Sales & Marketing Consultant, Bestselling Author & Business Motivational Speaker

Before you head out to your next sales meeting I’d like you to consider the following three questions:

1. What criteria do your customers use when determining whether or not they should make a purchase from you?
2. What makes a customer purchase your products more than once?
3. What makes a customer take his business away from you and go to another company?

These questions are similar to those we’ve asked before, but it’s important for you to understand the answers before you go out on your next sales call. You can guarantee that whatever criteria your prospect is applying to your meeting will apply across the board and you’re going to want to make sure the answers you give them to their questions (spoken or not) are better than the answers they get from your competition.

After your initial sale you’ll need to understand what is going to propmt your new client to continue purchasing from you. Pay special attention to his needs and desires in your initial meetings. You’re going to need this information in order to take a proactive approach in the future.

Remember, it’s easier to keep a current customer than to find a new one. The more willing you are to keep your customer happy the less likely it is you’ll end up losing him later on.

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Yesterday we spoke a bit about the types of customers you’ll want to attract when you’re prospecting for clients. We talked about current customers and customers that you at some point lost. The key to keeping those customers (or getting them back) is building up a sense of customer loyalty.

There are four main characteristics that will help you to determine whether or not a customer is likely to remain loyal. When you review your current client list for upsells, or even your new prospect list, keep these factors in mind.

First, how satisfied has your client been with your product in the past? If he has a dislike he’s not likely to stay. Clients who merely like your product but don’t really care either way about the brand may or may not jump ship if they’re presented with a similiar product from another salesman. Someone who loves your brand is less likely to leave, even if offered a lower price.

Clients also make decisions based on what they percieve to be risks. Don’t expect to make a ton of sales if you’re offering a product or service that your clients fear may be a waste of money. You’ll need to not only sell the benefits of the product but find ways to show that those benefits far outweigh the risks.

Another important factor is the availability of substitutes. Let’s say, for example, you are selling widgets. Where do you think your customer will turn if three other companies are selling widgets and you are all pricing them differently? Probably to the cheapest competitor. That doesn’t mean you have to lowball your prices, but it does mean you have to offer incredible customer service and incentives to keep them around.

Lastly, a customer will remain loyal if he recognises that changing brands would be more costly than staying where he is. That does not mean you can kick back and relax. Most customers are willing to spend money moving to a new brand if they’re really upset with your customer service, accounting practices, or anything else that offends them.

Remember! Your customers won’t look around if you don’t give them a real reason to. Keep in touch, offer new products and services as they become available, and make sure they realize you care about their happiness. Make them feel special and they’ll remain customers for life!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

Here’s a question to start your day.

What type of customer are you trying to attract?

Anyone who will spend their money on your products and services, most likely. That’s a nice goal, but why don’t we narrow it down a little bit.

There are three types of customers that every organisation should aim to attract. They’re the ones you really need in order to ensure success. These include:

• Valuable current customers
• The customers of your competitors
• Valuable customers you have lost

Let’s clarify. There’s a huge difference between a current customer and a “valuable” current customer. A current customer with a really tiny account demanding a huge level of customer service may not be valuable; nor is the guy who forgets to pay his bill every month. These are the customers who actually cost you money to keep. What you really want to do is provide stellar customer service to the guys who pay their bills on time and don’t ask you to go above and beyond the scope of your contract (not too often, anyway). Keep your current customers happy and, later on, up-sell additional products and services.

I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to go after the customers of your competitors. After all, your products and services are better than theirs. RIGHT? If the answer to that question was no, you’d better take a close look at your marketing plan.

Finally, any customer you lost (for any reason) should be saught after (unless, of course, they fall into the category of a customer not worth retaining – in which case you shoudl let them go). Otherwise, remarket your products and services. Perhaps they’re not happy with their new provider and were too embarassed to come back to you. Maybe they realized later that they weren’t getting the same level of service or the same value for their money. It’s up to you to find out.

Make sure you include an evaluation of your customer base the next time your review your current sales process. There may be gaps in the market you haven’t considered and they may mean the difference between failure and success!

Sean

Sales Expert - Marketing Consultant – Motivational Speaker

In these uncertain times of the credit crunch, an uncertain economy and with the large retailers diversifying their product ranges to offer almost anything it leaves the small independent retailer facing a real challenge to survive and thrive. 

Pricing, positioning and distribution are areas where the small retailer find it hard to compete with the big boys but one area where they really do have an advantage, if they do it right that is, are the levels of customer service that they provide to their prospects and clients.

Enter any medium to large sized retailer today and you are often faced with two approaches. You are either pounced upon by a sales assistant as soon as you come through the door or on the other extreme you get totally ignored.

But for the small retailer, this is an area where they can really make a difference to build up a loyal client base who are treated as individuals as opposed to a number.

Here are 5 top tips to turn your retail store into one that really appreciates its customers:

1.     The Customer Experience

Have you clearly articulated to your staff what you are trying to achieve in terms of customer experience? What do you want the experience to include? Friendly? Informative? Helpful? What do you want your browsers and customers to go away from your store saying about you?

2.     Add-Ons

I don’t advocate hard selling but on 80% of the occasions that someone purchases something in your store there is also an opportunity for them to purchase a complementary product too. Items like glue, thread and string can be combined with almost anything can add 5-10% onto the total purchase price without you looking like you are ramming it down their throat.

3.     Can I Help You?

Never ask this question because we all know that the person will come back with “I’m just looking”. Instead, ask “Is there anything I can help you to look for?” By asking this they cannot come back with the just looking excuse!

4.     Did You Find Everything You Were Looking For?

Here’s another golden nugget – when your customers are paying for their items ask “Did you find everything that you were looking for today?” Sometimes, this acts as a memory jogger for other items and sometimes the customer simply could not find what they needed but did not ask. Expect to have a 5-10% increase in your sales by using this approach.

5.     Make It Easy For Your Customers

When all is said and done your customers want an easy life! They want to browse your store, finding things easily with helpful staff. This is an experience that you can create with no excuses. Become well known for your excellent levels of customer service and friendliness and news will soon travel fast.

Sean

Marketing Consultant