The words thank you are two little words that are often said but I wonder how often we really mean them?  It is commonplace for us to use these words as a response to a transaction a purchase or when someone does something for us.  However, it seems as though we use them so often that I wonder if they have lost their true impact?  It seems many times giving thanks is strictly out of common courtesy more than the fact that we are truly thankful for the service or product that the person or company provided. Of course, there is nothing wrong with respect and courtesy and one could easily argue that our society needs much more of this.  Maybe we just will feel guilty or somehow jinxed if we don’t say these two words to someone, even if we don’t mean them.   However, the more we say them without really meaning them the less value they hold in our eyes.

When was the last time you contacted your customers with the sole purpose of saying thank you?  Not to ask them for more business or to try to sell them another product, but to just say thanks!  They are use to vendors or suppliers calling them or calling on them and trying to sell them another product or service. However, I would say that it is far more infrequent for them to hear an out-of-the-blue thank you. This is such a powerful tool to keep in your sales tool bag but is often overlooked.  This is also a great way to differentiate yourself and your company from your competition.  This shows your customers that you truly value them and their support. 

Here are some creative ways you can show gratitude to your customers:

1.       Send a hand written Thank You card in the mail- Since most of what people receive in the mail these days are bills or ad’s, your card will stand out.

2.       Place an out-of-the-blue Thank You phone call- Simply tell them how much you appreciate their support and how much you love having them as a customer.  Don’t however leave a voice mail as it will not have the same effect.

3.       How much do you know about your customers? Get to know their interests and hobbies- a great example of this when a vendor went to lunch with one of his customers and found out that his customer loved soup. The vendor out of the blue sent his customer a thermos with the customer’s name on it. The total gift cost only $1.59 but you can bet that every time this person sees it, he thinks of this vendor.  How much is that worth?

4.       Send a bouquet of flowers or balloons- an inexpensive way to show your customers that you appreciate them.  It will most likely be the topic of discussion and will be remembered for a long time.

These two simple words can have a powerful effect on your customers and your success.  When is the last time you told your customers thank you and are you sure they truly know how thankful you are?

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When you are presenting the end goal is to make a sale, not kill them with boredom. Yet so often that is what many salespeople do when they are presenting via PowerPoint.  It is quite easy to blame the software but the real responsibility lies with the presenter.   PowerPoint slides are there to support what the presenter is saying.  So in other words, you are only as good as what are on your slides. The goal for a great presentation is quality not quantity, yet so often it seems like there is a contest to see how many words someone can put on one slide.  If you are going to put down word for word what you are going to say, you might as well hand over the slides to the person sitting next to you and sit down or walk out.  The goal is for your audience to pay attention to you and the more your audience has to read, the less they are looking at you.  When you are presenting, this is the time for you to shine.  This is your Super Bowl moment.  

Here are 5 mistakes you need to avoid if you hope to keep your audience alive:

1.       Having too much information- Effective communication when presenting is knowing what to cut out.  You can easily lose your audience by having slides that are too cluttered.  Work on becoming a strong editor. 

2.       Not using enough visuals- This is a great way to have your presentation stand out. This also helps ensure you are not using too many words.  Avoid using the usual Microsoft Clip Art. Instead utilize online tools just as flickr.com or istockphoto.com. A key to remember with visuals is you want to make sure everyone in the room can see them.

3.       Horrible quality- Avoid using boring fonts or those often overused.  Perform a Google search and use some free fronts from great designers that can add that special touch to your presentations.

4.       All-over-the-place- Categorize your presentations into sections to avoid being disorganized. Pick an exciting color scheme and don’t limit yourself just to the colors that PowerPoint offers.

 5.       Lack of preparation- Take the time and don’t just cram it all together the night before.  Spend time gathering the information, then organizing it and finally rehearsing it. When you are done rehearsing it, rehearse it some more.  A study found that only 25% of people say they spend more than 2 hours on a major presentation, yet most experts say that for a great presentation, it takes 30 hours or more of prep time!

Focus on designing your presentation not just shaping it all together. Remember when you are in a room presenting you are not only there to share information, but you are there to influence your audience.  

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The decision for the customer of whether to buy or not often comes down to the salesperson.  Have a great experience and you not only will come back but will tell everyone you know. Have a poor experience and you quite possibly will never step foot into that establishment again.  Unfortunately, last Saturday my wife and I experienced the later. We were enjoying a rare getaway weekend with some friends which included two wine tastings.  Although the locations and products consumed were different, the real difference of these two experiences lied in the salesperson that served us.  As a salesperson myself, this was a real life reminder of how important the overall experience is to a customers buying process.

What was remarkable about these two experiences was how similar and different they were at the same time.   In both of these experiences we were the only customers in the store so the playing field for the salesperson was equal, so to speak.  Thus, the service that each salesperson gave us had nothing to do with whether they were busy or not.  Another similarity was that we tasted wines at both stores and both had the opportunity to sell us wine, but only one did.  This is however where the similarities ended I’m afraid.

In the first store it was if we were interrupting the salesperson by our presence in her store.  We felt that she could have cared less whether we had entered her store or not. Now, we all display different levels of passion about our jobs but she truly could have cared less about whether we purchased her product or not. In fact, never once while we tasted the wine did she even try to sell us a single bottle of wine.  In addition, the value that was given for the price definitely underwhelmed us.  However, in the second store we had a completely different experience.   Not only was the salesperson attentive to us but more importantly, took the time to get to know us and was excited to talk about his product.   We felt like we were talking with a lifelong friend. The true difference however was in the fact that he over delivered in the value that he gave us for the price of his product.   The combination of great service and great value led to not only an enjoyable experience but we both left with Wine and smiles on our faces.

