effective customer communication
I once read that customers who walk into a premises and want to be served expect to be acknowledged within 15-30 seconds. It’s 15 second when the person is in a hurry and 30 when they have a little more time.
People may think this is unique to one particular industry sector. However, it stems across all types of companies from hospitality, retail and any other business with a check-in or reception area.
A number of years ago I had an interesting conversation when I decided to set up a business. The person I was talking to was an older and wiser individual I greatly admired. As a mentor, I heeded any advice they offered. So, I found it intriging when they asked me the question"what was my motive for setting up the business?"
Sometimes we find ourselves in jobs we don’t like and we are eager to leave. There may be periods when we find ourselves redundant. So, we might think about starting a business purely out of panic or necessity.
If there is one thing, I am passionate about – it’s customer service. Often, I am reminded of the phrase “the customer is always right”. Some of you may agree with it; whilst others will not.
Now, I understand that customers are not always easy to deal with and can be demanding. And as much as many companies will have wonderful products or services, we need to remember if we don’t look after our customers - we won’t have a business.
Every so often, I see sales people shy away from sales objections. I guess it’s something they fear, they get quite nervous and then run away from the conversation. So, what can we do to deal with these situations?
As professional sellers it’s our job to deal with the objection that is presented to us. We need to get comfortable with them, acknowledge the customers concerns and deal with them. Yet, before we do any of this, we need to begin by understanding the reason why people object.
If I was to be asked what advice I would give my younger self starting off in the world of sales, it would be to say “get used to rejection and learn to embrace it”.
Now, this may seem a little harsh. And yes, I would be lying if I said rejection is easy to handle. However, we need to remember it’s normal to feel a bit despondent at times.
Nonetheless when we work in sales, we need to accept rejection is part of the job and we must never take “No” personally.