Through the Eyes of the Customer

Upsell by helping the customer to see the value.

Don’t just sell more; sell more value.

Upselling. 

At the McDonald’s drive-through when you order a cheeseburger, the cashier asks, “Would you like some fries with that?”

At the Best Buy register, the cashier asks, would you like the two-year warranty with that that covers all repairs for any reason? 

At the car dealership, the salesperson highly recommends the leather upholstery and the towing package.

Upselling adds more top-line revenue, and from the company’s perspective, that’s good.  But if done poorly, upselling can alienate the customer, and that’s bad.  Alienated customers don’t come back. 

So, the challenge is how to upsell well, without alienating the customer.  Or better yet, how to upsell in a way that gives the customer good reason to smiling, because they feel that received more value than they originally expected.

That’s exactly how my wife and I felt, after a recent Sunday morning stop at the Starbuck’s in the Barnes & Noble Booksellers #2048 in the Eden Prairie Center Mall in Minnesota.  The woman that took our orders was a master upseller.  But here’s the interesting part about it….  We didn’t feel like we were being sold anything; we felt like we were being offered a better value; we felt that the person who had the information was sharing the information with us, to help us get the best value that we could.  And as customers, we appreciated it in a big way.

So, what was her secret?

She wasn’t selling; she was sharing information  with us; she was helping us to see a way to receive more value.

We ordered four items, totaling $12.55.  But she didn’t simply take our order; with each item, had something to say, that was all  about  us.

Example:

My wife ordered a medium Caramel Macchiato.  The server suggested that for just 30 cents more, we can have a large size.  As  she said that, she held the two cups next to each other, so that we could clearly see how much more Caramel Macciato we’d have for just 30 cents more.  In a very literal sense, she showed us the value.  And we gladly bought it.

Here’s the point:

When upselling, don’t simply suggest the additional item; don’t just ask the customer if they want it, and don’t just tell the customer why it’s a good deal.  Instead, share information in a concrete and visible way, that will make it easy for the customer to see the value themselves.

Help the customer to clearly see the value, and you’ll accomplish two things:

You’ll deliver a better customer experience.

You’ll improve customer loyalty.

And yes, you’ll increase top line revenue.

To upsell well, share information with your customer to  help them clearly see how they can receive more value.

How to Avoid the Cold-Calling Dilemma, and Build a Better Pipeline

When I was growing up, my father was an avid vegetable gardener.   At the start of spring, before the final snow had melted from the backyard, dad would plant tomato seeds in some soil in small paper cups on the kitchen counter.  He’d place those cups near the window sill, where they’d get some good morning sun.

By the time the snows had melted, and it was warm enough to plant a garden, we’d already had small seedlings ready for the soil.  We were one step closer to the harvest.  But just because those seedlings were planted didn’t mean Dad was finished planting tomatoes for the season.  He’d plant another round of seeds. His reason for doing this:  After that first round of seedlings had past their prime, the second planting was ready to begin bearing fruit. 

While our neighbors’ gardens seem to bear tomatoes for only a month or two, Dad’s garden seemed to produce an always-flowing pipeline of healthy, ripe tomatoes, from late spring until early autumn.

A lot of sales organizations seem to approach their business development efforts much like most of our neighbors grew tomatoes – they plant their seeds at the beginning of the year, and then invest all their efforts into the harvest.  When the fruit is gone, they face long stretch of time with no tomatoes, and begin the cold-calling all over again.  It’s a tough way to keep the pipeline flowing.

When it came to his vegetable garden, Dad was big on nurturing.  He always had a crop of seedlings going.   Sure, you couldn’t eat the seedlings, but if you continually plant more, and give them care and attention, you’ll always have another round that’s ready to produce fruit; your harvest won’t be limited to a single wave of crop. 

Several years ago, I was part of a sales team that thrived on cold-calling.  At the start of each quarter, we’d concentrate on cold calling.  As we made those calls, we were focused on one thing:  finding prospects that we could move into the sales cycle, and close this quarter. 

We’d inevitably find a few who were in enough of a “ready to buy” mindset.  Those prospects became our sole focus for the next several weeks, as we’d move them through the sales cycle, toward closing business for the quarter.  On the first day of a new quarter, many of us would wake up to an empty pipeline; we’d begin the cold calling process all over again, and face several weeks or months with no new revenue.  It was a very frenetic cycle that made us stressed out, and then burned out.

