Be Nice to everyone

I am not sure how it is in other sales industries but in Telecom it seems like we all work with each other or against each other at one time or another. So today I wanted to chat a little about how you should interact with others.

First: know your competition: In sales, it is important to know your competition, what are they are good at what is their niche. It is also useful to know the individual sales rep. Do they have a reputation of being reliable & trustworthy or are they the type of sales person that gets the sale and moves on. When you know your competition is deficient in a certain category, that is your opportunity to emphasize that as a strength for your company ( if in fact, it truly is). This way you can point out the weakness to your customer with saying anything bad about your competition and it will set you in a better position to win the business.

Second: just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it. I am very truthful with customers. There is a right way and a wrong way to convey a message. If I were to come out and say "XZY's customer service is a nightmare" that is the wrong way to phrase it, even if it is true. Instead you can say that  "Our customers that previously used XYZ have found that they really like our customer service center much better." This idea goes back to some sales 101 "it's not what you say, it's how you say it."

Third: don't Brag. You can point out your accolades without beating the customer over the head. If an independent study was done on your company and recognized you for excellence, let the customer know that your company is grateful for the recognition and you hope it conveys to your potential customer the dedication your company has to taking care of their customers. I recently met with a potential client who had been using one of my competitors and her said the rep spent the entire meeting showing him all the big name customers they had signed on. Sometimes that works with a client. I personally think it is more valuable to show relevant customers. If eBay is your customer, the potential client might be impressed by that, but if they don't do business with eBay it probably won't hold much weight. If you have another local customer that they do share business with, that can be VERY Powerful, which leads to my next and final point for today

Fourth: do some research. In this case I don't mean about the specific company, but I mean the person you are meeting with. Google search their name, did they recently win an award? Did they do something to make a positive  impact on the community? These are great items to find common ground and build the foundation of your relationship with the customer. Look them up through social media. I am a big proponent of using LinkedIn, it is a fantastic resource that lets you connect with people around the world. When you look up a profile you can see where they went to college, what organizations they are a member of and even if you have common friends, business partners or customers. All of this works towards building your relationship with meaningful common interests and ideals.

In summary, always choose your words thoughtfully and with the intent of best serving the customer. Do some research to build that trust and help you service the customer for years to come. I kind got off topic didn't I hope you found the information useful anyway.

Thanks for reading today,

Mike


BTW follow me on twitter @mistertelecom