Being There

Being There

Question:
I need a reason to see customers. We have a limited product line, one which is seasonal. I don’t want to bug my customers in the off season to buy our product line, but I don't feel good just stopping by for no reason. I've already lost sales to competitors because I wasn't there when I needed to be. Any suggestions?
Answer:
You certainly have a right to be concerned about wasting your customer's time. It's very important to have an objective with each sales call. However, the objective doesn't always have to be to sell something. As a matter of fact, if the only time you contact customers is to ask for an order, you're conditioning your customers to expect negatives. You're a taker in their eyes, with nothing of value to give. On the other hand, you can't afford to be a professional visitor. It costs up to $300. to make one sales call depending on your industry. The live calls that you make should be deliberate, focused and a good use of everyone's time.

And what about your time? We all hear how busy everyone is. If you don't believe it, ask anyone! A recent study revealed that the average person can balance up to seven extensive relationships at a time. Does this mean that you as a salesperson can only manage seven accounts? No. However, it does mean that you may only be able to balance seven significant projects within your accounts at any given time. So the challenge is, how do you maintain your customer's mind share without always selling or even having to be there physically?

Here are some ideas:

Stop in to see customers when you have something of value to offer them. This doesn't necessarily have to relate to your product line. It may be information that they were looking for, or a solution to a problem that they were encountering.
Arrange a time to take a tour of your customer's facility. This will serve as a relationship building opportunity, and will give you an opportunity to assess business needs that you may be able to provide solutions to.
Send customers an article or a book that you think might interest them. How many times have you run across an article and thought of one of your customers immediately? Too often we don't take action on these thoughts. Copy a customer with a handwritten note like, “Thought you might be interested.”
Copy customers on “inside information” regarding your product line or other interesting industry information. If information is released regarding a new feature translate it with a handwritten note telling the customer of the value for them directly.
Send a picnic lunch. If your customers are experiencing a stressful time when it is hard for them to break away, consider sending a picnic lunch. Make sure there is plenty available for everyone. Be sure to make arrangements in advance with a person who is available to receive the lunch and who knows everyone's schedules.
Ask someone else in your organization to make contact with your customer. Match roles of your organization with your customer's. For instance, you may send your president to meet with their president, or your mechanic to meet with theirs. Be sure to prep your representatives by briefing them on the account history, what to say, what not to say and potential challenges that they may be able to help with.
Plan your contacts according to your customer's communication style.
• Kinesthetic customers need to see you more than any other group. They need physical actions such as plant tours and product demonstrations. You can tell which of your customers are kinesthetic because they speak slowly, pause frequently and look down if you ask them to remember something.
• Visual customers need to either see you or receive written correspondence from you. These customers also respond to e-mail, faxes and handwritten notes. You can determine your visual customers because they speak rapidly, use visual terminology and look up if you ask them questions.
• Auditory customers need to see you less frequently, yet they appreciate contact via phone. Even if you don't connect with them directly, leave a voice mail message. Be careful that your tone and pace of voice is saying what you want it to. Auditory customers will read into every syllable. You can tell who your auditory customers are because they continue to make sound when they pause, they speak rhythmically, they talk with their hands and they look to the side when you ask them to remember something.

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