Striving for impeccability is a hidden goal that produces massive results! How you run your business and how you interact with customers is very much like tossing a pebble in a quiet lake – the ripples reach farther than the eye can detect.
Most obviously, Word of Mouth is effective advertising. If a customer visits your business and is greeted with an attractive display that is fresh and cared-for, that sends a message that your store-front is concerned with presenting the best products in a favorable manner. When the customer is greeted timely and enthusiastically, the message is that this business wants to be involved with its customers.
Inwardly acknowledging that the sales transaction is underway the second the front door opens sets the tone for everything that follows. Warmly making the customer welcome in your place of business and assisting them thoughtfully, whether it be listening or directing them to specific merchandise or problem-solving (suggestive selling) with them creates the experience that your customer carries with them into the community. Treatment of the customer, presentation of the variety of products tailored to a specific customer’s interests, specific knowledge about a given product, resolving concerns, and efficiently and professionally completing the interaction are, of course, important facets of your business. Equally important and frequently overlooked are the unspoken realities that your customer takes out the door – your business’s REPUTATION!
Recognizing that you are creating your business reputation frees the energy to manage that commodity to your best advantage. You get to choose the type of ripple that is created about your business within the community! Is it worth taking impeccable care of your store, your merchandise, your customers, your closing of sales, your packaging of the customer’s purchase, your requests for referrals, your accurate record-keeping for future sales, your store’s behind-the-scenes operations? Every facet of your business is a reflection of your commitment and the vitality which you bring to your customers and community!
If we are always striving for impeccability, with every component of each business interaction, consistently, THAT becomes your contribution to the community! The way you maintain your business, the care you provide to each person you encounter, the quality of the goods you present, the satisfaction produced after the sale, all reach into your community in ways that you cannot imagine (nor control once a particular customer interaction is complete!) Your personal impeccability is your finest asset! It is a value-added!
Author, trainer, consultant, and speaker Brad Huisken is President of IAS Training. Huisken has authored several books and training manuals on sales and produces a Weekly Sales Training Meeting video series along with Aptitude Tests and Proficiency Exams for new hires, current sales staff and sales managers. In addition, he publishes a free weekly newsletter called “Sales Insight” For a free subscription or more information regarding the programs listed above, contact IAS Training by phone at 800-248-7703 or by e-mail at info@iastraining.com. Visit his website at www.iastraining.com.
