Sweet talk and treats can persuade a cat to approach you, like presenting benefits to prospects.  The “what’s in it for me” thought process.  Dogs – if you chase them – will usually think you are playing. 

(This post is actually just an excuse to include a photo of my cat Zoey on this website :-)

So . . . are you caught in the trap of chasing prospects?  Leaving voice mail message after voice mail message?  There is a better way.

Donald Trump (not one of my favorite people but, okay . . . he has been sort of successful) once said:  “In selling you must never appear desperate.  As soon as you look desperate, it’s over.”

Craig Klein of Sales Nexus has a unique way to stop chasing prospects:  Fire them.  Yes .  .  . fire them.  This is the script he suggests:

“Hi, this is Craig Klein, with SalesNexus. We help companies like yours grow sales by helping them market and sell more effectively. I’ve left a few voice mails and sent a couple of emails and haven’t heard back from you. At this point, I’m going to assume that this is just not a priority for you at this time and I’M GOING TO TAKE YOU OFF MY CALL LIST. If there is anything I can do for you, please feel free to contact me at 800.862.0134”

If you have ever tried this, I would love to hear from you.  How did it work?  Please post your comments below.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Scroll Down to See Jill’s Video

Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies: 3 Deadly Words You Need to Avoid …

“You probably have carefully selected words to impress your prospects with the value your company provides or the kind of relationship your firm establishes with its good customers. So … drum roll … here they are:

1. Leading-Edge (state-of-the-art, industry-leading)
The moment you start using words like this, you’ve turned into a self-serving salesperson. You may not think so and it most likely isn’t your intent, but that’s how your prospect sees you.

“Why? Because you’re trying to impress her with how wonderful your offering is. Everyone knows that that’s how salespeople talk. The more you brag about your offering, the less believable you are. Even if your product or service is the most advanced in the entire world, your prospect knows that it’s only a matter of months before some other firm has a competitive offering that probably costs less.

“Don’t talk about your offering. Leave out all the descriptors that supposedly make it so incredible. Focus on your customer’s objectives, challenges and issues instead. You need to get them to move off the status quo and those “bragging” words just don’t do it. But most often I see sellers use it because they’re scared of losing a potential opportunity. They want to make sure their entire laundry list of offerings is on the table in hopes that prospects find something that they need in it.”

Watch Jill Konrath’s video to Learn More About the Other Deadly Mistakes Sales Reps Make

You can see suggestions for exact wording to use on this page.

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. Visit http://www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com for more info.  Get a free Sales Call Planning Guide ($19.95 value) when you sign up for the Selling to Big Companies e-newsletter. Just send an email with “subscribe” in the subject line to jill@sellingtobigcompanies.com and it will be sent right to you.

Jill Konrath’s best-selling book Selling to Big Companies is available on Amazon.com

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

“Handling objections,”  “answering objections,” “overcoming sales objections.”  These terms have all been used when training sales reps how to respond to objections.  Contrary to what most training programs teach about how to handle objections, sales trainer and speaker Ari Galper has a very different approach: “Diffusing Objections.”  When you have two minutes, it will be worth your while to watch his videos (below) about “diffusing objections instead of overcoming.”

“Get You Off the Phone” Objection
(Scroll down to see videos)

by Ari Galper

“Forget the idea of “overcoming objections.” Doing that only triggers more resistance from prospects that’s very difficult to diffuse.

“Think about it for a moment. When prospects give a reason why they don’t want to proceed –when they “put up resistance” — you’ve been trained to “overcome” their objections rather than to diffuse their resistance by acknowledging that what they’re telling you is their truth.”

By applying the specific skills recommended by Ari Galper, you diffuse that resistance and remove the conflict from the situation. Here is his process for dealing with objections:

1. Diffuse the objection with “That’s not a problem… (Pause)”

2. Acknowledge the truth of their objection (see the sample language below).

3. Reopen the conversation with “Would you be open to…”

For example, suppose a prospect says, “We already have a vendor.” The path of diffusing and reengaging would go like this:

1. “That’s not a problem…(Pause)”

2. “I wasn’t calling to replace the vendor you’re currently using.” Here, you’re addressing their suspicion that your only focus is on making the sale and on ripping out their relationship with their current vendor. You’re simply asking whether they would be open to different ideas that might help them solve a problem. This diffuses the tension.

3. “Would you be open to some different ideas that you might not be using now?” After the tension is dissolved, this lets you reopen the conversation in a natural way because they clearly understand that your goal is to help them. Then, if things are a match between you, you can decide where to go from there.

