Customer Service is not Enough - Focus on Customer Experience

 “I don't like to shop. Clothes shopping, grocery shopping, car shopping; it doesn't matter ...I don't like it. I want to get in, get what I want (fast), and get out. A recent shopping experience, however, was a pleasant surprise.” - Dennis Snow  

This experience showcased customer service at its best, and at its most simple. Once again I was reminded that great service isn't about grand acts, it is about common courtesy, artfully delivered.  

While on vacation in Chicago, I needed to buy a pair of casual shoes (I had forgotten mine). I found myself in a store called the Walking Company. A friend once told me it was a good store. It was crowded, so I almost left. But one of the salespeople made eye contact with me. It wasn't the kind of eye contact that said, "Oh no, another customer." Instead, it was eye contact that said, "I'll be right with you." It was good eye contact.

So I browsed around for a few minutes and found a pair of shoes I liked. Sure enough, the salesperson came up and said, "Sorry about the wait, let's get you some shoes." I showed her the pair I wanted and asked to try size 10. She said, "Let's measure your foot just to make sure." I know I wear size 10, but her whole demeanour showed that she wanted to make sure I got the right shoes.

She measured my foot and said, "Size 10 is right, but you have a very 'Rubenesque' foot. The type of shoe you've selected won't be the most comfortable for you. I think this other style would feel much better."

Being the sceptic that I am, I looked at the price of her suggested shoes to see how much she was upselling me. Same price. Hmm. With nothing to lose, I tried on the style she suggested, and they were extremely comfortable. I must admit: they are the most comfortable pair of casual shoes I've ever owned.

As I paid for the shoes, the salesperson continued to wow me. She said, "If you ever buy a pair of shoes somewhere else be sure to tell the salesperson that the arches in your foot have fallen a little, and you need shoes with some arch support -- like these."

When I get good service like this, I want to keep it going. I asked her if there is a Walking Company in Orlando, where I live. "Absolutely, it's at the Millennium Mall." Since then I've bought two pairs of dress shoes at the Orlando Walking Company, again with great service. I can't imagine buying shoes anywhere else. And I've sent plenty of friends there.

Now, let's look at what this salesperson did that made this a great shopping experience. I'll analyse the details in a moment, but one word sums up her style -- professional. This lady was a professional in every sense of the word. Her skills would apply anywhere, as applicable in a bank, hospital, theme park, or law office as they are in a shoe store.

Here are four universal traits of a professional in any job position:

1. Professionals are responsive: When I entered the store, the salesperson made immediate eye contact with me. It was sincere eye contact that said she cared that I was there. And as soon as she was finished with her customer she came right over to help me and apologised for the wait.

The store was busy. But I noticed that everyone was being helped. The salespeople had mastered the art of handling more than one customer at a time while making each customer feel like he/she was the only one. None of the salespeople looked frantic, just responsive.

2. Professionals are knowledgeable: This salesperson knew about shoes. On the other hand, I know very little about shoes. Seeing that this was the case, she took charge of the situation and made sure that I was getting shoes that were right for me. I benefited from her knowledge.

There is an art to sharing knowledge, I admit. Some customers may say, "I know what I want. Just get it for me." By briefly talking to me, however, she realised she could make a recommendation for me, that I was flexible. Professionals read the situation and adapt to the personality and needs of the customer.

Of course, all of this means knowing your product. Professionals are constantly learning about their products and their customers. The only way that the Walking Company salesperson could steer me to the right pair of shoes was by knowing shoes and feet. Professionals know their stuff.

3. Professionals care about what they do: My Walking Company salesperson could have easily brought me the pair of shoes I originally asked for. But she wasn't selling shoes -- she was selling the right shoes. That's the difference. Professionals aren't happy just selling a product. They want it to be the right product for the customer.

4. Professionals teach you something: I left the Walking Company knowing more than when I walked in. I now know to ask for extra arch support in my shoes. Not a big deal, but I will always remember that advice.

