Demonstrate Credibility, Improve Sales

Credibility is essential to making sales. When you have credibility it is easy to introduce new products and services with built in demand. When you demonstrate credibility your customers and prospects are willing to put their faith in you because they see you as an authority. They don’t need to be sold. They buy because they trust you, no convincing necessary.

Here are some ways to create and show credibility—

• Write down three to five things that are unique about you and your product and/or services. Communicate these things as often as possible to your customers and prospects. Your value and your credibility will increase when you do.
• The more confident you are in your sales presentations, the more people will believe in you. Be sure you have no doubts about what it is you are selling. The presenter is much more important than the presentation.
• Abundance attracts, scarcity repels. Make sure you are speaking from abundance. No one likes to be around people who are down and out. It is a sure way to push people and sales away.
• Be responsible. Don’t blame others. The more responsible you are, the more credibility you will have.
• Be honest and never lie to anyone. Honesty is at the core of every successful leader.
• Show respect. The more respect you show, the more credibility you will have.
• Follow through on your commitments. If you said you were going to do it, do it. Nothing can destroy credibility faster than not following through on your promises.

Some personal tips—

• • People notice shoes. Make sure yours are of high quality.
  • People notice handshakes. Make sure yours is firm and exudes self esteem.
  • Watch your language. Many people find swearing and slang distasteful.
  • Watch your posture. Slumping makes you appear burdened, sitting up straight shows your self assured.
  • Never gossip. It will make you appear small.
  • Upgrade your wardrobe. People respect those who wear nice clothes.

Remember, credibility is hard to get back once it is lost. By following these helpful tips you should easily improve your trustworthiness and boost your sales.

Final Thoughts on Auto Shopping

Over the past weeks I have been shopping for a new car and had shared a little of my experience a couple times in this blog. If you missed those posts, you can read them here.

It has been an interesting experience to say the least. Out of the four dealerships I visited, only ONE had any kind of organized and persistent follow up. Only ONE really seemed interested in me each time I visited. I was not an interruption to their day, I was the reason for it. This is a HUGE lesson for any one out there. How are you or your employees reacting to your guests, clients, or patients? Are they the reason for your day or are they an annoyance to you?

With everything that’s been said about salesmanship and follow up, it still comes down to the product. I have to say I seriously considered another car despite the lack of selling and follow up skills from the salesperson, but mainly because of the opinions of my friends. They seemed to like the “other” car better.

But in the end, my heart and my gut told me to go with the salesperson, the dealership, and the car that truly met all my needs throughout my buying process. Another important lesson or I should say lessons. Product alone may not make the sale AND more importantly, salesmanship CAN overcome the allure of another product.

This whole car buying process made me think of other things too that may be helpful to you.

If you are experiencing sales failure of any kind, there may be any one or more of these three causes at the root—

1. You are selling to the wrong prospect. Who you are selling to is much more important than what you are selling. The more you can pinpoint and drill down on your prospect, the better you can tailor your message and speak their language. (My salesperson took the time to find out what was important to me and made sure he sold me on those features and benefits. Oh, and he didn’t just do this one time, he brought them up in subsequent calls, further seeding my brain with all the reasons why I needed this car.)
2. You do not have a well-thought out sales and/or follow up process. A well-crafted sales presentation can go along way but if there is no follow up, it could be all for not. Statistics show that most sales are made between the 5th and 13th contact. If your sales people are not following up or if they are giving up after one call, you are definitely missing out on sales. (A note on the sales presentation/process—each time I visited the dealership I was offered a cold beverage not only by the salesperson but by each person I came in contact with. Each time I test drove the car, the first thing the salesperson did was start the car and open the doors to cool the car down while he ATTACHED (not throw it in the back window) the license plate to the car. With regard to follow up, I received 16 phone calls and 3 emails from him.)
3. Your offer or compelling reason to buy is just not strong enough. When it comes down to making a final decision between several products and services, this stuff is important. If you are way out of line versus your competition and there are no compelling reasons for the disparity, you’re done. If getting a new customer (and all of their lifetime value) is important to your business, it’s best to spend more time and money designing your offer than to risk the potential loss of that new customer or client because you don’t compare. (No one vehicle stood out here. All were comparable and had their pluses and minuses.)

