‘Follow Up’
The Illusion of Selling
One of the worst objections a salesperson can hear is: “Could you send me some information?” It’s not that you can’t turn that objection around; it’s just that you know the prospect has no intention of ever looking at it. Besides, even if they do look at it do you really think they’re going to fully understand it? And, if they have questions, do you think they’re going to run right to the phone and call you for the answers?
Let’s face it. All information gets shipped to the same address: 1 Garbage Can Drive!
But now, here’s the real issue; many salespeople love to send out information because when you send information you never have to actually hear the word, “No,” while appearing to be doing something. It’s called the illusion of selling. It’s the ability to do sales-like activities where you don’t actually have to ask someone to buy, thereby avoiding rejection.
There are many examples of this:
- Salespeople who visit the same clients all the time. I say “visit,” because that’s what they do. They don’t actually do any selling. They “Hang out.” It’s a great way of covering your ass, because you can fill out a report that shows you were seeing clients, thereby keeping your manager off your back.
- Email. What a great non-threatening way of keeping in touch with people without ever having to speak with them and risk the chance they might turn you down for business. I love email, but not as the be-all and end-all, but more as an add-on to actual client contact; such as phone calls and face to face visits.
- Paperwork. Salespeople love to complain about how much paperwork they have. The standard complaint is: “I’d love to sell more, but I have so much paperwork to do, I don’t have time to make the calls.” However, if you read between the lines the actual comment should be: “If I sit around doing paperwork, I’ll look busy without having to go out and get rejected.” Of course, the best way to eliminate paperwork is to stop selling. Soon there’ll be no paperwork, simply because there’ll be no customers.
The problem with the mediocre to poor salesperson is they will do anything to not have to sell. Here’s a great real-life example sent to me as a blog comment by Brad Trnavsky, a sales and management blogger:
“I had an outside rep that worked for me for about two months. He ignored every piece of advice I gave him and just walked around downtown passing out info packets and collecting business cards. Guess what; in two months he passed out hundreds of info packets and did not make one sale. It’s probably why he only lasted 2 months.
The bummer of it all is, the guy had skill, and could quote every sales book ever written. He was just too afraid to ASK for a sale.”
As you can see, participating in the illusion of selling can only take you so far; 2 months for the salesperson in the example above. This always amazes me because if these same salespeople put as much effort into selling as they do into the illusion of selling, they’d do a lot more business and make a lot more money.
There’s a huge difference between people who are “busy” vs. people who are actually getting things done. It’s great to be a hard worker, but it’s even better to be a smart worker. Even better yet, find someone who can combine both.
A Customer Service Story: The Ritz-Carlton Way
One of the most visited articles on my blog (so I’m told) is a piece I wrote a few years back titled, "Customer Service: The Ritz-Carlton Way." It discusses the six steps that make Ritz-Carlton customer service so exceptional and unparalleled.
Well just last week, I received a call from a good friend of mine who related a wonderful story about Ritz-Carlton. Dennis Lacognata is a partner in a company called Prompt Mailers in Staten Island, NY. They are a full service mail house and if you’re looking to put together a great direct mail campaign visit their website.
The great story Dennis told me was about his daughter, Annemarie.
About a year ago, Annemarie and her husband spent their honeymoon at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Hawaii on the island of Kauai. Naturally, they had a great time.
A few months ago, Annemarie received a phone call from someone at Ritz-Carlton. Being a smart organization that prides itself on service and follow-up, Ritz-Carlton knew that Annemarie and her husband would soon be celebrating their first anniversary. Figuring they would want to celebrate in style, they offered her a terrific package deal to stay at one of their hotels in the Caribbean. Naturally, Annemarie booked it immediately.
No sooner was the reservation booked that Annemarie received a call from the concierge at the Ritz-Carlton where they’ll be staying. The concierge asked if there was anything he could do to make this occasion even more special.
Annemarie said there was nothing she could think of at the moment, but was there anything special he had in mind? Did he ever!
The concierge told Annemarie they had a beautiful package that would allow them to renew their vows in a setting that was romantic, and Ritz-Carlton would arrange for everything: Limo, a setting on the beach at sunset, the priest, music; all top drawer. You couldn’t say no.
So Annemarie and her husband bought the package and sometime this month they will fly to the Caribbean to celebrate their first anniversary, Ritz-Carlton style. Why?
Because Ritz-Carlton:
When was the last time you received a phone call from a hotel or resort who felt that you were important enough to keep as a customer? And it wasn’t as if Annemarie and her husband had been longtime steady clients. As a smart company, Ritz-Carlton knows that if they can do a great job for this nice young couple just as they’re starting out in life, then they will have a place in their hearts for a very long time.
Many years ago, I received one of the best pieces of advice from a great speaker named Joel Weldon. He told me: “If you want to be successful, look at what everyone else is doing and do something different.”
That’s what Ritz-Carlton does everyday.
Bad Customer Service: An Opportunity to Shine
I always tell my clients they should never fear customer complaints. When customers voice their complaints it’s not a bad thing, in fact, it’s a great thing because it’s an opportunity to prove that you stand behind your product and service.
When a customer complains and the company fixes the problem quickly and easily, chances are you will have that customer for life; because hardly anyone does it. The most dangerous situation for a company is to have a customer with a complaint who doesn’t voice it. These customers, in most cases, just go away, never buy from you again and you have no idea why.
