The Straw that can Make or Break Your Business

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The Straw that can Make or Break Your Business

Written by Colleen Stanley

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Managing Customer Follow up

When you make your promises to a customer how are you remembering what you need to do. Where are you writing down what you need to do? Are you using technology? How you manage this information reflects on your ability to manage your client. If they have to call you and follow-up to get the promised information, then they are not going to believe you the next time you make another commitment.

If you want to improve your business, go on vacation. Vacation is a great time to decompress, not accomplish anything meaningful, and eliminate any noise coming from an alarm clock. It’s also a great time to observe customer service and sales. My vacations have always left me with a few business takeaways. Here are some observations:

Little things are big.
When dining out, I always order water with a straw. 70% of the time the order doesn’t match the delivery. A glass of water will arrive with no straw in sight. Not a big deal in the course of world events, I know. But the annoyance of having to make the request two or three more times becomes vast. By the third request, I’m dehydrated, wondering if my lips are moving with no sound coming out and adjusting the tip on the bill.

A good question to ask yourself and your team is, “What straws are not being delivered to our customers?” Are promises made and not fulfilled? Or is a request fulfilled only after three follow ups by the customer? (Insurance companies, listen up.)

Attention to detail also makes a difference in developing relationships. For example, a salesperson attends a networking event, meets new people and promises to follow up with an introduction to a colleague. They return to the office, the real world hits, and promise of an introduction is forgotten – the “straw” is never delivered. Little things make the big difference and can affect the “tip” your prospects and customers are willing to pay for your services.

People make the difference.
Walking in and out of retail stores during vacation is a great reminder that people, not merchandise, make sales. In a resort setting, unique stores and unusual products abound, creating stiff competition for tourist dollars. (Someone forgot to tell the sales staff.)

There are usually three types of salespeople/sales teams working in the stores. The first is the task oriented salesperson. They are busy putting out merchandise and straightening garments. Their head never lifts nor is eye contact made. They have a job to do and in the process forget about their real job….serving the customer.

Then there’s the “water cooler” gang. These groups of salespeople stand in a tight circle, sharing the events of the week. The meeting decreases their ability to hear the bell, announcing a customer is in the store with time and money on hand.

The third group is the professional sales team. They remember why they were hired – to help the customer, enhance their overall vacation experience and move merchandise. These salespeople make eye contact; wear something called a smile and work to help you find that special item. For some reason, this third group of salespeople kept getting my money!

Take a look at your business. Is your sales team caught up in the task side of the job versus the people side of the business? Are they so busy putting out fires they forget to fire up the customer to buy? Are your teams in meetings all day talking to each other instead of the most important person, the customer? Customers have lots of choices. Make sure you have the right salespeople on your staff to influence that choice.

Act like it’s your first day everyday.
There is an old saying, “Change how you look at things and the things you look at will change.” There are many jobs connected with the travel industry that are repetitious; giving tours, scheduling travel reservations or checking in guests. Great businesses instill in their teams a “first time” mentality. While it might be a tour guide’s 75th time giving a tour, teams practicing the first time mentality speak with the same enthusiasm and passion as if it was their first tour.

Debbie is a park ranger and gives weekly talks on the geology of the Teton National Park. Debbie has a first time mentality. She engages the audience, patiently fields questions from kids and speaks passionately about her subject. One might suspect it was her first night on the job except for Debbie’s 10 years of experience. Many salespeople are charged with the same task as Debbie.

When a prospect is sharing their problems or concerns, the great salesperson acts as if it the first time they’ve heard the problem. They are not bored, they are curious because they know for this prospect this problem is a first and it hurts. The great salesperson booking travel reservations still gets excited for their customer going on the trip, even though they have already booked 50 of them that week. Act like it’s your first day on the job because it is your customer’s first time experiencing your service.

Take a break, recharge and go on vacation. While sipping on your mai tai, look around and learn about business.

Colleen Stanley
		About the author:
		Colleen Stanley is president of SalesLeadership, Inc. She is a monthly columnist for the Denver Business Journal, co-author of 'Motivational Selling' and author of 'Growing Great Sales Teams: Lessons from the Cornfield.' Colleen is a popular speaker for Vistage International, Women’s Leadership Exchange and was the featured speaker on sales for the 2006 New York Times Small Business Summit. She is on the board of directors for The Tennyson Center for Children, Association for Corporate Growth and National Speakers Association. .