Unfortunately, many companies still operate that way.   And many gardeners still plant all their seeds at the start of the spring, have a single harvest, and then many stressful months with no fresh fruit.

So, what’s the right way to create a pipeline that’s always flowing?

For starters, get out of the “ready to buy” state of mind, and think more “nurture” instead.  Go out in the field, and get to know those future customers that aren’t ready to buy this month, quarter or year.  Develop relationships with those people who aren’t yet ready to buy (but will be some day).  Deliver value through content, ideas and expertise. 

If all you can talk about is your product, and they’re not ready to buy, you’ll have nothing to talk about.  And you can’t build a quality relationship without quality conversation.  Invest more of your business development resources by continually planting and nurturing seedlings for your garden patch.  And don’t stop.  Seedlings grow up to be big tomatoes, ready for picking. 

Another thing that my father used to say to me when we’d be out picking those big ripe tomatoes in the garden:  “Do you remember when these were just little seedlings on the kitchen counter?  If you pay enough attention to them when they’re small, before you know it, they’ll be jumping right off the vine, and onto your plate.”

Not every prospect is ready to buy today.  But if you put effort into building relationships long before your prospects are ready to be customers, and if you continue to do this on a regular basis, harvests will happen more naturally, and with a lot less effort.  And they won’t stop, either.

The Real Value of Following-up on Sales Calls

One of the greatest shortcomings of sales people is their inability or unwillingness to follow-up.

Customers usually don’t buy on the first call. Statistics tell us that it often takes five or six sales calls, before a prospect actually buys.  So, if we think about that for a minute, every sales person could close more sales if they only followed up more consistently and more persistently.

 

 

Earlier this week, the point hit home with me when I received an email from Rachel Stevens, the Webstore Manager at Day-Timer, the company that sells personal planner products.

OK, so you're  thinking, "So what's the point?  This is common sense stuff," right?

Sure it is, but we often forget common sense, until we experience it in our own lives.  Here's what I'm talking about...

It all  began one night last week – I think it was Monday.

I was on the Daytimer Website, browsing for a planner for 2012.   I found a few items that matched what I was looking for,  and added them to a shopping cart.  Then, I did what a lot of shoppers do – I left the website.

Truth be told, my plan was to go shop around on the web, to see if I could find those same items for a lower price.

Two days later, on Wednesday, I received a personalized email from Ms. Stevens, thanking me for visiting the site.  The email also contained a 15% promotion coupon off of the items in my shopping cart.

So, do you know what I did today?  Yup, I opened that email from Rachel, clicked on the 15% off link, and it brought me right back to my shopping cart, with those same items right where I left them last Monday night.  And now, since I was getting 15% off, it would no longer be worth the time to shop around elsewhere for a better price.  So I ordered the items, and felt good about it.

I’m a happy customer, Daytimer captured the sale, and in the process, they’ve begun to build a good relationship with that customer(hey, I’m even saying good things about them in a blog post!).   And this is happening all because Rachel Stevens took the initiative to follow-up with her prospect.

Way to go, Rachel!  You followed-up,  you got the sale, and now I'm a happy customer!

 

How Bose Corporation is trying to Change the Sound of Selling to Customer Experience Specialization

This week, my Google Alert for “Customer Experience” found something interesting.  It found seven job postings for a “Customer Experience Specialist.”   And all seven positions were posted by a single company.

“Wow!” I thought.  “What single company is so customer-focused, that they’re hiring seven people to focus on delivering a great customer experience?

I clicked further to learn more…

The Bose Corporation is hiring seven individuals in major cities from Miami to Los Angeles to Seattle to fill the position of “Customer Experience Specialist.”  Impressive stuff.

I clicked into the job description to find out exactly what a Customer Experience Specialist does, at Bose.   In total, there are 14 responsibilities.   Here they are, straight from the posted description (I've made some of them bold.): 

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Deliver sales performance to established targets.
2. Review and understand sales data and partner with Bose and reseller management to make decisions and implement initiatives.
3. Influence the customer buying decision directly by conducting selling events, product presentations, and training.
4. Plan, execute, participate and document various selling initiatives outside of normal activity to drive sales (account/reseller promotional events, holiday events, Bose promotion/product introductions, sound seminars, etc).
5. Establish a high-level business partnership with reseller management. Meet frequently to discuss results and develop plans to achieve mutual goals and overcome obstacles.
6. Model reference standard product demonstrations using Bose
defined methodology and customer focused engagement strategy.
7. Create an environment within the storefront in which extraordinary and lasting experiences are provided to every customer by personalizing Bose products to fit their unique needs.
8. Actively promote the Bose brand and awareness to build customer and reseller advocacy.
9. Provide exceptional service during all customer and reseller interactions.
10. Proactively and frequently conduct training for retail sales professionals.
11. Ensure that merchandising and functionality of Bose products and displays within the store meets Bose standards.
12. Complete all required daily, weekly and monthly reporting as requested by Bose management.
13. Active participation in conference call meetings along with Customer Experience Manager, Account Manager and Customer Experience Specialist colleagues.
14. Actively participate in Bose meetings, conference/individual calls, and training & development programs as requested by Bose management. Documents and provides feedback to Bose management regarding products, product launches, displays, motivation programs, promotions, and areas for improvement.

A quick review reveals the reality – Bose is hiring seven sales representatives, but they’re calling them “Customer Experience Specialists.”

Is pushing products to increase sales the same as delivering a great customer experience?

If the top five responsibilities are about hitting sales targets, and influencing the customer’s buying decisions, how much are these sales reps going find time to focus on the complete customer experience?

Sure, Responsibilities # 7 & 9 give lip service to the customer experience, but a true Customer Experience Specialist should be more about the customer, and less about quotas.

If it looks like a wolf, walks like a wolf and eats like a wolf, does calling it a sheep give it a golden fleece?

It takes more than a title to make an employee more customer-focused.

 

 

 

The Bird in Hand, and the Value of Existing Customers

 Has this ever happened to you?

You’ve been a loyal customer of a service provider for many years.  The service provider announces a great promotion for new customers – 3 months of free service, if you sign up now!

The promotion can vary, but you get the idea.  It seems that many companies will often give big incentives to attract new customers, while those of us who’ve been sending payments to that same company for years, are made to feel like we’re being taken for granted. 

Don’t these companies know that a bird in hand is worth two in the bush?

There’s often more attainable growth within an existing customer base, that there is through new customers.  But why do so many business owners spend a disproportionate amount of their sales resources chasing the birds in the bush?

In an August 18 article in the New York Times, Jay Goltz, the owner of five businesses in the Chicago area, explains how a business can grow its revenues twice as fast if it focuses more of its sales and marketing efforts on customer retention – keeping and growing the customers that it already has.

Every business needs to bring on new customers, to grow beyond its existing market.  But while trying to acquire new customers, too many businesses miss out on the additional revenue opportunities that can be found within an existing customer base.

So, what are 3 things a company can do, to attain more growth through the customers that it already has?

Look beyond the need you’re already serving.
What other needs does your client have, that you’re equipped to solve?  Just because the need exists, and the client knows you, doesn’t mean that they’ll automatically make the connection.  Take more time to understand your client’s entire business, so that you’ll be able to uncover these additional needs and revenue opportunities.

Provide some human touch and caring.
The reason that many service providers offer “3 months free” to new customers, is because it works – customers are willing to leave their current provider simply because they don’t feel a strong relationship with them.  There’s no strength of connection; no sense of obligation to maintain a relationship.  Nurture the relationships with your current customers by reaching out to them outside of the sales cycle, in order to build a genuine relationship.  In a word, show them that you care.

Ask for feedback, and act on it.
Survey your customer base.  Not all at once, but perhaps a handful at a time, to keep it manageable.  Ask them for specifics; things that you can do differently, that will improve the relationship.  Then if those things are feasible, do them!  Improve you level of service to the customer, in ways that the customer will perceive value.  The mere act of asking a customer what they think can go a long way toward building loyalty, and stemming the tide of defection.  But don't forget to act on what they tell you, or at least respond to it.

There’s a lot of excitement in landing new customers – that’s where the fun is, in growing a business, right?  But there’s also a lot of growth within the “old” customers.  It may not be as fun and exciting, but at the end of the day, a dollar is a dollar, regardless of the source.

 

Keep sales aligned with marketing, and keep both aligned with the customer.

This past Saturday, I needed to have some tires installed on my daughter’s car.  I called a place I’ve been to before; their prices are competitive, their service has been very good, and they’re conveniently located, and I’ve always been able to get an appointment immediately.  In other words, I go there because they’re convenient.

