If you've been on this planet for any length of time, you’ve had ample opportunity I'm sure to say the words, I’m sorry.  In the business world, when is the last time you heard a CEO use those very same words? It can be difficult for executive to let down the curtain and show vulnerability but it’s often even hard to admit their decision or product missed the mark or that it just wasn’t the right time.  Listed below is an apology letter crafted by the Co-Founder and CEO of Netflix regarding their recent announcement to raise their subscription rates.  Now many cynical people will smirk and say the timing of this is just to protect their shareholder value or try to win back the customers they lost.  Regardless of the motivation, I don’t believe you can ever go wrong admitting your mistakes, especially to your customer base. In business, it’s not always about which company never makes mistakes but rather how the company responds to the mistakes that truly counts. 

Dear Dennis,

I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn't make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why.

Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.

So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.

For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.

I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours,

-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.
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I received this little bag of goodness from one of my customers who knows what I am passionate about. Do you know what YOUR customers are passionate about? When is the last time you surpised THEM with a token of appreciation?
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If you peruse the Business section of your local bookstore and/or your favorite online bookstore you will find no shortage of books written on the subject of getting more business or winning more customers. Yet in today’s business environment the one quality that seems so often to be missing with many companies, is good service.  There is nothing more frustrating when you are a consumer than when you receive poor service or you get the feeling that a company could care less whether you continue to buy their products or not.  What companies seem to forget is how willing and likely consumers are to share their bad news or tell their friends and co-workers about who not to do business with.  

Here are 10 easy steps you can follow to ensure you drive your customers away:

1.  Don’t call your customers back when you promise them you will

2.  Spend more time telling your customers what you can’t do instead of what you can do

3.  Ignore your customers by not staying in contact with them

4.  Provide poor after sale service

5.  Have a staff full of unhelpful or rude employees

6.  Make your customers wait either in line or over the phone because of poorly trained staff

7.  Have your customer’s phone calls be placed on hold by an automated voice

8.  Have a staff full of employees with an “I can’t be bothered” attitude

9.  Provide a complicated process for your customers to file a complaint

10.  Have a very difficult return process

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In a meeting with a customer this week I reminded of a great way to lose your customer’s business.  It is not a new way but should be a wake-up call to those in sales or who interface with customers in one form or another. This customer was in the process of explaining to me more about his business when the question of why he uses certain vendors came up.  His response was short and simple but yet spoke volumes.  He stated that for whatever reason, the vendors he had been using just stopped calling him and staying in touch so he had no choice but to look elsewhere.  Committing this cardinal sin in sales is bad enough but hearing that it has happened a few times to the same customer was even more alarming.  Finding and getting business is not easy and takes hard consistent work but what is the point of going through all that work only to have the business slip out the back door.  It has been well documented that you will spend far more money and time trying to get a customer back that you lost, than you will in acquiring them in the first place. Unfortunately, I wish I could say that this story was unique but I am afraid it happens far more than we would like to admit.

This story also emphasizes the three phases to every sales cycle: finding the business, getting the business and keeping the business. If you ignore any one of these phases the results can and most likely will be disastrous.  One of the ways you will keep your customers business is by having a good relationship with them. Staying in touch with your customers is good, building trust with them is better and being considered a trusted business partner is best.  All three of these levels require both communication and consistency.  Eliminate either one of these and you will be working hard to try to win the business back from your competition.

Here are some effective ways of communicating with your customers to ensure you keep their business:

1.  If you sell over the phone, set up a call cycle to talk to your customers on a regular basis. 

2. If you sell face to face, make sure every time you meet with your customers you bring someone of value that will impact their business.

3.  Send your customers emails with information that would be pertinent to their business or industry.

4. If you have an entertainment budget, get your customers out of the office on a regular basis for a meal.  This allows you to not only connect with them on a more personal basis but will give you a chance to talk without the constant interruptions that you have in the office setting.

5.  Send your customers a hand written Thank You card for being you customer. Show them that you truly value their business and are so glad you have them as a customer.

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If you surveyed sales professionals and asked them if they would rather be viewed by their customers as a sales rep. or strategic advisor, the answer would not surprise you.  The question then is what does it take to become a strategic advisor? In order to reach this status, you as the sales professional need to stop merely selling and start helping your customers. This may seem for many sales professionals like blasphemy. A common response may sound something like this; “Aren’t I trained and paid to sell?” Yes, but if you focus only on selling you will continue to be commoditized by your customers. Instead, by helping and educating your customers you can become a strategic advisor and true resource for them. This is also a great way to differentiate yourself from your competition.  Companies have many sales people trying to sell them their product or service but have very few who are providing what they really need, answers and solutions. As author and speaker Scott Ginsberg states “The reality is, customers don’t need more service-they need more answers.” 

Those in the sales profession understand that they are really in the service profession. Serving is more than just resolving issues that arise. You serve your customers by providing them with answers as well as educating them.  How different might your sales results be if you viewed your customers not as a means to pay your salary but as pupils who attend your class?  How much time do you put into lesson planning?  Do you show up every day ready to teach? Sales representatives mainly have transactional relationships with their customers whereas strategic advisors are able to gain entrance to higher levels within the customer’s organization.  As a result, they are able to understand their customer’s objectives and goals and are able to offer answers and solution that will help their customers meet these objectives.

