55. How do you set yourself apart from your competition?
The first step in setting yourself apart is to make a commitment to really be on top of your business. A daily to-do system, writing everything down in one place, carrying out your promises, returning all customer calls within two to three hours, checking voice mail every two or three hours and updating your message, sending follow up notes and letters, notifying customers of bad news, delays and coming up with alternatives. All these things are under your direct control.
One of the best ways to gain credibility with a prospect is to promise to do something-and to do it. Poor self-management is the cause of poor results. Salespeople who don't succeed usually don't have a system. They don't write things down. If they have a list, they don't use it. Not taking initiative also contributes to problems. The key is to identify what you can control and act on it.
Today the business of selling is more complex, and involves continuous service. More can go wrong. It is fairly unusual to get a fast decision when calling on a new prospect. Although some sales can be split-second, with the customer saying yes or no on the spot, most new account sales don't happen that way. Typically, you are one of several competitors. Normally you are trying to take business away from a competitor. And throughout this kind of selling process attention to detail plays a big role.
Taking care of the details during the process of trying to open a new account can make or break the possibility of future business. Telephone calls, letters, or personal visits can put you ahead of less attentive competitors. Many salespeople are poor at this type of work. So being precise in your attention to details can put you in a very favorable position.
Attention to detail plays an important roll, once the sale is in place, to help insure nothing goes wrong. After the sale make sure it's not your last order with this customer. Consider yourself successful if you learn in time that things are not going well. Meeting and exceeding customer expectations will allow you to move up to partner. How well you deliver on your sales promise will build your reputation with your customer and his or her colleagues. It will help you get "add-on" business. Always develop a "deliver more than you promise" attitude. This strategy is called UPOD. Under promise, over deliver.
If you make it a point to be meticulous about the details, you will be able to differentiate yourself from your competitors. You can count on some of your competitors letting small things slip by them.
As we discussed in Report 17, Having a sense of urgency, this can also be used as a way to set yourself apart from your competitors.
Let's review and ask that question again to signify the importance of doing thing right now!
Do you call your customers when there is a potential problem? When you hear a piece of news that could possibly affect one of your customer’s business do you make it a special point to let them know, or do you assume they will get the information themselves?
When one of your customers has a problem and calls you for help, do you drop everything and do “what ever it takes” to help with the solution, or do you hesitate and hope that by the time you return the call the problem will go away?
If your answer is yes to these questions, you are in the top ten percent!
Comments:
In the heat of a sales call you want the sale so bad you can find yourself moving away from UPOD and moving towards OPUD Over Promise Under Deliver. Keep in mind Murphy's Law will be in the room sooner than later. You work hard to get the sale, now you've got to do the day to day work to keep it! One order does not make a life long client!
David Vize
If you do the right thing…..and we all know what the “right thing” is….we will usually come out ahead. Sometimes it is easy to rationalize not doing the “right thing” when it’s not convenient to do so. If there is a twinge of guilt with your response, then you know you haven’t done the “right thing.”
Jonathan Kendig
It’s important for any salesperson to do what the say they are going to do! Deliver on time and check in to see how everything is going. You have to keep track of who you have spoken to and what was said to that person. Follow up after the sale is very important to. Always let the client know what you can and cant do. If you cant make something happen or deliver on time, then you need to let the client know instead of keeping them guessing. Return calls promptly and do whatever it takes to make the client happy and keep them happy.
David Bradley
I definitely do everything in my power to follow through on what I say. If I have a client or prospective client that asks me to contact them in a week, I have it scheduled to call them back in a week. They have already requested I contact them again and now the ball is in my court and all I have to do is what they need me to, and that’s follow through on my promise. I do drop everything to help my clients. I recently had a couple different clients that were in need of some replacement employees. I stopped what I was doing in order to fill those positions. By me doing this we are able to secure future business with those clients because they know we deliver. That’s how we set ourselves apart.
Brandon Sanchez
You have to name each ‘twin’ differently to give it a very distinct identity. When you do that, your client recognizes the difference and chooses that 'twin' for its own individual personality and character. If you feel the difference so does your client and to ignore this basic human instinct is to do so at your own.
Yessie Narvaez
I once heard a sales person say, “Customer service means nothing. Customer satisfaction is where sales come from.” Plan, execute, and follow up are the keys to setting yourself apart from your competitors. Setting yourself apart means exceeding where your competitors will fall short.
Matthew Thacker
As we frequently say here, do it right the first time. And as I always say to my children, if you take a short cut in life, your life will be cut short. We should say what we mean, and mean what we say. Doing it right from the beginning sets us apart from our competition.
Kimberly Burgess
Excellent customer services is the key to setting me and our company above the competitor. I have gained and kept more business by paying attention to details and being attentive to the needs, and more importantly the wants of my clients. I want each of my clients feel like they are the most important to me. I have said many times that a client lost is much harder to regain than trying to get a new client.
Lisa Lloyd
Putting the customers’ needs first is one of the most important things a sales person can do. Our company has the motto, “Do whatever it takes” and it makes perfect sense. If you go out of your way to help /assist your customer in as many areas as possible they will become as loyal to you as you are to them. Following up and staying on top of things where they are considered will result in you reaping the rewards.
Carla McCrea
I believe follow-ups are key ways that set me apart from my competitors. Everyday after sales calls I follow up with either a phone call, email, or a letter. This keeps me fresh on their mind and it also shows them I am already committed.
Heath Blanchard
Responding quickly to problems or being proactive and interested in our customer’s success is crucial to out long term success. In our office we do “whatever it takes” to give them what they want and need. All the while satisfying the applicant’s needs and wants as well, it’s pretty awesome when it all goes hand in hand.
Morgan Frazier
This is one area I believe I am very strong in. As one of your follow ups mentioned. One of my personal pet peeves is not answering or getting back to a customer. As a customer it would drive me crazy waiting to get a response. I have realized sometimes I am to quick to respond, I know that sounds strange but it happens quite often. Just today I had a customer call me to let me know he didn't get an item but he was billed for it. I called our driver and he had already returned with the item.
I try to put myself in the place of the customer and try and to figure out what I would expect and go from there.
Dominick Yarnal
Customer service, customer service, and more customer service. You have to remain flexible with yourself and your service. My #1 pet peeve in business is when you leave someone a message and they do not call you back. I can handle anything but this. Always follow through with your promises, voicemails, emails, and etc. Be as honest with the client as possible.. This directly relates to making promises. Do not tell a customer you can do something before checking to see if it is allowable by the corp office. Tell a customer that you are not sure about that and you will get back to him in a timely manner. The worst thing you can do is not check on it and not call him back. Learn to listen and realize that every customer is as important as the next. I sometimes tell myself that the client is my employer. Without them I would not have food on the table, clothes on my back, and a descent home for my family.
Jeffrey Mole
"Follow-up is something you can control. A daily to-do system, writing everything down in one place, carrying out your promises, returning all customer calls within two to three hours, checking voice mail every two or three hours and updating your message, sending follow up letters, notifying customers of bad news, delays and coming up with alternatives. All these things are under your direct control."