“SERVICE THAT SELLS”

by Ken Coats, QSSP

As appeared in MANA's Agency Sales magazine June 2008

Service Sells! That’s right! In the “Good Ole Days” the outside sales person made calls, placed orders, checked on delivery, placed the PO (sales people placing PO’s – that was the old days) and actually delivered some of their own orders. Obviously, things have changed. In most cases today a sales person is forced into meeting a number of physical calls that by the end of the day result in several, “Hey – How are you today, see you next week” calls. Let’s not get started on the wrong idea here, I’m not suggesting that we spend all day at one customer. What should be noticed here is the level of service that we as sales people can provide to our customers that will reward us with repeat sales in the future. It’s all about sales, right? Yes, it is all about sales but, it’s not that simple. It is about making sales and creating a relationship with your customers that provide them with a reliable source for the solution of their buying needs. How do we do accomplish this goal? Service, it’s real simple. We as sales people have to be aware of our customer’s needs in order to provide an adequate solution. We cannot make a sales call, get an order and hit the road like we have just stolen the next door neighbor’s new car. A successful sales person is actually concerned about his or her customer. We need to know what the application is for the product that they will be buying. Here is where the service comes into action. Being involved in the Safety Industry, I have the opportunity to evaluate several issues in the workplace that involve worker protection or accident prevention.

Part of my service is to provide on site assessments of the end-users applications. For example: Workers performing multiple tasks off the ground. This particular application puts me into a number of environments that require my service. As a sales person for fall protection products, I have to be able to identify, evaluate and provide possible solutions for the end-user to choose from. Along with the on site surveys, I also provide product training to make the users aware of the proper use of their newly purchased equipment.

Being able to make on site surveys, provide training on the equipment and following up on the sale of the equipment creates a complete sale. Servicing a sale for your customer gives them the confidence that they are buying the right products and also the assurance that the next time they need something, they can call you first. Service could be providing information about a current safety standard or new statistics about hazards in the work place. But one of the easiest ways to provide a great service for you customer and also provide you with an opportunity to talk to them face to face about new products is to make that occasional delivery. It’s just that simple; make a sample delivery or hand deliver one of the orders. This will get you more face time with the customer and provide more opportunities to be their first call when they need products. Service sells!