Every Employee is Part of Your Sales Force

All of Your Employees Are in Sales

You may not realize it, but every one of your employees who interacts with your customers is a salesperson—and therefore needs sales training.

Each customer interaction can be leveraged to uncover needs and generate new business. OR it can disappoint, anger, and/or alienate your customers.

What are you doing to monitor employee-customer interactions at your company?

Training is essential

• Develop a training program for new employees, as well as an ongoing development process for all staff who interact with customers
• All employees should be trained in sales techniques, such as questioning to uncover needs, listening, and providing solutions
• All employees should know exactly what they can (and can’t) do to provide more value for customers
• All employees should be fully informed of every aspect of the products and services your company provides

Real-world example: A customer at local retail store asked one of the counter staff about the company’s free service. The staff member wasn’t sure if it really was a free service, with no strings attached, so she couldn’t reassure the customer or endorse the service. Customers that use that service spend an average of 40% more than regular retail customers. If that staff member was better informed, she could have upsold the customer and generated more business for the company.

Monitor your process

• Request regular customer feedback and incorporate their suggestions into your training
• Set up a process for auditing employee-customer interactions
• Make it a company policy not to just meet customer expectations, but to exceed them

The Bottom-Line

Each employee is an essential asset in new business development, customer retention, and customer loyalty. Make sure they know the company’s goals and their own role in the process.

Sometimes we are too close to see what is going on and you need someone with a fresh pair of eyes and ears. If that’s the case, let us help.