Category: Customer Focus

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Startups know how to use time wisely!

3:55 pm is your appointment. Be specific. Ms.Jules has another meeting at 4 pm.

That was a scene from the movie “The Intern”.

The movie captures the #startup scene quite well.

Among all that,

  1. The #speed with which the entire team operates,
  2. The founder getting into customer service calls,
  3. The founder taking special efforts to ensure that a customer, a would-be bride, receives her dress on time in an impeccable manner,
  4. The founder visiting the warehouse and teaching the staff how to pack the stuff after ordering an item from the company herself &
  5. Congratulating someone in the team by ringing a bell when he/she achieves some milestone

are some of the great moments to learn from.

A lesson in #customerexperience #timemanagement

And if there is one difference between startups and big businesses, then this is that: Startups know how to use their time effectively and they don’t do long meetings. Decisions are taken on the fly. People are empowered to take decisions.

In contrast, when we want to reach someone in big businesses, you always hear that they are in a meeting.

Let us pledge to use #time effectively.

Happy Selling!!

#happyselling #b2b #changethegame #sales #marketing #customerservice

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Match the speed of your Prospect!

I was patiently waiting at a clients place to sell a particular software, let us call “Product A”. I knew before-hand that I am likely to meet a foreigner, a Brit working in India. And I was there to solve an urgent problem. That was a UK company into oil exploration & drilling on the coasts of Chennai.

What happens when you are the last to meet a customer on a given day is he/she would have already made the decision. But there is a distinct advantage when you are not the first to meet him. While I was waiting, many thoughts were flashing through my mind. Suddenly, I saw my competitor getting out after meeting, who else but, my prospect. I normally don’t see him unless he is closing a deal. I decided to roll up my sleeves and stay put there until I get that order that day.

I was called in. He was very friendly. Immediately, he handed over the server [I was a sales guy, technically incompetent, but can do a demo] to me, asked me to go ahead with the installation and demo. I have never handled a server until then. With no-help from anywhere, I went ahead and did a great demo that day. He was convinced.

All the stages of the sales process were started and completed that day. I called up my manager, took an approval to give a discount and quoted the price. Only verbal quote. And he typed the order in front of me, signed the order, got a cheque prepared since I asked for 100% advance. Can you believe this? What’s more? I came to sell one piece of software but sold him a suite of products.

Well, I won an additional order for another product that he had almost finalized with my competitor. And I picked up that order as well after a couple of days.

Take Away:

  1. Always [ALWAYS] match the speed of the customer.
  2. Don’t stick to your process.
  3. Get the problem fixed. Before your customer pays or even decides to buy from you.
  4. Ask for the order. If you don’t, how on earth do you hope to get it?

Happy Selling!

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Your Greatest Weakness is Your Greatest Strength!

Sales People are by far the only ones who do not stop learning. Yet they feel inadequate and identify areas of improvement. And continuously they upgrade, refine & groom themselves.

Your Greatest Weakness is Your Greatest Strength!

Identify your Greatest Weakness / your business’ Greatest Weakness and you will be on your way to achieving Great Success.

Some thoughts to help you identify your weakness:

  1. Customers are smart. If you fit the bill, you are in. Else, you are out. It’s that simple.
  2. It is all about Perception. How do customers perceive you? What you think about yourself does not matter. What matters is what other people think of you.
  3. First impressions last longer. So work harder and give a good first impression to your customers.
  4. Dressing up well to give a Professional outlook. Or having a sparkling office that readily proves your worth.
  5. Giving respect to Customers.
  6. Asking for feedback.
  7. Your knowledge on your Product or Service.
  8. Being in tune with times.
  9. Customer Experience. In every step of the buying process and beyond.
  10. Being Sincere.
  11. Showing utmost seriousness in solving customers’ problems.
  12. Ensuring that the excitement that you created around your Product / Service stays forever. Or work on that and keep the excitement on.
  13. Delight: Always having something to surprise the customers.
  14. Easily accessible, no waiting time, more parking space, to the point, forward looking, well meaning, helping & solving problems.
  15. Adding Value. Don’t you want to move up the value chain?
  16. Working with you & your business adds to the Customer’s Brand Value.
  17. Do your existing customers vouch for you?
  18. Meeting your existing customers regularly.
  19. Does your Customer Service team meet the demands of your customers and generate more business from them?
  20. Are you an early adopter of Latest Technology?

Do you have any thoughts on this. Share your valuable thoughts with us.

Happy Selling!!

For any help in Marketing, Sales, CRM please contact:

kannan@zignalytics.com

 

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What should your dashboard show?

Dashboards have been in use for more than two decades now. Initially, it was available only for the CXOs to stay up to date on their teams’ performance and targets. But it is now important for each one of us to use a dashboard to stay focused and reach our goals.

