What we say and what our customers hear can have two totally different meanings. Be aware that many phrases that are used daily might need to be considered as to whether or not what's being said is leaving the best impression. Here is an example—the customer is paying for their purchase and says to the person handling the check out, "thank you."  Sadly, 9 times out of 10 the person checking them out will say, "you're welcome" and leave it at that. Isn't this backwards? The customer is thanking the seller?! This is such a pivotal moment in leaving the best, last impression. Although, "you're welcome", is a nice phrase, if the customer does not receive a sincere, "thank you", the "you're welcome" feels like and sounds like, "NEXT." 

When considering how all team members represent your business by what they say and how they say it, these statements below offer some reflection on what not to say. 

As we wrap up the third step in the Sales Process Series, your number one goal in sales is to gain commitment from the customer. However, The Sales Board wrote a blog on the research they found stating that, "...salespeople need dramatic improvement in achieving Sales Objectives and Gaining Commitment at each milestone of the sale." Their statistics show that 62% of salespeople fail to ask for commitment. That is a lot of potential sales heading out your door. 

Are you ready to explore the next significant step of building a successful sales conversation? Knowing the steps to take to move the call along professionally will positively enhance sales closure. Remember you can't force a sale, you need to earn the sale. And to do that, some homework prior to the call is required. Let's get started.  

Let's get knee deep into the fundamentals of the Sales Process. This new blog series will take the components of the sales process a little deeper; each component gives structure to the sales process. The sales process, in the basic form, is: The Opening, Advancing the Call, and Gaining their Commitment. So let's get started...

It's no wonder that I own a company that evaluates service performance as one of our main jobs. Service delivery has always held my interest. I am simply unable to have a service encounter without completing my mental check list of, "Did right, and/or did wrong" evaluation. Here is a great quote by Bill Gates that all businesses should have their eye on and thrive on: