Plan for everyone to grow your business

The face of sales is changing, and the days of receiving 50 rejections per day to achieve 1 sales success are almost a thing of the past. As consumers, we have hit the wall in terms of the amount of information we can receive each day, and the days of returning the call of someone we do not know so that they can possibly sell us something are over. We all know that the use of technology to screen out sales calls and emails is here to stay. So the sales question becomes - now what?

Let’s assume you have asked the questions to find out what would motivate everyone in your company who touches a customer to bring in additional revenues - now what? Let’s assume you have the processes and tools in place to reward the people in your company that are bringing in additional revenue - now what?

I was recently at one of the quick oil change places and suffered through the pain of a pushy sales pitch for synthetic oil that I had no need for, and then had to return my car because the mechanics failed to screw my oil filter on properly. My point is that providing excellent customer service still comes first, but there are specific steps you can take to leverage excellent service for additional sales opportunities.

To answer the “now what” question, you should identify the opportunities for growth and provide training for both the sales AND non-sales people in your company to bring in additional sales opportunities. The challenge is doing this the right way so that your people are not pushing unwanted products or services and remain committed to providing excellent customer service.

Start by asking yourself a few key fundamental questions:

• Who are our current customers?
• Which customers currently purchase all possible products and services from us and why?
• How can we continue to improve our customer service levels in these accounts?
• Which customers can benefit from additional products and services that we offer?
• Who do they know within or outside their company that can benefit from what we offer?

Then take the time to complete this exercise:

• Draw a triangle. With horizontal lines, divide the triangle into maybe 10 separate pieces. The top section of the triangle represents your customer’s CEO, and each piece of the triangle represents the different parts of your customer’s business – sales, service, manufacturing, distribution etc. Does your company have a relationship with the top decision maker in each one of those sections? Why or why not?
  
• Think through the relationships your company does have (because of the excellent service you have provided) and ask for the introductions to the decision makers throughout your customer’s business. If you are providing exceptional customer service, it will not be long before someone from your company is sitting in the CEO’s office offering your products and services to their entire company.
  
• Develop a plan to motivate and train both the sales AND the non-sales people in your business to make these connections with your customers and leverage the excellent service that you have provided in the past.

In summary, the days of selling through 50 rejections per day are over. No one has the time to call back to offer the rejection. However, with sales and non-sales people working together on a plan to leverage existing relationships and provide excellent customer service, you will be positioned to dramatically improve your company’s sales growth.

Bob Riess is the President of The Customer Connector and can be contacted through www.thecustomerconnector.com or at (859) 240-2550.