But when I called there Saturday morning to get a price on the tires, and schedule an appointment, the woman took me by surprise: 

“We don’t give any pricing over the phone. But if you come in with a quote from a competitor, we guarantee that we’ll beat their price.”

“That’s great, but I just want an idea of what I’ll be paying before I come in.”

“You’ll be paying less than you would at any other competitor.  We guarantee that.  But we don’t give prices over the phone.”

I was a customer who was ready to buy.  I didn’t care if they would save me $2 per tire over the competitor’s price.  I just wanted to know what that price was, before I left my house.  But she wouldn’t tell me.

The woman blew the sale, because she was focused on selling her way, regardless of how I wanted to buy.

There are a few dynamics at play here, which can apply to any size business:      

1. Know your customer types, and engage different customers differently.
Every customer wants to know they’re getting a good price.  But some customers are willing to forego a little savings for convenience.  So before launching into a “nobody can beat our prices sales pitch,” make an effort to know what kind of customer you’re talking to, and what their buying criteria are.  Then sell accordingly.

2. Don’t sell – help your customers buy.
Nobody likes to be sold to.  But everybody likes to buy stuff.  If you’re a discount tire store, and you insist on not quoting your prices over the phone, but guarantee you’ll beat the competitors’ prices, then quote those competitors’ prices over the phone.  Don’t say which competitor it is, but just give the price, and promise you’ll be less.   In other words, find a way to make buying easy for the customer, without compromising your ideas.

 3. Align sales efforts with marketing efforts.
This tire retailer was running a “We’ll beat anybody’s price” campaign on tires.  And their sales team was clearly executing on the campaign, to gain full mileage from it.  That was good.  In too many organizations, marketing will invest time and resources to create a great campaign.  But without proper alignment, salespeople sell the way they always sell, without fully incorporating the message from marketing.  Any campaign is less effective when the feet on the street march to a different beat than the minds in marketing.

Keep sales aligned with marketing, and sell in sync with your customers' preferences.

 

The Secret to Successful Selling at a Trade Show

I've been spending this week at a conference in Chicago.  Trade shows and conferences are interesting places; everyone there has a motive - learning, selling or job-seeking.

If you've ever been a vendor at a trade show, you're probably familiar with the challenge:  striking up conversations with complete strangers, qualifying them as potential customers, and leaving a credible impression in a short amount of time, so they’ll remember you after they’ve returned to their office.   I’ve never been speed-dating, but I suspect similar skills apply.

To be successful, you’ll need to make the most of a short encounter by asking good questions, listening carefully to the answers, and managing the conversation toward a desired outcome, while establishing yourself as trustworthy, credible and memorable.

Two years ago, I  attended a conference in what can be considered the conference capital of the free world: Las Vegas.  I observed the tactics of dozens of salespeople; how they approached and engaged with potential customers.   But it wasn’t until I left the  conference that I had a chance to observe a true master of the brief encounter -  the bellman that ran the taxi stand, in front of the Mirage Hotel. 

There were about forty hotel guests  waiting for taxis.  The bellman would signal for a cab, then turn to the next guest in line, and begin a 15 to 20 second conversation.  He’d ask short, non-intrusive questions – interesting questions – that his guests would gladly answer.  He’d ask another question, based on the guests’ response.   These conversations were short, but extremely engaging for both the bellman and the guests.

By the time each guest was in their cab, they were offering the bellman  information about themselves, their lives and businesses.  In less than a minute, the bellman learned a lot about each guest, and established enough rapport to induce them to share personal information with a virtual stranger.  I had no doubt that if he were working the conference floor inside the hotel that he’d walk away with a high number of qualified leads.

I'm convinced that most salespeople fail at these trade-show encounters, because they don't plan for them.  Trade shows and conferences can consume a lot of a marketing budget, so what can you do to maximize your return on conferences?  It comes down to advance planning.

The planning shouldn’t be the exclusive domain of marketing.  The sales team should also invest time preparing for the event.  Find out what companies will attend the conference.   As a paying exhibitor, you may have access to a list of the companies that will be represented.  Go to their websites, understand their value propositions and the common challenges in their industries.   Read their press releases, and other news items.  Understand their current circumstances that may be impacted by your offering.   Know who you’ll want to seek out at the event, and identify a reason to meet.

Contact attendees before the conference to introduce yourself, and schedule meetings.   I once worked for a VP of Sales who made it a privilege to attend a conference, and awarded those sales people that had the most confirmed meetings a week before the event, with the right to attend.   It was no coincidence our trade shows were extremely successful events, yielding high numbers of qualified leads. 