Think of some of your best service experiences: the waiter who made the perfect recommendation, the computer helpdesk that gave you a tip on how to make an application more effective, or the clothing store employee who helped you coordinate colours.

In most cases of outstanding service, the employee left you more knowledgeable than when he/she found you. The new information might not change your life (though it could), but it does make your life a tad better.

Conclusion: Professional behaviours are simple. What's not simple is the consistent application of them. Being a true professional takes thought and effort. But, once you are truly professional you can go just about anywhere.

The skills are universal, and they are rare. True professionals stand out from the crowd and grow rewarding and satisfying careers. And the customers of the world know when one is at work.

Dennis Snow is the president of Snow & Associates, Inc. He worked with the Walt Disney World Company for 20 years and now consults with organisations around the world helping them achieve their customer service goals. He is the author of the book, Unleashing Excellence -- The Complete Guide to Ultimate Customer Service.

Anybody can become a good salesperson - A wonderful Inspiring Story!

The writer is Richard Mulvey.  Click on the name to visit his website for selling related articles.

When I left school I didn’t want to be a salesman. Few teenagers leave school with the idea of going into sales, they want go into teaching or catering; they want to become attorneys or engineers.

Selling is rarely considered to be a career, and when I was young very few parents would have encourage their children to become salespeople. Very little has changed in this regard.

I followed my basic education with two years at Hotel School where I was taught how to be a waiter, a chef and a hotel manager. I learnt how to make beds and why you can always get instant hot water in a hotel bedroom even though the water heater is as much as 100 meters away.

In the first long holiday while I was at hotel school, I got a job as a waiter at the Garners Steak House in London. I wasn’t allowed to serve in the restaurant until I had undergone a full day’s training but I wasn’t trained how to be a waiter. They just presumed that I knew that the food was served from the left and cleared from the right, that I knew how to fold napkins and “Crumb Down”.
The training course focused entirely on selling skills.

The customer walking into a restaurant is a “prospect”. You know he has a need (he is hungry) but we have yet to discover how we are going to satisfy that need. In many cases that ‘need’ would be satisfied with a bowl of soup and a slice of bread so it is the waiter’s job to create a ‘desire’ for something much more exciting (and more expensive of course).

During the training I was shown how to encourage the customer to buy two bottles of wine instead of just one; why the waiter must never just offer sweet, but suggest that the lady in the group may enjoy a crème caramel or fresh strawberries flown in from Israel. I also learnt not just to offer the most expensive items on the menu first, but the ones with the highest profit margin. I discovered that customers come into a restaurant not just to eat but for the ambiance, the fun, the friendly service and the good company. Customers don’t mind paying more if all these are in place.
The restaurant certainly knew how to do these things and was always full, mostly with regular customers.

My money at the end of the week was dependant on my ability as a sales person to satisfy the customers, rather than as a caterer and I enjoyed being well paid for the first time in my life.

So I started in catering before I became a salesperson, you may have been a teacher or an engineer.
Selling does not have the charisma of many careers but it is a noble task none the less. Industries would collapse without us. Customers would not know what is available or what is possible if sales people were not there to help. Selling helps make the world go round and good salespeople are hard to find.

Good sales people are made not born. This is the whole Nurture vs. Nature issue and in the case of sales people I am very clear on the result. In fact, the stereotypical sales person who look and act like the ones you see on the television and think they are born to it are not the best of the sales people out there.

I was asked, by the senior partner in a firm of attorneys in Durban, to train his team to become sales people. “We have very good attorneys, but they are not good at getting new business or closing the sale, can you help?”
“Of course” I said.

I prepared a proposal for the customer based on training 25 attorneys the finer arts of selling. I proposed a series of sessions with assignments in between that would at least give them the basics, and presented that to the customer.

“Oh no” he said, “We just need a day. Just come in for a day and tell us what it takes to be good in sales.”

ONE DAY! It takes seven years to be qualified as an attorney and they want to become salespeople in just one day.

To become a good sales person, like many other tasks, takes skills and practice. Anybody can be good in sales if they are prepared to put in the time and study the skills, then practice what they have learnt until they get it right

A good sales person says "I will", not "I'll try"

The word 'try' should not be in a good sales person's vocabulary. The reason for this is that it shows your customer that you may or may not make it happen. By using the word 'will' you show that you are in charge and that you 'will' move mountains to see the sale through.

A good sales person is personally accountable

To be personally accountable is hard, but it also shows the customer that you are not afraid to admit to your mistakes. This in turn encourages a stronger relationship with your clients as they will feel that they can trust you more. Trust is the most important tool that a good sales person must possess at all times.

A good sales person takes the initiative or goes the extra mile

A good sales person takes the initiative. What this means is that if your customer asks you for something, don't just show them only that. Encourage them to see similar things and provide them with a variety of choice. Also always go the extra mile. If your client is a regular customer offer them a discount or some sort of rebate on the items they have purchased.

A good sales person is always an expert

Know that a good sales person is always an expert. He knows his product or service inside out. There is nothing about the product that he does not know. By having confidence in what you sell, you will be able to sell whatever you have in a much more effective manner

A good sales person is helpful, even if there is nothing to gain

It is very important that you are helpful even if there is nothing to gain; this makes a customer feel special and will also help foster a stronger customer relationship

A good sales person deals with complaints head on

While no one likes complaints, it is important as a good sales person to deal with them head on. This shows your customers that you are proactive and that you are concerned about them.

A good sales person listens to their customers

While a good sales person is all about talking the client into buy something, it is also important that you listen to your customers as well. Take a moment to get to know your customers personally and then give them an appropriate response. Listen to what your customer has to say, know what they like and what they don't, and know their favorite color, all this goes a long way in building a fruitful relationship.

A good sales person does not make promises he/she can't keep

It is important that your customers know that they can trust you at all times to do a good job. A good sales person should always keep their promises. If you feel that you cannot keep a promise then do not make it and be honest with your customers, they will appreciate you more for your honesty. Breaking a promise only leads to distrust and makes a customer feel that they cannot trust you

Always Answer you all the calls yourself.

Always answer the phone yourself. This shows customers and clients that you care about them and that they are not another sales record in your books. If you are extremely busy hire an assistant or additional staff to handle the phone lines, and know that a your personal human touch is much more effective.

A good sales person is one who builds relationships-

To be a good seller it is important that you build a rapport or a relationship with your client so that they feel comfortable trusting you. Good sales is all about building a bond of mutual trust and understanding between you and your client. This also goes a long way in helping to gain your customers confidence and also makes them come back to do business with you again.

Be proactive.

Today's customers are more fastidious than ever before. Not only are customers now more demanding, but they are also less forgiving as well, which means that a sales person has only one shot at making a good impression the first time around. In this fast paced high tech world where decisions are based on snap second judgments, the importance of a good sales person cannot be denied. The job of a sale person is now tougher than it has ever been. So the question now arises how does one become a good sales person? How does one become a better seller? The answer to these questions is actually quite simple. Be proactive.


i am starting a chain of golden sales rules to tell the sales person what to do and what not.


So wait for the next post!

Skill - The Art Of Listening Actively

The most important Skill for Sales is the skill of listening. 


Listening to what people say and don’t say, and listening to what they want and what they need, sometimes two different things.


Linked to this is the skill of asking the right questions to find out more.

Then process starts to kick in – if you’ve listened carefully and asked searching questions you are in a better position to present solutions in terms of both features and benefits. And you are better equipped to handle objections and present logical arguments.

So if you can master the skills of listening, questioning, presenting and objection handling you are well on the way. And as with any skill practice makes perfect.

If you’ve managed to master these skills you’re likely to be far more confident to go on to the final stage, which is to ask for the business.

HAPPY SELLING !!!