Professional Selling Skills Training: Respecting the Current Customer

What is the right balance between giving the customer what they want and what you believe they will want? This is a question that has hit the ever-popular website “Facebook” (a MySpace website geared towards college students). Facebook added a new feature called “news feed” which tracks the movements of users. Needless to say, their user base was not broadly consulted on this before it was implemented and now they’re upset. So, here’s the question: what is the right way to implement a product improvement to your existing customer base?

Professional Selling Skills Training: Customer Service..To Tell The Truth

Customer service is as much about integrity as it is about doing things right and it's time to vent about people who love to twist the truth. Today, I received an e-mail announcement from a major HR trade group about an upcoming event. Needless to say, it didn't look right and, sure enough, a couple of hours later, a new announcement came out saying that "due to technical difficulties, the previous announcement should be disregarded." Bunk! Don't lie to us HR people! Tell us the truth...you blew it! Is it so hard to say, "Oops, we made a mistake. We're sorry, but please disregard the previous message." I'm not perfect. I've made more than my share of mistakes. But, one thing I've learned is that it's OK to tell it the way it is. And, it's even better to poke a little fun at yourself for the mistake you made. If you want to create a stellar customer experience, then you'd better treat them with respect. Selling is all about building integrity and, as a sales person, keep in mind that people are watching your every move.

Sales Training Tip #154: Confirm Appointments Via Voicemail

If you need to confirm an upcoming sales call, do so by leaving a voicemail rather than email. When you use e-mail, it’s easy for the prospect to hit “reply” and cancel the meeting. Voicemail requires more time and will result in fewer cancelled meetings.

Sales Training Tip #153: Holiday Planning

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s time to think about how you intend to service your clients during the busy period from Thanksgiving through Christmas and the New Year. Plan now to determine how you and your counterparts will provide the best service possible everyday.