Feeling Fat?

Try Customer Contact!

     Okay now, here’s one of those little post-Thanksgiving, feeling-fat questions  that calls for you to be totally honest with yourself, but it doesn’t have to do with your weight or how much stuffing and pie you ate. Ready? Here you go:

     When’s the last time you PERSONALLY  called a past customer to ask how she or he is doing? To ask if there’s anything you can do for him or her?

     You know what?  If the last time was any longer than a few days ago, you may be setting yourself and your business up for failure. Why? Because you can bet that a competitor of yours is making that kind of call. And “We the people of the United States of America” LIKE getting those kinds of calls. In fact, we like it so much, it usually makes customers out of us!

     No, the person you call isn’t going to do cartwheels,  drop the phone and come running down the street shouting your name all the way to your front door, and then pound on it until he or she can dump pocketfuls of cash in your lap. But you can be certain the impression you make will get talked about! Getting talked about makes sales!

     Simple “How goes it?” calls  to take inventory of past customer experiences, and to ask about ways that you might help fill current and upcoming needs can be enormously productive. Asking customers for their opinions makes sales!      

     Of course, even a notch better than calls, when it’s possible  and convenient, is a personal handwritten note (I mean who does that anymore?) and topping even notes, a “just stopped by to say hi and see how you’re doing” visit. Even when the individual you aim to see isn’t there, the word always gets back…so, the more special you treat the person delivering your message, the better! Building customer relationships makes sales!

     Because there simply is never any way to know where your next sale is coming from,  the more you can do to cultivate existing customer contacts — even with receptionists — could end up connecting you with the sale of a lifetime.

     While you (to follow this example one more step) are being nice to the receptionist  (or the assistant), you can never know who else might be listening or observing or will get a firsthand report. Like “integrity” is doing the right thing even when no one is looking, sometimes the same can be said for sales. “Hey!” (as the NY Lottery advertises) “Y’neva know!”

     I know at least half a dozen businesses  that use receptionist and assistant positions as entry level jobs for assumptive relatives who will one day inherit the company, and who routinely associate with or lunch with the boss! There’s nothing like selling the next generation!

     Would you know about channels like these  without making “How goes it?” calls? Not likely. Afraid of hearing negatives? Hearing negatives makes sales! And every call you make speaks louder for your branding than all your advertising combined!

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