what you can do for the other party. Very often they are looking for the leader in you. Once you take control, most often you will find a satisfactory ending for both of you.
On the off chance, the other party is completely unreasonable, you will have to find a way to diplomatically end your business relationship. Most likely, if they are treating you in this manner they are doing the same to others to see what they can get for free, and their reputation will follow them.
In the first two situations, you will most likely have happy clients offering repeat business, referrals and testimonials for building a dynamic business. The third situation will allow you to further refine your niche to avoid future problems like this.
Wishing you a Smooth Sale!
Good Business
But is it good business?
A company that promises to hold the interest of small business first and intervene on their behalf has another side to it:
Last year, I decided not to renew my membership. The salesperson exclaimed she had just put my company into the directory going to thousands of other members and entered me for a contest. Amazed by her doing so without first asking permission surprised me, but I said okay for one year. She was then on one year’s notice that my membership would be cancelled.
This year, I was called three different times that my membership was about to expire. I explained what transpired and that I would not renew. The company should have made a notation in their database. On the last call today, the representative would not let me speak, kept cutting me off and then tried the guilt routine telling me how she gave me bonuses and that I had an obligation to continue the membership. I firmly declined.
Do you believe it is good business to sign someone up for a bonus without permission and then expect them to continue membership? Do you think it is wise to hound previous clients for continued support?
Wouldn’t it be wiser to ask the client why their business was withdrawn and learn from the reasons provided? This is the path to relationship selling. Learn from errors and move on -you will be wiser and it will be a Smooth Sale into the future.
Delivering on Promises
Business Ethics for Implementing New Programs
When you buy the rights to be a part of an affiliate program, do you expect all of the rules of the program to be in place? If the agreement changes, should you be entitled to get a refund of your money?
I agreed to take on a distributorship for a modest amount of money. Upon meeting at the first training, the entire room learned that the program sold to us changed in its entirety, and no offer to refund money was made. Some were angry, some “went with the flow” and novices didn’t see anything wrong with this picture.
In my case, I picked up new clients while at the training so monetarily, I came out ahead. It was far worse for the novices because they were roped further into the hole as new rules were implemented on the spot. The new requirements included items such as a need for certification, video filming necessitating a video camera, and the creation of a website. The initial $500 investment the novices made increased dramatically on a moment’s notice.
I would like to know if you believe:
1. One has to be that flexbile in business today
2. The person selling the affiliate program should have waited until all pieces of the business were officially settled before collecting money
3. The person selling the affiliate program should have offered a refund
And, would you personally, conduct business in the manner described above?
