Building Long-Term Customer Relationships Post-Sale

2. AFTER THE SALE: BUILDING LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIPS chapter 14 • How important is service after the sale? • How should salespeople stay in contact with customers? • Which sales strategies stimulate repeat sales and new business in current accounts? • Which techniques are important to use when handling complaints? SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED IN THIS CHAPTER ARE: 14-2 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

3. “Each customer expected me to act as if he or her were my only customer.” ~Susan Denny Cisco 14-3 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

4. The Value of Customers • For most salespeople, sales increases from year to year are due to increasing the revenue from existing accounts. • Customers are the primary revenue source for companies. 14-4 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

5. Selected Expenses for a Small Law Firm Over a 20-Year Period 14-5 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

6. Stages of Partnerships 14-6 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

7. Exploration • Set the right expectations • Monitor ordering processing • Ensure proper initial use of the product or service 14-7 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

8. Follow Up • Call to say thank-you and to check whether the product is working appropriately • Stay in touch to monitor changing needs or possible problems • Follow-up with satisfied customers to promote opportunities for securing references • Regular follow-up can be accomplished via: • Personal visit • Telephone • E-mail and regular mail • Follow-up signals the salesperson is dependable and customer-oriented 14-8 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

9. Handle Customer Complaints • Critical to developing goodwill and maintaining partnerships • Encourage buyers to tell their story • Determine the facts • Offer a solution • What is the dollar value of the claim? • How often has this customer made claims? • How will the action taken affect other customers? • Follow through with action • Achieve customer satisfaction 14-9 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

10. Handling Rude or Irate Customers • Follow the golden rule • Prove you listened • Don’t justify, excuse, or blame others • Do the hard things first • Call back if the customer hangs up • Give the customer someone else to call, but only in case you are not available 14-10 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

11. Expansion • Generating repeat orders • Be present at buying time • Catalogs and specialty advertising items • Help to service the product • Establish a good relationships with service personnel • Provide expert guidance • Provide special assistance 14-11 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

12. Expansion (continued) • Upgrading • Also called upselling, is convincing the customer to use a higher-quality product or a newer product • Full-line selling • Selling the entire line of associated products • Cross-selling • Similar to full-line selling exceptthe additional products sold arenot directly associated with theinitial products 14-12 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

13. Seven Tips for Effective Cross-Selling • Product knowledge • Cross-selling skills • Incentives • Reasonable quotas or goals • Results tracking • Timing • Performance appraisals 14-13 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

14. Commitment – Examples of Supplier Criteria • Hard savings • Payment terms, such as cash discounts • Improve process • Cycle time reduction • Inventory management • Vendor inventory management • Quality and innovation • Variable reduction • Supply chain management • Optimal packaging 14-14 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

15. Commitment – Examples of Supplier Criteria • Soft savings • Commercial • Global initiatives • New markets • Improve process • Improve safety or environmental procedures • Quality and innovation • Training • Supply chain management • Bar coding 14-15 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

16. Commitment (continued) • Securing commitment to a partnership • Commitment must be complete • Communication • Corporate culture Corporate culture consists of the values and beliefs held by senior management. 14-16 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

17. Direct Communication Between Partners 14-17 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

18. Direct Communication Between Partners (continued) 14-18 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

19. The Salesperson as a Change Agent • Champions • Positioning change • Determining the necessary resources • Developing a time-based strategy Change agent Person who is a cause of change in an organization. 14-19 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

20. Change and Resistance to Change 14-20 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

21. Dissolution • Limited personal relationships • Failing to monitor competitor actions • Failing to monitor the industry • Falling into complacency • Conflict 14-21 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

22. Repairing Damage to Trust in a Conflict • Observe and acknowledge what has happened • Allow your feelings to surface, but take responsibility for your actions • Gain support • Put the experience in the larger context to affirm your commitment to the relationship • Shift the focus from assigning blame to problem solving • Implement the solution • Let go and move on 14-22 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

23. Summary • Developing partnerships has become increasingly important for salespeople and their firms. • Many specific activities are necessary to ensure customer satisfaction and to develop a partnering relationship. • The best opportunities to develop goodwill are usually provided by the proper handling of customer complaints. • The appropriate solution depends on many factors. • It is important that both organizations commit to the relationship from top to bottom. • Sometimes relationships break up. 14-23 McGraw-Hill/Irwin