Notice the word “open” is used instead of “interested.”  When the sales person asks “would you be interested . . .” The answer can easily be “no.”  Instead, when this question is asked “Would you be open to . . . ” this causes the prospect to think more carefully about the question.

Excellent tips in Ari Galper’s videos about “diffusing” objections. Watch and learn:

Another video with wording to diffuse objections

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Here is one that surprised me:

On a warm summer day last year, my friend Tom and I walked into the Travel Gear store at a local shopping mall.  We intended to purchase just one specific product. The store manager, Mike Morris, greeted us with a smile and what happened after that was . . . well, you be the judge.

I don’t know about you, but I love watching a talented, enthusiastic sales person in action. On that day, I saw what was intended to be a $19.95 purchase, increase to a $168.50 sale. Mike did it so effortlessly, it seemed perfectly natural.

In most retail stores, you walk in, ask for – or pick up – the product you need, walk over to the cash register and pay for it. That’s it. End of transaction. Not this time. Not on this day, and not with Mike Morris.

Enthusiasm Works

As we put the product on the counter and began counting out our money, Mike said (in a friendly voice): “Did you see our purchase-with-purchase sale? It is really terrific.” Then he pulled a very attractive canvas duffle bag from the top of a pile of colorful Samsonite duffle bags and showed it to us.

Mike said:  “The last customer in here bought 15 of these for birthday gifts for her children and grandchildren. Here’s what she liked about it.” He then showed us the bag as it came packaged: flat.

Features, Facts and Benefits.

“What she liked was that you can take this on vacation with you – flat – and then when you buy gifts or souvenirs, you can fill up the bag and take it back home with you.”

He continued: “Look at the inside – it’s vinyl so you can put wet bathing suits inside, or you can put cold cans of soda inside without fear of the soda spilling and ruining your clothing.”

After he saw that we were interested, he went right to the close.

More Benefits and an Easy Close

He showed us the price tag: $30.00.

Then he said it was on sale for $19.95 – BUT the “purchase-with- purchase” price was only $9.95.

That was it. We were sold. We each bought one.

Then he said (enthusiastically) “these bags are great gifts for anyone – children, adults, men, women – anyone can use one of these.”

“If you are ever in a situation where you’ve forgotten someone’s birthday, this is the perfect gift.  You don’t have to run out to the store and spend a fortune on a quick gift.  You already have this and it has only cost you $10.00!   And look how many different colors you can get!”

Mike Increased the Sale by more than 80 Percent

We bought more bags. Mike’s product knowledge and enthusiasm increased the original sale from $19.95 to a final total of $168.50. He was not pushy, just enthusiastic. We were happy; we felt like we had some real bargains.

Mike was happy; he increased the sale by more than 80 percent. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

Do you know an enthusiastic, successful sales person?  Share your story in the Comment section below.  I would love to hear from you!

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

“I can quote the best price for you when I know more about your situation,” or . . . “. . . when you tell me what results you are looking for,” or . . . ” . . . how many you usually buy,” or . . . ” . . . whether you are looking for branded or generic,” or . . . ” . . . which type of service you are looking for.”

This way, you will learn what their needs and objectives are and you can talk about the value they will get with your solution before you quote the price. When you think about it, we buy things because the price we pay for something is perceived as being less than dollar value we attach to the result. Whenever you give someone a price quote for anything you should know at least two things.

Questions to Ask

“What is your criteria for making a decision on this?”

“If we meet that, will you buy from us?”

You don’t want to waste your time with price shoppers. What is important is building relationships and getting repeat business.  Ask questions like:  “Aside from price, what else are you considering in your decision?”

Beware of Serial Price Shoppers

If you find you are dealing with a real price shopper, be willing to walk away.  If the sale is based on price alone, the buyer will stay with you only until s/he finds someone who is willing to quote an even lower price. An excellent answer to a price objection is on this page.  It is a true story. How do you handle a price objection?  Share your wisdom with our readers by posting in the Comments section below.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

How quickly you capture a customer’s attention depends on how carefully you choose your words, according to Maura Schreier-Fleming, author of Real-World Selling for Out-of-this-World Results.  Schreier-Fleming recommends staying away from one particular word.

Avoid This Word

“If a customer has a concern, our job as salespeople is to listen, to acknowledge and to hear that concern.  Using the word ‘but’ negates everything you’ve said before it,” warns Schreier-Fleming.  “What your customer hears is the disagreement that precedes an argument.”

