Steve Kaplan's Blog

If you’re a salesperson, you have a big-time vested interest in the delivery of the item you sold.  Don’t take the attitude, “I’ve done my job, now let the others do theirs.” If you expect any additional business from your Elephant, you must back up the promises you’ve made.  If you don’t, you can kiss any new business goodbye.  Believe me, it’s much better for your survival to figure out what operational issues the new business might present and deal with them up front, before the sale is made.  Don’t hide behind your operations manager or owner- take responsibility for the things you sell and the promises you make.  Take a stand, and if your owner or manager isn’t considering how the new business will impact the organization, suggest strongly that she do so.

Image courtesy of firstindy via Flickr.

After putting in a significant amount of effort, and you haven’t secured a meeting or developed the relationship you hoped for, don’t get discouraged. Some relationships take more time to cultivate.  In fact, some of the longest client relationships I’ve maintained took quite a while to develop.  One reason is that some prospects are loyal to their suppliers, and unless they have a reason to look elsewhere, they don’t.  Your job is to be patient, stay the course, wait for your opportunity, and be ready to step in and deliver for your prospect.

This is also a good spot to reevaluate your list, placing each prospect into the appropriate category. Every few weeks or months, send out an inexpensive mailing to your prospects that features your achievements, new clients, samples of your latest work, or any press you might have received.  This will help you keep your company top-of-mind. If money is tight, limit the contact to hot leads and great fits.

Below are some phone tips. Instead of dreading time on the phone, embrace the benefits of a phone call. The telephone gives you some tremendous advantages. Because no one can see you, you can glance at notes or work virtually anywhere that you’re comfortable. Take care to develop an upbeat and cheerful phone demeanor: most of all, get comfortable with the device!

Off Time. Many of your potential clients will be hard to reach during a typical nine-to-five day. Many, however, come in early or stay late. Their assistants aren’t there to block your calls at those times, so you have a better chance of getting through. I experienced the best results between 7:30 and 8:30 am and 5:30 to 7:00 pm.

No weather checks. Always call for a reason, not just to touch base.” Announce relevant new activities in your business, or ask whether your contact received your mailing. Having a purpose matters even more when you’ve met with a client and need to find out, without coming across as a pest, if she’s going to buy it.

Silence is golden. A common error is failure to tolerate silence during a phone call. Typically, the prospect wavers about whether to set up a meeting or commit to a sale, and in the meantime, you get tense about the silence at the other end of the line. Resist the urge to dispel the tension by sprouting something like, “Why don’t you think about it and let me know tomorrow?” You’d only be letting him off the hook.

Always go for the close.
Once you’ve made your initial contact, do whatever it takes to realize your goal, whether it be a meeting, referral, sale, or something else. You can soft sell or hard sell, depending on your personality or the situation, but even if your prospect isn’t quite ready to commit, use the call to prepare for the next one. Figure out what’s making her hesitate, do your best to fix or work around the hitch, and get back to her.

Image Courtesy of Flickr via parkcaptech.

Sometimes I wonder if the voicemail was invented to ruin salespeople’s lives. I have a hard-and-fast rule on voicemails for new prospects: don’t leave them, ever. Because people really don’t know who you are, 99.9% of them won’t call you back, and all you’ll accomplish is to look desperate. Even worse, if you do leave a voicemail, you bar yourself from calling them back, at least for a few days. Voicemail lobs the ball into their court, where you don’t want it, for if they don’t feel like playing with you, you’re out of luck.

Image Courtesy of Flickr via Christian O’Brien

We’ve all dealt with client crises.  They are bound to happen. Keep in mind, your clients know the occasional snafu is bound to happen; what they’re watching for is how you’ll handle it.  Below is a list of key points I’ve learned in dealing with the inevitable client crisis.

Do whatever it takes to fix it. The future business you sand to make or lose almost always outweighs the cost of dealing with the immediate crisis.

Take responsibility, no matter whose fault it was.  You can take part of the blame, but never none of it.  In almost every crisis there is something you could have done which would have averted the problem.

Act swiftly and effectively. Don’t just hope the problem will go away by itself. Sometimes people just want to vent their anger and be heard, and swift action will often put out the fire. Be a good ear, express concern for the client’s situation, then try to close off the issue.  Most people are programmed to expect a “not my fault” response.  Try a simple apology; this usually does the trick,

Step in and take charge. Don’t rely on the person who caused the crisis to manage it competently. Everyone likes to deal with stand-up people, and big customers are no different. True character surfaces under duress.  Use the crisis to prove yourself.

Don’t assign blame. Bottom-covering and finger-pointing can only diminish you in the eyes of others.  The client is more interested in how the crisis is handled than who caused the problem.

Stay calm. Deal with the crisis in ways that will make you friends, not enemies. Maintain your poise and your sense of humor; it will help your client do the same.  Use the opportunity to close ranks with your client as you work toward a solution.  Your ability to keep your composure and lead will rule the day.

Communicate. Stay in close touch with the client; be reassuring if you can, but never lie or cover up.  Once your client becomes aware of the crisis, the worst thing you can do is not keep her fully informed.  Understand that her boss and other departments will probably be asking questions. You don’t want to put her in an “I don’t know” position- she’ll never forgive you for it.

Keep your eye on the ball. Even when up to your big pass in alligators, don’t lose site of the larger goals: the success of this project, and winning future contracts.

Remember: Your clients know the occasional snafu is bound to happen; what they’re watching  is how you handle it.

Image Courtesy of Neukku via Flickr.

Work should be fun.  This is something I believe, big time. If you’re not having fun, you should find other work. It’s important for two reasons:

Having fun is good for business.  People work better when they’re having fun. Look at Southwest Airlines, Seatle’s Pike Place Fish Market, Google, and other thriving businesses that emphasize fun.

Potential clients should feel that working with your business will be a pleasant experience. It strengthens the relationship.

Having fun- and showing it- is a great way to distinguish yourself from your competitors, most of whom will be so focused on getting the dollars that they’ll forget about the relationship, which often is what got them the business in the first place.