Five Tips to Make it Easy for Customers to Buy

1. Don't ask for information that is nice to know but unnecessary. Prospects who feel they are being asked to invest more time than necessary will sometimes bail.


2. Fill out as much information as you can on required forms for customers. It sends a subtle signal that says "When you buy from me, I make your life easy.”


3. Anticipate what buyers need to know in order to eliminate risks and fully understand benefits. Provide that early on in a sales cycle, and you can often shorten it.


4. Communicate what the client can expect in terms of service. Do you promise to return calls in one hour, 90 minutes or by the end of the day? Set reasonable expectations and live up to them.


5. Provide referrals, even if the customer didn't ask for them. This simple step boost your credibility.

Everyone's a Winner

While, not everyone can win a free copy of "Selling in Tough Times," I wanted to find a way for everyone to be a winner. If you are interested in learning more about social media and Twitter in particular, e-mail your name and mailing address to melissa@thoughttransformation.com, and she will send you a free copy of "Twitter in Two Pages."

Good Selling!

And the Winner Is...

BETH

Congratualtions!! Please e-mail Melissa, melissa@thoughttransformation.com your mailing address.

You may not have won this time, but if you are still interested in getting your copy of "Selling in Tough Times" it can be purchased at amazon.com.

A Case Of The Mundays

You know when you've had a great weekend and you sometimes just don't feel like going back to work?!? Well, to cheer everyone up who's having a case of the Mundays, I've decided to give something away today. While you might be an avid reader of the blog, connected to me on LinkedIn and following me on Twitter, do you have a copy of my book, "Selling in Tough Times"?

Would you like a copy of my book "Selling in Tough Times" for free?? Leave a comment below, telling me about what you did this weekend and why it's so hard to get back into the swing of things. My Director of Marketing, Melissa, will choose the best comment and send you a copy of the book!

KeFactors Fridays: Don’t Overlook Your Human Capital

Most businesses are so intensely focused on developing new revenues, leadersand managers typically overlook a hidden corrosive that will cost plenty if left unaddressed.

Aggression is valued in sales teams—and why not? Sales really for “sissies”or the faint-hearted; it’s demanding, vigorous work.

But there’s a danger in becoming a workplace culture so reverent of aggressionthat it tips into tolerating or even encouraging uncivil behaviors.

Low-intensity incivility ranges from stealing someone’s food out of the break-room fridge to leaving shared work areas untidy and depleted of supplies. High-intensityacts include sending nasty e-mails, hogging credit, or yelling at and publicly humiliatingcolleagues and subordinates.

Intentional or not, incivility exacts a huge toll: authors Christine Pearson and Christine Porath (The Costs of Bad Behavior) state rudeness is on the rise and estimatethe tab at $300 billion/year for U.S. employers in expenses related to lost time, loweredmorale/productivity, and employees fleeing a toxic workplace.

Fact: Chronic offenders will alienate other employees. Teams need trust(“psychological safety”) in order to learn and to reach peak collaborative skills, andoffenders kill this, especially if they’re team leaders. Coping behaviors can includeavoiding the offender; withholding effort, help, or information; or sabotaging theorganization for tolerating the offender.

Fact: Witnesses to rude behavior register the same physiological stress reactionsas targets, and few customers will continue to do business with an organization thatpermits rude behaviors, even from their high achievers.

Fact: Employees who are habitually targeted by rude behaviors will leave, andthe costs of replacing them are high, to say nothing of the relationships and networks thatleave with them. Pearson & Porath’s formula for quantifying this: 150% the annual salaryof a low-ranking employee; 250% the salary of middle management; and as high as 400%the salary of upper management.

Guest Blogger: Emmanuel Trenche - Customer service is an art form sales reps should brush up on

Here are some other ways sales reps can exceed customer expectations after winning over new customers:

1. Understand and confirm what the customer expects to receive in full.
2. Communicate to the customer what is required from them to meet their expectations. (Don’t assume they already know!)
3. Collect and gather all necessary information up front to minimize inefficiencies and lost time.
4. Provide all of the necessary information to other departments working on the job.
5. Communicate and reiterate what the customer expects to receive to other employees working the job.
6. Address potential obstacles or production issues head on and provide alternative solutions whenever possible. (Don’t beat around the bush and don’t promise anything you cannot guarantee.)
7. Encourage service to take ownership of the relationship to minimize service breaks and exceed customer expectations.
Examples:
a. Include a thank you card with your shipment
b. Provide a savings coupon or an additional service free of charge
c. Send a box of cookies or treats with the order
8. Follow up with the customer to ensure you delivered a pleasant customer experience (If possible, over the phone. This is a great time to build rapport and talk about future work.)
9. Gather feedback from the customer to improve your service patterns and understand their overall experience with the company.
10. Track missed commitments to ensure that a root-cause analysis is conducted and that employees are properly trained.

Emmanuel Trenche is the Marketing and Communications Director for Rex Three, one of South Florida’s top commercial printers. Emmanuel is also the Diversity Chair for the Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s board of directors. His professional background is in sales and marketing alignment by capitalizing on customer relationship management (CRM) tools and sales process configuration. If you'd like to contact Emmanuel, please e-mail him at etrenche@rex3.com.

Guest Blogger: Emmanuel Trenche - Customer service is an art form sales reps should brush up on

There’s a big difference between meeting customer expectations and exceeding them. Many companies view satisfying customers as a priority, but as a marketer, I have spent a significant amount of time working on improving the customer experience because, ultimately, this is what keeps customers coming back.

One way to improve in this area is to look at the way you currently service your prospects and existing book of business. What I have found is that a successful customer service model should be two-fold in its simplest forms:

1. Win the customer over.
2. Exceed their expectations.

In numerous occasions, I have seen sales reps work hard to win customers over, but to fall short at exceeding customer expectations after the sale is made. Sales reps struggle with this because the task of exceeding expectations usually requires the effort of employees in other departments as well.

More tomorrow on other ways sales reps can exceed customer expectations after winning over new customers.

Emmanuel Trenche is the Marketing and Communications Director for Rex Three, one of South Florida’s top commercial printers. Emmanuel is also the Diversity Chair for the Advertising Federation of Greater Fort Lauderdale’s board of directors. His professional background is in sales and marketing alignment by capitalizing on customer relationship management (CRM) tools and sales process configuration. If you'd like to contact Emmanuel, please e-mail him at etrenche@rex3.com.