Instead, first acknowledge the concern and follow with the word “and.”

For example, your customer might comment that the process you recommend sounds complicated.  You would respond:  “Yes, it is complicated and with our technical assistance . . . ”

Think about how much better the word “and” sounds – in the sentence above – instead of the word “but.”

Prospect’s Objection

“We are happy with our current vendor.”

When hearing this objection, some salespeople begin their response with “Yes, but we can offer you a lower price” or better quality products, or faster delivery, etc.

A more effective way to handle this objection is to use a soft-sell approach that is very successful.

EXAMPLE

“I understand.  Please keep us in mind as a second source.  We specialize exclusively in these products and we always keep them in stock.  If your current supplier is ever back-ordered on an item you need, give us a call.  You can get delivery the next day.  Is it okay if I send you our monthly sale notices?”

This is a non-combative and friendly response.  Instead of a hard sell “buy today” effect, you leave the impression with the prospect that you are there to help.  Most sales people are surprised at how often these lost prospects call back later to order.  Getting permission to send “monthly sale notices” keeps the door open for future calls.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

She doesn’t make more calls than anyone else.  Yet she is able – consistently – to get better results than nearly everyone else in her office.

I am often asked to visit an office and sit with telesales reps to observe and listen to their calls and then to offer ideas and make suggestions which will improve results.

In one such office the sales manager said: “Don’t bother to listen to Lisa, she is the most successful with her calls.”

That made me curious, so after listening to the other telephone sales reps, I asked if I could observe and listen to Lisa, to find out why she was doing so well.  (Lisa and her manager have given me their permission to share this with you.)

Calling Busy People

She works for a company that sells copiers, fax machines and printers. Lisa’s job is to sell imaging supplies for office equipment – on the telephone.

She has a very pleasant voice, a positive attitude and a cheerful disposition. She is also enthusiastic when she makes her calls, which comes across to her prospects. (Enthusiasm is contagious.)

Her territory includes a very busy downtown area in a major metropolitan city in the U.S. Her prospects are busy people, with very little interest in hearing from telemarketers, though they are often called.

What Lisa decided to do was to let her prospects know – at the beginning of her calls – that she wasn’t going to take up much of their time. (Smart idea.)

Example

Some of Lisa’s customers are buying only H.P. brand (OEM) toner cartridges.  Little by little, she has convinced many of her customers to switch to compatible – lower priced – cartridges.

When she calls to let customers know about a sale on compatible Hewlett-Packard laser jet toner cartridges, Lisa starts some of her calls this way:

“Good afternoon, Mr. Smith, it’s Lisa Monroe calling you from [her company's name].  I wanted to quickly let you know that you can now get a compatible cartridge for your H.P. printer at a 40% savings. These cartridges are backed by our 100% guarantee and customers are getting great results from them.  Would you like to try one of these cartridges today?”

(Did you catch that one simple word?)

That one word “Quickly” lets her customers know that Lisa is not going to take up much time.  This puts prospects in a receptive frame of mind.

A Word of Caution

NOTE:  If you decide to use Lisa’s wording, (“. . . a quick call . . .” or “I wanted to quickly tell you . . . “) be sure that your call does not take up much of the prospect’s time.

You probably have a success story – or two – to share.  I would love to hear from you!  Please post your comments below.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

There are questions you can ask, that are almost as good as waving a magic wand.

A few years ago I saw someone get an answer I didn’t think it was possible to get. An eight-year-old child – Mary Kate – who is an “A” student, was asked the question:  “What is your favorite subject in school?” Without hesitation she answered “I like them all. I don’t have a favorite subject.”

So, that was that, right? Mary Kate likes all subjects in school. She said she doesn’t have a favorite. She looked and sounded very positive about liking all subjects equally. That could have been the end of the conversation.

But then this question was asked:

“If you did have a favorite subject, what would it be?” After thinking for a few seconds, she answered very definitely: “Math.”

Uncover the Real Answer

The second question was what is known as a high-gain question. High-gain questions can get information that is otherwise difficult to get.

In sales, there is a lot of information that can help the sales rep learn how best to present products, services, benefits and results to the prospect, in order to win the business. One bit of information that would help is the answer to this question: “What is your current supplier not doing or providing, that you wish he would do or provide?”

(In other words, I can probably get your business by doing or providing what your current supplier is not doing or providing if only I knew what it was.)

You could ask the question exactly that way. But would you get a thoughtful and complete answer? Probably not. There is another way to ask, and it is one of those magic high-gain questions.

