There has always been an argument between whether products sell themselves, or the sales professionals sell the product. Well, even the best product in the world won’t sell without a strong sales and customer service team to support it. Any product, regardless of how good it is, can be made to fail if the customer finds enough reasons to feel the service is below acceptable levels.
Therefore, to have a good product that sells well, means you must have good people working in both your sales and customer service departments. So, how does both sales and customer service make a difference, and what abilities should they have in these all-important positions?
Emulate the Best and Brightest Sales Team
When you think of how the best sales teams operate, what are the main criteria that immediately come to mind? Well, you’ll probably think of how they are tough negotiators, ones who understand the importance of protecting the company's interests, while at the same time servicing the customer. It’s a fine balance, but somehow they find a way to find that middle ground.
The best salespeople are personable, cordial, professional, but above all else, patient and confident. They rarely seem flustered, regardless of the situation. They also seem to be in total control, without exerting too much effort. However, they have all these qualities because the company they work for understands the importance of hiring the right people, and providing them with the best possible tools. They are always trained on negotiation, are aware of the situation, and seem to always ask the right questions.
More importantly, the best salespeople ask leading questions because they want their prospect to open up and discuss their needs. So, aside from the fact that they are shrewd negotiators, what other qualities should your company look for when it comes to both your sales and customer service departments?
1. Represent Both Parties
Sales professionals must be able to be a different person to different people. This means they must be able to protect the customer’s and your company’s, interests. They must represent and defend the company’s interests while at the customer’s location, and then represent and defend the customer’s interest, while in the office. It’s a unique position to defend in both circumstances, but your salespeople must be able to do this, and do it successfully.
Learn about the essentials of business-to-business (B2B) sales negotiation.
2. Keep the Sales Funnel Full
Would it be wrong to say that sales is simply a numbers game? Well, maybe not to the extent that you throw anything against the wall and hope it sticks. While it isn’t simply a numbers game, it is a matter of having a number of sales in process. Companies refer to this process as the “sales funnel,” and it is an ideal way to track both success and failure. When your sales department is keeping that sales funnel full, your company’s chances of success increase substantially.
More opportunities for sales means more opportunities to find and keep customers. Your greatest asset is to have sales professionals that not only keep opportunities coming in, but who also have the ability to track their own performance. Additionally, they must be able to identify what works well, and what doesn’t.
Don't complicate your sales funnel. Keep it simple and straightforward.
3. Use Market Information
The sales department must be able to use and disseminate market information. Lead generation and market knowledge is essential to succeeding in sales, servicing the customer accounts, and ultimately, growing your business. If your sales department is not able to gather valuable market information on your competition, your customer’s perception of your company’s value, or pricing trends, then they’ll always be losing against competitive bids for the same business.
4. Find a Balance
Your team must be able to find the happy medium between servicing customers, and protecting your company’s interest. Unfortunately, it’s natural that some customers will try and take more, or ask for more, than what is considered reasonable. Do you want sales professionals who always capitulate and give in to every customer demand, regardless of the cost?
While the saying “the customer is always right” has some merit, they simply aren’t right regardless of their demands. Bottom line, your company needs salespeople who are able to find a balance between servicing customer accounts, and protecting your company’s best interests.
Managing customer expectations is but one of several competencies your sales and customer service departments must master when it comes to customer management.
5. Must be Able to Handle Adversity
Your sales and customer service department must be able to hand adversity, resolve conflicts, find solutions, service the customer, ensure that customers adhere to contractual agreements, and sometimes get involved in debt collection. Because your sales and customer service departments are the first, and second, point of contacts for your customer, they fall into that role of being the most trusted and reliable people from your customer’s perspective. Therefore, both your sales and customer service people must be able to accept this challenge and excel in servicing your customer accounts.
6. Be on the Same Page
Your sales and customer service team must have an understood set of rules and responsibilities. Your sales team must have the confidence to defer to the customer service department and trust in their ability to resolve conflicts, and your customer service department must know when to elevate a priority over to the sales department. It amounts to having a strong, balanced and combined effort in servicing the customer and keeping them happy, satisfied, and buying.
It can never be emphasized enough just how important it is to not only have the right people in both sales and customer service, but for them to have the right abilities as well. All of these areas are essential to both servicing customer accounts, and protecting your company’s best interest. Salespeople must be able to find a middle ground between servicing customer requests, and selling your company short.
They must also be backed by a goal oriented customer service department who has both the ability to resolve customer conflicts, and move priorities up the chain of command. It’s all about having the right people, in the right position, working for your company and with your customers.
To read more about the importance of a strong business development team, please read: Your Customer Service Strategy Must Start with Marketing & Sales
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