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Do not sell to them talk with them!

Step 1: Communicate with your existing customers,

Step 2: Repeat step 1

Step 3: Repeat step 2.

Most business people think they have to sell to their customers but, well before that, they need to communicate with them.

“But what about all the advertising I need to do?” you may well ask. “Forget it, initially,” I say. “Yes, you need to advertise but the most important thing, right now, is to communicate with the person in your shop or on your phone, right now. Do not sell to them – talk with them.”

A survey indicated that the reasons customers quit a business were:

  • 3% move away,
  • 5% develop other friendships,
  • 9% go to a competitor,
  • 14% are dissatisfied with the product or price, and
  • 68% quit because of the indifference of the owner/management/employee. This means that nearly seven out of 10 customers decided to shop elsewhere because they felt nobody cared about them or their custom.

If you’re communicating with your customers, they feel you care and they’ll come back. You don’t have to spend a single advertising money to get them back – just ask questions, get to know them, volunteer information about you… just like you do with your friends.

And the cost of your advertising money? It costs between 6 and 9 times more to get a new customer than to keep an existing one. Save your advertising budget for thank you gifts for your regular customers!

How to talk to customers

Don’t ask, “Can I help?” Why? Because when they say, “No”, there is nothing else for you to say! Conversation stops, you retreat to your corner, the customer wanders around, out and into your competitor’s shop.

If you’re going to ask a question, don’t make it a closed one – one where the only answer can be Yes or No. Ask open questions – one where they need to explain something… questions like:

  • I love that hat/those shoes/your hair, where did you get them?
  • Why do you think (name of politician/sports person or television star) did that last night?
  • What do you think the new tax rules will mean for farmers?
  • What do you think the council’s new building regulations will do to the housing market here?
  • How do you think that new superstore up the road will affect businesses in this area?
  • How’s the hot weather affecting your health?

Ask questions that need their opinion… a question that shows you’re interested in them for more than just their money.

Solve your customers’ problems

You cannot stay in business today if you just want to sell a product or service. You have to be able to solve a problem for a customer by selling the benefits, or value, that come from the product or service.

To solve their problem you need to find out about your customers. You need to know exactly what they need, what their concerns are and what they’re likely to be. You’ll never find that out from an advertising campaign!

Communication is about listening, not about talking

If you have an office or factory, welcome customers by showing them around your premises to meet the team. The discussion gives you the opportunity to explain how you do things and also to find out as much as you can about your customer’s needs, concerns, plans and strategies.

Ask if they’re happy with the job, see if there is anything else you can do for them, and to book in the next service. Informal phone calls can be an excellent way for a brief chat or follow-up, or for more structured discussions hold face-to-face meetings at regular intervals.

If you have a shop, provide a coffee machine and a chair – then they’ll chat and get to know you and you’ll get to know them. That’s where your “advertising” money can go.

 

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