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March 2018 View as Webpage
In this issue

Why should they do business with you?
Strategic changes for closing more sales
Creating compelling content
Do your customers know you care?
Take customer retention seriously or pay dearly
Why L.L.Bean's new return policy was the right move
The problem with first impressions
Before you can help customers, take the time to
understand them.
Why should they do business with you?
Not because of the brand
Not because of the relationship
Not because of the perks
Not because of the price
 
Because of your performance
Because of your value
Because of your responsiveness
Because they can count on you
This month's article
Strategic changes for closing more sales
For most of us, what we learn first sticks with us for a long time, often throughout our lives. Nursery rhymes,grade school teacher’s name, what we consider right and wrong, and lines from a school play, among many others.
 
It happens to salespeople, too. Early training is indelible and often remains throughout a person’s career. That can be a plus, but not always. New demands and expectations call for strategic changes for us to keep up, stay relevant so we can do more business. Here are five strategic changes that make a difference. Read about them here.
Creating compelling content
Whoever you are and whatever you do, creating compelling content is your job. No one is exempt. It can be emails, memos, letters, media releases, newsletter articles, reports, presentations or proposals.
 
Because it’s not easy, here are five questions that can help you move in the right direction.
 
1. Who is your reader?
Describe the reader in detail: age group, education, lifestyle, type of work, annual income, interests, challenges, hopes and fears. Write it down.
2. Why should they read this?
What’s in it for them? How will it help them? Write it down.
3. How will you grab their attention?
Is the title compelling? Are you telling a story that attracts interest? Remember, you only have a split-second. Write it down.
4. Why should they believe you?
Readers want proof. Build your case with a personal experience, reference a report or study, statistic or quote from an expert. Write it down.
5. What do you want them to do? Be better informed, ask for more information, text, email, or call, join a group, place an order? To make sure the action step is clear, write it down.

Takeaway: Because compelling content is more important than ever, producing it is a valuable skill.

Do your customers know you care?
This came to mind when a salesperson called about an order that had arrived a few days earlier. “I want to be sure you received it and know if you have any questions,” she said. When I thanked her for calling, she replied, “I appreciate my customers and thanking them personally for their orders lets them know I care.” We talked for a moment and then she said, “Every customer is important to me. It’s how, as a mother, I can give my kids some extras, like music and dance lessons.”
 
So simple. So clear. Unlike so many companies, this woman gets it. She wants her customers to know she appreciates their business. Amazingly, all it took was a sincere phone call.
Takeaway: No loyalty points. No “one-day” only discounts. No nonsense. Just the personal touch.
Take customer retention seriously or pay dearly
Companies may be good at making sales, but less so at keeping customers. They get the fish in the boat, but they don’t put much effort into keeping them there.
 
This is why customer retention is such a hot topic. After reviewing dozens of articles on the subject (there are thousands), I came up with 30 reasons why customers leave. Most of them made good sense.
 
Then, I wondered if there was a common thread running through the reasons. As it turned out, there was—and this is it: When customer expectations are not met, a company is perceived as being indifferent. It may be about price, customer service, value received, difficulty making contact, and just about anything else.
 
In other words, when customers spend their money, they assume their expectations will be met. If this doesn’t happen, disenchantment sets in, often aggravated by constant competitor attacks.
 
What to do? Let customers know you care by ramping up customer communication with helpful information, two-way communication, feedback surveys, opportunities for savings, implementing customer suggestions, user-friendly services, and customer experiences with products or services .
Why L.L.Bean’s new return policy was the right move
Takeaway: It would seem that all but a few customers are glad to know L.L.Bean takes trust seriously.
L.L.Bean created a furor when it recently announced that its century-old “100% satisfaction guarantee” return policy was being discontinued. This was prompted by “a small, but growing number of customers” who were taking advantage of the guarantee by expecting refunds for old and second-hand purchased merchandise. They were using the guarantee as a product replacement plan. The new guarantee is for one year with proof of purchase.
 
The old “100% satisfaction guarantee” was based on trust. L.L.Bean would do right by its customers, expecting they would do the same by the company. Some folks took advantage of it and got away with playing it for a sucker. A grandfather reportedly purchased L.L.Bean products at garage sales and got refunds. Another returned backpacks for years because they didn’t like the color.
The problem with first impressions
We form first impressions after seeing a face for less than one-tenth of a second,” states Alexander Todorov, a Princeton University psychology professor and author of Face Value: The Irresistible Influence of First Impressions.
 
Based on our personal experience, we make “snap judgements” that cause us to decide if someone is trustworthy, competent, introverted or dominant. For example, those who appear “untrustworthy” often get “harsher treatment.” On the other hand, those who look “trustworthy” get loans with more favorable terms. Philharmonic orchestras long favored male musicians until blind auditions were introduced. In other words, first impressions are often wrong, according to Dr. Todorov.
 
Since forming accurate first impressions are critical in marketing and sales, here are suggestions for resisting the irresistible:
  • Withhold judgement before making a final determination
  • Gather additional information about a person
  • Compare your first impression to other data
  • Now, make your decision

Takeaway: Reading people correctly is a skill well worth developing.
Sales, Marketing and Business Ideas 
John Graham 
GrahamComm
Marketing |PR | Advertising | Writing |Consultation
Cell 617-774-9759