One of the old tools in marketing and advertising is getting a new lease on life. That is the reference or recommendation. In the electronic world anybody can look like a Fortune 500 company. Anybody can, and does, claim the best service..the lowest prices..the most satisfied customers.
I just did a very broad search on "material handling customer service". In the two lines of text that Google extracts, a type of abstract, almost every listing claimed great or the best customer service. Many times as you drive into the site that will be the only mention of customer service...no back up. I managed a company once and put a banner over our CPU area with the logos of our customers. The banner read..."Our Customers are the Greatest Companies in the World". It gave all who saw it a confidence in our abilities. The owner made me take it down because he didn't want anyone to know about who we were selling to. The fact that there were 25 to 30 vehicles a day visiting, each with logos on the side apparently didn't compromise our stelth mode. I wasn't there long.
A real live customer saying good things about you has impact. You beating your own drum does little. After all the Chairman of General Motors says they have paid off the loan. You believe that?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
They Have a Delete Button
One of the regular readers reminded me that I hadn't done anything new and told me to "get to it". Regular writing is more difficult than one would think. Knowing the intelligence level of this crowd - anything I write needs to be interesting but also useful. That is really the trick in a lot of what we are all asked to do in selling.
Selling in the B to B world, you first have to gain the attention of your prospect. It seems like the amount of time a customer will give you to gain his or her interest is getting shorter. I think that trend started with the invention of the delete button. You know it hasn't always been around. There was a time when your words or offer or proposal would linger for days or weeks; maybe months. But now; NO ........ NEXT. How do we get our prospect to be interested.....fast.
I maintain...it's got to be about them. Everything starts with the customer and their problem. Therefore, that is the way you lead off so you avoid the delete button long enough to argue your point.
I remember a day in my office when a young salesman cold-calling found himself sitting in front of me. After thanking me for seeing him he started with two of the worst mistakes a salesperson can make. He said "I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to come by and tell you how my company does business."
You can guess that I stopped him there. "You never want to tell me that you interrupted my day...just because you were in the neighborhood." I waited for a reaction...it came in the form of panic. I decided to pile on. "Also, I don't care how your company does business, I only care about how my company does business." More panic. "I have to fax this document to someone who is waiting on it. When I come back we will start over. OK?" He nodded.
I took a little extra time out of the office and when I returned I waited and he said. "I am out today to tell the companies in my territory about a new product that might be of use to them in their business. It is new and I wanted to be the one to introduce it to you in the hope that you will become my customer." I applauded.
Somewhere today is a middle-age salesman who has told this story from the other side of the desk. About the crusty old fart that taught him a valuable lesson. It is always about the customer. Study their business, figure out how your product or service will benefit them....lead with that. Remember the delete button.
That covers the interesting part, next time we will talk about useful.
Selling in the B to B world, you first have to gain the attention of your prospect. It seems like the amount of time a customer will give you to gain his or her interest is getting shorter. I think that trend started with the invention of the delete button. You know it hasn't always been around. There was a time when your words or offer or proposal would linger for days or weeks; maybe months. But now; NO ........ NEXT. How do we get our prospect to be interested.....fast.
I maintain...it's got to be about them. Everything starts with the customer and their problem. Therefore, that is the way you lead off so you avoid the delete button long enough to argue your point.
I remember a day in my office when a young salesman cold-calling found himself sitting in front of me. After thanking me for seeing him he started with two of the worst mistakes a salesperson can make. He said "I was just in the neighborhood and wanted to come by and tell you how my company does business."
You can guess that I stopped him there. "You never want to tell me that you interrupted my day...just because you were in the neighborhood." I waited for a reaction...it came in the form of panic. I decided to pile on. "Also, I don't care how your company does business, I only care about how my company does business." More panic. "I have to fax this document to someone who is waiting on it. When I come back we will start over. OK?" He nodded.
I took a little extra time out of the office and when I returned I waited and he said. "I am out today to tell the companies in my territory about a new product that might be of use to them in their business. It is new and I wanted to be the one to introduce it to you in the hope that you will become my customer." I applauded.
Somewhere today is a middle-age salesman who has told this story from the other side of the desk. About the crusty old fart that taught him a valuable lesson. It is always about the customer. Study their business, figure out how your product or service will benefit them....lead with that. Remember the delete button.
That covers the interesting part, next time we will talk about useful.
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