You have heard it all before - to provide good customer service and make a sale, you need to understand needs, have good product knowledge, find the "fit," and so on.  All true, but it's no longer popular to be stiff and calculated in how you serve and sell.  You need to be MEMORABLE.  So what happens when you take those skills and throw in personality, fun, and genuine rapport and care when connecting with your customers?  I will tell you what you get- better relationships, increased loyalty, and more sales.  

Let me prove this to you. My family and I are getting ready to move, and one super fun task I have (insert sarcasm here) is getting quotes from movers.  So I am going to share two moving company experiences from the last couple of days, and I want you to pick which one you would choose to do business with. 

1. Company A- They are a popular choice (see their trucks everywhere), and they rank high in my various searches. I filled out an online form to request a quote, and BAM! Within moments, my phone is ringing, and I talk to the ultimate professional who wants to set up an in-home visit for a quote. The nicely dressed salesperson arrives perfectly on time, hands me an impressive brochure, tours my home, gives a 5 minute polished spiel, and is gone in 15 minutes. The estimate/quote comes in later that day, as promised.
2. Company B- Got the name and phone # from a future neighbor. Within 24 hrs, I received a callback. The conversation was casual, and he learned my needs, offered suggestions for our move, and catered helpful statements to the anxiety he heard in my voice. Dressed in a logo'd polo shirt, he shows up for the in-home estimate right on time, plays with my too-friendly dog, makes small talk which results in lots of connections (and laughter), and then together we tour my home while he takes notes and gives me tips along with details about how the movers will do things. After 45 minutes, he closes by telling me why he does what he does and why he loves the owner and company he works for. The quote comes in that afternoon.

Strictly based on customer service mentioned above, who would you choose to do business with? 90% of you say Company B. Yes, me too. Company A does so many things right, but where they fall short is in finding the connection, building a relationship, and taking a moment to have a little fun with the customer through laughter. You buy from who you like. And guess what? What I did not tell you is that even with nearly identical inclusions for the move, Company A is nearly double the cost of Company B. Perhaps they should not invest in so much flash so they have room to decrease their prices while still making a small investment in educating their team on better service and delivery. Their ROI on a little differentiated customer service training will be huge.

Next step: start being like Company B.  Serve and sell differently so you have the ability to also reap these additional benefits:

• successfully upsell.
• seal the deal faster.
• gain lifetime loyalty.
• acquire lots of referrals.
  

I won't leave you hanging without giving you a resource that will help you get there, so go ahead and download this training tool, if you don't already have it.  It's one of our most popular resources loved by our customers.  Cheers!