This past weekend I wandered down the street at 8am to watch the implosion of a portion of our football stadium. I thought it would be neat to see the stands come down, and because I would hear the blasting from my bed anyway…why not get up and see what all the fuss was about!

There were a number of people with the same intention gathered on the hill as close as we could get to the site. And even more police and security instructing us to get back for safety. Ottawa is a small enough government town (read: many people think it’s boring) to make this implosion a seriously exciting community event!

I started to notice after a few minutes that the people on our hill perch broke into small groups and started their own conversations about how “stupid the police were being” wondering out loud about how much “overtime we were paying them” and complaining about “how we should be allowed to get as close as we wanted” to the implosion site.

Chris and I couldn’t help but think that these would be the same people who, if the implosion went badly and one of our group was hurt, would be the same people to complain that there was not enough security, that the city was being cheap with overtime and that we should never have been allowed to get that close!

Some people just love to complain no matter what. It reminded me of a quote I heard on CSI Miami when a priest said of one of his Nun. “Sister Mary takes such pleasure in that which annoys her”.

What you focus on is your choice. Are you paying attention to what is being said in front of you and are you aware of how that affects you on a long-term basis? What do you chose to talk about in group of people especially your clients? Are you focused on the negative or the positive? Remember that clients don’t wnat to deal with vicitms or complainers and they are certainly not paying you to throw a “pity Party!”

Successful people don’t complain. They take action

 Everyone and every business, no matter how well managed, will have to deal with dissatisfied or even angry customers from time to time. Sometimes the customer is justified in his complaints other times they are not. Regardless of their justification for being upset, the handling of the situation can have far reaching impact on a business.

Now, I want to talk with you about techniques that you should consider when dealing with the dissatisfied customer.

American Management Association research into consumer behavior indicates that the average satisfied customer tells three people about his experience but the average dissatisfied customer gripes to eleven other people. Negative word-of-mouth advertising is a problem few businesses can afford because complaints tend to spread and expand like fishing stories.

Here are 7 simple steps you can use to turn a complaining customer into a loyal customer for life

Step one –  Make an exclamation that puts you on their side. “OOOH that’s terrible!” or “WOW that’s horrible!”  are great exclamations because they put you on the same side of the issue with the customer and shows that you care about the complaint. Acknowledging the customers right to be upset is the first step in calming them down – especially if they are visibly upset or angry.

Step two - Thanks the customer for sharing the information with you. Rather than saying “I’m Sorry” say “Thank you for sharing this with me”. That will put the customer at ease and indicate to them that you emphasize and are about to take action.

Step three - make a positive action statement. Example – “Now that I know, I can take action to get something done right away” The client doesn’t want sympathy or excuses, they want the problem solved.

Step four –Ask them for suggestions. “What will make you happy?” is a magic question according to Jerry Wilson. I like to use “Mr. Voice, what would be your ideal solution? To this problem?”  Its interesting to note that often the dissatisfied customer will asks for something less in settlement than you would freely offer when they are part of the solution. Angry clients often react negatively to solutions that they feel they have not had any say in. Step three helps to give your client a feeling of control over the issue.

Step five – Solve the issue. “Mr. Voice thanks again for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate the opportunity to make the situation right. by…..(what ever the customer and you agreed would be the solution) We want to keep you as a valuable customer and I am sorry you experienced this.

Step six – after the issue has been resolved and the customer has left your office, or hung up the phone send them a thank you note and small gift. Thank them again for allowing you to resolve the issue for them and for their loyalty. This token of appreciate will ensure that they make their next purchase with you and start to talk to their friends about what a great job you did in solving the issues.

Step seven – This is a step taken from last weeks Lead up lesson. Call them to follow up. Conduct a quick survey to make sure the issue is still solved to their satisfaction. Wait about 10 days and make the call. Be sure to conduct this call over the phone, an email will NOT cut it. This is your chance to connect with the customer again, in a more positive communication. You will build rapport and enhance trust.

Think carefully about how to apply this to your business and your customer base. If you tend to hear similar complaints from a number of customers document those complaints and brainstorm with your colleagues about what the best solutions are. That way, if your customer does not know how they would like you to resolve the issue you can make suggestions that you know work.