Luckily for Spice Street, a local restaurant my wife and I frequent often for dinner, we believe in voicing our complaints (I’m sure that shocks you).
Three weeks ago my wife and I went to Sunday Brunch at Spice Street for the first time and loved it! We were so impressed I decided the whole family would go there for the special Mother’s Day Brunch: big mistake.
First off, I should have known better. I hate going out on special holidays (Mother’s and Father’s day; Memorial weekend, 4th of July; New Year’s Eve, etc.). In New York City, we used to call those days “Amateur Night." Every place is crowded and the prices are always jacked up.
Well, Spice Street was no different. The place was packed; the prices were doubled, but worst of all, the menu was lousy (the one thing I wanted, they ran out of right away). Bottom line: It was twice the price and not even half as good as the first time.
The next day, Linda wrote a letter to the manager, Said. By Thursday he called to apologize and invited us to brunch, on him, whenever we feel like it. We’ll be there this coming Sunday.
I can understand people and companies screwing up. What I can’t understand is when they do nothing about it. For the price of one free meal, along with his quick response, Said bought our loyalty. Why doesn’t everyone do that? Isn’t satisfying an existing customer far cheaper and easier than spending thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing to find a new one?
Lousy Follow Up
Does anybody follow up anymore? I had two experiences in the last couple of weeks that really makes me wonder.
First, I called Metropolitan Life. I wanted to see a current illustration on three policies that I’ve had since 1992. My current agent from Northwestern Mutual (he’s been my agent for 10 years, since Met Life stopped calling me around 1995), feels there’s a possibility that those 3 policies can be rolled over into something that will yield a better return along with a better death benefit; but first he wanted to see the illustrations.
A young woman at Met Life assured me she would get those right out to me. Two weeks later, no illustrations. This is not brain surgery. All this information is on her computer. All she had to do was print it out and mail it. But, of course, this lack of follow up is why I took my business elsewhere ten years ago.
I ended up having to call back, and speak to a manager who finally faxed me what I wanted (well, it wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but it was close enough. I guess my standards and expectations are too high).
The next problem was with Marriott; which surprised me since they usually do such a good job, but not this time. It seems last November my wife and I bought a second timeshare week in the Marriott resort on Singer Island, Fla. As part of the incentive to get us to buy, we were promised 100,000 Marriott points as a gift, 15,000 points for taking the tour; 40,000 for a “Self-referral” gift (since we already owned one week, this bonus was for buying the 2nd week); and 2,500 for giving the salesperson some other names.
Five months passed and we received the 100,000 point and 15,000 point bonuses but not the other two. I called my salesperson and he said he would look into it and get back to me. I bet you can guess what happened next; actually what DIDN’T happen next: you’re right; he never got back to me.
I called him back and received the usual litany of excuses (right down to the old “I was sick with the flu”). Of course he was shocked, SHOCKED, that it hadn’t been handled. I had to call Marriott customer service and get someone else to do it (another waste of my time). Supposedly, it’s now taken care of, but I’ll believe it when I see the points in my account.
I’m not asking for anything difficult here. I just want what is promised to me. When will salespeople and companies start to understand they should never promise something they can’t deliver; it not only gives you a much greater chance of losing the customer, but also gives the customer a chance to tell others about their bad experience: just like I’m doing now.
Be Your Prospect’s Security System
As many of you who read this blog on a regular basis know, my son, Michael decided to take a year off from school this year and work full time. You also know from past articles that he is a delivery man for a local pizza place in Chapel Hill.
Two nights ago, Michael came home with one of those great sales stories that reinforce the importance of follow-up. About six months ago, the owner of the pizza place was approached by a salesman who sells security cameras. The system the owner was using at the time was antiquated; one camera and a VCR.
The system the salesman was proposing had 3 or 4 cameras with digital technology, with surveillance accessible online via the internet. To entice the owner to buy the system, the salesman offered to let him use it for free on a three month trial basis.
Three months went by, and no salesman; four months and no contact from the salesman; five months, nothing. Finally after six months, the owner gets a call from the salesman who says, “Hey, I let you use that system on a trial basis for three months, it’s been six months and you never called to tell me if you wanted to buy it.”
YOU NEVER CALLED TO TELL ME IF YOU WANTED TO BUY IT!? Is this guy kidding? You have to wonder how much business is lost because far too many salespeople decide to wait for the phone to ring.
Not only is it the salesperson’s responsibility to call the prospect, but I would think, as a salesperson, you would want to be the one calling rather than the one waiting for the call; otherwise you’re not in control.
In our office, we have a line we use in these situations. Whenever a prospect says to us, “We’ll call you,” we always say, “Don’t bother,” and then pause a split second for the effect to sink in. We then say, “It’s not your responsibility to call us, it’s our responsibility to call you.” Then we settle on a time for our follow-up call, leaving us in control of the situation.
In case you’re wondering what happened with the owner, he said to the salesman, “Why should I call you? You’re supposed to call me.” The salesman attempted to justify his lack of follow-up with "not wanting to be pushy," and finally asked, “So, are you interested in buying the system?” The owner said, “No,” because even though he loved the security system, he was more afraid of dealing with a salesperson with poor follow-up.
Just imagine! If it is not enough that you have a prospect with a security need and a great product that ensures the physical security of a business, then what does that tell you about the importance of visibility and follow-up in taking control of the buying process?
Show your prospect first that they can rely on YOU as their "security system," AND THEN GO SELL THEM A SECURITY SYSTEM!