Today’s marine industry sales world is loaded with great options to communicate. We have smart phones that allow us to email, text and access to the web. We can now even carry them in our shirt pockets. We can use Face Time and Skype to hold face to face communications with others at a virtually no cost. The problem is no one seems to be answering on the other end. Many times that other end is us. Voicemail, the text icon and the email inbox has become the gatekeeper of this generation of sales professionals. I think we communicated far more when we had far less communication tools. I call my cell phone provider and find myself on hold for what seems like an eternity. This is a communications company not communicating.
These great tools of communications have caused us to become isolated from our past, present and future customers. Since sales is driven the development of relationships, casting our revenue stream better known as our customers and business associates into the great abyss of voicemail and email hell will always serve as a detriment to increasing your sales. It’s like telling a customer that the reason you’ve not returned their call, text or email in a timely manner is due to “being busy”. Translation…You’re not a priority to me. Checking my Facebook, Tweeting what I had for lunch and texting my friends regarding last weekend’s fishing trip was more than checking on the status of your sale. Now this may seem extreme, but I hope you get my point.
Try letting the electronic gatekeeper off for a few days. Have your office phone forwarded to your cell and ANSWER IT each time it rings. Tell your customers and associates that you return emails at 9:00 am and 4:00 pm each day. It’s called expectation management and your customers will appreciate it. When you go into an important meeting with a client, leave the cell phone in the car. Don’t even try to text or email while you’re waiting in the lobby. Instead focus on the meeting you’re about to have with that client that’s made time to see you. That’s the time voice mail works best.
Next set up 3 lunch appointments in one week with past customers and ask to bring at least one friend. Pick up the phone and call 3 past customers a day or prospect from the past and just hello and have a brief conversation. You’ll be surprised when they start asking questions that will many times leads to a sale. This may be in the form of a referral, lead or even the past customer or friend thinking about a future purchase.
At the end of the week, you’ll be shocked at the success you’ve had and best of all you’ll level of respect will have grown with your clients and associates. You’ll soon become known as the “great communicator” and that reputation will begin to spread. Your sales will increase and so will your referrals. It will be like a breath of fresh air in a tech-toxic world.