Moving along on our 14 things great salespeople do that average salespeople only think about, here is number 4:
4. Great salespeople understand what service is all about. They know what matters is not how they measure service but how their customers measure it.
A salesperson called me one time complaining about how he had just been chewed out by a customer who was complaining their shipment had not arrived on time. The salesperson said the order was delivered on time and he couldn’t understand why the customer was upset.
One simple question answered the issue at hand. I asked the salesperson what the customer’s definition of an “on-time order” was. Needless to say, the salesperson didn’t know. He thought his company’s definition of an on-time order was the same as what the customer had as a definition.
Clearly this was not the case, but the salesperson was clueless as to how the customer defined it.
Great salespeople know what a customer values. The reason is simple. They ask questions to find out.
Great salespeople use the selling process to uncover what the customer expects and what they value. As a result, they know what it is going to take to deliver quality service to the customer.
Not only do they know what the customer expects, but they also know what resources they may have to access to ensure the customer receives the level of service they expect.
If the great salesperson is not able to deliver on what the customer is expecting, they don’t hide from the customer. Rather, they reach out to them proactively to deal with the matter. It’s called accountability and, unfortunately, in today’s business world, accountability is something far too many salespeople have forgotten.
What do your customers expect?
Look at not just what it is you sell, but also at how the customer behaves in other instances as well. The more you understand the customer and how they look at things, the better you’ll be in not just meeting their needs, but in exceeding their needs.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
