If You Want the Business
It actually surprises me that I have to write this and that anyone needs to hear it.
However, it needs to be said and heard.
Count one second. One-One-Thousand!
In the time it took you to do that, someone missed a job or business opportunity. A new relationship was not established. A networking connection was not made.
Someone decided not to be available for a call, text, or email.
Here is what happened:
Someone like me dialed the phone and there was no answer, not even a working automated answering service. Someone like me needed a response in order to take next steps.
In one second that dialer made a decision. He or she called the next person on the list and that person answered the phone and got the job.
Answer Acronym
If you need more, here it is.
A
Arrange a system for responding to your potential customers or clients quickly. Automate it if you must, but make sure that whatever medium or media you utilize for contact gives your prospect some response and call to action on the first attempt.
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N
Never assume that the person calling, texting, emailing, or filling out a form is not worth your time. Even if that person is not ready for your service or product today, they may be later. They may even be a conduit for other business relationships.
S
Serve. That must be your attitude and your behavior. If has to be on your face even if the caller cannot see your face. The can hear your smile or scowl. Your willingness to serve must be your go-to position from the start.
W
Win your caller's business by your willingness to meet them where they are and by the winsomeness of your courtesy and eagerness to be their provider. Win a friend first and then a client or customer.
E
Engage the caller by taking time to listen to their problem before you start selling. Listen, ask questions, enter into a problem-solving partnership with them. People do business with folks they know, like, and trust.
R
Refer. If you cannot meet the caller's need, have a list handy and refer them to someone who can. You will have created goodwill. You will have offered something of value. You will have actually made two friends, the person who called you and the business to whom you referred them. Networking is about giving. The next time the caller needs what you offer, your name will pop into their mind.
I am here to tell you that this works. Now, listen to the story of Joe, for whom it works every day.
Tom Sims