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SAVVY
SELLING - DECEMBER
15, 2006
Spin
Control for Salespeople
by Michelle Nichols
EXECUTIVE
OVERVIEW
You
can prevent bad buzz and encourage
positive word of mouth by following
these seven steps when dealing
with prospects and customers
"Good news travels fast
and bad news travels farther
and faster." Remember that
old adage? In sales, positive
word of mouth and referrals
will bring you new customers,
but one big mistake left untreated
could undo years of your hard
work in an instant.
One cautionary rule of thumb
is that dissatisfied customers
will tell 10 times more folks
about a bad experience than
satisfied customers will about
a good experience. No, it's
not fair, but the best strategy
to avoid having unhappy customers
is prevention.
My seven keys to preventing
bad buzz follow:
1. Understand expectations.
To prevent unhappy customers,
first accurately understand
what they expect and set up
systems to ensure you meet—or
exceed—those expectations
consistently. You may want to
develop checklists to be sure
you understand your customer's
exact wishes. Expect to refine
the lists over time as you gain
more experience with them.
2. Deliver what you
promise. If the name
of your company is Speedy Repair
Services and your slogan is
"We're the fastest in town,"
then you need standardized business
processes to ensure you provide
fast service to every customer.
For example, you will need dependable
employees and additional experienced
help you can call on during
emergencies. You'll also need
a large inventory of spare parts.
Because you have a system in
place, your customers should
never be delayed by a shortage
of labor or parts.
An added benefit of this preparation
is that you can show any unsatisfied
customer all the effort you
took to ensure their pleasure.
If it looks like you really
tried, customers may be more
understanding.
3. Act honestly.
Another way to prevent unhappy
customers is to be scrupulously
honest. You may have to lower
your customer's expectations
early in the sales process,
even at the risk of losing a
sale. In this case, try to offer
something that compensates for
the shortcoming. For example,
if your customer wants a computer
from the line you are selling
with seven specific features,
and you show her one that has
six from her list and an extra
feature she might value, perhaps
you can still close the sale.
Do not ignore or mislead about
the missing seventh feature.
If she really must have it,
then keep looking for a computer
that meets all of her needs.
Keep your focus on satisfying
your customer and not just making
a quick sale.
4. Admit mistakes early.
Another way to reduce bad news
from customers is to come forward
as soon as a problem is discovered,
even if the customer doesn't
know about it yet. Years ago,
my husband bought a Lexus. A
few months later, our local
dealership contacted us to bring
our car in for a new set of
tires. It turns out that Lexus
had improved the design of the
tires from the original and
they wanted us to have the new
tires—at no charge for
the tires or the installation.
We don't know what was wrong
with the first set of tires,
but 15 years later we're still
telling the story.
5. Finesse angry customers.
Despite your best efforts, if
you have customers who are unhappy
and call you up to yell at you
or storm into your office or
store screaming, calmly listen
to them until they have had
their say. Do not interrupt
them. Sometimes they just need
to get it all out. If you are
very lucky, they will realize
they overreacted and end up
apologizing.
It helps to write down exactly
why they are frustrated using
their words. When they start
to calm down, show them what
you wrote and ask them if you
got it down correctly. Keep
working until they agree that
you understand the situation
completely.
6. Know when to issue
a mea culpa. After
any mistake, real or perceived,
when you open your mouth, begin
with an apology. Do not add
a "but" and your explanation.
Just say something like, "Ms.
Customer, I am so sorry your
order was not ready for you
on time and we caused you to
be late in delivering your order
to your customer. We know that
you depended on us. Our reputation
for accurate time estimates
is important to us."
Then ask them how she would
like you to handle the situation.
If it is reasonable, agree to
it. If it is not, see if you
can get them to compromise.
If they are completely unreasonable,
suggest that they give you a
day to think about it and offer
to talk with them the next day.
Perhaps they will calm down
in the meantime.
7. Be proactive.
Nip potential bad buzz in the
bud. If you hear from one of
your customers that another
customer is upset, contact the
unhappy customer right away.
Say that you heard he was unhappy
with his last order and you
wanted to hear in his own words
exactly how you fell short.
The key in dealing with bad
news is not to inform folks
that you want to "tell"
them something; that sounds
defensive, which is what they
are expecting—and dreading.
Rather, tell them you want to
hear them; this is so unexpected
and refreshing that they just
might stop telling those in
their network about your mistake.
Who knows? Properly handled,
the customer may discover their
unhappiness is partially their
own fault. Now you have an opportunity
to sell them a solution.
Let's face it, you can't please
everyone all the time. Occasionally,
you may have a customer who
is entirely unreasonable and
won't give you a way to fix
the situation. Try really hard
to please them—and then
let it go. Learn to prevent
it from occurring again and
go sell the next customer.
While it is true that a good
buzz about your work will lead
to more sales, do all you can
to prevent unhappy customers
too, and your sales will soar.
Happy selling!
Michelle Nichols is a
professional sales speaker and
consultant based in Reno, Nevada.
She welcomes your questions
and comments. You can visit
her web site at www.savvyselling.com
or contact her at michelle.nichols@savvyselling.com.
Her toll-free number is (877)
352-9684.
Copyright 2000-2006. All rights
reserved.
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