Let us take a quick look at how dashboards can help Sales folks:

  1. To get the focus back on deals that really matter.
  2. To get instant intelligence on deals.
  3. To know the Opportunities, Activities & Tasks – that calls for your attention.
  4. Reminders and Notifications: those missed deadlines, targets, largest open opportunity, some opportunity staying in one sales stage for longer than usual [velocity issues] etc.
  5. Your personal assistant of sorts: Suggestions and advice for you to take action before your manager gets to know about it.
  6. Closing possibility: what deals can close this month?
  7. Revenue level: what are the big ticket deals that are in the pipeline?
  8. Total open opportunities Vs YTD [Year to Date].
  9. New leads – created, qualified, lost etc.
  10. Weighted / Unweighted / Balanced / Ranked / Won Target – the various ways to look at the sales data and take action.

If you want a dashboard, please contact us:

sales at zignalytics.com

#sales #data #dashboards #targets #CRM

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America, August, Apple, Amazon – A’s & the Aces!

You must have read the news, I am sure.

Apple became the first $ 1 Trillion company in terms of market valuation in August this year, followed by Amazon, the second $ 1 Trillion company.

What makes Apple & Amazon tick?

One thing I am sure, they are focused on Customer Experience & making lives simpler for their customers.

Daniel Martins, an independent researcher says: “It’s too high of a bar to assume that they’ll succeed at everything that they do.” “But at the same time, I think Amazon is the best combination in the world of the scale of a large company and that entrepreneurial DNA with the spirit of a startup.”

So, that’s the secret.

It is reported that Apple took long to reach there whereas Amazon sprinted to get there. Amazon took 3 months to cover the last 200 billion whereas Apple took 15 months to do the same, news agencies reported.

Apple was founded in 1976 & Amazon in 1994.

Amazon generates an annual revenue of 178 Billion & in 2018 it may make a paltry sum of 8.5 Billion as profits. It employs around 550,000 people worldwide.

While there are differences between these two Trillion Dollar Giants, the common thing is this: They both know how to market and sell.

Jeff Bezos = Bill Gates + Warren E. Buffett, in terms of Net Worth.

Between Apple and Amazon, one sells at a premium whereas the other lowers prices consistently. You know who.

Some ideas to follow:

  1. If you do Marketing right, everything will fall in place.
  2. Create great Customer Experiences.
  3. Create excitement – on your products & services – and for people to work with you
  4. Have an entrepreneurial DNA.
  5. Have the spirit of a start-up.
  6. Be agile. Respond faster.
  7. Make lives simpler, better & a lot easier.
  8. Sell your dreams. Products will follow.
  9. Create a community of believers.
  10. Last but not the least: You can even start today. And Create. [I didn’t say “Compete”, for a good reason.]

Happy Creating!

Happy Selling!!

#sales #startup #ideas #marketing #branding

Contact us at:

Sales at zignalytics .com for any help in Marketing / Sales / CRM.

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Starbucks offers Crypto Coffee & a lesson in Customer Experience!

Soon customers will be able to pay for their Coffee using Bitcoin or a fraction of that, of-course. It’s official. Starbucks is teaming up with Microsoft and New York Stock Exchange to let customers pay using their bitcoins to buy the items in stores.

CNN Reported this hot news just now.

What it tells us is this: Brands like to give customers a great experience and some brands take the lead. Customer Experience is the new Currency. Not Bitcoin. Strange yet true.

CEOs, savvy ones, see the world through their customer’s eyes, says McKinsey. And they create great customer experience during the entire customer journey and not just at all touch points alone.

Today, companies are armed with data and insights from that data. Companies can change their processes to adapt to what Customers want. And they remove the pain points.

Customer Perception matters. Companies work on it to make it work for them.

Great Customer Experience means not having a single bad experience. Period.

I have always had great Customer Experience with a particular brand. Their attitude in customer service is phenomenal.

It’s a world where monopolies don’t exist anymore and customers wield a growing power in their hands.

Are you listening?

Offer Great Experience to your customers. No matter how small or big they are.

Happy Selling!!

#sales

sales@zignalytics.com

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Why does a Shoe Store Sales Person recommend only a particular brand during a Christmas sale?

Dr. Anil V. Pillai spoke about using Behavioural Sciences to get focused on the Customer & solve his problems. I had the privilege of attending this conference by CRM Academy Asia Founder Amit S. Chakarpani PhD.

Dr. Pillai said his friend Don Peppers, a Thought Leader in Customer Experience, Marketing & Sales was observing a Sales Person at a shoe store during a Christmas Sale.

This sales guy was recommending only American Shoes for every need – Athletic, Sports etc. Don was surprised. The store sells other brands – Nike, Reebok etc. When the sales guy took a break, he went & asked him why is he recommending only American Shoes & not the rest. Is he getting more commission or did his manager ask him to sell only this brand or is he carrying a sales quota that he wants to achieve this month, what’s the reason, he asked him.

The sales guy said – “none of those are the reasons. There is only one reason & that is: American Shoes come pre-laced whereas the other shoes don’t. I will spend 4 mins lacing up each pair & that would affect sales. Customers will walk away.”

The Store Sales guy is the Customer here.

Are you lacing up your Customer’s Shoes?

#customerfocus #sales #rethink

Happy Selling!!