How Good is Your Sales Follow-up?

I got a postcard in the mail today... Not that big of a deal, right? If you're like me, you get (and probably send) hundreds of postcards each month. But this one was different... It was for my daughter and it said "Happy Birthday from your orthodontist". Now I know what you're thinking, she's a kid that has braces, right? Wrong! This is from an orthodontist that we visited for an initial visit last year, but never "got around" to getting them on (Moment of Truth - My daughter realized there would be pain involved in wearing them, so no braces for her for the time being!).

So she gets a postcard for her birthday from someone that we don't even do business with. It made me wonder... Do you send out "Happy Birthday" postcards to your clients on their birthday? Do you stay in touch with the clients that currently do business with you, as well as those that have in the past? More importantly, do you send anything to prospective clients that decided for some reason or another (pain versus pleasure/devil I know versus the one I don't...) NOT to do business with you?

I am guessing that you don't. Make that, I am pretty confident that you don't! If you'd like information on how you can follow-up/follow-through like an "Influential Salesperson" then send me an email to info@pathosleadershipgroup.com and I'll be in touch!

Sam Palazzolo

Pathos Leadership Group

http://www.pathosleadershipgroup.com/

PS - The orthodontist was Terry Moore, DDS in Colleyville, TX. For less than $1 he might earn our business after all!

Are You Losing Sales Because Of Your First Impressions?

Well, it happened again… I got a voicemail this morning from a prospective customer that wanted to discuss executive coaching with me. The gentleman spoke clearly, and was even so kind as to do the three actions I request in my voicemail (What… you don’t make a similar request for three items in your voicemail? Let me guess, you’re still saying “You’ve reached (Your Name), sorry I’m not in to speak with you, but please leave me your name, number and a brief message and I’ll return your call as soon as I can. Have a nice day!” You’re missing sales is you do…Send me an email and I’ll send you an article titled “Sales Saving Voicemail Scripts”).

I took good notes from the message he left and reached for the phone to return his call. That’s when it happened… Let’s just say that her name was Lola (Sing along with me, “Oh my Lola, la la la la Lola!”) Lola was not having a good day, it was apparent over the phone in the first three seconds of our conversation. That’s all it took for me to get the wrong mental picture of her, this prospect and his business! So I wonder, are you losing sales because of your first impression? In other words, are the people that are on your front line representative of you and your operation, or are they totally misleading in the wrong way? The following then is a list of 5 techniques you can “review” with your “first impression” staff so that the right impression is left every time!

Technique #1 – Smile – You can hear how someone feels through the phone! So if you are answering the phone with a frown on your face… smile. You might not be on candid camera (i.e., Punked!), but your customers will certainly feel the warmth.

Technique #2 – Serve – Why are you there? You are there to serve others, otherwise you should be in a backroom office with no phone in sight and far from the customers. If you are in the front of the customer experience line, you’ve got to have a serve mentality.

Technique #3 – Refresh – We all get in a bad mood… we’re human! However, when the phone rings or a customer walks in the front door, it is “Showtime” for those frontline employees. So adopt a “Showtime” mentality, but see if you can’t carry that mentality over when no customers are present!

Technique #4 – Clear – Clear the thoughts of workers that you can identify as struggling. It’s natural to want to help, so lend a hand and help them out. I think this is called teamwork or something…

Technique #5 – Get Real! – If you have associates that are not interested in putting your best foot forward, you’ve got to part company with them. There is only so much training and development that you can offer someone. If you notice that nothing is sticking from these sessions, part company with dignity!

I hope that these five techniques will allow you to stop losing sales because of those bad first impressions! If you’ve got other ideas, send me an email at info@pathosleadershipgroup.com .

Sam Palazzolo
Pathos Leadership Group – Home of the Influential Edge!
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

Who the Hell is James Strock and Can He Save Leadership? 12 Tips on Becoming a More Effective Leader

I had the opportunity to spend time with James Strock, author, speaker, and executive educator on 21st Century Leadership. If the saying “If you don’t know your history, you’re bound to repeat it!” is true, then you must get to know James and his work. He has the unique ability in possessing dual vision, with one eye on the past and the other towards the future.