Lessons from Auto Shopping, Cont’d.

I feel compelled to share more of my auto shopping story because there are great lessons in all of this. It simply amazes me how little selling actually goes on. Yet many people continue to talk about their business being down.

Last week I wrote about the four dealerships I had visited looking for a new car (read this post here). I narrowed my search down to two foreign auto dealers. Here’s what has transpired with their follow up (not just the two I am considering) since my visits started three weeks ago. They were all given the same information at the start – my home address and my home phone number thus putting them all on a level playing field.

Dealer 1 (Foreign)
Received a form letter four days after my visit from the sales manager. Not sure who he is, never met him. Nice gesture though, I guess.

Have heard nothing from the representative I did met with. Don’t you think he should follow up too?

It’s been over three weeks.

Dealer 2 (American)
Received a phone call from the salesperson I met with one week later.

Nothing more.

Dealer 3 (Foreign-one of the two I am interested in)
Six days after my visit, I had a couple questions and emailed my contact.  (Note-he now has my email address and my work phone since it is built into my emails). He replied one day later via email. I then asked a couple more questions via email and he replied the same day. The next day I emailed again and didn’t hear from him for five days. Five days!

I stopped in again this Saturday (one week later from the last contact with him) to test drive the car again. He didn’t remember me and he was very frazzled. It was 10:35 am and he was expecting a customer at 10:30 am to pick up their new car. Told him I understood, no problem, just wanted to test drive the car one more time. He got me the keys, the plate and I went off on my own. When I returned 20 minutes later, his appointment still had not shown. So we sat down to work up some numbers. All the while he was worried the people would show up and kept watching out the window for them. Within five minutes, they arrived and he became even more flustered. You could tell he just wasn’t sure what to do. I told him not to worry, to take care of them, gave him my cell phone number and asked him to call me later in the day with the pricing info.

I have yet to hear from him.

Dealer 4 (Foreign-the other one I am interested in)
This is the dealership that has made the most favorable impression on me. The rep has called my home phone and left me a message almost every day since I was there.
When I stopped by again this Saturday, he remembered me. He made a comment about his relentless follow up.

He is always on and working toward the sale. He loves the car, the manufacturer, the service department and the owner of his dealership. His excitement is infectious. Above all else, he also takes time to be personable and work to build a relationship with me.

He gets it. I need to buy this car from him. He has sold me, sold me on the car, sold me on the service department, sold me on the owners but most importantly sold me on himself.

Lots of people talked about not wanting to be sold. That’s not true. People want to be sold. They want reasons to give you their money. You need to give them the reasons. You need to be excited about it.

Here’s what I keep asking myself though about my whole car shopping ordeal.

Are the owners of these dealerships aware of what their salespeople are doing? Do they care? Or maybe they have thrown in the towel and chalked it up to the 10% unemployment rate and the erratic stock market and anything else they can blame. Then I also think maybe their numbers aren’t bad in comparison and they think they’re doing o.k.

In the end though, I should have four dealerships clamoring over me and I only have one. One in four!

Thought to ponder-how is your salespeople’s follow up? Like the one in four or the three in four? Hopefully, it is the former.

Lessons from Auto Shopping

Over the last couple of weeks I have been searching for a new car. It has been seven years since the last time I did this. Things have changed quite a bit since even the time before that, 10 years ago where I did this by myself.

Ten years ago I remember not being taken seriously by the salesmen I encountered. They really didn’t want to talk to me, kept me waiting an inordinate amount of time and were hesitant to let me test drive the car, much less try to sell me the car. I have to say that it really pissed me off at the time.