The question then is what does helping my customer really look like in an everyday situation?  Here are a few seemingly simple but impactful ways you can provide help:

1.   Listening
        o How hard do you work at listening?
        o Are you truly present when you are in front of your customers?

2.   Industry Research
        o Do you spend time understand both their business and industry?
        o Do you know what challenges they are currently facing?
        o What makes customers choose them over their competition?

3.  Continually bring ideas
        o Are you introducing your customers to new things on a regular basis?
        o How often do you send your customers articles or information on ideas
           or products that they  may be interested in?

Today more than ever customers are looking for value and that value often comes in the form of help. So the question is, are you spending more time selling to your customers or helping them? 
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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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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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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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One of the key differentiators in a customers buying decision is the salesperson. You are an extension of the brand that you represent. You are the ambassador of the company brand. At the end of the day, people want to do business with people they like.   Even more importantly your customers want to know that you will be there to assist them if they have problems or something goes wrong.  If your customers view you as just their salesperson and no different than your competitors then you are missing out on being “the great differentiator”!  

Being liked is good, but being trusted and respected is better.   This doesn’t come from a single interaction and thankfully for you, is not something that all salespeople practice.  Salespeople can sometimes be lazy and assume that once they have their customers business, the hard work is done.  However, the reality is it takes consistent, intentional work to become a trusted and respected salesperson and even more work to become a trusted business partner.  However, once you reach this level with your customers not only will they willingly give you referrals but you will make it more difficult for your competitors to get in the door and take the business away.  What then are some things you can do to ensure you become the differentiator and trusted business partner with your customers?

1.  Show your customer how your product or service will make their business better, not just explaining to them what your product or service does.
     a.       Will your product/service save them time? 
     b.      Will your product/service save them $$?
     c.       Will your product/service help them grow their business?
2.  Stay in regular contact with them. If you can’t meet with them in person on a regular basis, pick up the phone and make sure they are not having any issues.
3.  Research what their competitors are doing and share what you learn with them. (This will not only show them you are in it for more than just a commission but they will start viewing you as more of a consultant than salesperson.)
4.  Continue to bring them ideas and/or solutions that you feel will help their business.
5.  Return all phone calls and emails as quickly as possible.  Don’t give them a reason to contact your competitors.

Take the next minute and a half to watch the following video to see how you can build relationships with your customers and earn referrals at the same time:
“If you walk in with information about you, you’re a salesman. If you walk in with valuable information about them (the customer) or for them, now you’re a resource.”-Jeffrey Gitomer

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What is a sales cycle? The sales cycle from the customer’s perspective is the sequence of phases that a typical customer goes through when buying something.  Unfortunately, many salespeople assume the sale ends once the contract or agreement has been signed. This however would be the wrong assumption.  This would imply that what happens up to this point is the most important part of the sales cycle.  However, I would argue what happens after the contract or agreement is signed is more important than the activities that led up to that point.   Don’t believe it or want further proof?  A study of the cost of customer acquisition vs. customer retention was done a few years ago by Bain & Company and the results were as follows; “acquiring a new customer can cost 6 to 7 times more than retaining an existing customer.”  Yet, so often far more time and resources is spent on acquiring the customers rather than retaining them.

The sales cycle from the salesperson’s perspective is broken down into three phases: finding, getting and keeping business.  All three phases are extremely important to the salesperson’s success and the focus on only one of these phases can mean almost certain failure for the salesperson.  However, although salespeople understand this, they often struggle with the ability to focus equal time on all three phases.  Oftentimes this struggle comes internally from sales management who put more pressure on their sales force to find and get new business.  Yet, it is also impossible for a salesperson to reach his or her goals and their company goals without continuing to grow their business.  For the purpose of this article, I wanted to focus just on this third phase.

The retention of business is directly tied to having good relationships with your customers and is not something that should just be left up to the Customer Service Department.   How a company and specifically a salesperson supports the customer after a contract or agreement is signed is a critical component as to whether that customer will continue doing business with you.  Here are a few key components that become decision making factors for a customer:

·         Communication- can they easily get a hold of you when they have a question or concern?

·         Visibility- do you make regular contact with your customer? Do you have them on a consistent call cycle or do they only see you when there is a problem?

·         Problem Resolution- do you have a process in place for them or do they know who to contact when problems arise?

·         Value- do you bring them additional solutions or products that will make their life better? Do you remind them what you have done for them in the past?

·         Competitive Differentiation- do they understand how your product or service differs from your competition?

·         Appreciation- when is the last time you thanked them for their business? William James once said “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”  Are your customers any different?

Focusing on keeping or retaining your customers is more than just one of the three phases of the sales cycle.  It gives you the ability to build value and further trust with them and the more trust you have built, the harder it will be for your competitors to take the business away.

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