Archive for August, 2009

I  became confused when I heard the word ”service” used with these agencies.

Internal Revenue  ‘Service’
U.S. Postal  ‘Service’
Telephone ‘Service’
Cable TV ‘Service’
Civil  ‘Service’
State, City, County & Public ‘Service’

This is not what I  thought ’service’ meant.

But today, I overheard two farmers talking, and one of them said he had hired a bull to ’service’ a few cows.

BAM!!!  It all came into focus.

Now I understand what all those agencies are doing to us.

You are now as enlightened as I am.

Recently I was held up at the airport for eight hours by an airline mishap. Eight hours is a long time out of my life due to someone else’s error.  None of the Representatives of the Airline handled the situation correctly. They started with the problem and then why it occurred from their perspective. Never once did they say, I’m sorry or we understand this is messing up the rest of your trip and we apologize. They just kept telling me the reasons why it happened from their perspective, never giving me eye contact or having empathy to my situation.  I thought, wait I am the customer and the one who is being inconvenienced here, I could care less about their problems, I paid full fare for my ticket and expect better service than this.  Because the representative handled the situation so poorly it upset me to no end, even when they offered my fare back. The money didn’t replace my valuable time and a simple apology and some respect from them would have made all the difference.  I swore to never use them again.

So here is what they said …“We are overbooking our planes because of the recession and we are trying to stay profitable…We can’t get you on another plane for about eight hours.  (With no eye contact)    When I asked if they had a lounge they put people in that they have inconvenienced, they laughed and said, “I wish!”

What they should have said was…”We are so very sorry for this mishap, we know your time is valuable and it is a huge inconvenience for you, we apologize but we will do everything in our power to make it up to you. Our airline is trying a new policy to fill our flights and due to this new policy some of our clients got bumped.   We will refund your money and make sure you are on the next flight.  In the meantime, would you like to rest in our lounge and have lunch on us?”

Don’t make this mistake, it’s a big one. You will resolve customer anger so much quicker if you practice empathy first, then attempt to resolve the problem with respect and kindness and don’t forget to look them straight in the eye as if you are truly concerned about their welfare.

Now this airline takes their customer service very seriously.  I am positive that the Managers and stockholders would never want their Representatives handling customers in the manner I was taken care of.  It’s just these kinds of things that ruin good brands.

Five Recession Realizations

• Customers are interested in what’s good for them. Customers don’t care or need to care about your company or your survival.  When they buy from you, they expect great service for the money they are paying. » More: Recession proof your Brand; Create an Experience!

What are some of the old sales tactics still being used

that don’t work, in this sales environment?

If you could wave a magic wand

and be instantly better…what is the one thing in sales

that you would wish you were better at?

By Shirleen Von Hoffmann “The Sales Queen” President & Sales Coach for Homebuilders AdvantEdge® and Creating VIP’s® Copyrights 2009©

I recently evaluated and coached about twenty five Sales Professionals via Video analysis. I usually give takeaways to each depending on the needs. I am always amazed at the True Sales Pro’s I meet in my business. Of all the folks that I evaluated, the one who rated the highest and had the best shop is the one who followed up with me on her takeaways. She emailed me asking me to take a look at her results and help her to fine tune them. She showed great professionalism. She did what so many sales professionals will not do. She;

Evaluated her own performance –
Putting aside her emotions and focusing on a better process and outcome.

Acknowledged that it could have gone much better –
Admitting that first to herself and then she took action.

Worked to come up with better scripts for her meet and greets and closes-
She molded them to fit her style and her sales routine.

Asked for coaching on her results, so she could do better next time –
It’s not easy to expose your ego to criticism.

She realized that her initial impression to her prospects and her closing skills could make or break her future. She didn’t get defensive, take it personal or make excuses. She listened to the advice, asked for clarification and drilled down to specific actions she could take to make the fixes. And then she committed to those actions and made it happen. » More: The Sign of a True Sales Pro

Improve your Sales?

Improve yourself ?

Improve your income?