RISMEDIA, July 6, 2011—Sales and marketing consultant, Brett Clay, author of Selling Change, 101+ Secrets for Growing Sales by Leading Change, reveals his top ten list of mistakes salespeople and companies are making in today’s market. Clay says, “Some of the ways salespeople lose customers are perennial. Others are related to the changing market. The biggest mistake, though, is failing to evolve and stay competitive.”
The Top Ten Ways to Lose Customers
1. Don’t Deliver What You Promise
The ultimate way to lose a customer is to take their money and not deliver the goods. To gain customers, under-promise and over-deliver.
2. Don’t Return Their Calls
Twenty-four hour call centers, mobile phones, instant text chat, online knowledge bases, and social media have helped customers become accustomed to instant response. To gain customers, be responsive.
3. Sell Them Features
Customers don’t care about product features. Customers only care about how they can benefit. To gain customers, focus on what the customer wants to do.
4. Don’t Listen to Their Needs
In the drive to streamline operations and lower costs, companies that become focused on themselves and their own needs, rather than the customer’s, will find themselves losing those customers. To gain customers, listen to what customers want—and deliver it.
5. Sell Them a Solution
Selling solutions to customer problems sounds like a great idea—except that today’s Internet-empowered customers have access to the best solutions at the best prices from everywhere on the globe. So, selling solutions results in losing customers to suppliers who offer a better solution at a better price. To gain customers, help them achieve their goals.
6. Assume They Need What You’re Selling
Assuming the customer’s problem is that they don’t own the listing you’d like to sell them and neglecting to discover their real problem is a sure way to lose the customer’s interest. To gain customers, focus on how the customer can benefit.
7. Be Transactional
Companies and salespeople who—under pressure to meet sales goals—focus on minimizing their efforts lose business to those who focus on customer success. To gain customers, add value.
8. Focus on Relationship
The old adage: “Customers buy from people they like.” The new adage : “Customers buy from websites they like.” To gain customers, focus on delivering value.
9. Do What You’ve Always Done
As the market landscape continues to change rapidly, those who continue to do the same things the same way are the proverbial deer in the headlights. To gain customers, invest in new capabilities.
10. Don’t Embrace Technology
Technology is amplifying and accelerating competitive advantages. Individuals and companies that fall behind in technology will deliver inferior service at uncompetitive costs. To gain customers, leverage new tools.
For more information, visit http://www.ChangeLeadershipGroup.com.
