Chuck Terry
Executive Vice President & CSO
Carew International, Inc.
Many companies give their sales representatives titles such as “Account Manager” to convey a responsibility that extends beyond converting prospects into customers. In fact, sales representatives in most organizations continue to retain overall management of the accounts they sell beyond the closing of the initial deal. While that continuity certainly serves a purpose, the reality is that sales reps can’t be the entire customer care solution for existing accounts and still have time to develop new business. Moreover, the sales rep isn’t always the most efficient or logical contact to meet specific, day to day customer needs.
So, if not the sales professional, who is maintaining the customer relationship while the sales rep is out closing new business? In most organizations, it is a combination from any number of functional areas -- customer service, technical, administrative and logistical support. From the receptionist to accounts payable personnel to delivery drivers, countless members of the organization impact each customer’s experience and overall satisfaction. In fact, if you add up the time that your typical customer spends in personal interaction with someone from your firm each month, the sales representative may actually come in last, in terms of interaction time with existing customers.
But what happens when sales professionals are the only members of your team genuinely prepared to interface with customers? Are you comfortable placing your company’s reputation and your customer’s satisfaction in the hands of team members inside your firm who may have little or no formal training in sales, customer service or even basic communications?
Professional training firms like Carew International are finding more and more astute businesses realize the tremendous opportunity that comes with training every customer facing person in their organization. Regardless of the functional area, training begins with basic communication skills – the foundation upon which sales, customer service and even negotiation skills are built. These companies are making sure that the employees that deal with their customers are skilled communicators, fully prepared to participate in customer service and, yes, the fine art of selling (including up selling and add-on selling).
I am not talking about the annoying experience of calling the cable company to report a problem only to have them try to “sell you” something totally unrelated. No consumer likes that tactic. However, when my mechanic, who has been working on my engine, tells me the part I need is $100, but for $150 he can put in a high end part that will significantly improve my performance, I am all ears. Why? Because he is offering me something directly related to my need, which I value, but probably wouldn’t have thought of on my own. And he is speaking from a point of expertise that gives him credibility. That example, my friends, is both good customer service AND effective sales.
Think of how much customer contact time is spent each month by employees of your firm who could be trained to look for opportunities such as the one I just described. Each team member is an expert in their respective area. How can they use that expertise to add value to customers? Add sales for your firm? Improve customer satisfaction? I am not advocating that everyone in the company become a card carrying sales professional, but in the final analysis, aren’t we all selling ourselves and our companies every time we interact with a customer? Take a good look at the training you are providing all of your customer facing people, not just your front line sales reps. In the end, customer care really does take a village.
Executive Vice President & CSO
Carew International, Inc.
Many companies give their sales representatives titles such as “Account Manager” to convey a responsibility that extends beyond converting prospects into customers. In fact, sales representatives in most organizations continue to retain overall management of the accounts they sell beyond the closing of the initial deal. While that continuity certainly serves a purpose, the reality is that sales reps can’t be the entire customer care solution for existing accounts and still have time to develop new business. Moreover, the sales rep isn’t always the most efficient or logical contact to meet specific, day to day customer needs.
So, if not the sales professional, who is maintaining the customer relationship while the sales rep is out closing new business? In most organizations, it is a combination from any number of functional areas -- customer service, technical, administrative and logistical support. From the receptionist to accounts payable personnel to delivery drivers, countless members of the organization impact each customer’s experience and overall satisfaction. In fact, if you add up the time that your typical customer spends in personal interaction with someone from your firm each month, the sales representative may actually come in last, in terms of interaction time with existing customers.
But what happens when sales professionals are the only members of your team genuinely prepared to interface with customers? Are you comfortable placing your company’s reputation and your customer’s satisfaction in the hands of team members inside your firm who may have little or no formal training in sales, customer service or even basic communications?
Professional training firms like Carew International are finding more and more astute businesses realize the tremendous opportunity that comes with training every customer facing person in their organization. Regardless of the functional area, training begins with basic communication skills – the foundation upon which sales, customer service and even negotiation skills are built. These companies are making sure that the employees that deal with their customers are skilled communicators, fully prepared to participate in customer service and, yes, the fine art of selling (including up selling and add-on selling).
I am not talking about the annoying experience of calling the cable company to report a problem only to have them try to “sell you” something totally unrelated. No consumer likes that tactic. However, when my mechanic, who has been working on my engine, tells me the part I need is $100, but for $150 he can put in a high end part that will significantly improve my performance, I am all ears. Why? Because he is offering me something directly related to my need, which I value, but probably wouldn’t have thought of on my own. And he is speaking from a point of expertise that gives him credibility. That example, my friends, is both good customer service AND effective sales.
Think of how much customer contact time is spent each month by employees of your firm who could be trained to look for opportunities such as the one I just described. Each team member is an expert in their respective area. How can they use that expertise to add value to customers? Add sales for your firm? Improve customer satisfaction? I am not advocating that everyone in the company become a card carrying sales professional, but in the final analysis, aren’t we all selling ourselves and our companies every time we interact with a customer? Take a good look at the training you are providing all of your customer facing people, not just your front line sales reps. In the end, customer care really does take a village.
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