Good morning!
I ran across the following quote somewhere in the midst of an Internet search. Simple things in life make me happy. This simple thought is a worthy goal for us all:
<<…the best relationship we can have with our customers comes when they become emotionally connected to our company. If a customer is loyal only to a one time deal, the relationship is at risk. Remember that customer relations and sales are never steady or stable. They are either getting worse or getting better. Face the uncomfortable fact that no matter how great the service was your team provided yesterday, it was yesterday!
Customers look to your company to continually provide evidence of the value of a relationship. If your team can build that value, they will build sales.…>>
Let’s break this down:
- The best relationship we can have with our customers comes when they become emotionally connected to our company—How do you make this happen? Through branding, mostly, but also by caring about them. It might help to have a fun and creative work environment, too.
- If a customer is loyal only to a one time deal, the relationship is at risk—This gets to the personality of the client, who they are, what they value, and the role their vendors play. Sales needs to ferret these things out ahead of time in order to determine the potential for a long-term relationship.
- Remember that customer relations and sales are never steady or stable. They are either getting worse or getting better—List your top ten accounts, give each a thought, and put an up or down arrow next to each one. Then—and this is the important part—recognize that it’s the up arrows that are more at risk.
- Face the uncomfortable fact that no matter how great the service was your team provided yesterday, it was yesterday! Customers look to your company to continually provide evidence of the value of a relationship. If your team can build that value, they will build sales—What. Have you done. For them lately?
This is a powerful quote that requires your attention and consideration. If you are in sales, sit with a blank pad of paper and think through each point. If you are in management, you might want to print and post this one where everyone on your sales team can see it.
