Black Sales Journal

Your relationship with your spouse or significant other is a focal point in your life. You are familiar with them, and they know you, yet you are wise enough (if you are smart) to constantly show how you feel and at the same time hold up your end of the relationship by doing the perfunctory tasks like paying bills, keeping up the residence, and providing income and services for the family.

You do thoughtful things like bring home flowers, prepare a special meal, present small, thoughtful gifts and keep yourself in the mind and the heart of that special person.

This is what you need to do for your best clients as well. You need to do your job and at the same time do unanticipated acts that show them they are the focus of your efforts.

This sounds corny, but give it some thought.  So many sales professionals look for the new sale, and forget that your best future customers are your current customers.  The current customer’s tendency to by new products, sign-on for subsequent years, and give good referrals to people looking for your product makes your customer a valuable asset even past helping to increase your income.

The 5 Random Acts

Customer retention is important in any sales operation.  Those sales professionals who have solid customer retention are going to experience higher sales and more consistent earnings, along with more opportunities for growth.  Black sales professionals need to “wall off” their most important customers even more vigorously than other professionals: BSJ 4/11/2011-“Wall Off” Your Most Important Customers shows us some ways to do it.

As stated before, and no different than any interpersonal relationship, this is your chance to stay in front of your customer.  Here are some ways how:

• Small thoughtful gifts
• Cards and letters
• Refer some of your other customers to your customer when possible – and let the customer who is the beneficiary know it
• Business entertainment w/your upper management
• Share relevant clippings and articles from web and print – with a note

Small Thoughtful Gifts – These gifts should be inexpensive, and in good taste designed to show thought.  Example – Buying a customer a $12.00 frame that will house the picture of him/her and you at the latest outing, fishing trip, etc.  This works, and the customer will not toss the frame, or re-gift it usually if the picture is in the frame.  Know your companies gift policy and check this out: BSJ – Entertainment and Gift Giving Etiquette 11/17/2011

Cards and letters – Almost a lost art, but extremely effective and quite inexpensive.  Use very good stationary and cards, and read how it is most effective here: BSJ – Make Yourself Memorable 2/3/2011

Refer your other customers to this customer – The key is to let him know it.  Make sure that you get your mileage from it.  There is nothing more of an endorsement for your customer than for you to send some of your other valued relationships to them.  Have them call your customer contact directly, and advise them to ‘drop’ your name in the first line of the conversation.

Business entertainment with your company leadership – You may not consider it a treat to ‘break bread’ with your company’s management that often, but you would be amazed at how this brings your customer closer to your organization.  Customers love the attention, and in most organization’s the policies require that the management pick up the tab in stead of you.  Don’t under estimate this one as it can help to lock-up the customer, and endear you to management as well. Check this one out – BSJ – Is Your Sales Manager Managing? 10/17/2011

Share relevant clippings and articles from web and print – with a note – Show the customer that you are thinking about him/her frequently by sharing important information about products, economics, the marketplace and other information from the web, or print.  Keep them informed or someone else will.  Be the expert, and anticipate the client’s need for information.

Strengthening the Bond

Why are these effective?  This one is simple:  They strengthen the relationship.  Remember that in sales ‘relationships are everything’.  It is obviously a topic that I cover often in Black Sales Journal and is discussed further in BSJ – Revisited – Deepening Your Customer Relationships 11/11/2011.

Take a moment to put some of these suggestions to the test.  Strengthen the bond and deepen the relationship, then reap the benefits.  You cannot lose if you do.

Always master the relationship!

Your comments are appreciated.

A few years ago I received a call from someone selling promotional items.

The call went like this:  “Mr. Parker this is Jim Carr from Midwest Promotional Products (I have changed the name).  When we last spoke, you advised me to call you back this October to discuss our organization providing you with some of your branded items for the upcoming year…”

I will stop here for a moment.  I knew right away that my organization did a great job of providing promotional items, and that was the only source that we used.  The fact is, that the opening line from this sales person was a lie.

I responded, “Mr. Carr, I don’t remember having talked to you.  I would not have asked you to call me back as we are not in the market for branded material.  We buy from a central source within our organization.”  He responded with lie number two, “Maybe it was not you but one of your managers that I talked to that referred me to you.  I just wanted to share with you our line of…”

I quickly dispatched of the call for one simple reason…if this sales ‘professional’ was going to start off this conversation with two lies and misrepresentations, when was the third going to happen?

