Black Sales Journal

We have discussed responsiveness before in this journal.  Being responsive and exceeding all expectations can separate you from other sales professionals and is a step toward a status that gives you a special preference (Black Sales Journal 1/13/2011 Deepening Customer Relationships).   We will delve into responsiveness, defining what it is, and how it works, and the advantages that it gives.

For the purpose of this journal:

• Responsiveness and its importance are in the eyes of the customer.
• Responsiveness is defined by the customer’s expectations.
• Organizations in total should be responsive, yet we are only going to focus on the sales professional.

Areas Needing Responsiveness

There are many general aspects of responsiveness in sales.  As mentioned above, there are many activities that are deemed important.  Some simple examples are shown below:

• Answers the phone and returns calls promptly
• Keeps commitments
• Provides answers to inquiries and questions as soon as practicable
• Stays in touch – Communicates
• Provides requested information promptly

We have to be more complete than this though.  It is not enough to just outline what the areas are you must personally set standards as to what makes you…well responsive.  If you look at them without the customer, you will not necessarily achieve the label of being responsive, so I will suggest some activities that will help give you the assurance that you meet and exceed the customer’s expectations.

Communication and Agreement is at Its Heart

There must be agreement on important aspects of responsiveness before you can ever exceed expectations.  Realistically you don’t stand much chance of consistently meeting and exceeding your customer’s expectations without agreement on what those expectations are, and how it is measured.

Communication is at the heart of getting that agreement.  Here are the steps to get you there:

Step 1. -Write a list of actions and standards that you believe show responsiveness.  These items will serve to give you a basis for the discussion.

Step 2. – Meet with the customer and ask what activities are the most important in their interaction with their sales professional.  Use some of your list to start the discussion, yet remember about the points above regarding responsiveness being defined by customer expectations. Agree on the items and the measures.

Step 3. – Define the review periods involved.  Basically it sounds like this, “Thanks for working with me to define these, and we will review them when we review our contract early next year.

That is all that needs to be done.

Here is an example of some constructed activities and measures:

Activity:                                                      Product proposals/quotations

Agreed Standard (example):               Respond with proposal quotation within 24 hrs

You get to this standard by having a brief discussion with the customer regarding the importance of each activity and discussing the customer’s expectations on each Agreed Standard.  If you have those discussions, you may determine that proposal delivery is important, and the customer needs and expects them within 24 hours.  If you agree, because your workflow will allow, you know a valuable baseline that you can meet.  You can then move the exceed expectations by delivery within 12 or 15 hours.

Another one might be as simple as this:

Activity:                                                   Provides summaries of all products purchased by each customer location on request.

Agreed Standard (example):            8 hours

The customer needs them in the same day to respond to request from his/her manager.  When the requests come, they always seem to be an emergency.  You recognize that your company’s service unit that does this work operates efficiently so you can agree to the 8 hours, yet deliver in 4 hours, obviously exceeding expectations.

One last example:

Activity:                                                  Delivery of product samples and specs of your company’s product

Agreed Standard (example):            3 days based on the territory to be delivered to and the method of shipment.

The customer needs product samples to use in their technical presentations, and in cases they need specifications including tolerances and other technical information.  This information may make or break the sale, and other sales professionals have lost the business based on delays in this area.  Your responsiveness promise will be determined by your organizations ability to meet the agreement.  You should be in a situation where you know well what the organization does, and your agreement should be structured so that you can meet the 3 days when that is the agreement, yet have a plan to exceed well in hand.

All activities and measures should be specific and measurable.

Ask for Feedback

So as you proceed with meeting and exceeding the customer’s expectations there is a need for a “true up” point.  This is where you have a discussion with the customer on how well you succeeded in meeting his/her expectations.  It is in essence a ‘performance evaluation’ on your service.  This was discussed in Black Sales Journal April 28, 2011-Should You Ask Your Customer for Feedback?.  It is the ultimate opportunity to show that you listened and respected what the customer thought was important.  If you have done your job, you will most likely get an endorsement for another half year, or year, depending on how long the evaluation period is.

You may not think this is important, yet in reality it is probably informally being done without your involvement and if you don’t proceed to formalize the process and become part of it, you may be on the outside looking in.
The advantage of soliciting feedback is that you care enough to ask, and the customer is telling you what they need.  Together you are reviewing whether those expectations on responsiveness are being met.  That discussion is time well spent.

You are the Scorekeeper

If this activity is important, it should be measured.  You have a better chance of measuring it correctly than anyone else.  If you are both measure it that is even better.  That means that the customer is taking it seriously.  Correctly measure each of the items that you come to agreement on, and be prepared to provide a brief report on these items.

Take the lead and set the date for the discussion, doing the necessary work to put it into report form.  I will make the bet that none of the past sales professionals have done it, and there is a good possibility that all of the succeeding ones will be asked to keep track of it.

This will make for a serious relationship.  You will most likely keep the relationship and the business, and as you manage the process, there will be an appreciation for your diligence.  You also have the chance to push for even more flawless results.

Your comments are always welcome.

Business entertainment, especially customer dining, is an event that we may take for granted.  It is important for most businesses but always suspect as an expense that can be smartly trimmed in terms of cost, and even frequency.

Business entertainment is a tool that when used wisely can aid in relationship building.  When done correctly, this can result in far greater returns than the business meal or entertainment actually amounts to.

