Service With a SmileWritten by John Boe
Successful salespeople have ability to turn customers they serve into advocates. They don’t directly ask for assistance, they do it by “going extra mile” when providing service. It is only natural for satisfied customers to refer their friends and business associates to someone they know they can trust to take good care of them. In every walk of life, people who have achieved success in their lives have done so because they have rendered their talent and ability in service to others. Your ability to provide quality service after sale is critical in developing “lifetime relationships” with your customers. Top salespeople have learned that key to their success is “service with a smile.” They understand that their referrals and follow on business is in direct relationship to service they render on a daily basis. “Going The Extra Mile” Service Tips 1. Always under promise and over deliver. Develop a reputation for reliability; never make a promise that you can’t deliver. 2. Stay in contact and keep good records. Set up a suspense system to track important contact dates such as client review calls and birthdays. Consider sending a personal note or an article of interest once or twice per year. 3. Pay attention to small things. Get in habit of returning phone calls, e-mails and other correspondence quickly.
| | 5 Tips for Building Trust and RapportWritten by John Boe
Have you ever had a sale that didn’t close and you weren’t sure why? Chances are you lost sale because you didn’t establish sufficient trust and rapport with your prospect. Once you have developed trust and rapport you’ve actually got hard part behind you and you’re probably going to make a sale! For you see, it really doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are about your product or how skilled you might be at closing, unless you have earned your prospects confidence, you are not going to make sale – period. The bottom line here is that people want to do business with salespeople that they relate to and that they feel understand their needs. Obviously, challenge and importance of developing trust and rapport will escalate in direct relationship to price of your product or service. 1.Be mindful of your body language gestures and remember to keep them positive! Unfold your arms, uncross your legs, show your palms and remember to smile. Develop awareness and sensitivity to your prospect’s body language. An effective listener notices all aspects of communication and is aware of voice tone, facial expression, repetitive movements, and muscle tension. Watch for inconsistencies between your prospect’s spoken word and their nonverbal communication. Rely on nonverbal as a much more accurate indicator of intent. By understanding your prospect’s body language you will minimize perceived sales pressure and know when it is appropriate to close sale. 2.Create harmony! “Matching and Mirroring” your prospect’s body language gestures will psychologically cause them to identify with you. The power behind this principle is firmly grounded in precept that people trust people that they believe are similar to them. Matching and mirroring is an unconscious mimicry by which one person tells another that he is in agreement with their ideas and attitudes. Likewise, studies have shown that when people disagree they subconsciously mismatch their body language gestures. You want to be careful not to be too obvious when you are consciously matching someone because it will be perceived as manipulative if you don’t do it naturally. An effective way to begin matching is to subtly nod your head in agreement when your prospect nods their head.
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