Risk & Business Magazine Benson Kearley Risk & Business Magazine Summer | Page 13

WAYS BUSINESSES LOSE SALES
becoming positive and empathetic. You
start saying things like “I understand”, “I’m
with you”, “I agree”, “You deserve it”, and “I
want to solve that for you”. Commit first and
handle it later!
LOST SALE #2:
Your solution is useless — When someone
reaches out to you to solve their problem,
your job is to solve their problem. You
either solve the problem or you don’t
solve the problem. Eighty-two percent
of customers said that the #1 factor to
great customer service is solving problems
quickly. Fifty percent of dissatisfied
customers will tell 10+people about their
experience. You don’t tell people about
the times they do great work for you, you
usually just tell people about that one bad
experience, right?
I once had a dentist in LA that always did a
good job, was friendly, and got the job done.
I went in to fix a tooth that was cracked
and the next day I ate a gummy bear or
something and part of the tooth fell out. I
was in the process of moving to Miami so
I called her about it and she said the next
time I’m in LA come to her. I didn’t make it
back to LA for three years. She didn’t solve
the problem or even make an effort to solve
it. Although she was a good dentist and
did good work, she disconnected from the
problem. She didn’t solve that last problem
for me, so in my mind, she isn’t on that
unbelievable, great, super satisfaction list.
You have to help solve problems!
LOST SALE #3:
The customer is ignored—Look for the
critical customer touch points to make
sure that you are not ignoring your
customer. As a policy, every customer
should be greeted, acknowledged, and
addressed immediately upon arriving,
calling, or emailing your business. At a
big department store, you can often walk
through 10 different departments without
anybody talking to you—probably with
nobody even looking at you. Make it a
priority to have a greeter to be sure to
acknowledge everyone who walks through
your doors. Direct them early on!
“WHEN
CUSTOMERS
WANT
SOMETHING
FROM YOU, THERE
IS A WAY TO
EXCHANGE VALUE
WITH THEM.
COMPLAINTS AND
PROBLEMS ARE
OPPORTUNITIES.”
LOST SALE #4:
Can’t speak with a supervisor — First off, a
customer should never have to ask to speak
to a supervisor. The supervisor should
intervene before there is ever a problem.
It’s called being proactive, not reactive. It’s
called before the problem, not after the
divorce. You see, a lawyer gets involved
at that point. You don’t want to act as a
lawyer. Someone that really cares about a
relationship will intervene earlier.
Warren Buffett said, “If you got a problem
tell me about it quick”. If a customer calls
in at 4:30 with a problem and I call back at
4:31, that tells them I’m serving them and
willing to confront the problem. If I wait
a few days, what does that communicate?
I had an email on a Sunday with a client
telling me about a proposal he had been
waiting on for two months, and he said,
“Come on guys!”
I didn’t wait until Monday morning to
reply, I replied seconds later, on a Sunday
afternoon, that the problem would be
handled first thing Monday morning.
Take the heat out of the fire by reducing
time. Have management, executives, or
a supervisor intervene when there’s a
problem beyond the control of an agent.
LOST SALE #5:
The salesperson is too pushy — Most
people are not pushy enough, trust me.
Most companies don’t greet, don’t write,
ignore customers, and don’t follow up.
Most never get in the realm of being too
pushy. Only an unskilled salesperson
would com e across as pushy. True
professionals, highly interested, heavily
trained people who are enthusiastic
will not appear to be pushy. Roleplaying,
handling customer issues, and pivoting
into a sales process is what your team
should be doing.
The bottom line is that too many retailers
are making too many simple mistakes
to deserve to stay in business. There’s a
fine line between profit and just breaking
even or losing money. You need every sale
you can get, so don’t be making stupid
sales mistakes — or your small business
will follow Toys R Us and the others into
bankruptcy.
My seven figure sales certification will
show you everything to do in business that
most people aren’t doing in business. Stop
losing sales! +
Best-selling Author, TV & Radio
personality and Self made Entrepreneur
and American Patriot Warrior for the
Middle Class
Cardone works with Fortune 100
companies customizing sales processes
and improving customer experiences. His
clients include Google, Morgan Stanley,
Ford, Chrysler, Aflac, Sprint, WellsFargo,
Allstate, and StateFarm.
Cardone believes the middle class is a
mythology perpetuated by politicians
from both sides resulting in a failing
formula for 250m people. His mission
is to provide the middle class with new
information and strategies for financial
survival.
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