Being in sales for 28 years and a small business owner for the last twelve years, I know we all have to wear many hats. But do we all have to sell? I hear people tell me all the time, I don’t have the personality to sell, I hate salespeople, they don’t pay me enough to sell, it’s not my job to sell. Well if you have heard or maybe even said any of these or worse, relax. What if you just change the word from selling to serving? We can serve. Recently I was at the dentist and the receptionist was so harsh, direct and cold that honestly, I don’t want to go back even though I love the dentist. Every member of our team that comes into contact with customers or even potential customers is communicating a message. What is that message? I love going to Chick-fil a to get an iced tea. I am always greeted with a smile as they ask me “how may I serve you”. How can we make it a measurable goal for each member of our small business team to be responsible for making a customer’s interaction with our company a positive memorable experience? One that a customer could walk away thinking, “wow was I served well”. We always greet our clients with a smile and offer them a cup of coffee or a bottle of water with a smile. It just makes people smile and they can then relax and we can enjoy our time together as we listen to what their needs are and then explain how we can serve them.
So how can you and your service team make develop some measurable goals that will increase your service levels? I would suggest reading and giving copies of the two following books to your team to talk about. It changed our approach to sales. The two books are The Three Signs of a Miserable Job by Patrick Lencioni’s and the Secret by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller.
ReplyDeleteHiring a business consultant or coach does not mean you are unintelligent. Just the opposite is true! Any small business owner is wise to decide on hiring a business consultant. As a marketing manager, I come in contact with many owners who decide against hiring a coach. Unfortunately, a large number of my clients who opted not to work with a business consultant actively have canceled their services with me. This has occurred not because I was falling short in my role as a marketing guy.
Small business coaching