Smooth Move Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘customers’

Spring has sprung. The birds are singing as they busily build nests and do their mating dances. Yeah, it won’t be long before the flowers bloom, and grass starts growing. You know what that means…grass needs mowing. When you parked the riding mower last fall, you knew that it would be a miracle if you could get it through another summer. You’re going to need to replace old “Betsy” sooner or later, and start thinking about the features you want the next mower to have.

Well, you haven’t tried starting the old mower, but hey, it’s raining cats and dogs outside. With nothing better to do, you head for the mall and find yourself among a line of shiny lawn mowers with a wide variety of prices and features. What are the advantages of each one compared to the difference in costs?

Yep, not every customer that walks through your door is ready to make a purchase. Maybe they’re still in the “thinking about it” stage. Yeah, when you think long enough, you usually talk yourself into doing it. That’s why it’s important to treat every customer’s question with respect. You never know when a properly answered question will lead to a sale.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for effectively answering customer questions:

1. A Question is the Sign of a Potential Sale.
Yeah, if a customer is taking the time to look you up and ask questions, you’re dealing with a high level of interest. Don’t take it lightly. A prompt and quick response laced with the added benefits of the product will go a long way toward closing a sale.

2. Make it Easy to Ask A Question.
There’s nothing more frustration than having a simple question and having to move heaven and earth to get an answer. Make it easy for your customers to ask questions. Make your website question friendly and include a phone number with all of your sales material.

3. Organize – Set up a Frequently Asked Question File
What questions have you emailed answers to sixteen times this week? Keep a file with those repeat questions. You’ll be able to copy and paste the answers into responses. Hey, your customer will be happy and you can spend time doing something else. Everyone wins!

4. Get Back – Quickly
How many times have you shopped around while waiting for someone to get back to you? Yeah, it’s easier than ever on the web. Customer attention spans are ever shortening with the vast global competition at their fingertips. Don’t dilly dally – get back to them pronto!
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A growing number of community banks are recognizing that new and more aggressive competitors are taking new business they “believed” they would or “should” have. To help combat this they no longer accept the practice of “business as usual.” They are taking the time-proven actions it takes to train, coach and reward their key business development team members to get them out on the street. Program results are showing ROI’s of up to 30—to-1!

This isn’t easy, to say the least. A major culture change is required for most community banks when it comes to selling. Bankers have long been of the mindset that banking is a business built when prospects come to the bank and request the service they want. Unfortunately the consumer has developed a slightly different mindset lately.

“Yes, my banker and I have a good relationship but that doesn’t mean I will only consult them for financial needs and services. There are lots of other options. ” Friends are friends but when money is involved there is a different emotion involved……greed.

The CEO of First Bank in Ketchikan, Alaska, Bill Moran, decided something new must be tried when he started planning for this new year. “I realized that to meet our growth goals we must be more aggressive about taking business from our competition and improve our “unfair share” of our market. There wasn’t sufficient  market expansion to maintain our historical growth and profit levels.”

First Bank launched its’ new effort with a 120-day action plan in January 2006 for its’ six branches. The intended focus was to be solely on gaining new customers and establishing new relationships.

“Some of the participating officers found it very difficult to break away from the familiar clients to concentrate only on prospects that had no prior relationship, “said Eric Bjella, VP and Program Manger.

The first step was to assess the sales strengths of each team member. It was important to know who were likely to make calls and build relationships easily (Hunters) and those with good processing and service-related skills but less confidence in their abilities to communicate with prospects (Farmers).  This was followed with a professional sales skills training session which included each member identifying from 5-10 prospects.

“The individual assessments and audience reactions to the training were very informative,” said Bjella. “Some of our people felt they never could be successful at making cold calls to strangers. But were they surprised!”

The training showed how to: qualify prospects, make impossible appointments, start building respect and trust from the first appointment, getting to real pains/needs and overcoming objections for desired actions.

The First Bank team met every 10 days in groups of 12 to report progress against their specific targets. While slow at first, calling activity grew and success was gradually achieved. Through coaching and confidence built on successful experiences, sales meetings progressed from a reluctance to report to lively dialogues between members, sharing helpful prospect insights with each other.

One member reported being devastated on her first call, to the point of tears. Executive Vice President Jack Vaughn reported this prospect had also called him to complain, only to contact him later, inviting him to attend a competitor’s bank sponsored business owners meeting. ”Wonders never cease to amaze me, Jack said. I didn’t think we would ever get any where with this prospect and then she did a complete turnaround.”

At the end of the 120 days First Bank captured several new customers, representing over $300,000 in new income to the bank’s bottom line. Less the training expenses that gave a 30-to-1 ROI, income vs. expenses. Other contacts made during this period are expected to move to First Bank in a few months through continued follow-up activities.

A different success story comes from a bank holding company in Iowa. Bank Iowa Corporation felt it was time for a sales culture to be started within at each of its 6 independently chartered banks, serving 17 communities.

“We never had any sales training in our Company’s history, said Michael Thompson, VP and Program Leader. Our CEO, Stan Honken, challenged our presidents to have an officer calling program in place by year-end. I contacted some firms who might help us start a sales culture. After reviewing four, we selected Wemmers Consulting Group from Atlanta. Their program impressed us with its’ accountability factors, experience in bank training and real world application following the skills training.”
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Let’s be honest… everybody knows that people are in business to make money. Yeah, customer’s know you’ve got our eyes set on making a profit, but they still want to believe that you are in business for more than just their money. Do your customers know that you really care about them? Here are 4 “tried and true” techniques to show them you care.

1. Be Personal
I recently walked into a well-known store and spoke with a salesperson who really seemed to have it going on. I felt pretty good about the interaction, until I walked away and heard him reciting the same spiel he had just used with me moments earlier.

Customers are looking for personal one-on-one recognition. In this automated world, they are used to feeling like just a number, and crave to have real interaction. Take the time to discover their lifestyle before you try to sell them a one-size-fits-all product. Think about the ways the product will benefit THEM.

You’ll find that there are pockets of people with similar interests and needs. Hey, that’s the perfect opportunity to customize your sales campaign to the needs of different market niches.

2. Look Out For The Customer
Sure, you’ve sat and listened to boring sales speaches that went on and on about every feature, aspect and guarantee a product had to offer. Yeah, BORING! Customers don’t give a hoot about the specific details and credentials of you and your product nearly as much as they want to know how it will benefit them.
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Your previous customers are going to be valuable to your future business. As you get each new customer you want to network with that customer again in the future, to keep your business in their mind, and to keep them on as a walking and talking billboard for your business. The future of your business is going to evolve to include repeat customers, and referral customers, both of which are vital to the ongoing relationship of your business, the consumer, and the local surroundings of your business.

How can you network with your previous customers?
Even if your customers are online – or if they are offline, you can network with your customers. A simple note, or email is going to do the trick. Ask about their day; talk with them by name, and offer advice or to continue with the conversation when they have time to chat with you. Talk with your customers about what they have purchased, or what work you have done for them. Ask if there is anything that can be done to improve the process, they went through while dealing with your business.

Network with your largest clients by taking them to lunch, or ordering them something special and having it delivered to their home. As you continue to acknowledge your largest clients, they will keep you fresh in their minds. They will tell others about what you have sent to them, and how they feel about your business. Of course, this is not done with every type of business, but with the largest buyers who are spending thousands of dollars with a particular business perhaps.
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