Are your employees LOSING BUSINESS FOR YOU?
Are you SABOTAGING YOUR OWN SUCCESS?
You spend a lot of money promoting your product or service, but if you don’t know how to handle the customer once they respond, you might be wasting all that hard-earned money.
Here are some TRUE STORIES that happened in the Gallatin Valley recently – when you read them you realize why businesses often don’t get the growth they hope for.
IT’S NOT JUST BECAUSE THE ECONOMY IS TOUGH. To succeed, you need to EXCEL and RISE ABOVE THE AVERAGE effort.
Story #1
I approached a business man regarding snowplowing and possible summer lawn service. I had been paying a minimum amount for the service but it had deteriorated in the last few years and I knew I had to make a change. I was wary, would the price be unaffordable? He asked me what I was paying, then – get this – he gave me a patronizing SMILE and SHOOK HIS HEAD. No, he said, you’d be better off hiring a neighborhood kid. He said it in a condescending tone. He then went off to find a richer prospect, I guess. I went home and ripped up his card, then proceeded to share the story with everyone I talked to that day.
The pity is, he had no idea what I might be willing to pay, and by acting so superior and appearing to be PLEASED that he couldn’t help me, I was left with the clear vow to never do business with his company. Do you make potential customers feel good or bad about doing business with you?
Story #2
A friend of mine decided to order a pizza and wanted to try something different. When she went to pick it up, the clerk RANG UP THE ORDER then went to get the pizza. Coming back he said, “I need to tell you something. Don’t order this pizza with potatoes again because we don’t usually have potatoes. So we just made it without.” As he handed it to her, he said “Did I ring it up already?” When she said yes, he said, “Oh, cause I would have given you a discount but, oh well.”
The really sad thing is this business owner has absolutely no idea what the employees are saying and doing, I’m sure. And this employee DOESN’T THINK HE DID ANYTHING WRONG! My friend is too embarrassed to contact the owner. Do you have a way to get feedback?
Story #3
I recently switched to Optima because it promised to be faster. It’s not, by the way, it’s actually slower. But, I was having trouble with dropped wireless connections, something I never had with my previous company. I called the office in Billings. The conversation went something like this:
Me: My WIFI connection keeps getting dropped on devices I am using in the room next to my office.
Him: Yeah, well that’s because you really can’t use it in another room, you have to be in the same room.
Me: What? My other WIFI worked in every room in my house! Why would you have WIFI if you have to stay in the same room?
Him: Well, it’s just not a very strong router, it’s a cheap router.
Me: Why don’t you tell people this?
Him: (as though explaining to an idiot) Because if we told you, you WOULDN’T BUY IT!
Me: You got that right.
Unbelievable. They spend thousands on advertising, but lose it right here. Do you know what your employees are saying to customers?
Story #4
I was still looking for yard service for the spring. I called a company I’d done business with before. The receptionist could not tell me if they did what I needed. Instead she said I could make an appointment with So-and-So who would meet with me and we could discuss it. I was away from my office, so I did a quick check of the calendar and we agreed on a day and time. I asked her, please send me an email to confirm this, as I’m not where I can add it to my calendar and I don’t want to schedule another appointment in that time slot. Sure, she said. This was a Monday. The appointment was on a Friday. The email came Thursday, and, don’t you know, I had already booked a client. I called, she seemed to care less, but suggested I make another appointment. I was perturbed and said I would but couldn’t right now. I have never heard from them again. This is a lost sale for them, when a follow-up call or email, acting like they wanted the business, would have gone a long way. I’m still looking for help. Do you have a follow-up system to stay in touch with prospects?
These are a few, but there are more. Business owners struggling to survive, doing everything they know how to do except TRAIN AND MONITOR THEIR EMPLOYEES!
Don’t lose the business because you don’t know how to care for the customer.
Have you provided training for your employees in working with people, making sales, handling complaints (not just canned “sales techniques”)? If they haven’t been taught, then how will they know? Do you make sure you act like a person people want to know, like and trust? Don’t leave it to chance.
Contact us about the sales training we offer, customized to your business needs.
Do YOU have a story to share? Something we can learn from, or laugh with or slap our forehead in dismay? Submit it here for consideration to be added to our collection…
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