If you desire to claim a business lunch, dinner, or other entertainment, these expenses should be directly related to the business purpose.  The meal or refreshments should be related to the legitimate image business activity, and should be able to stand the test of proof.  Technically, only then would you and your employer be allowed to treat these expenditures as expenses, and not as income when the burden of proof comes along.

Getting Technical

The IRS sets some basic rules that individuals and business follow.  A quick review of the rules that the IRS as set forth will show a couple of rather simple tests:

Directly Related Test

To qualify for reimbursement under the directly-related test for entertainment, including meals, you must be able to prove the following:

• The main purpose of the combined business and entertainment was the active conduct of business.
• You did engage in business with the individual during the entertainment period
• You had more than a general expectation of getting income of some other business benefit at some future time

The Associated Test

If the expenses meet the directly-related test, they may qualify under the associated test.

This test states that entertainment is:

• Associated with the active conduct of your trade or business and,
• Directly before or after a substantial business discussion.

This test includes the Substantial Business Discussion rule that is a requirement of deductibility for your employer.

According to Publication 463 – Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses for 2010 from the Internal Revenue Service, “A business discussion will not be considered substantial unless you can show that you actively engaged in the discussion, meeting, negotiation, or other business transaction to get income or some other specific benefit.”

Keeping Credibility

Accuracy and truthfulness are at the heart of professional credibility for the Black sales professional.  Even greater is the fact that only one instance of inaccuracy or untruth can do away with years of work establishing the credibility.  There is more on credibility in the last Black Sales Journal 3/31, Credibility – A Goal of the Black Sales Professional.

I am going to cite some basics, and these are truly basics for expense report integrity.  Here are some suggestions for keeping your standing and credibility intact regarding expenses:

• Be timely - Submit your expenses no later than 1 week after they are due.
• Be organized – Keep information in a system that allows you to produce your receipts and expense forms as is necessary.
• Insure accuracy - If you do your expenses regularly, you will be under no time pressure.  The accuracy in your reports builds confidence.
• Be honest - Above all, there is truly nothing worthwhile to gain by having your employer pay for a lunch for you and your friend.  It is frankly not worth it!  Only claim what you can prove using receipts.
• Be Knowledgeable – Know intimately your organization’s expense policy.

Some Business Entertainment Specifics

We all have a particular responsibility when it comes to business entertainment, and especially meals.  We should make sure that the meal or event matches the business purpose.  There should be no instance where entertaining at the most expensive restaurant in town happens for a casual business discussion.  Remember, being modest and practical is prudent and a sign of good judgment.

Here are some basics entertainment do’s and don’ts that you may benefit from:

• Take Ownership – Forget the roulette that takes place where you the participants of a meal wait for the bill to come, then “wait” each other out to see who will pick up the check.  Unless the customer has advised that they are picking up the meal, they are probably not going to do it.  “Own” the event and then the rest of these strategies will be possible.
• Wine – If you are the host, only you should order the wine.  You may not realize why if you have never been burned, but the ordering of wine is an extremely high expense at an upscale meal.  If you are unsure you can accept someone’s counsel, yet your job is to order, and replenish the wine.  Feel comfortable stating to the server, or wine steward that you are responsible for the meal, and you will be responsible for the wine.
• Cordials and Liqueurs – If you open up to your guest having these, you could be in for a surprise.  Once you open that gate, you are hard pressed to control the cost of any one of them.  An aged port could definitely be in range, yet some of these items could be the price of a small pony.
• Order First – It may seem like bad manners, yet the host ordering first begins to set the tone.  When you order a fairly simple strip or filet, you are sending a message that the ‘market-priced’ lobster, which then attaches itself to a filet to make surf and turf, is probably above the price point.  Now, they may still do it, but the majority of people get the hint.
• No When to ‘Cut it Off’ – This is always uncomfortable, yet practical.  After the meal, when the laughter and libation goes on, know when to say to the server that you need the check.  That does cut it off…at least for you.  If someone else wants to pick up the tab, it can start there.  This is responsible, and practical.  If it seems like it is wrong, think about the bill you are going to submit, and how management is going to react to it.
• Tip Correctly – If you tip correctly you will always find those who serve you eager to have your table.  Great service deserves 20% or more.  Good service deserves 15-20%.  I have had some mediocre service at times, yet did believe that 15% was warranted, because of the size of our group.  I cannot ever believe that a tip should be stiffed unless the server was rude, insensitive, and downright awful.  If that were the case, I would be having a conversation with the manager as well.  If you are unwilling to talk to a manager, then stiffing a tip is more retribution than anything else.
• Treat Wait Staff Properly – When you are entertaining, much can be ascertained about your view on your staff and others by the way you treat the wait staff.  They are not perfect, and you are not either.  I have seen customers make a decision to avoid a formal business relationship with a vendor when that vendor launches aggressively into a server for forgetting something small.  That is about rudeness, and even sometimes about power.

Use Good Sense

It is all about using good sense.  When you do it, the most common mistakes are avoided.  Don’t feel peer pressure, or the pressure that makes people do those things that are regrettable.

Build a relationship with your customers, not a game of one-up.  Be modest when they treat as well.  You will build a relationship with your consistency.

Your comments are welcome.