Motivating you to Sales Success,

Colleen

The happier your customers are, the happier they will be to refer you to their own friends, colleagues and associates.

A referral from a customer is the highest form of trust. Trust is built on consistent behavior over time, starting with continuously showing your customers that you’re focused on their needs. Once you’ve established that level of trust, identify “advocates” among your most loyal customers, and empower them to crusade for your product or service.

Of course, always reward customers who send business your way. At a minimum, a handwritten thank you note will show them you appreciate the effort they made. At the maximum, a gift will help you secure that relationship – and likely lead to even more referrals in the future.

Sell More - Work less!

Colleen

Albert Einstein reportedly said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”  Yet many sales performers do exactly that – falling back on the same old strategies that have not worked in the past, hoping things will be different this time. Of course, they usually get the same lackluster results and wonder why.
 
If you are having issues or challenges, honestly look at your methods for trying to resolve them. If they are not producing the results you want, try something different. You may not have all the answers, or you may not know the right answer now so consider this:

With more than six billion people in the world the chances are great that someone has experienced exactly what we are experiencing and has found a solution. The trick is to our success is to find the answer.

It is arrogant and egotistical to say and believe that we have tried everything. The truth is that we may have tried everything we can think of, but we have certainly not tried everything there is to try. Someone out there has probably experienced our problem, has been in an identical or nearly identical situation, and has found the answer. Chances are great that someone out there has a co-worker, boss, husband, wife, child, or relative who has experienced a very similar problem and found a resolution.

What if you ran your life by the motto: failure is not an option. How determined would you be to find and implement the answer you’re looking for? What if there was a million dollars riding on it? How likely would you be to find the answer?

Here is an easy tip to help you find the answers for just about any situation — simply ask ten people for advice. If they don’t have the answer, they probably know someone who does. When you receive the advice, be open, receptive, and truly listen to what they have to say.

My accountant Nick is also a business growth coach ad offers terrific advice to small business owners abut success, profits and growth. Yesterday he posted a super short piece on “can’t vs can”, Considering “can’t” is a very dangerous word to use in sales I thought you would like this one too.

Colleen

Chris had a great posting on his site - microbizjournal  - yesterday that I thought you would all like. As sales professionals, we are all our own micro businesses. In fact, those that treat their sales territories as their own business are the most successful.

Check out the microbizjournal

This weekend, Colleen and I were sitting around in our family room, each with our laptops on, well, our laps. I knew something was going horribly wrong when she leaned over and asked why her blog was only showing posts up to March 08. Of course, I automatically assumed it was user error and made some crack. But then I looked at this blog, a noted the complete absence of, well, this blog

Cheers Colleen

Hi Colleen, Is it even possible to be successful in sales today? Do you have any advice for “recession proofing” my sales results?
Thanks so much, Lawrence

Hi Lawrence,

Your success is directly determined by the way you are perceived, and the amount of effort you put into your career. Changing either of those variables will have a huge impact on whether you succeed or fail when the going gets tough.

In other words, in good times or in bad, the type of sales person you choose to be is 100% up to you. Choose to be “nice” - by which I mean, honest, open and empathetic to your customer’ needs - and you will experience consistent sales growth, build an excellent reputation and become a leader in your field, regardless of the market you sell in or the state of the economy.

Any recession will only be what YOU make of it. Just look around, in my town I still see people jammed into shopping malls and spending, spending, spending. Every flight I am on these days is packed full with passengers, and the high end restaurants we treat ourselves to are still the toughest reservations around. Compared with the rest of the world, we really have nothing to complain about.

Now, I know prices are going up for many things. You may have lost some equity in real estate. Last week it cost me $96 to fill up my car and Chris’ mom (who we were visiting in Edmonton last week noted that she paid $13 for a bag of flour).

But it’s especially important as sales people that we do NOT follow the thinking of the masses. If you let the news get to you and become timid about your sales efforts and stop asking people to make decisions, you WILL feel the “recession”. So it’s important more than ever to simply refuse to participate in all the worry.

