Colleen’s Blog

Do you ever wonder what happened to good old-fashioned handwritten letters? Although communication tools like email have become the norm and have eliminated most practical uses for handwritten letters, it seems as though the transition period between the two methods of communication was almost overnight. In business today, it’s clear that letter writing is no longer in style. However, have you ever thought of how you can use this fact to your advantage? It isn’t a coincidence that most high ranked sales professionals that I know are also prolific letter-writers. Consider the benefits of writing a letter:

How long do you typically take to get back to a prospect upon receiving an inquiry from them? Anything longer than 24 hours is too long. Your customers are busy people - by taking too long to respond you’re letting go of an otherwise potentially easy sale. ← Click To Tweet The number of salespeople and organizations who let days or weeks pass before responding to an inquiry is absolutely staggering. This type of behavior not only breaks several rules in sales etiquette but also displays a complete lack of professional etiquette as well. If you're looking for the easiest, most foolproof way of losing a sale, just trick yourself into believing that your potential customer will be at your beck and call and ready to buy whenever you feel the urge to reply to them. For example: I once sent an inquiry to a company about buying a tradeshow booth. I expressed a strong interest in their product and indicated that I simply needed a few pieces of information before making a purchase. I expected a prompt reply due to my clear readiness to buy their product.

For the most part I have had nothing but extraordinary service while in the UK. These hotel and taxi practices are not difficult to replicate nor are they expensive to implement. They will encourage repeat business and increase profits from referrals. Why aren’t more service providers catering to customers in this way?

Are your client and prospect conversations often turning into a form of verbal combat? All too often salespeople get so wrapped up in being right that they completely forget to acknowledge their clients' feelings and opinions. Demonstrating acknowledgement is a key step in continuing a conversation instead of jumping straight into an argument! <-- Click To Tweet When you acknowledge your client’s opinion (even if it differs from your own) you demonstrate empathy to the way your buyer feels. This automatically puts them in a better, more relaxed state of mind because you’re showing your client that you understand their concerns and you’re willing to find a solution. You also show that you’re less concerned about being right and more concerned about being fair.

It’s a simple fact...there are some customers that you must fire if you want to remain profitable. To be fair - some of these customers are sold products and services that are not beneficial for them. It can be easy to get carried away with the thrill of making a sale, but to avoid these situations, it’s important to only sell your services to customers who can truly benefit from using them. Other problem customers could have been the right type of clients at the beginning of the relationship, but due to personality changes and/or changes in corporate policies, are no longer as profitable as they used to be. Stop working with these two client types:

It goes without saying, but the more interesting you are, the more clients and prospects will want to engage with you. To be clear, being interesting doesn’t simply mean having the best stories on a Monday morning after a busy weekend. But, you don’t have to start jumping out of airplanes or start setting world records to be interesting. Being interesting is about connecting with interesting people, having interesting ideas and most importantly...being interested in others. If we aren’t showing interest in others, we are eliminating a great opportunity for people to find us interesting because interest is reciprocal.  The more interested you are in others, the more interesting you are to others. The more interesting you are to others, the more they will buy from you and stay loyal. <-- Click To Tweet

Are you keeping a positive attitude in your day-to-day interactions? The outlook you have on your career and life has a direct impact on how successful you will become. ← Click To Tweet Those with a positive mental attitude tend to have more positive interactions and are easier to communicate with. People with negative attitudes tend to push clients, prospects, and colleagues away. Nobody wants to associate themselves with toxic people! A toxic attitude can easily spread across an entire team and sales force. When this happens, sales start to suffer! Trust me, if you’re feeling deflated, angry or frustrated, your team and your clients will be able to tell. Here are a few tips you can easily implement to maintain a positive attitude and environment at work: