My
Business Tips by Tim Shaw www.timshaw.com.au September 2006
Asking questions sells more!
Wow, I made a sale to a new customer today. Yippee. Sales people
say this every day. At least I hope they do and of course that’s
the idea to grow your smart business. It is so often the case
though that we take our eyes off that sale as if we have finished
with that customer forever. Not so.
If you provided a good service call that customer and seek a
testimonial for the website. If its lousy service you provided,
what better way to fix the problem than going to the customer
source. Thanking a customer after the sale is mandatory. But
asking if there is more that can be done to improve the customers
experience is hardly ever done. Customers do not want to fill
in a form, they want to be thanked personally for investing
in your business. Banks are getting quite good at this on the
phone these days.
Even pick up the phone and call the customers from hell. They
can end up being an ex- officio brand and business consultant
to your business. Imagine if you rang 10 customers today equipped
with their last sales transaction record and firstly thanked
them for the business, ask them is everything going ok, by the
way is there anything more we can do to improve your customer
experience, is there someone I can call that you know needs
our service provided to them, can I get a testimonial from you
now for the website, the questions are simple, just bloody well
take the time to ask them.
Your sales can grow this year if you look for a second sales
opportunity. If you install a fence for a customer, maybe deliver
a new ‘welcome’ front door mat as a gift after purchase.
Someone buys a new car, send them some flowers. Your gift with
purchase after the sales event is nearly guaranteed to evoke
a response, probably a personal call back to you to thank you
for your unexpected gift, and when you have them on the phone,
ask for another sales lead, or quick survey. Even have a memo
typed next to the phone that prompts you to ask the questions
then and there.
There is a plethora of ideas waiting for you to explore. Ask
your sales team at the next weekly meeting for their ideas and
input to this initiative. Please lead by example and test it
for yourself. Imagine showing sales people (especially those
on incentive bonus or commission) the new business generated
by your simple call asking questions and selling more!
Good Selling
Tim Shaw appears as the sales and marketing expert on My
Business - Channel 7 on Sunday mornings @ 11am. He
can diagnose sales and marketing opportunities available for
your business today. Tim is available as a keynote speaker for
your next sales meeting or conference. Visit www.timshaw.com.au
or contact Tim directly at timshaw@bigpond.com
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