These two experiences were a great reminder to me and should be to all of us in the sales profession:  Always be present with your customers and overwhelm them with value!

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Is does not matter what industry your customers are in or where they are located or even who is trying to sell to them, at the end of the day all customers want the following:

1.       They want to feel important
2.       They want to feel valued or appreciated
3.       They want to be understood
4.       They want and need your help
5.       They want you to truly listen to them
6.       They want YOU to stop talking about YOURSELF
7.       They want YOU to stop talking about YOUR company
8.       They want to buy something
9.       They want you to WOW them
10.   They want to have both success and happiness

The question you must ask yourself then is, how much different would you look compared to your competitors if you kept these ten things in mind with all your customers?  Better yet, how much different would your sales results be?  Now that you know what all customers want, the key is to either memorize these ten things or figure out a way to always have them with you at all times.  It can be as simple as writing them down and taping them onto the mirror in your bathroom or laminating them and carrying them in your folder or purse.  The goal of this exercise is to always remember that Sales is about what matters to your customer first and foremost.  By focusing on what your customers really want you will avoid the cardinal sin of doing all the talking or worse, talking only about you and your products or services.

Your goal as a salesperson should not be just to win the next sale. Your goal should be to win your customers trust and loyalty and become a trusted business partner. Not only will you win the next sale but more importantly, you will keep your customer for life!

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If you want to be successful you need to see your business through your customer’s eyes.  How does what you are selling impact their business both positively and negatively?   If you can’t this question you are missing a critical component to keeping your customers business. The processing of finding and getting business can be challenging but often less time and energy is spent on keeping the business.  Having great after sale support or customer care will not only differentiate you from your competitors but will ensure your customers continue to come back for more.  Focusing on providing great customer care is not just about getting the sale but rather keeping your customers for life.

Sales author and speaker Laurie Brown gives us seven qualities of customer care that will help you both win and keep your customers:

1. Accessibility. Start by making it easy for your customers to do business with you. Accessibility includes such things as ample parking, phone systems that are easy to use, responding to e-mail the day it is received, and a website that is clear and easy to navigate. It means you use language that is straightforward and readily understood by all. If you have diverse customers, it means translating your materials into their native language. 
How easy is it for your customers to do business with you? 

2. Availability. Are you there when your customers need you? Make sure that your business hours are compatible with your clients/customers needs. If your business takes appointments or reservations, allow your customers to make them for the same day that they call. On days when your business is closed, have a place or person that your customers can go to get information. This could be a website, a person on call, or a helpful message on your phone system. Nowadays, people seek information 24/7 — make sure that they can get what they need when they need it. 

3. Affability. Everyone wants to do business with nice, pleasant people. Seems simple, right? But sometimes the simplest things can be the hardest to accomplish. Having to deal with the realities of life like traffic, arguments, or just not feeling well, can sometimes make being pleasant seem impossible. Even so, making a point of warmly greeting your customers on the phone or in person can have an amazing impact on the success of your business. Affability is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone (from the janitor to the CEO) should greet customers warmly. This will help ensure your customers get the welcoming, positive experience they deserve.   

4. Agreeability. Customers want to hear “Yes” when they ask you for something, yet how often do you find yourself saying “No”?  Or perhaps you defer to policies and procedures. Do you really think that a “No” feels better when your customers hear, “Sorry, it’s our policy.”? Obviously you can’t say “Yes” every time your customers ask for something. So how do you know when to say “Yes” without it becoming a problem? Put it through a very simple filter: If it isn’t illegal, immoral or unethical, then say “Yes”.Even when you can’t say “Yes”, don’t say “No.” Instead, stop, take a breath, and say, “Let me see what I can do.” Then do something. Find a way to solve the problem — call a supervisor, be creative, show the customer that you are doing everything possible to accommodate them. When you say “Yes!” you are showing your customer that you value their business and that you care about their best interests. 

5. Accountability.  Take ownership of your customer’s needs and issues. Let them know that you will do your best to make them happy. If there is a problem, be the one who gets it resolved, even if you didn’t create the problem. See a problem through until it’s resolved. When other people need to be involved, you still need to follow-up to make sure that the problem was resolved successfully. 

Do you follow through until your customer issues are resolved? 

6. Adaptability. Your customers’ desires are constantly changing. Make sure that you keep up. Adaptability is essential. Don’t just wait for their requests. Seek them out and talk to them, ask them about their experience of doing business with you. What do they like about your business? What do they dislike? Even more than keeping up, make sure you exceed your customer’s expectations. If you always provide something exceptional, they will grow to expect it, and it ceases to be exceptional. When exceptional becomes the norm, you need to figure out new ways to surprise and delight them. 

What do you do to adapt to your customer’s needs? 

7. Ability. It might seem strange that ability comes last on the list. If you do all the things described above successfully, customers will be far more willing to accept that you are not perfect. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to strive for continuous improvement. 

"Your customers are getting more and more knowledgeable. The Internet has made it easy for them to gain knowledge. You need to do at least as much research as they do. More than ever, you need to be an expert about your products and services. Take 15 minutes out of your day, every day, and learn something new. Read what your customers read; find out what others are saying about your products and services; learn more about your competition. You can truly set yourself apart from the competition when you acquire more knowledge and expertise every day."

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