11 Tips for Making Repeat Sales

by Peter Forint, BA, MBA

As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." Here are ways to develop a caring approach that will lead to repeat sales:

1. Become a trusted advisor: People don't want to be sold. But they do need your help in deciding what to buy. Earn their trust by putting their needs ahead of your own, even if that means not making a sale today.

2. Solve problems: What pain can you take away for your customer? Ask questions and really listen to understand your customer's perspective. Then clearly present how you can help.

3. Sell benefits, not features: As sales people we get excited about the newest features of our offerings, but people buy only when they understand what's in it for them. Channel your enthusiasm for the features into describing the benefits for the customer.

4. Sell on value, not price: Remember that "Value = Benefits / Price". There is always a big box or internet site that can undercut you on price, so focus on the benefits of your offering to boost value.

5. Over-deliver: Give them more that you promised. What else can you offer to make dealing with you a better experience? Is there a little extra "something" you could throw in? Can you deliver ahead of schedule?

6. Make it easy to work with you: Do you have any unnecessary hurdles between you and your customer? Do you have toll free telephone and fax numbers to serve all your Durham area customers? Do you have an up-to-date website? Do you offer multiple payment options?

7. Systemize your sales process: Create a "best practices" document to share with everyone on the sales team. Even when you are the only sales person, you still need a system to help you train your first sales hire.

8. Implement a CRM system: CRM stands for "Customer Relationship Management" and, at some point, every business needs a CRM system to keep track of their customers. It could be as simple as a box of index cards behind the counter of a family run clothing store, or as sophisticated as a computer program in a multinational corporation. A proper CRM system gives all employees, from sales to customer service, from accounts payable to marketing, the information they need to really know your customers and better serve them.

9. Fire your "high maintenance" customers: Some customers are really not worth the effort, so let them go to someone else! Spend your time and energy on customers who are pleasures to serve, pay their bills on time, and send referrals your way.

10. Generate Referrals - Part 1: Satisfied customers make the best referrals. Go beyond asking your customers if they are satisfied with your performance. Instead ask "What could we have done to make your experience better?" They may provide you with critical insight. If they say "Nothing could be better," ask them who else would benefit from working with you.

11. Generate Referrals - Part 2: The next best referrals are from other known and trusted people. So network consistently with other business professionals. When they understand and trust your offerings, they will recommend you, and likewise, you'll know who to recommend to your customers!

Peter Forint is Regional Vice-President with Wardell Professional Development, a business coaching and consulting organization serving owner-managed and family run businesses. Email: peter.forint@wardell.biz, GTA: 416-290-5718, Toll Free: 877-290-5718. Learn more at http://www.peterforint.com.

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