His next book, “Serve to Lead: 21st Century Leadership System” discusses how leadership today is different. Here are twelve of his thoughts regarding just how different things are for leaders and the serious issues to be challenged with:

1. Technology – Is the vision of Hanna-Barbera and George Jetson very far off?
2. Ethics – We operate in a “transparent” society… Kiss privacy good-bye!
3. Service – Everyone can lead because it’s so easy to serve at the current time.
4. Empowering – Becoming “empowered” is easier today than it ever has been.
5. Consensual – There exists a consensual relationship between the leader/non-leader.
6. Love – The Beatles sang “all you need is love” and so does James!
7. Relationship Transition – There is today a transition from transaction to relationships.
8. Dynamic – Kick “static” relationships to the curb.
9. Custom – There is no universal or “one size fits all” leadership methodology.
10. Convergence – Leadership styles are converging (Think Mr. Cosmo Spacely meets John Maxwell)
11. Imagine – Another Beetle sighting… Think “strawberry fields forever!”
12. Public – There is no leadership in private?

If you don’t know James work, get to! He was motivational, inspirational and at times controversial. When was the last time you met someone that told you that Tom Peters and Jim Collins are wrong?

You can find out more about James at his website… http://www.jamesstrock.com/

If you’d like to see where you “rank” versus the 3,000+ business leaders that we surveyed for our book, “The Influential Leader” please visit http://www.gotinfluence.com/ and take the 2 minute survey. You’ll receive a report that shows where you compare versus them on the 10 critical skills that made them successful!

Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP, RODP
Pathos Leadership Group
www.pathosleadershipgroup.com

Influential Customer Service 101 - XM Sucks !

Many of you have heard me in my "Influential Customer Service" presentation talk about what happens when "Good Companies Go Bad!" For those that haven't seen me in action, Here's an example for you...

Thanks to Joe Vitale and his "Attractor Factor" earlier this year I got a new car. It's a beautiful Acura MDX in that dark burgundy color. The car is perfect, except for one thing... The XM radio. Now XM came with the vehicle for a three-month trial. I left terrestrial-radio behind almost three years ago and got a Sirius subscription. I was delirious with the Sirius Customer Service, the variety of channels, etc... It almost made my commutes bearable (almost!) So when I got this new car I was expecting the same level of outstanding service.

Well...XM sucks for several reasons. There are great customer service lessons to be learned from all this, so here goes:

• My Trial Subscription Had Limited Channels - If you are going to offer your product/service for a "test-drive" like we do, why wouldn't you give prospective customers a feel of your entire product offering? Sign-up for our complimentary "Pathos Platform" and experience what I am talking about!



• The Price Was Nearly Double What I Was Already Paying - If you have similar aspects of your product and your service is equal, how can you justify nearly double the price charged? I had an exchange with the Customer Service Representative at XM that honestly went like this....Sam "That price is nearly double what I am paying now!" XM CSR "Yes sir, that's the price." Sam "What's the logic behind that?" XM CSR "There is none sir."



• There Is No Negotiating With XM - I could have lugged my old Sirius radio with all the wires and everything from my old car to the new one, but I opted to see if I couldn't retain some of the crisp/clutter-free interior styling of the vehicle. As such, I decided to make a run at XM to see if they could at least negotiate (Hey, my 3 month "FREE" trial was almost over!) I talked with an XM Customer Service Representative and asked if there were any "Economic Stimulus Packages" taking place (I had to inform them that I was talking about a discount, apparently the Training Department at XM hasn't had that comedy/humor training session with the economy being as it is!) They told me that if I paid in advance for an entire year that I would receive a month for free. One month? I asked if they could do better. The told me that if I prepaid for two years I would receive two months for free. I couldn't hang-up the phone fast enough!



• My "FREE" Trial Just Billed Me - Imagine the look on my face when I received in the mail today a bill from XM for $7.58. The bill is broken down as follows - Invoice Fee $2.00, Late Fee $5.00, Tax-State $0.44 and Tax-Local $0.14. I called in to see what the deal was, as my official "FREE" trial ended at the end of last month. First I couldn't get to the right department (The automatic operator wouldn't give me the "For Billing Questions, Press 9" option). Next, when I did get to a "live" person, I could barely make out what they were saying (Watch for my "Customer Communication with Marbles in Your Mouth" training series coming soon!) Finally, I talked with someone that informed me that the bill was "in error"... Sure!

So here I am in this brand new car... still smells new even after three months! Unfortunately, I've reverted back to terrestrial radio for the time being (I'll be compromising that clean interior design by bringing over my old Sirius radio shortly!)

Sam Palazzolo, MBA, CPLP

Pathos Leadership Group

http://www.pathosleadershipgroup.com/