One dealership in particular left a such a lasting impression on me and sour taste in my mouth that I vehemently vowed I would never buy a car from them at anytime in the future. I remember thinking then how many more cars I would be buying in my lifetime and how short sighted they were of that fact.

Three years later when I was searching again, I had Mike go with me so I could avoid this kind of treatment.

And it was avoided. I was treated as a serious buyer. Of course, each salesperson addressed Mike first, then me. Mike had to point out that I was the one who was looking and then like someone anointed the salesperson from the heavens, they were then permitted to direct the sales presentation to me. Whatever. It worked at the time. I actually found it amusing and kind of sad, too.

This is where I need to break in the middle of my story and point out that if you have a product or service and you are selling to women one on one, you better be sure your salespeople aren’t treating them any differently than they would selling one on one to a man. Women talk about this all the time. We care about how we are treated. We expect to be treated with respect and not discounted.

Fast forward to the present. I’ve been to four dealerships by myself. I even went to the one I vowed I wouldn’t buy a car from. But, just to test drive the car (they’re the closest dealership for the brand). I was treated better this time I have to say but I can’t forget the past. It left a scar.

Of the other three, two were foreign, one was American. Hands down the foreign dealerships (especially one in particular) were much better than the American one.

The foreign one in particular is much more modern in appearance and has a system in place for how guests are treated once they walk through the doors. Everything is choreographed. I was made to feel very important. In fact, I was there far longer than I had planned. I think I could have spent the night if I wanted to. I loved watching the sales presentation and took notice of everything that was done. The car at this dealership has become the frontrunner. I think not because of the car but because of the salesperson and overall the way he made me feel. I’m not some dumb broad looking for a car. I have half a brain and my own checkbook. Finally, someone is paying attention.

On the flipside, at the US dealership, I had a feeling somewhat like I did ten years ago. Not just from the salesperson but the other employees I encountered as well (not all men by the way). It was almost like I was interrupting their day. There is an old school feel about the place. It isn’t as neat and clean feeling. It felt like they were behind the times, stodgy. Could I really buy a car from here? The car itself is the most comfortable of them all but I wasn’t wooed. I left feeling uninspired.

Second lesson here. Be sure you know how your competition is selling against you. Above all else, and this is a biggie, if you are selling a high ticket item you should have your sales presentation choreographed. It will make a difference, it did with me.

What’s the Magic Word?

Appreciation.

First a quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
“There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread.”

Isn’t that the truth? We all want love and appreciation.

Showing customer appreciation can certainly go a long way in establishing trust and building that everlasting bond we want with our customers.

Many businesses spend more money to get new clients, customers and patients than what they spend to keep the customers they have. The biggest asset in any business is the customer database. Investing in your current customers is a smart way to more profits.

One thing we are working on in our own business is developing a customer appreciation program. We plan to recognize our top customers each month with some sort of gift or acknowledgment. This program is in addition to the things we already do such as sending thank you notes after each order (with money saving coupons if they purchase again within the next 30 days), rewarding them with gift cards for client referrals, and acknowledging birthdays, weddings, births, and other important life events. These things in themselves are a lost art in business today. Think about this. When was the last time you received any kind of personal correspondence from a company you do or did business with? Just adding this to your marketing mix will make a difference.

Here is a ”behind the scenes” look into some of the ideas we are considering. Quite possibly these ideas might be helpful to you or spark a new idea for your business to begin or enhance your own customer appreciation program.

1. Use the holidays.
Send Valentine’s Day candy and cards with the message, We Love Our Customers.
Deliver stockings with candy at Christmas.
Send baskets with candy at Easter.
Deliver Tricks or Treats at Halloween (dress up in costume for added fun).
Send flags or something else patriotic at Memorial Day or Fourth of July.

2. Use the seasons.
On a hot summer day, send some ice cream.
In the fall, send a pumpkin pie.
In the dead of winter, send some hot chocolate and a coffee mug with your logo.
On the first day of spring, send some daffodils.

