"Know your promise to the consumer and deliver on it, no matter what."
Shep Hyken
Broken promises... What does this mean to you and to your clients?
Many sales reps are extremely casual when it comes to making promises. As a result, these promises are often made at the drop of a hat with no thought behind the long term impact. “It has been awhile let’s do lunch,” “I’ll call you later,” or better yet “Let me do some research and I'll get right back to you”; all examples of throwaway promises seldom kept.
When someone on your sales team breaks a promise, no matter how small it may seem, alarm bells aren’t going to go off but think about ones reputation.
How do you feel when someone else breaks a promise to you or gets caught in a lie?
Broken promises leads to broken trust. Think about the impact this may have with client retention.
Unfortunately, excuses and broken promises are all too common in the workplace. Though you might think a minor excuse here and there won’t hurt, you’re sorely forgetting that your business is only as good as its word. If your sales reps are constantly making excuses and not following through on their promises, it won’t be long before your clients and prospects start doubting their capabilities.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what this means to your company’s bottom line.
YOUR SALES REPS WORD IS THEIR BOND, THEIR REPUTATION!
Personal integrity by each and every one of your sales reps is expected and valued. Every time they give their word, they're putting their honor on the line with your clients. This implies your clients place their trust with your sales reps as they value integrity, isn't this correct?
This goes without saying, if your sales reps don’t live up to their word they may end up tarnishing their credibility, damaging relationships and defaming their reputation. Most importantly, they'll be letting themselves down while placing the relationship with your clients at risk.
Think about the next time one of your sales reps makes a promise to a client. Please make sure they're not promises in the dark!
A SALES LEADER
As the leader, you are a vital component within your sales team. Empower your sales reps to succeed by obtaining total commitment that they keep their client promises.
Challenge your sales team to ensure they remain focused on delivering on their promises.
Your clients are your company's greatest asset and as leaders you must step-up to the plate to ensure they never leave.
Set aside quality time and think about the promises your sales team have made to your current clients.
3 ESSENTIAL PROMISES YOUR SALES REPS MUST MAKE TO THEMSELVES AND TO YOUR CLIENTS
PROMISE NUMBER ONE - HAVE CONSISTENT TOUCH POINTS WITH EACH CONTACT INSIDE THEIR ACCOUNTS
A frequently-cited stat from the CEB is on average there are 6.8 people involved in today’s B2B purchase decisions. Driven by decentralization within organizational structures, these people may be distributed across different divisions within their company or even locations.
Have each sales rep pledge and promise to develop relationships with at least 6 people inside their current accounts.
Each contact inside their accounts has a different agenda, motivation and preconception. Your sales reps who fail to build a strong tie to any one of these people could see important deals collapse, relationships lost and more important revenue loss.
Your sales team must promise to become client obsessed. It's about building relationships, referrals and revenue.
Always be looking for blind spots within your current accounts.
PROMISE NUMBER TWO - CONDUCT MONTHLY SITE VISITS
Your sales reps must become visible and valuable inside their accounts. Monthly site visits become a necessity as they build a fortress around your clients. Think about how they can diversify their relationships while establishing consistent communication patterns during these visits.
As these visits are conducted encourage them to engage in quick conversations with key contacts and stakeholders. Have them look for potential opportunities and or red flags which can then be brought up in quarterly business reviews.
They must become massively curious about their clients during these visits. This opens up additional opportunities for engagement while potentially solving problems which otherwise may have gone overlooked.
Your sales reps must become proactive and look for potential issues before they arise.
PROMISE NUMBER THREE - CONDUCT QUARTERLY BUSINESS REVIEWS
The more value your sales reps demonstrate the more strategic they become to your clients. Consistent quarterly business reviews create top of mind awareness and serves to create engagement.
Ideas for these reviews...
- Develop relationship from vendor to partner
- Reinforce value
- Review/set goals moving into following quarters
- Establish a pulse (How are we doing?)
- Capture and reinforce successes
- Secure introductions into people they know (referral opportunities)
WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOUR CLIENT?
• It's a progress report on how well they've been taken care of
• It's an educational opportunity to provide an overview of performance, trends as well as new insights
• It's an opportunity to discuss improvement ideas
THE MODERN BUYER HAS CHANGED
In the book, To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink, he writes about how we’ve gone from a "buyer beware" culture to a "seller beware" culture. There’s so much information available to customers today via the internet that customers are often well versed in their options and interests before the salesperson ever enters the scene.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon your sales reps that they truly understand their client's world by adding value, not just showing up, throwing up and educating them on a product or solution.
It is the promises your sales reps make that will make or break their future. As Ashley Welch of Somersault Innovation, says, "Start with them, not you."
How well are your sales reps building long lasting relationships with their clients?
Prevent this question from happening...
"When will I see them again?"
I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and modern strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way!
In 2016, I was recognized by ENX Magazine as, “The Difference Maker,” as someone who is making a difference inside the B2B office technology sector. I am passionate about helping sales reps succeed in creating their online brand image
You can find more advanced training material inside the Social Sales Academy website.
I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my LinkedIn stories. Integrating the use of LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them tell their story and communicate it out by integrating the use of social media. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Social Sales Academy and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.
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