Good morning!
A customer places an order and says, “No rush” when asked when they need it. “It’ll be about a week,” you tell them and they reply, “That’s fine. Whatever.” So, you enter the job and a little more than a week later it ships. Seems innocent enough, right?
A month later you realize you haven’t heard from that client in a while and they usually place new orders every week. You call and you call. Nothing. Finally, you drive over there and ask to see your key contact. She comes out and tells you they’ve found another vendor at her boss’ request. Seems that last job came in late. Again.
Late? Late? Recalling the circumstances, you are dumbfounded. The customer had no rush needs and said a week’s delivery time was acceptable. What happened?
What happened was two things. First, you set their expectations - “About a week,” you told them. A week is seven days. So the client is expecting the job one week from the day it was placed. When it didn’t arrive on that date, despite the fact that it was not needed, it became late in their minds. Second, you failed to update and communicate with the client. A simple, “You should receive the job this Friday” would have solved everything.
What seemed like an innocent reorder cost you an entire client, all because you made an assumption and failed to communicate. This kind of sales laziness, for lack of a better term, is any easy trap to fall into. Treat every client and every order as precious. If anything, over communicate with clients and you will be on the safe side every time.
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Bill Farquharson can drive your new business sales momentum. See his training programs at AspireFor.com or call Bill at 781-934-7036. His email address is bill@aspirefor.com
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Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.