Sales ethics is lacking overall in industry, and you have the ability to make sure that you do your part to make the sale profession ethical and honorable.   If you sell a product or a service, you must recognize the importance of ethics in your ability to not only have longevity in this fine occupation, but also to be successful and prosperous.   In the example above, the rep only needed to say that he wanted to find out my interest in his product.  Sales professionals consistently used that approach with me and got an audience.

The Bright Line of Ethics

Note an important fact: The distinction between ethical and unethical will appear as a ‘bright line’ once you internalize your desire to act ethically in all situations.

This rep did what was akin to attempting to ‘sneak through the back door’.  I would want to start a relationship with someone who would so quickly and comfortably start out with a lie.  This may not seem to be large, but think about it,

Ethics: The principles of conduct governing an individual or group (Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary)

The need for ethics in sales is real, and will set you, as sales professional, apart from those who fail to recognize its importance.  Even more, it will allow you to sleep at night.

You will look to be fair, equitable, and transparent when you work with a customer.   Avoid exaggerations and untruths and communicate well, following up with correspondence.

Once you are there, the ‘smell test’ will become part of your quick review.  Once you internalize ethics, you will become sensitized to how everything affects not just the customer, but also all other parties (your employer included).  At that point you recognize that you work for an organization, but also are an advocate for your customer.  The customer has no other voice.  There is no doubt who pays you, but we need to make sure that your customers are treated ethically. Put yourself in the shoes of the customer, and articulate the situation to your organization.  If you were the customer you would want to be working with professionals who you have credibility, trustworthiness, and a desire to do right even when no one is looking.

Ask yourself these important questions:

• Do you feel lying is acceptable? (BSJ 6/30 – Telling the Truth – It works Wonders for a Relationship)
• Do you want credibility? (BSJ 3/31 Credibility – The Ultimate Goal of Black Sales Professional)
• Do you want the customer’s trust? (BSJ 5/26 – The Black Sales Professional – Closing Two Sales at Once)
• Can you hold yourself to a higher value?

These questions are simple but the impact is huge.

Even When No One is Looking!

I was once riding in a company vehicle with a sales rep and the customer to a business lunch in the Chicago area.  We were coming to a toll both and the rep reached into a bag and grabs a coin, which he deposited in the automatic toll basket and we were allowed to proceed.  At that time the toll was 25 cents.  On the way back from the successful lunch, he did the same.  As he did it, I looked at the bag, which must have had 200 or more coins and inquired as to how he got that many quarters.  He indicated that they were not quarters, but after a recent trip to Mexico he had a bag of centavos that were essentially worthless here.

Remember, this is in front of the customer.  Our customer heard him admit to using worthless foreign coins in the toll basket.  If you were the customer, how would you feel about this reps credibility?  What would you think about the organization that you were doing business with as you witnessed him doing it in front of his manager?

We had to terminate the rep (I refuse to call him a sales professional).  Let’s look at it from an employer’s view.  This unethical individual did the following:

• Sullied his image and the organization’s image in front of the customer creating doubt as to our ethics and credibility
• Engaged in a civil wrong which might have carried criminal penalties as well
• Committed expense fraud as he also received reimbursement for fraudulent expenses

I contacted the customer as I introduced the new sales rep.  I apologized for the fact that our representative did what he did, and explained that I had someone who was solid who would take care of him.  The customer said the following to me, “I really wondered about what organization would allow its employee to cheat like that.  I liked [him] but realized that I did not know him well enough to trust him.”  The customer was watching my response as much as he was watching the actions of the rep.

Black Sales Professional – Rise Above It All!

As a Black sales professional you should demonstrate sound solid ethics, and be the advocate of the customer in making sure that your organization is fair with the customer.  With a sound ethics ‘compass’ you will be able to ‘feel’ whether what you are doing meets the ethics tests.

This stance and advocacy will help create the strongest of relationships.  Don’t miss the chance to do it.  It is a responsibility that may test you, but will also strengthen you and your relationship.

Be consistently ethical and you will be the best.

Your comments are welcome.