I cater to those with outsourcing companies throughout the world who want to get customers. As a customer myself, I don’t like salesmen. Obviously, you have to sell your product or service, but if you don’t live up to the promises the salesperson made to you, then people will feel disappointed and stop using your service. To grow your business, great salespeople only go so far. You need a reputation for delivering quality to keep clients and get referrals which is how your business will become big in the long run.
Sell the experience
But, are you just selling services, or selling dreams. If you are in the steak business, do you sell steaks, or do you sell sizzle. The sizzle is the experience you get when you bite into a nicely cooked steak. When you buy a new i-phone, you are not buying a piece of electronics, you are purchasing an experience that will change and enrich your life. What about your company?
What dream are you selling?
Imagine that your outsourcing service is so wonderful, that the customer experience is fantastically pleasant, and that the work done transforms the life of the customer. Imagine that every time the customers call, they get to talk to someone very pleasant who can answer all of their questions and hardly ever puts them on hold. Imagine that work gets done perfectly, on time, every time. Imagine that the bills you give your customers are always reasonable and never a cause for concern. If you have a good salesman you can promise all of these things and help people see the dream, but if you don’t deliver, you’ll be selling a dream, but creating a nightmare.
Most clients are not happy, yet…
Most customers have never had a good experience with any outsourcing company. In my experience, 90% get a D or an F, while only 10% get a passing grade — generally a C. The ones who are any good, or seem like they probably are good (because I couldn’t afford to try them) often price themselves out of the market place so that regular folks like me can’t afford them. Those out of reach companies account for less than 1% of the total. But, imagine giving them some competition.
Selling the dream doesn’t have to be hard
Focusing on the customer experience doesn’t have to be expensive or hard. Just giving them nice people to talk to and quality work on time doesn’t sound so difficult to me. How much extra would it cost you to offer an experience like that and how much extra would clients pay you for such an experience? I wouldn’t try to charge too much extra until your company has grown to at least forty employees. Trying to charge too much in the beginning will stifle your growth rate. In any case, it is more about focusing on the customer experience, even though sales is a part of the picture.
Does sales have to be part of the picture?
What if your work sells itself? Talk is cheap, but results speak for themselves. What if the first time a customer calls you, they have such a wonderful experience that you don’t have to convince them that they will continue to have a wonderful experience? That’s the kind of sales I like. Let your good behavior do the talking instead of your salesperson. Be helpful. Make a difference. Sure, do a little selling too, but focus more on giving results that will brighten your clients’ day, and watch your business grow. You will be doing such a service to humanity just by doing a nice job with a smile! You can’t imagine what a difference it makes!