What Happens After the Sale? Never Stop Selling What Happens After the Sale?

You Aren’t Done Yet! There is still much to be done for a salesperson after the customer has agreed to buy. What happens next depends on the type of salesperson you are.

Retail Sales Suggestion Selling - After the customer has agreed to buy, the salesperson needs to follow-up with suggesting other items the customer may be interested in. Extended warranties Companion items (paint brushes to go with the paint, etc.) Items the customer showed interest in before After getting the first yes, it is MUCH easier to get the customer to agree to buy more!

Retail Sales Depending on the product, the retail salesperson may want to follow-up after the customer leaves - on durable goods. A follow-up phone call to make sure everything is o.k. after they get home is always a good idea. A hand-written thank you note helps the customer have positive thoughts Contact about future sales that are a particular interest to this customer. Follow-up calls or notes when it is time for service on the product.

Relationship Building The biggest part of being a successful salesperson is being able to build relationships with your customers. People buy from people they like People like people that show an interest in them and seem to care Relationship building starts before the presentation, continues during the presentation, and strengthens after the presentation with superb follow-up skills.

How to Build the Relationship Before you go to the presentation, do your homework. Find out all you can about the decision-maker. What he/she likes/dislikes (golf, tennis, fishing, etc.) Where they went to college Their family situation (married? kids? health?) Their business background, etc. You can’t find out everything, but the more you know the better off you’ll be.

Relationship Building Be friendly to everyone! Be genuinely interested in what he/she has to say. Listen, ask questions, keep your mouth shut. You don’t want to waste their time, but if they want to talk, by all means, let them talk! Go in with the attitude - “I’m here to help solve your problems.” Not - “I’m here to sell you something.”

Relationship Building Keep records! Make a file for each customer Write down everything you can find out about the customer, personal as well as business. When you leave the presentation, immediately make notes of what you learned about the customer’s needs. In your notes, write down what you discussed, personally as well as business.

The Follow-Up Call When you call your customer back - refer to your notes. Bring up something you discussed (vacation, spouse’s illness, golf game, etc.) Again, write down what you discuss. Send cards and/or gifts for special occasions you discussed.

Business-to-Business (B2B) Professional Sales people live or die based on their ability to build relationships. After the sale, send the thank you note. Call to let the customer know what is happening with their order (it has been entered, the expected ship date, etc.)

Keep In Touch Professional salespeople must keep good notes and keep in touch. Call your customers regularly Take them out to dinner Invite them to a sporting or entertainment event Build the relationship! When the customer needs something, he/she will call you rather than someone they don’t know.

Referrals You not only want to keep the customers you have, you want to build your customer base. The best way to do that is by getting your customers to refer their contacts to you. If your customer is happy with you, they will tell their friends or business contacts. Networking is important in sales. Ask for referrals, people that are happy with a product or service don’t mind sharing that happiness with others.

E-Marketing Follow-Up Follow-up may be even more important with e-marketing than with regular salespeople. People are often nervous about buying via the internet. They need reassurance. A successful e-marketer must follow-up the sale quickly with shipping information, product or service information, etc. E-mail or phone contact within 1 day of purchase is very important.

After the Customer Receives the Product It is also important to contact the customer after the shipment should have arrived to make sure they received it and that they are happy with their purchase. Be careful to follow-up, but not to annoy the customer. Don’t send too many unwanted e-mails or call too frequently. Call or e-mail to make sure all is o.k. Contact again, depending on the product, at a reasonable interval to see if the customer wants anything else. Send e-mail reminders occasionally, but not weekly.

Practice What we Learned Pair up with the person next to you. One of you is the salesperson and one of you is the customer. First role-play a sales presentation. Then, role-play a follow-up phone call. Change roles and do the role-play again. Write a summary of your experience as a salesperson and as a customer. What are your thoughts of how a follow-up sales call should be handled?

Following Up an Internet Sale You are a customer service representative for TrendyClothes.com A customer just placed an order for a pair of blue jeans costing $95.00 and a shirt costing $42.50. The shipping is UPS and the shipping and handling will be $15.00. The order will be shipped in 5-7 days. Write an initial e-mail to the customer acknowledging the order and giving the shipping information. Write an additional follow-up e-mail to be sent in 10 days to verify delivery and customer satisfaction.

THE END!!!