The High Gain Question

If a prospect tells you he is very happy with his current supplier, maybe he is happy because ordering from this company has become a habit. It could be that they have never thought about buying somewhere else – even if the prospect is unhappy about some aspect of the current vendor’s service. They might not have considered changing suppliers because changing – to some people – is perceived as requiring too much effort. Asking a high-gain question causes the prospect to think.  You can respond to the “I’m happy with my current supplier” objection by starting out with a “cushion” statement like: “I see or I understand,” or: “I can understand and appreciate that kind of loyalty.” Then ask the high-gain question: “How would you rate your current supplier, on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest?”

Important:  After asking this question, don’t say a word until the prospect speaks.

Very few people answer “ten” to this question. But if they do answer “ten,” you know they are not open to changing suppliers now.

Let’s say they answer “Seven.” Your next question is:

“What would it take to make them a ten?”

This question causes the prospect to focus and give you a more specific answer, just as Mary Kate focused and realized that math is her favorite subject.

Very important:  After you ask this question, don’t say a word until the prospect answers.

The answer to this question will tell you exactly what you can do to win new business you are not getting now.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Question

How does one sales team – who had their best month ever last month – difffer from a sales group that says:  “The economy is terrible and people are not buying” ?

Right there, you just read it – attitude is number one.  When people constantly tell themselves that “things are bad” and “people are not buying,” they reinforce these beliefs and spread it to others.

Have you ever seen or heard a group of people repeating negative experiences?  Rejection they are getting?  If you have witnessed this, do yourself a favor and walk away.  Negativity can be contagious.  You have the ability to change and control your attitude.  You have the ability to motivate yourself and feel positive.

A Success Story

My client, a wholesaler, has been in business for more than ten years and their track record is excellent, but now they are having their best month ever.

Why Are They So Successful?

Because the sales team is so successful , I asked each sales rep:  “Why do you think your sales have been so good?”  Their answers were very interesting.  One person said:  “Support.  The support we get from management is tremendous.”

Another said he found more business in existing accounts.  He asked questions to uncover more needs.  Result:  Companies that were already buying, either increased their orders or began buying additional products.

Marketing

This wholesaler also had a special March Madness Sale – and they sent out email blasts to advertise the sale.  So, in addition to these sales reps making a lot of telephone calls, the company was reaching out to buyers in other ways.

Dedication

One sales super star (who is having his best month ever in) arrives at work each day at – (are you ready for this?)  – between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and he works until 5:00.  That is true dedication.  He is clearly focused and motivated.  He can start his sales calls early because many of his clients are in a different time zone with a one-hour difference.

He told me:  “I have found that the best time to reach decision makers is very early in the morning when they first arrive at the office.  This works well for me.”

“Whatever you focus on, you get, so if you want to change what you’re getting, change what you’re focusing on.”

- Kurek Ashley

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

What an FBI Hostage Negotiator Can Teach Us

Dr. Mark Goulston’s Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone may be the perfect book to bring back balance when focusing on productivity.

Dr. Goulston brings a unique blend of expertise to this subject. He has been a UCLA professor of psychiatry for more than 25 years, an executive coach, and has trained FBI and police hostage negotiators. Seems like the perfect qualifications to show us how to get through to absolutely anyone.

An incentive to read this book might be to close more deals, increase sales, or improve business and personal relationships. Following Dr. Goulston’s pearls of wisdom will most likely result in achieving these reasonable goals.

The surprise side effect of employing his strategies for better communication can result in more happiness, peace of mind, and a richer quality of life.  A unique concept!

Something Different About This Book

What was different?  Unlike a lot of professional and personal books that have goal setting, efficiency, and more action-oriented tasks as the focus, Just Listen is the refreshing opposite. Dr. Goulston shares with readers how a more receptive approach is necessary. Instead of trying to force the close of the deal, the job promotion, or a resolution to a family challenge, he provides guidelines and practical suggestions on how to allow these developments to take place more naturally and authentically.

The book offers down-to-earth and doable advice on how to communicate with just about anyone. Drawing upon his clinical experience, coaching expertise, and his own personal challenges as a husband and father, he gives us a lively read with Just Listen’s conversational tone.

The focus and promise of this book The Secret of Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, is that you get through to people by having them “buy in.”  “Buy-in occurs when people move from resisting to listening to considering what you’re saying.

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Locally, here in Virginia Beach, the cable company began – a few years ago – using negative (negative against their competitor) and extremely effective television commercials.  Actually, in the true sense of the word, the ad campaign used by the local cable company may not accurately be described as negative.  It could be described as just stating the facts about their competition.

