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Leslie Groene Website Homepage March 2020, Vol. 176
 

What Time Do You Open for Business?

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a high end store to purchase a product and arrived a few minutes before it opened. The store signage indicated that it opened at 11:00am and as we waited out front I noticed that there was a company meeting being conducted inside. Well, as we waited outside with a couple more customers, they continued the meeting for another 5 minutes well past the posted opening time at which point we left to purchase our item from a competitor. This has also happened to me at a large national bank where I waited at the door past their posted opening time while they conducted an internal meeting. In both instances the employees inside could readily see that there were customers waiting outside.

I think you get my point. . .As sales/business professionals:

  • Are you "open" when your customers need you and want to buy something from you?
  • Are you more focused on the process than the customer's needs?
  • Is your company more internally focused than externally focused?
  • Are you managing your business in non-selling time so as to maximize your time for your customer and prospecting?

Think about these concepts so that you can make your client expectations of you and your company a reality!

Other random Sales Observations:

1) I recently had foot surgery and received a 'Get Well' card from a colleague that was written on his company's own branded card. Nice touch!! I've mentioned before that 'thank you' notes are fabulous and this card is super-fabulous. Discover how you can stand apart from the competition by reaching out to clients/prospects with your branded cards with different messages.

2) I was behind this truck at a stop light (no driving & texting for me) and I was so amazed by the message on the truck lift gate. "Growth Through Customer Service". As a business develop trainer and sales coach- all things sales! --I always see things through a selling lens. I think you can keep clients with good customer service - but this isn't enough of a strategy for topline growth. Work hard to keep your clients and then use your features/benefits strategies for growth of new clients.

Focus Point

2. Get enough rest and be fresh and alert for your meetings.

Obviously, you can't continue to burn the candle on both ends and hope to be very effective. When you "buy in" to getting up early, you also buy in to getting to bed at an earlier time as well so you can get the sleep you need. If you are in your early twenties, you're probably smiling right now and thinking back to the all-nighters that you recently pulled in school. But when you are no longer twenty-something you will actually need that sleep to function.