© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

After the Sale: Building Long- Term Partnerships How important is service after the sale? How should salespeople stay in contact with customers? Which sales strategies stimulate repeat sales and new business in current accounts? Which techniques are important to use when handling complaints? Some questions answered in this chapter are: 14-2 CHAPTER 14 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved McGraw-Hill/Irwin “It takes more than promises to keep customers; it takes keeping promises.” ~Jim Allgood Sprint

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. The Value of Customers For most salespeople, sales increases from year to year are due to increasing the revenue from existing accounts. Customers are the primary revenue source for companies McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Selected Expenses for a Small Law Firm Over a 20-Year Period 14-5 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Stages of Partnerships McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Exploration Set the right expectations Monitor ordering processing Ensure proper initial use of the product or service 14-7 McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Call to say thank-you and to check whether the product is working appropriately. Stay in touch to monitor changing needs or possible problems. Follow-up with satisfied customers to promote opportunities for securing references. Regular follow-up can be accomplished via: –Personal visit –Telephone – and regular mail Follow-up signals the salesperson is dependable and customer oriented Follow Up McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Critical to developing goodwill and maintaining partnerships. Encourage buyers to tell their story. Determine the facts. Offer a solution. –What is the dollar value of the claim? –How often has this customer made claims? –How will the action taken affect other customers? Follow through with action. Achieve customer satisfaction Handle Customer Complaints McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Follow the golden rule. Prove you listened. Don’t justify, excuse, or blame others. Do the hard things first. Call back if the customer hangs up. Give the customer someone else to call, but only in case you are not available Handling Rude or Irate Customers McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Generating repeat orders –Be present at buying time Catalogs and specialty advertising items –Help to service the product Establish a good relationships with service personnel –Provide expert guidance –Provide special assistance Expansion McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Expansion (continued) Upgrading –Also called upselling, is convincing the customer to use a higher-quality product or a newer product Full-line selling –Selling the entire line of associated products Cross-selling –Similar to full-line selling except the additional products sold are not directly associated with the initial products McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 1.Product knowledge 2.Cross-selling skills 3.Incentives 4.Reasonable quotas or goals 5.Results tracking 6.Timing 7.Performance appraisals Seven Tips for Effective Cross-Selling McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Hard savings –Payment terms, such as cash discounts –Improve process Cycle time reduction –Inventory management Vendor inventory management –Quality and innovation Variable reduction –Supply chain management Optimal packaging Commitment – Examples of Supplier Criteria McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Soft savings –Commercial –Global initiatives –New markets –Improve process Improve safety or environmental procedures –Quality and innovation Training –Supply chain management Bar coding Commitment – Examples of Supplier Criteria McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Securing commitment to a partnership Commitment must be complete Communication Corporate culture Commitment (continued) McGraw-Hill/Irwin Corporate culture consists of the values and beliefs held by senior management.

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Direct Communication Between Partners McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Direct Communication Between Partners (continued) McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Champions Positioning change Determining the necessary resources Developing a time-based strategy The Salesperson as a Change Agent McGraw-Hill/Irwin Change agent Person who is a cause of change in an organization.

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved Change and Resistance to Change McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Dissolution Limited personal relationships Failing to monitor competitor actions Failing to monitor the industry Falling into complacency Conflict McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Observe and acknowledge what has happened. Allow your feelings to surface, but take responsibility for your actions. Gain support. Put the experience in the larger context to affirm your commitment to the relationship. Shift the focus from assigning blame to problem solving. Implement the solution. Let go and move on Repairing Damage to Trust in a Conflict McGraw-Hill/Irwin

© 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Developing partnerships has become increasingly important for salespeople and their firms. Many specific activities are necessary to ensure customer satisfaction and to develop a partnering relationship. The best opportunities to develop goodwill are usually provided by the proper handling of customer complaints. The appropriate solution depends on many factors. It is important that both organizations commit to the relationship from top to bottom. Sometimes relationships break up Summary McGraw-Hill/Irwin