Here are two steps to recession proof your business…

1. Stop blaming the economy. It’s not the economy that’s the problem. If you’re not making enough sales today, it’s because of one of two things:

a. You’re not working hard enough; or
b. You’re perceived poorly by your customers.

The first is easy enough to fix. If you’re not working hard enough, work harder! Get out and make those extra calls. If that doesn’t work, make five more.

The second problem is more difficult. To solve it, you first need to answer two questions: How do your customers perceive you? And how should they perceive you?  For detailed answers to this question check out our article called What Type of Sales Person are You?

2. To start improving how you are perceived, go on a media news diet. Mainstream news is only interested in promoting fear, because fear sells. Have you ever noticed that after watching just 20 minutes of CNN, CTV or Fox you actually feel depressed and saps your confidence to succeed? I mean, you may as well curl up under the covers and hide because there are no businesses left to sell to!

The trouble is, your depression is palpable. Your customers can sense it. And no one wants to buy from a depressed sales person who lacks confidence. The biggest risk to you is the creating of a self fulfilling prophecy. You get depressed from the news. You take a depressed attitude into a sales meeting. Your client will not buy because you are… well… depressing and sucking the life out of them. You go back home a failure and take solace in the news that it’s the economy’s fault. You continue to fail.

Stop it! You need to safe guard your mind, look for the good news, turn off your TV and use your brain.

Canada’s economy is expected to grow again this year according to McLean’s magazine. The US has just experienced their 4th quarter of unemployment decline (yes that means LESS people are unemployed) and the LA Times recently reported that although the middle class is disappearing, 2/3 of them are moving UP (not down as the news likes to insinuate).

Be persistent. Even if the economy gets worse there can be a huge opportunity for those sales pro’s who hang in and creatively find ways to succeed. You will find less competition from those throwing in the towel because they aren’t made for the game.

Best of Luck! Colleen

Last week Chris and I were visiting family in Edmonton and we took two of our nieces to the Edmonton Street Performers Festival. The best part for everyone was the ”be your own busker” workshop where we all learned how to juggle, spin plates and use one of those “tea cup on a string things”.  As an adult, it’s always frustrating at first to learn a new skill and I found my patience tried over and over. I was ready to quit and just become the official photographer when their enthusiasm resonated with me.  The kids had no problems with failure. They just picked up the plates, or the balls, and tried again. It was a great lesson for Chris and I. Emily and Elizabeth’s persistence to “get it right” encouraged us to keep going. As you can see - Chris and the girls started to master the plate spinning with a bit of concentration! After this picture was taken I too went on to master the “tea cup on a string things” but there was not enough time in the day to figure out how to juggle!

In the last newsletter our poll results were tied with 50% of you assuming you will succeed to hit quota this summer and 50% assuming you will fail. I think it’s time for those in the bottom 50% to “pick up your plate” and learn a new sales skill. Now is the time to put in a little more effort. Make a couple more calls, try a script, master a new objection handling idea, attend some new networking events, revive a customer relationship that has gone stale, and generally work a little harder. It’s also a great time to review your skills inventory and brush up on some new selling techniques. If you are in Ottawa, consider joining me at a free sales event July 23rd sponsored by Peak Sales Recruiting: New Rules to Skyrocket Your Income Past Six Figures. And make sure you come out to meet some new sales pros at our annual Engage Summer party – see the RSVP below!

Dedicated to increasing your sales,

P. S.  For those sales executives and business owners who really want to push themselves this year you must check out our exclusive new workshop in November. The Sales Mastery Workshop. I promise it will be an event that pushes you into your uncomfort zone creating immediate results, lasting success and a permanent increase to your bottom line. Also check out the FREE “New Rules of Sales” teleseries preview of the Workshop detailed below.

I have been doing some research on lying in sales for my upcoming book Honesty Sells with Steven Gaffney and sadly for our profession there is no shortage of material. I thought this one in particular was funny because it’s written by a pastor who is both having sales people lie to her, and who think she is lying to them. Ironic…..

Onwards and upwards I suppose

Colleen