Two Ads used by Cable Company

First TV commercial:  One man to a listener:  “Did you know that last year Verizon raised its rates by 20 percent?”

The listener:  “NO.  I did not know that.”

Text appearing on the screen:  “What You Don’t Know May Shock You.”

Second TV commercial:  One man to a couple listening: “Did you know that during the past five years the satellite company has raised its rates every year?”

One of the listeners:  “NO.  I did not know that.”

Text appearing on the screen:  “What You Don’t Know May Shock You.”

How Can You Use Something Like This For Your Business?

How can you present negative facts about your competitor in a way that will not cause the listener to regard YOU in a negative way?  One way is to not criticize your customer’s judgement in his/her choice of vendors and at the same time, communicate facts about your company that will benefit the customer.  As an example, let’s say you are a wholesaler of imaging supplies calling a reseller.

Script:
(Important:  This requires real knowledge of the competitor.)

Sales Person:
“Hello Mr. Smith, this is Mary Jones calling from XYZ Imaging Supplies Warehouse, calling about our competitively priced line of Panasonic supplies.  Do you have customers who use Panasonic supplies?”

Prospect:
“Well, actually, we already buy our Panasonic supplies from the ABC Company.”

Sales Person
“The ABC Company is a good competitor of ours.  Actually their line of Panasonic supplies does not include developers and we carry a complete line of Panasonic supplies, including developers.  That would be an extra service you could be providing for your customers – and an extra source of profit for you.”

Important:  Knowledge of the Competition is Critical.  If you give the prospect incorrect information you will lose their trust.

How do you sell against your competition?  Please share your experiences below.  I would love to hear from you!

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!

Look at what sales have become.  There is not much difference between products, so we have to provide something else.  That, “something else” includes adding  (and communicating) value and building good relationships.

A Valuable Resource Worth Preserving

Think of your existing customers as an investment, like a block of precious gold.  If customers are treated like gold, they will shine for you in the marketplace with rave reviews about your company.  They become as valuable as your sales force in telling others about why they should shop with you for their needs. They will bring you new customers and help grow your business for you.

Four Important Facts

#1:  Most businesses invest too much in chasing new customers and too little in staying in contact with – and doing additional repeat business with – their existing customers.

#2:  The satisfied customer is motivated to purchase again, purchase more and purchase something different.

#3:  It costs less to motivate a current customer to purchase again than to acquire a new customer.

#4:  Customers switch vendors because a new competitor is paying more attention to them than you are.

I’ve rarely seen a business that could not grow and improve through increased communication to present customers.

Here is a Real Secret

Give them what they want.  This statement is so basic to doing business that you would think it could not be a secret. However, according to customers, this simple concept is often missed.  We often assume that the only things customers want are low prices or on time delivery. Yes, they want these–but they may also want things like having their invoices in a different format to make it easier for their accounting people. Or perhaps they want to hear about new products and services to allow them to plan more efficiently.

These customer “wants” may mean we have to change our way of doing business or that employees will have to go the extra mile. The real customer want list may be made up of small things. Learning how to honor the “small” things customers want is what has made businesses such as the Wal-Mart chain a success. They give their customers what they want…from flexible shopping times, to product selection, to easy no-hassle returns. Give your potential and existing customers what they want and they will give you what you want–increased sales.

The Cost of Losing Customers

Experts estimate it costs six times as much to get an unhappy customer back as it does to keep a satisfied one on board.  Competitors grow more sophisticated and aggressive by the minute, not only competing for new customers but also attempting to take away your present customers.

The benefits of staying in touch with current customers will pay off time and time again. Keeping in touch means keeping loyal customers.  Use any and all means possible:  telephone marketing, fax and email marketing (with permission) and the old standby – but very effective – targeted direct-mail marketing.

The Benefits of Keeping in Touch

Staying in touch pro-actively on a consistent basis by phone with current customers has many benefits, including:

• Finding additional product and service needs,

• Reaching out to customers who may be unhappy with some aspect of your products or services and

• Retaining more customers, rather than losing customers who quietly walk away and find a new vendor.

How would you react if you got a personal “thank you” from a business several days after you spent money with them? You would feel good and probably want to do more business with them. Give that same feeling to your customers. They will reward you with more business – and a flood of referrals.

Think about this quote from Michael LeBouef, Professor of Management at the University of New Orleans:  “The big bucks aren’t in making customers; they are in keeping customers.”

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!