Sales - The Hidden value of Customer Service

When a customer is looking for a solution to their problem or help with an order, many times they are directed to the Customer Service Department of an organization. Unfortunately, many organizations use the Customer Service position as an Entry Level Sales/Service position and do not train their CSR's appropriately to handle the variety of customer issues that arise on a daily basis. Almost everyone has had an issue with an unresponsive or untrained CSR sometime in their lifetime. Can you remember how it made you feel?
Poor customer service severly undermines the future success with the dissatisfied customer, resulting in a negative impact to the bottomline.
Think about this:

• Worldwide, up to two-thirds of all customers leave due to poor customer service.
• On average, most US corporations lose half their customers every five years.
• Customer relationship activities have the most impact on customer retention. Every customer service encounter has the potential to gain repeat business or DRIVE IT AWAY.

Fostering outstanding customer service is every manager and employee's responsibility.

Make Customer service everyone's priority. For a starter, you might want to change your receptionist's title to something creative and fun, like "Manager of First Impressions".

Enjoy, I hope this helps. Send me your thoughts, comments.

Sales - How effective are your Sales People?

Did you know that more than half of all individuals in a sales position are not suited for sales?
Another 25% may have the skills to sell, but are selling the wrong product, are in the wrong industry or don't fit within the culture of their employer's corporate culture. These factors reduce the number of sales professionals from which sales leaders can expect superior performance.
In todays industry, consolidation is key to a wholesaler and even a supplier's existence long term.
When a business decision is made to acquire a similar business, how do you determine the value of personnel (sales rep, manager, administrator, etc.)?
As mentioned previously, corporate culture has a significant impact on the overall performance of an individual. Just because an individual is a "top performer" at their current position , their "elite" status does not always translate to a similar status within your organization.
What characteristics do your "elite" performers have that can be used as benchmarks?
There are tools available to assist you in making these determinations. If you want more information regarding this topic, go to my website: http://www.cmzassociates.com/ and fill out the information request form.

Have a Great Day,

Chris Zobel, CMZ Associates