© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Mariotti: Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Chapter 5 Smart Selling and Effective Customer Service

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Many Great Entrepreneurs Started as Salespeople Ray Kroc, founded McDonald’s Billy Durant, founded General Motors King C. Gillette, invented safety razor Aristotle Onassis, sold tobacco wholesale before becoming multimillionaire in shipping business

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Essence of Selling is Teaching Teach customers about the benefits of your product/service, don’t just tell them about its features. Listen to customers: Their complaints teach you how to improve your business.

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Principles of Selling 1.Make a good personal impression 2.Know your product/service 3.Believe in your product/service 4.Know your field 5.Know your customers 6.Prepare your sales presentation 7.Think positive 8.Keep good records 9.Make appointments 10.Treat everyone you sell to like gold

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Sales Call A sales call is an appointment with a potential customer to explain/demonstrate your product/service. During the call: Focus on the customer Listen to uncover his/her needs Be honest, if your product/service will not meet those needs

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship 8-Step Sales Call 1.Prepare yourself mentally 2.Greet customer politely 3.Show product/service 4.Listen to customer 5.Deal with objections, always acknowledge them 6.Close the sale 7.Follow up 8.Ask for referrals to other potential customers

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship 3 Behaviors of Successful Salespeople 1. Let the customer talk more than you do. You are there to learn about the customer’s needs. 2. Ask the right questions. Be a friend. Your goal is to uncover problems your product/service could solve. 3. Wait to offer product/service until later in the call. You cannot offer a solution until you know your customer’s needs and problems.

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Analyze Your Sales Calls After each call, ask yourself: Did the customer open up to me? Which of my questions helped the customer describe his/her needs? Was I able to make a good case for my product/service? Did I improve my relationship with my potential customer?

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Turn Objections Into Advantages 1.Study objections you have received 2.Group into categories and develop objection-proof answers for each Price Performance Follow-up service Competition Support Warranties

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Customer Service Is Keeping Customers Happy Examples of customer service: 1.Know your customers by name 2.Deliver products on time 3.Help customer carry product to the car 4.Suggest a less expensive product that might meet the customer’s need 5.Provide a full refund when a customer is dissatisfied 6.Listen politely and with empathy to customer complaints

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship 4 Costs of Losing a Customer 1.Loss of current dollars customer was spending with your business 2.Loss of jobs 3.Loss of reputation 4.Loss of future business Customer complaints can be difficult to listen to, but losing a customer will cost you:

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Customer Complaints are Valuable Always acknowledge and address complaints and criticism. Valuable source of market research! Never overreact to negative remarks from customers. Do not take these personally. Always tell the truth about any negative aspect of your product/service. When you admit a negative, you gain customer’s trust.

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Customer Service Is Marketing If your competitive advantage is speedy service, make sure your employees move fast. If your competitive advantage is a cozy atmosphere, employees should not rush customers. Your customer service should always reinforce your marketing and competitive advantage.

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Collect Market Research Via Customer Service Include brief market surveys with purchases. Ask selected customers to fill out longer surveys, offering a discount as incentive. Have employees regularly ask customers if they are satisfied with product/service. Keep database of customer contact info, preferences, previous purchases, etc.

© 2007 Pearson Education. Upper Saddle River, NJ, All Rights Reserved.Marriotti: Entrepreneurship Build Long-term Relationships with Customers Ask customers to refer you to new customers. A successful business is built on repeat customers! Stay in touch via Web site, . Offer customers birthday discounts, etc.