When you’re at the conference, make it a point to be where your best prospects will be.  Review the agenda, and identify those sessions whose topics are likely to be of interest to your ideal prospects; sessions that will focus on the business challenges that are addressed by your solution.  Go to those sessions, and engage with the  attendees.  Put yourself in the right place to ask the right questions to the right people. 

Trade shows and conferences are opportunities to meet a lot of potential customers in a short amount of time.   With some advance planning and thoughtful questioning, you can be the one that the prospects remember.   And you’ll have plenty of good news for the bellman, as you leave the hotel.

 
 Thanks to The Ultimate Taxi for this ultimate image of .... a taxi.

What happens when you combine Twitter and a Referral during the sales process?

An interesting thing happened during  Thursday's Focus Roundtable on Email Marketing.  

Chester Bullock, Andrew Kordek and Lara Conn combined for a fast-moving and informative 45 minutes.  A couple times during the session, Andrew and Chester referenced the book "The Now Revolution."

Chester sent a Tweet containing a link to the book's website.  I read the tweet, clicked through to the book on Amazon, and two clicks later, had it coming to my home for delivery by Monday.

So, what's the big deal? What happened here, that's worth blogging about?

Two dynamics came together to make business happen very quickly and seamlesslessy.  Two dynamics; one old, and one new:

1. The Credibility of a Referral. 
Referrals have been used by savvy sellers for centuries.  As I listened to Chester explain how he uses email marketing, I liked what I heard him saying.  It made sense to me, and I felt that he knew his stuff.  He had credibility. I wanted to learn more.  He recommended a book.    So I decided to buy the book.

2. The Immediacy of Twitter.
Compared to most sales and marketing tools, Twitter is very new. Many of us, including me, are just learning about it.  Normally, when Chester recommended the book, I'd have written down the name, and ordered it at a later date.  But I saw the Tweet show up on my screen as I was listening to him, and I was immediately engaged in the buying process.  The Tweet brought me to the site, where I could order the book.  So I did.  Transaction done.

Here's the process, as I experienced it:

The new tool combined with the old technique shortened the sales process dramatically.

How can you put this same dynamic to work in your business, to drive faster results?

  
 Thanks to the TechITEasy Blog for this leapord in a Speedo to depict "Speed of Business."

How to Warm Up Cold Calling - any time of the year.

A sales rep from ADT knocked on my front door this afternoon. 

He politely introduced himself.

Then he asked me if I'd heard of his company.

Then he told  me that he wasn't trying to sell me anything .

Then he told me about a special offer ADT was making this week - free installation of a security system.  

Then finally, he told me the thing that I was really cared about:  There was a burglary in the neighborhood recenlty.

By the time he metioned the burglary, he'd already lost me.   He could have captured my attention and kept it, but he lost me early on.

So, what are three things that you can do, to earn your cold calls a warmer reception?

1. Lead with the Lead. 
 Begin the conversation with the one thing that your prospect will most likely care about.  That's not you, it's not your company, and it's usually not your product either. For the ADP sales rep,  it was the news of a neighborhood burglary.    He should have lead off with that, but he didn't.  Journalists have an expression:  "Don't bury the lead!"  In other words, don't bury the most salient fact in the third of fourth paragraph.  Start your story with your best attention-grabber, and you'll have your prospect's attention immediatley, before they mentally move on.

2. Build a Bridge.
Carefully connect that Lead story with the reason for your offering.  The ADT rep might have said, "Because there was a burglary in the area, we're installing the sytsems at no cost in your neighborhood, so that you can be protected immediatly.  You'll only be responsible for the monthly service fee." Build a bridge from the Lead Story to your solution, then lead your prospect accross to safety.

3. Confirm the Concern.
Many sales reps will speak at length about their offerings, because they fear that if they stop  talking, they'll be rejected.  After you've presented the problem, confirm that the prospect is indeed concerned about it.  "May I ask what you think about this, Mr. Prospect?"  Qualify the prospect early on, and you won't waste anyone's time, if they're not qualified.  Besides, if they don't care, chances are you won't change their mind, so you may as well move on.

On the other hand, if you lead with your top story, then connect it to your solution, and confirm that the prospect is interested, the conversation can warm up quickly.   If it doesn't, move on.  Cold calling is as much about qualifying prospects, as it is about introducing solutions.