No Matter What, Walk the Talk

I was visiting a store that was struggling with Protection Plans. We had a rush in the store and we all jumped in to help customers. I noticed that the manager was ringing up customers…too quickly! He stopped offering credit, the Protection Plan, telling about upcoming events, or collecting customer information. Instead of adapting his approach to the demands of the situation he failed to give these customers the level of service they deserved. Not good.

But there’s something even worse. As a manager, your people pay a lot more attention to what you do than to what you say. When we cut corners it gives our teams permission to cut corners. How much more respect would this manager have had if he had developed—and shared—a shorter Protection Plan presentation for moments like this? What if he had previously asked his team for their ideas on how to respect a customer’s right to choose protection during rushed situations? Or taken turns skill practicing shorter Protection Plan approaches so they would be prepared?

The takeaway for this week’s selling tip is that while you don’t have to come up with a solution on your own, you will set a good example by finding a solution and perfecting it with your team. And those areas where you’re struggling to “walk the talk” are probably areas where your team is struggling too. Work as a team to find solutions!

Nobody’s perfect, but every customer deserves for us to try to be perfect! This week start solving those hard “walk the talk” situations and you will…Make It Happen!