| 8 Steps to Better Customer Relations - Our economy as we know it is changing and evolving at an alarming rate. The internet and box stores have changed the landscape of business forever. There is no going backŠwe simply must learn to compete.
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- Consumers are demanding more for less. It is truly a buyer’s market and customers come to you armed with knowledge. Anyone can jump onto the internet now and find pages of information before they’ve even found your site and your direct competitors.
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- If you want to make a sale to the savvy shopper, be sure to follow this advice:
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- 1. Never lie to a customer or tell them something you are not sure is factual. They will appreciate your honest opinion about a product that might not suit their needs. You could help them avoid a bad experience by offering a better alternative. If a customer catches you in a lie, you’re finished. It will also damage your reputation and credibility.
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- 2. Know your product. There is nothing more frustrating than going to buy something when you know more about the product than the salesperson. How can you answer questions about a product you know little or nothing about? Get ahead of the game and learn everything you can.
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- 3. Be genuine and truly caring about the customer’s needs. Never sell something to a customer that they don’t need. There is nothing wrong with up-selling if you are serving the customer in the process. If one of my customers orders 21 golf shirts and I can sell them 24 to save them some money, I am serving their needs as well as mine. Everyone is a winner.
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- 4. Listen to what the customer is saying. You have two ears and only one mouth so you must listen twice as much as you talk. Nuff said. By the way, you actually have three “ear”sŠlisten with your hEARt, you’ll hear much more that way.
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- 5. Don’t put unnecessary pressure on your customer. When I walked into a car dealership one day, I made it clear that I just wanted pricing for consideration. The price was great and I was actually ready to make a deal within about a month, but the salesman proceeded to tell me that he could only offer that price if I was willing to sign the paperwork that day. I walked out. I hate to be pressured into making a decision. Why would the price be more tomorrow if he could offer the lower price right now? I found a better deal just down the road.
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- 6. Make time for the customer so you won’t be rushed. The sale is the most important part of your business. Everything else, including the phone, can wait.
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- 7. Don’t judge a book by its cover. I was ready to purchase a large ticket item and was wearing jeans and a t-shirt when I walked into the store. The sales people avoided me and were actually rude. One told me the item I was looking at wouldn’t suit my budget. He quickly handed me his card and said when I was serious about making a deal, to call him to make an appointment. I tossed the card in the trash on the way out the door, got in my Cadillac, and drove off. Remarkable, the last person who stiffed me was a well-groomed guy wearing an Armani suit with an expensive gold watch driving a Mercedes. Some of my best customers have been bikers or dirty-looking construction workers. So, if a guy walks in all dirty from a job, he earned the dirt honestly. Treat everyone with respect.
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- 8. The customer who is buying one item from you is just as important as the one who is spending thousands of dollars buying hundreds of items. Everyone talks. We did a monogram on a towel for an elderly lady. She had a lot of trouble making up her mind so we spent a little over an hour with her for a $5.00 sale. The monogrammed towel was a gift for her son. It just so happened that her son owned a very large multinational corporation. He switched all his business to TMS Promotional Wear because we were so nice to his mother. We had no idea who she was.
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- The most important thing to remember when selling to customers these days is RESPECT. If you learn to facilitate every sale, you will be successful. Don’t take anyone for granted and make sure you look after all of your customers. If you don’t, someone else will.
Dan Burke is a promotional industry professional dedicated to the business success of his clients. To find some great new promotional products or more resources visit http://www.TMSpromotions.ca or contact him by email at : dan@tmspromotions.ca Reprint Info: This article is freely available for reprint provided the copyright notice and resource box at the end of the article is left intact. If you are using this article in a website or eBook, please make sure that the link to www.TMSpromotions.ca is live or clickable.
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