3. Use your vendors. Use your resources.
Offer discounts you work out with your vendors especially for your clients.
Get your vendors to provide an educational seminar.
Who do you know who has specialized knowledge who would love the opportunity to provide helpful information and gain access to potential new clients?

4. Use education.
Send books you think might be helpful to your clients’ business or book on a subject you know your customer has an interest in.

5. Use invitations.
Invite your customers to breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Invite them to interesting events, seminars.

6. Use events.
Host an annual or quarterly appreciation party. Allow them to bring a guest (could be a potential new client). Some ideas-

Movie Party-rent out a theatre and show a first run movie, complete with popcorn, candy and beverage. Get the theatre to show your own video before the movie thanking your customers.

Host a Picture Day-maybe pictures with Santa or the Easter Bunny, maybe Halloween costume pictures. People love pictures especially when they are in them.Work out a special arrangement with a photographer for a discount in exchange for access to your clients.

Have a your own day at the local zoo, amusement park or water park.

Hold an event at a local attraction such as a museum. Be sure to take pictures and follow up with a thank you note and their picture in a special frame.

While it is necessary to always cultivate new business, in the end, our present customers are all we really have. They need to be made to feel that they are wanted and appreciated.

Customer Service Your Way to Profits

With the competitive nature of our economy today and the ever increasing challenge of getting customers to part with their money, providing excellent customer service is much more important than ever before. Gone are the days of being able to get by with lackadaisical customer service. Consumers want to be treated with respect and gratitude if they are going to hand over their hard earned money to you and they are far less tolerant of bad attitudes and indifferent behavior.

Your business needs to keep the pulse on your customer service and implement ways to measure it. Measuring customer service on a regular basis will give you the competitive advantage to make those changes in your business that are not only not working for your customers but also give you the insight into new products and services your customers want now.

Being able to keep on top of and adapt to the changing needs of your customer will help you to retain business and attract new customers.

The best way to know how you are doing in your customer’s eyes is to ask your customer!  This sounds simple but many businesses have no formal way of doing this. Customers can be a wealth of information for you. Through a formalized communication process with your customer, you will strengthen your relationship with them in addition to getting valuable information. They will know you care about them and their opinions. They will be apt to buy more from you and refer others to you.

One of the most common methods to get customer response is through a survey. Surveys can be done online electronically, by phone verbally or through the mail in written form. You can develop and implement the surveys yourself or you can hire an outside third party who specializes in customer satisfaction surveys. Either way can work. Some companies incorporate both methods as a means of checks and balances.

In most cases, the survey is be about a recent purchase or interaction with your company representative. What is important customer service-wise in one business may be altogether different for another business so you will want to determine what customer service means to your particular industry before developing your survey.

The survey should have both easy to answer ratings-type questions and also open-ended questions allowing customers to answer in their own words in order to gather more specific information. Some things you may want to consider including on your survey might be:

Ratings Questions (rate from 1-5, with 5 being BEST and 1 being POOR)

• Attitude of staff
• Speed in answering initial inquiry
• Competence of Staff
• Delivery Time
• Product/Service Quality
• Likelihood of Return
• Likelihood of Referring

Open-Ended Questions (make sure there are only a few of these)

• What could we have done better?
• What other products or services would enhance our offerings?
• Who do you know who might benefit from our products or services?

Now comes the most important part.

What you do with the information you gather is crucial. You probably won’t be able to react to everything your customers say but it is important to evaluate their responses and consider the validity of them.

Be sure to especially follow up with the unsatisfied customer regardless of the situation. An unhappy client can be deadly to your business. Businesses lose customers all the time simply because no one ever followed up on their complaint. Remember not only will they never return to you, they will be all too happy to spread the “bad news” about you to everyone they know. We have all done this. Your business is not immune. Get to these complaints quickly and go above and beyond to make it right. Let them spread the word instead about how awesome you are rather than warning everyone they know about their horrible experience with you.