The sales staff is the lifeblood of every organization, helping your business acquire customers and generate revenue. But they also need to keep those customers happy. 91% of unhappy customers will not do business with a company again if they have other options. And can you blame them?
Here’s the bottom line: If your sales team doesn’t turn out happy customers, then their sales figures don’t mean a thing.
Our world is more connected than ever, paving the way for constant interaction between customers and brands. Whether on social media or review websites, or calling into your office, customers expect and demand great service. And this means sales skills alone aren’t enough. To satisfy customers, your sales staff needs to do more than just close the deal; they need to provide outstanding customer service that builds trust and long-term relationships.
If you want to power up your sales team for real success, implement these four steps to create a customer-focused business today.
Establish a Strong (and highly visible) Company Culture
Transitioning from a sales-focused ethos to one that values customer service might be a big initial jump for some staff. That’s why it’s important to create a strong, visible company culture around these new values. Write a new mission statement for your organization. Create a company guarantee for solid customer service for all your staff to sign. Make sure that everything you do in your company revolves around your customers and their needs so that this new ethos becomes second nature.
Lead by Example
As the founder or CEO of your company, it’s crucial to put replicable action behind your words. Your team is looking to you for guidance, so make sure you talk the talk and walk the walk. Whether it’s talking to employees, making sales, or engaging with customers, set an example for good service and make sure everyone else gets onboard. At TruPowur, I always make a point to implement the other best practices I coach my team on so that they can see I’m just as dedicated as they are to improving.
Merge the Sales and Account Manager Roles
The biggest problem I see with other companies is that they segregate sales from account management. At TruPowur Coast, those roles are one and the same. Our sales staff doesn’t end the relationship with customers when they close a deal. They’re only getting started. By making sales staff aware of the customer’s wants and needs, they’ll be able to do a better job delivering on their expectations in the future. That means higher retention rates, more revenue and, most importantly, happy customers.
Reward your Team
Don’t let your sales team’s efforts go unappreciated. Set well-defined goals for satisfaction rates and customer retention levels. Reward them (financially or otherwise) when they meet these goals to keep them incentivized for the future.
This may seem like a lot of work, but the rewards can be huge. Bain & Co estimates that a 10% increase in customer retention levels results in a 30% increase in the value of a company. By shifting your focus so that customer satisfaction is part of your bottom line, you’ll not only find and keep more customers—you’ll also take your business to new heights. And at the end of the day, I’m confident you’ll find the effort was completely worth it.
Are you ready to bring our high-performing sales tactics into your organization? Drop us a line at Contact Us. And while you’re at it, see our customer service in action by reaching out to our knowledgeable energy brokers!